Abstract

The status of air quality standards for 31 priority substances was unclear for permit owners and authorities responsible for granting permits. In the past, these standards were not authorized by the Steering Group Substances, and therefore the standards were not externally communicated via the 'Risk of Substances' website, www.rivm.nl/rvs/. These standards, however, were part of the annex 'Standard setting for priority substances' of the policy memorandum 'Reduction goals priority substances (2001)', formulated by the Dutch Ministry of the Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment within the framework of the fourth National Environmental Policy Plan. RIVM examined whether the air quality standards are still up to date. This survey showed that for three substances new standards exist, and that for 18 substances new information is available, which may result in a possible update of the standards. In the last months of 2010 the standards have been authorized for all 31 substances by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, and the standards were subsequently published on www.rivm.nl/rvs/.
The Dutch list of priority substances is a list of substances with a risk for man and environment that will be tackled by the National Government with preference.