formaldehyde emissions regulations / permits, EU laws

Die Anfrage war erfolgreich.

Mikolaj Skrzypiec

To: The Environment Department, EU Commission

Dear Sir / Madamme,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

- environmenatal protection regulations - formaldehyde emissions
- legal limits of formaldehyde in the air
- any regulations guarding / preventing formaldehyde industrial emission into the air / water

I am not interested in formaldehyde levels indoors (ie.homes), I would like to know what are the standard regulations in terms of industrial emissions (organized/not organized). What are the available permits in the EU countries, what is the legislation ? Is it unified ? Can companies legally release formaldehyde into the air or/and water? Are there any regulations in this respect?

Many thanks for your help in this matter,

Yours faithfully,

Mikolaj Skrzypiec

Mikolaj Skrzypiec

To: The Environment Department, EU Commission

Dear Sir / Madamme,

I would like to remind you of my previous query of the 20th of March, regarding environmental protection regulations for formaldehyde (CH20).

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

- environmenatal protection regulations - formaldehyde emissions
- legal limits of formaldehyde in the air
- any regulations guarding / preventing formaldehyde industrial emission into the air / water

I am not interested in formaldehyde levels indoors (ie.homes), I would like to know what are the standard regulations in terms of industrial emissions (organized/not organized). What are the available permits in the EU countries, what is the legislation ? Is it unified ? Can companies legally release formaldehyde into the air or/and water? Are there any regulations in this respect?

Many thanks for your help in this matter,

Yours faithfully,

Mikolaj Skrzypiec

Generaldirektion Umwelt

Your request for access to documents has been registered (ref. Gestdem 2012/1942). This message is an acknowledgement of receipt.
In accordance with Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, you will receive a reply within 15 working days (08/05/2012).

Yours faithfully,

ENV ACCESS DOCUMENTS team

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Generaldirektion Umwelt

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Skrzypiec,

In terms of industrial emissions, the following directives are relevant:

1. Directive 1999/13/EC on the limitation of emissions of volatile organic
compounds due to the use of organic solvents in certain activities and
installations aims at preventing or reducing the direct and indirect
effects of emissions of volatile organic compounds into the environment,
mainly into air, and the potential risks to human health. The activities
covered by the Directive are listed in Annex I - some of them, e.g. the
cleaning activities can be the source of formaldehyde emissions. Annex IIA
lists the applicable thresholds and emission control measures.

[1]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...

2. Directive 2008/1/EC on integrated pollution prevention and control
(IPPC), requires industrial plants falling into its scope (listed in Annex
I) to obtain a permit containing emission limit values of all relevant
polluting substances.

[2]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...

It is the judgment of the competent national authorities issuing the
permit to fix the emission limit value for formaldehyde emissions. The
emission limit values shall be based on the best available techniques,
which are described in the Best Available Technique Reference Documents.
For formaldehyde emissions, the following two documents cointain
information:

[3]http://eippcb.jrc.es/reference/BREF/lvo_...

[4]http://eippcb.jrc.es/reference/BREF/lvic...

As regards formaldehyde in the ambient air, Directive 2008/50/EC provides
that each Member State has to ensure that at least one sampling point is
installed and operated in its territory to supply data on concentrations
of the ozone precursor substances listed in Annex X. Each Member State
shall choose the number and siting of the stations at which ozone
precursor substances are to be measured, taking into account the
objectives and methods laid down in Annex X. Annex X includes Formaldehyde
on the list of volatile organic compounds recommended for measurement.

[5]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...

Directive 96/82/EC on the control of major-accident hazards involving
dangerous substances
([6]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...)
classifies Formaldehyde(concentration above or equal to 90 %) as a named
substance with thresholds of 5 (lower-tier requirements) and 50 (upper
tier requirements) tonnes applying. This means that establishments where
these substances are present above these thresholds have to comply with
the provisions of Directive 96/82/EC.

Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 concerning the establishment of a European
Pollutant Release and Transfer Register and amending Council Directives
91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC
([7]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...)
deals with reporting on emissions, but formaldehyde is not specifically
covered.

As regards waste legislation, if an item is considered as waste and
contains/emits formaldehyde, it will have to follow EU requirements for
management and shipments of waste, see
[8]http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/in.... EU waste legislation
does not specifically address waste containing formaldehyde.

Best regards,

 

Béatrice Zaremba

Béatrice Zaremba
 
European Commission
DG Environment
Unit Industrial emissions, air quality and noise

BU-9 05/69

B-1160 Auderghem/Belgium
+32 2 296 35 74
[9][email address].europa

 

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