Which regulations govern atmospheric emissions from solvent-based products?
The purpose of EC Directive 1999/13 on the limitation of emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) resulting from the use of organic solvents in any industry or processing plant is to enforce a reduction of VOC emissions through: – the installation of purification systems – the substitution of solvent-based products with products with minimal environmental impact. All the member-states of the European Union are required to conform to the directive by adopting national measures for its transposition. By 31st October 2007, all existing processing plants will have to conform to the provisions of the directive, which cover, in the first instance, all those companies which produce more than 15,000kg of solvent per year (or 68kg per day). Companies producing lower amounts of solvent will be required to continue to respect the limits set by the local or regional councils through Health & Safety regulations. It is expected that these limits will be revised once the transposition of the di
