International Regulations to Protect the Environment

Now that the United Kingdom has fully separated from its commitment to the EU’s regulatory compliance directives, Vanguard will release its EMS EU/REACH! by January, 2022, in order to serve facilities throughout the 27 member states of the European Union. Yet, we will include the UK and its compliance directives as a part of EU/REACH!. Obviously, it will be constructed similarly to its parent EMSs. But, the EMS for the EU must adhere to EU directives, as described above, plus many more. There are many laws, with tens of thousands of chemical hazards, along with various thresholds. The EU directive for the Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) requires a screening of over 106,000 chemical hazards. REACH revolves around an annual-usage threshold of one metric tonne. Ouch! That threshold is awfully low, which is all the more reason why Vanguard’s intellectual property is so direly needed through EU. If that’s not complex enough, EU’s Directive on the Classification, Labeling, and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP) requires the screening of some 146,000 substances.

European Pollutant Release Transfer Registry(EPRTR)

The European Commission has identified 91 toxic chemical candidates among 65 industrial sectors to be screened for manufacturing or importing in excess of specified release thresholds. However, through its own research, Vanguard has identified a total of 216 toxic candidates under E-PRTR, as verified by separate and unique Chemical Abstract Service Numbers (CAS #’s) for each chemical substance. Of course, chemical compounds, and the like, though reportable as directed by the EC, are not readily identifiable with CAS #’s.

The European PRTR (E-PRTR) implements a protocol, which was signed by the European Community and 23 Member States in May 2003 in Kiev and which is a Protocol to the Aarhus Convention2. The E-PRTR succeeded the European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER3) under which data was reported for the years 2004 and 2014. The E-PRTR Regulation enhances public access to environmental information through the establishment of a coherent and integrated E-PRTR, thereby finally also contributing to the prevention and reduction of toxic pollution, delivering data for policy makers and facilitating public participation in environmental decision making. The Regulation establishes an integrated pollutant release and transfer register at the European Community level in the form of a publicly accessible electronic database and lays down rules for its functioning, in order to implement the UN-ECE Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers and facilitate public participation in environmental decision making, as well as contributing to the prevention and reduction of pollution of the environment.

The E-PRTR Regulation includes specific information on releases of pollutants to air, water, land and off-site transfers of waste and of pollutants in wastewater. That data has to be reported by operators of facilities carrying out specific activities. In addition, the E-PRTR includes data on releases from diffuse sources, e.g. road traffic and domestic heating, where such data is available.

Thresholds Based on Releases to the Environment (not annual throughput of chemical usage)

In comparison to Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) in the United States, thresholds for E-PRTR Reporting are quite different. For TRI Reporting (aka Form R under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know Act), thresholds are established on the amount of any specified chemical – among 859 toxic chemical candidates – that move through a facility during the stage of “manufacturing, processing, or otherwise use.” Once this so-called annual throughput of chemical has been exceeded, as expressed in pounds, the reporter must conduct calculations on how much of that specific chemical is released to the environment.

For E-PRTR, the reporter must go directly to calculating an exceedance of the specified “release threshold” and report that release if it has exceeded the release threshold assigned from chemical to chemical by the European Commission. This makes E-PRTR reporting much more difficult than TRI Reporting and can easily exceed the 52.1 hours per chemical projected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency needed to report under TRI.

Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs)

Worldwide Compliance Through the Tracking of Toxic Chemicals and Related Pollutants Adversely Impacting the Environment

A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is a publicly accessible database or inventory of chemicals or pollutants released to air, water and soil and transferred off-site for treatment. It brings together information about which chemicals are being released, where, how much and by whom.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has played a key role in developing the concept of a PRTR and supported the development and implementation of a PRTR in 37member nations.

The OECD Recommendation of the Council on Establishing and Implementing Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) calls for member countries to establish and implement PRTRs. To support this effort, OECD develops practical tools and guidance on how to implement them.

What is a Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry (PRTR)?

A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is a publicly accessible database or inventory of chemicals or pollutants released to air, water and soil and transferred off-site for treatment. It brings together information about which chemicals are being released, where, how much and by whom.

PRTRs typically require facility owners or operators who release chemicals (e.g., in such industries as manufacturing and mining) to quantify their releases and to report them to governments on a regular basis.

