An apparent oversight by the EU may make it harder to manufacture hot water tanks. Photograph: iStockEuropeans are at risk of cold showers after materials critical to hot water tanks were not included on an EU list of authorised substances, which was revised as part of the bloc’s sprawling environmental legislation. “[Hafnium] is absolutely safe to use,” said Paolo Falcioni, director-general of Applia, stressing that the element had been used for more than 100 years in enamelled hot water tanks. If hafnium or zirconium are not mixed with the enamel, he explained, the glazing “cracks and the hot water is not hot”. Italy’s Ariston, another major manufacturer of hot water tanks, raised similar concerns.
