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The EU has proposed to tighten the standards on water pollutants by updating the list of priority pollutants and environmental quality standards (EQS) in surface water and groundwater. Last week, the European council agreed its negotiating mandate on the directive, which allows the presidency to start talks with the European Parliament on the final text.

On Tuesday, a group of urban nature lovers delved into the layers of environmental pollution with the team from the Ecotox Centre in Lausanne.

The Ecotox Centre has detected residues of sunscreen products in a popular bathing lake in Valais. The concentrations increased during bathing and were in the same order of magnitude as the provisional quality criteria for some substances. An in-depth investigation of the situation in Switzerland is planned.