Reporting can be both on emissions from fixed sources (e.g., factory smokestacks) as well as from diffuse sources (e.g., mobile sources such as automobiles, trucks, aircraft and trains).

Depending on the threshold a government sets for reporting, facilities can range from large industrial sites to small operations such as dry cleaners.

Kyiv Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers

The Kyiv Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers became international law binding its Parties on 8 October 2009. It is the only legally binding international instrument on pollutant release and transfer registers. Its objective is "to enhance public access to information through the establishment of coherent, nationwide pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs)."

PRTRs are inventories of pollution from industrial sites and other sources. Although regulating information on pollution, rather than pollution directly, the Protocol is expected to exert a significant downward pressure on levels of pollution, as no company will want to be identified as among the biggest polluters. All UN Member States can join the Protocol, including those which have not ratified the Aarhus Convention (repealed) and those which are not members of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. It is by design an 'open' global treaty.

PRTRs provide a rich source of data for multiple uses and purposes:

• Government agencies – national, state and local – can use PRTR data to measure trends in pollutant releases and waste generation, inform environmental policy decisions, evaluate environmental programmes and, when combined with health-related information, identify potential human health and environmental risks.
• The public can use PRTRs to: identify potential chemical exposures and risks posed by releases from nearby facilities; make informed decisions; and monitor the progress of facilities’ efforts to lessen their environmental impact.
• Companies can use PRTR data to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce waste and as a metric for evaluating their progress towards sustainable development.
• Other stakeholders, such as non-governmental organisations, the news media and researchers benefit from access to published PRTR information – particularly when combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS)/geographic mapping and toxicity information – to identify possible hot spots of concern or possible correlations between exposure and observed health or environmental effects.
• Financial firms also use PRTR data to support socially responsible investments, as well as identify potential liabilities of firms and impacts on real estate prices.

Here is a link to a Global Map of PRTRs, including website links for 44 nations engaging in PRTR programs.

https://prtr.unece.org/prtr-global-map

Worldwide Environmental Protection is “Planet Protection”

In addition to serving industry within the 27 Member States of the European Union above, Vanguard has set its course to develop Environmental Management Systems to serve industry within the 39 nations listed below. As previously mentioned, the regulations for each have been gathered. Vanguard’s intellectual property is equal to the task. Now, the combination to each nation’s ”compliance vault” is the only step involved. The path is clearly established. By 2030, all 39 EMSs will be fully developed and functional in order to serve industry’s compliance needs on a global basis.

ALGERIA, ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, BULGARIA, CANADA, CHINA, CZECH REPUBLIC, DENMARK, EGYPT, ESTONIA, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, HUNGARY, INDIA, IRELAND, ISRAEL, ITALY, JAPAN, LUXEMBOURG, MEXICO, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NIGERIA, NORWAY, PERU, PORTUGAL, ROMANIA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTH KOREA, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (UK), VENEZUELA

Ode (Owed) to the United Nations Environment Programme

In the year 2032, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will measure humanity’s progress toward environmental stewardship over the first three decades of the 21st Century. There is no action more noble than ensuring future generation breathe clean air, drink fresh water and eat nutritious foods. Collectively, we have a moral imperative to send a pristine environment to the grandchildren of our grandchildren. In a civilized society, Industry’s choices are few…comply with regulatory compliance laws or face unappealing consequences. Penalties tend to come in two categories: 1. Enforcement penalties and litigation that come with non-compliance; 2. Economic Prohibitions, perhaps, even stronger influences requiring that products conform and comply with environmental regulations, which, if ignored, prohibit business from being conducted altogether. Companies and organizations, worldwide must develop a right-thing-to-do mentality for the good of mankind and our planet’s environment, and not due to a desire to avoid non-compliance penalties and lawsuits. Vanguard stands at the forefront of UNEP’s mission, to carry a global torch for Industry through environmental management systems designed for each nation or group of nations, thus to satisfy an entity’s regulatory compliance on a turnkey basis in the form of chemical reporting and management, air permitting and emissions tracking, water resources protection / permitting, and most importantly, training workforces on excellence in environmental, health and safety practices.

An Extremely Valuable Link. Click Here:

United Nations Environment Programme