ECHA: Clean tap water for all EU citizens

The revised Drinking Water Directive comes into effect on12 January. It aims to protect people, improve access to water and ensure uniform safety standards for industry.

ECHA will support the European Commission to set up lists of chemicals (compositions or constituents) that can be safely used in materials that come into contact with drinking water.

The first lists will be based on existing national lists and are expected to cover around 1,500 chemicals for different types of materials. The European Commission will adopt them by 2025. After the adoption, all entries in the lists will be reviewed within 15 years. The European agency will prioritise substances for review based on their hazardous properties and the relevance of their risk assessments. It will also recommend expiry dates for them.

To learn more, please visit ECHA's website.