EU back-room deal could leave contaminated soil at hospitals, schools

Schools, playgrounds, hospitals and other public sites with contaminated soil could remain polluted as the result of a back-room deal between Germany, France and the UK on European legislation covering soil degradation and clean-ups.

Two years ago, the European Commission proposed a directive that would see member states obliged to identify and clean sites polluted by industry. The bill was also to require the designation of farm land at risk of different forms of degradation such as er...