Publications | Umweltbundesamt

Economy | Consumption, Waste | Resources, Soil | Land

Rare metals

Measures and concepts for the solution of the problem of conflict-aggravating raw material extraction - the example of coltan

The scarcity of many raw materials holds significant conflict potentials as global demand increases rapidly. This does not only apply to fossil resources, focussed in the public debate, but also to many rare mineral resources. An important example is the ore coltan, from which tantalum is separated for the use as material or in the electronics industry. More specifically, tantalum is used in high...read more

Economy | Consumption, Health

Environmental and Health Provisions for Building Products -

Identification and evaluation of VOC emissions and odour exposure

The building product directive of the European Union defines the term ‘building product’ as “a commercial product that is manufactured with the purpose of remaining in the building over a long period of time”. Standard and certification authorities have the task of achieving a high level of health and environmental protection in technical specifications for building products based on the principle...read more

Health

A liveable environment for our children

Report by Germany on Implementation of the WHO "Children´s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe" (CEHAPE)

'Every individual is entitled to an environment conducive to the highest attainable level of health and well-being'. This sentence form the Charter of the First WHO European Conference on 'Environment and Health', on the Ministers for the Environment and Health of the European States in Frankfurt/Main in 1989 is still valid when shaping policy in the field of environment-related health protection...read more

Climate | Energy

Renwable energy and the clean development mechanism

Potential, Barriers and Ways Forward

The number of countries where RET have seen significant market growth is steadily increasing. However, in most countries of the world, dissemination of new renewable energy technologies is still very limited. A range of barriers – financial, economic, institutional, political and technical – impede implementation. read more

Chemicals

Effects of Molecular Size and Lipid Solubility on Bioaccumulation Potential

Literature Study

Einfluss der Molekülgröße und der Lipidlöslichkeit auf das Biokonzentrationspotential von UmweltchemikalienDie Identifizierung persistenter, bioakkumulierender und toxischer (PBT) und sehr persistenter und hoch bioakkumulierender (vPvB) Stoffe ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil von ⁠REACH⁠. Die Datenlage für die Identifizierung dieser Eigenschaften ist für Stoffe, die in Tonnagen bis 10 t...read more

Chemicals, Health

Phtalates - Useful plasticisers with undesired properties

What are phthalates and what is their use? Phthalates are primarily used as plasticisers for soft PVC. The chemical industry in Western Europe produces around one million tons of phthalates annually. More than 90% go into the production of soft PVC. read more

Climate | Energy, Economy | Consumption, Sustainability | Strategies | International matters

Monitoring and evaluation of policy instruments to support renewable electricity in EU Member States

Final Report

Since the publication of the White Paper "Energy for the future" (EC, 1997) and the adoption of the Directive 2001/77/EC (EC, 2001) on renewable energies in the electricity sector (RES-E), the EU renewable energy sector has developed in a dynamic way. All member states have introduced policies to support the market introduction of RES-E and most of them have started to improve the corresponding ad...read more

Chemicals, Economy | Consumption

Survey of Heavy Metal Content of Batteries

- Analysis of Representative Samples of Customary Batteries and Batteries Sold in Appliances

The aim of the project „Survey of Heavy Metal Content of Batteries – Analysis of Representative Samples of Customary Batteries and Batteries Sold in Appliances – Preparation of a Sampling Plan, Purchase of Samples and Analysis (Hg, Pb, Cd)“ was to describe the situation concerning the compliance of the existing limits for heavy metal content in commercially available batteries in Germany on the ba...read more