Fire, environmental impact Regulations 1999

The environmental impact of waste disposal and of chemical use in Europe has led to three legislative actions that, in today s global economy, greatly affect flame-retardant use and research. These actions go by the acronyms of RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances), WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemical substances). These actions are discussed in detail in Chapter 22, but need to be mentioned here as they are clear examples of how changing regulations affect flame-retardant use, selection, and new fire-safety developments. The first one, RoHS, refers to how new items are manufactured, and specifically bans chemicals and elements of environmental and toxicological concern in Europe. One fall-out item of RoHS is the move from a lead-based solder on circuit... 

Besides the actions taken by the EU regulating bodies, an independent industrially supported thorough risk assessment has been planned and is still under execution on commercial halogenated fire retardants to assess their toxicity and environmental impact. 

The environmental impact of nitrogen oxides has focused attention on emissions regulations in many countries in recent years. The NOx emission limits imposed by German law cannot be achieved by simply applying primary measures such as staged combustion, over-fire air, etc. this makes it necessary to apply secondary measures. Up to now, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) has dominated over other combustion control technologies. 

Check for regulations or permitting requirements concerning emissions and waste disposal. An environmental impact study/plan is normally required, and is hkely to include some recommendations which will affect the design. Do not omit to contact and ascertain the requirements of the local fire office. Check also whether there are, or are likely to be, any design requirements from the owner s fire and other hazard insurers, in case the owner has omitted to mention them. 

The flame retardant chemicals industry has historically been driven by regulations and standards. The normal fire-, smoke-, and toxicity-related standards have been joined by environmental standards provoked by the alleged environmental impact of halogens and the alleged toxicity of antimony. Although suitable replacements have not been found for these materials in all cases, the environmental concern has served to depress their growth levels from what it would otherwise have been and/or channel the growth into alternative chemical products. 

The constructor will be required to provide a site safety manual which will address, for example, fire protection, accident reporting and analysis, work planning and training of construction personnel. The manual will also include what constitutes an environmental impact statement for the plant construction. Safety audits and inspections will be undertaken during construction. The emphasis will be on a leading indicator approach to the management of safety. The selected constmctor will comply with the CDM regulations (Reference 9.9). 

In addition, restrictions on industrial air emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA) as amended in 1977, the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990, and other state and local statutes and regulations have universal impact on the storage of toxic materials, with direct and significant effects on the design and operation of toxic material storage facilities. Whereas the primary factors which once determined how air emissions from storage tanks were handled were fire protection and loss prevention, in recent years environmental protection concerns nearly always determine the extent and nature of the air emission controls required to be installed. 

State and local codes including locally adopted building and fire codes are NOT addressed in this document. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations are NOT addressed since the impact from these is considered to be negligible at DOE facilities. Similarly, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pesticide regulations are NOT addressed in this document. 

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