02/25/2000 10:12:11
EU Names Head of Cyanide Spill Task Force

Brussels (dpa) - The European Union's executive Commission Friday named senior official Tom Garvey to chair a newly-set up task force to study damage caused by the recent poisoning of eastern European rivers.

European Union Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said Garvey, a deputy director general in the commission's environment department, would work with the Hungarian and Romanian authorities, United Nations' experts and WWF, the international environment group. 

The task force's priority goal will be to assess the damage caused by the cyanide spill, find ways of alleviating the impact of the poisoning and take action to prevent further accidents.

The body will also identify other ecological hotspots in the Danube river basin, the Commissioner said.  Garvey told a news conference he intended to come up with an analysis based on ``good science.''

``It is essential that those who live in the region have an opportunity to be heard,'' he added.

The task force's secretariat will operate from the offices of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube which is based in Vienna.

dpa si eg

AP-NY-02-25-00 1011EST