Pollutant release and transfer register
A Pollutant Emission Register ( Pollutant Release and Transfer Register - PRTR ) is a national or international database, the data on releases (emissions) of (harmful ) substances contains. As a rule, recognized in pollutant emission register substances from industrial operating facilities ( point sources ) are released. It is also possible emissions from diffuse sources ( eg transport or agricultural activities ) are taken into account.
The data may include:
- The release quantities (emissions) in the air
- The emissions on the earth's surface
- The initiation amounts to water and / or
- The entry into the ground
- Amounts of waste.
Pollutant Emission Register can be part of an environmental information system, or published there.
History
While at first the data were also collected in some registers on a voluntary basis or employed by the authorities themselves, there are now under an international agreement defined requirements in terms of
- The substances to be reported (eg, in excess of the substance-specific threshold )
- Of the companies that have to report ( for example, depending on the type and / or size of the company )
- And the reporting frequency (usually annually).
The companies affected by the reporting requirement to the competent authorities within their country at specified intervals using a reporting form for each recognized in the corresponding national register substances that may differ from country to country, their emission and possibly waste quantities. In compliance with the company's interests, these data should be public, for example via the Internet, will be made available.
There are now many countries Pollutant Emission Register, some of which were established long before the conclusion of international agreements.
International agreements
The structure of pollutant emission registers is a requirement from Chapter 19, adopted in June 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro Agenda 21 Agenda 21 emphasizes the later in the Aarhus Convention of 1998 enshrined right of public to access information on the release and use of hazardous substances. The aim of the Pollutant Emission Register is to capture the main issues and to work through the publication of a reduction of the emitted quantities (public pressure ) and to be able to better control ( by state bodies ).
The European Pollutant Emission Register ( EPER)
The Commission of the European Communities decided on 17 July 2000 by Decision 2000/479/EC the implementation of a European pollutant emission register ( EPER). Following that determination Member States of the Commission shall report every three years on the emissions in another Directive ( 96/61/EC ) defined company. In this case, the report must contain particular information concerning the to air and water emissions of all pollutants for which in Annex A1 of Decision 2000/479/EC specified thresholds have been exceeded. In Appendix A1 50 substances are detected, which are divided into 5 groups:
Since 2004, the interested citizen via the Internet insight into the annual emissions to air and water from large industrial plants, factory farming and landfills in his country or in Europe get (consisting of the 15 EU Member States plus Norway and Hungary):
EPER will be replaced from 2007 by a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E -PRTR or EPRTR ). The relevant regulation (EC ) No 166/2006 of 18 January 2006 was released on February 4, 2006 in the Official Journal of the European Union. The E- PRTR will also include data on emissions into the soil and on waste generation in addition to the emissions into the air and into the water.
The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E -PRTR )
On 21 May 2003 the European Community signed the UN - ECE Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer of pollutants ( PRTR Protocol ) in Kiev within the framework of the fifth Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe " signed. It is the first multilateral agreement on Pollutant Release and Transfer of pollutants, which is legally binding and goes beyond the borders of the EU. His goal is to establish a uniform and accessible to the public national register for recording the release and transfer of pollutants in each Member State. By signing the Protocol by the EU itself, this also committed to building a PRTR, namely the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, E- PRTR. This gets its data from the national PRTR of the Member States. Regulation ( EC) 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 on the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer of pollutants and amending Directive 91/689/EEC and Directive 96/61/EC Council ( (PDF - file; 151 kB), published on February 4, 2006 ) is the basis for the establishment of a PRTR accessible in the form of a public electronic database at EU level dar.
The E -PRTR will replace the previously existing EPER from 2007. Compared to EPER, the E-PRTR information on more pollutants, more activities includes (industrial areas ), for releases to land, releases from diffuse sources and for the shipment of waste outside of a production site.
The German Federal Cabinet decided on 26 July 2006 with the PRTR Implementation Act and the PRTR law ratifying a regulatory package for the introduction of a pollutant register according to the PRTR Protocol ( Pollutant Release and Transfers tab).
Criticism of pollutant emission registers
In addition to the national individual selection of assets in the individual pollutant emission registers substances and substance groups (Note: the E -PRTR Regulation requires the European member states the minimum amount of substances / substance groups before ), in particular, the different thresholds ( see Table 3) subject to the criticism of pollutant emission registers. Situated in an operation, the released amount of a substance below the specified threshold, the operation this amount need not be reported. In other words, the information disclosed in a Pollutant Emission Register release amounts frequently do not correspond to the actual total quantities released, but are generally lower.