Environmental Technology Best Practice

The author is grateful for the support of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions who jointly fund the Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme. The support of many other Programme team members and the companies who have participated in the Programme is also acknowledged. 

These free booklets are produced as part of the UK Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme. They cover a range of industrial problems and are suitable for use by chemical engineers and chemists. They are essentially aimed at practical issues rather than workers in industry. 

Kiely (1996) gives a comprehensive summary of EU and US environmental legislation. All the legislation embodies the concept of Best Practicable Means (BPM). This requires the designer to use the most appropriate treatment to comply with the regulation, whilst taking into account local conditions, current technology and cost. The concept of BPM also applies to the installation, maintenance and operation of the plant. 

BPT = Best Practicable (Control) Technology EPA - Environmental Protection Agency FDA = Food and Drug Administration FSIS = Food Safety Inspection Service IARC = International Agency for Research on Cancer NSPS = New Source Performance Standards OWRS = Office of Water Regulations and Standards PSES = Pretreatment Standards for Existing Sources PSNS = Pretreatment Standards for New Sources RfD Dose u.f. = Uncertainty Factor... 

Success in Solving Environmental Protection Problems. The EPA reported that 1303 chemical plants out of 1371 were in compliance with the 1970 Clean Air Act. This represents a 95 per cent compliance rate. Also, 89 per cent of the chemical plants were in compliance with the 1977 deadline of "best practicable control" specified in the 1972 Federal Water Quality Act Amendments. (4) Hence, the chemical industry has been somewhat successful in utilizing its technology to meet environmental protection standards. Officers from twelve of the fifteen responding firms indicated that R D effort to meet these deadlines represented efficient and effective solutions to pollution control problems. 

Accelerated Reduction and Elimination of Toxics best available technology best available techniques Business in the Community Business in the Environment best practicable environmental option Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method... 

All of these laws are technology based except the Safe Drinking Water Act, which is health based. The technology-based environmental laws set the limits for pollutant discharges on the basis of the best practicable control technology available at the time of enactment of the law. The health-based law sets limit on the concentration of specific chemicals in the water on the potential health hazard for which the water is used. 

For all future activities, and in order to achieve sustainable management of water resources, including related soil and sediment compartments, the strategy to be followed should involve (i) the precautionary principle, (ii) polluter pays principle and (iii) application of the best available techniques (BATs) and best environmental practices, including where appropriate, clean technologies. 

The Substitution Principle is closely tied to the general goal of elimination, which is manifested in Article 5. A direct consequence of the employment of the Substitution Principle is the application of best Available Technologies (BAT) and Best Environmental Practice (BEP) when dealing with unintentional sources as classified in Annex C. BAT as such also requires the use of less hazardous substances. (Annex C, part V, (A (b)) again refers to the Substitution Principle demanding in para (d) the replacement of feed materials which are POPs or where there is a direct link between the materials and releases of POPs from the source and consequently health effects and harm for humans and the environment. 

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