4. A Non-Toxic Environment
The occurrence of man-made or extracted substances in the environment must not represent a threat to human health or biological diversity. Concentrations of non-naturally occurring substances will be close to zero and their impacts on human health and on ecosystems will be negligible. Concentrations of naturally occurring substances will be close to background levels.
The outcome within a generation for this environmental quality objective should include the following:
- Concentrations of naturally occurring substances in the environment will be close to background levels.
- Concentrations of non-naturally occurring substances in the environment will be close to zero and their impacts on ecosystems will be negligible.
- All fish in Swedish seas, lakes and watercourses will be fit for human consumption with respect to their content of non-naturally occurring substances.
- Overall exposure to substances of very high concern in the work environment, the external environment and the indoor environment will be close to zero, while exposure to other chemical substances will not be harmful to human health.
- Contaminated sites will have been investigated and, where necessary, remediated.
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The Environmental Objectives Council’s assessment is that the objective A Non-Toxic Environment will be very difficult or not possible to achieve by 2020, even if further action is taken. No clear trend in the state of the environment can be seen.
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The interim targets flesh out the environmental quality objectives by describing the situation in a given year.