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Guidelines for Air Emission Regulation

Foreword

In 1990 the Danish Environmental Protection Agency issued Guidelines No. 6/1990 on the limitation of air pollution from installations (published in English as Vejledning fra Miljøstyrelsen 9/1992: "Industrial Air Pollution Control Guidelines). The guidelines were based on observation of the various harmful effects of air pollution over many years as it became apparent that it was not sufficient simply to dilute substances harmful to the environment in the atmosphere.

The 1990 guidelines have subsequently been applied in the administration of the Environmental Protection Act through environment approvals and orders. The central terms are mass flow limits, emission limit values, and contribution values (C-values). Mass-flow values and emission limit values form the basis for determining whether it is necessary to clean the air emitted. Limit values for emissions stipulate maximum concentrations after purification or abatement. The C-value is a limit value for how much each installation may contribute to air pollution.

In view of the amendment to the approval scheme implementing Council Directive 96/61/EC on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (the IPPC Directive) into Danish legislation¹, the Danish EPA has found it appropriate to revise and clarify these guidelines.

The most important amendments are:

1. Limit values have been simplified so as to facilitate the processing of applications etc. For example, a number of emission limit values were listed as intervals in the previous guidelines. These intervals have now been changed to single values.
2. The definition of thinner mixes in the old guidelines led to slow processing of applications, and therefore the definition has been improved.
3. The terms in Chapter 3 (on recommended limit values) have been clarified, making the guidelines easier to use.
4. The 1990 guidelines contained an outlet-height calculation method which was applied to substances having the same effect. This method is correct when substances are emitted from the same outlet, but it is unnecessarily restrictive when emissions are from several different outlets varying in height, or at some distance from each other. Chapter 4 therefore contains a new and improved method of calculation.
5. Chapter 5, which deals with terms in the approvals and check rules, has been made more accessible and thus easier to use. There are now check rules for when and how measurements should be made.
6. Chapter 5 on terms in the approvals and check rules has been supplemented by Chapter 8 on measuring emissions from air-polluting installations, including lists of methods describing methods for sampling and analysis.
7. In order to facilitate administration, the Danish EPA has prepared Chapter 6 on energy plants, stipulating guidelines for limit values for each type of energy plant. Today, for example, there are emission limit values of NO_x for almost all types of energy plants.
8. A new section on emissions from tanks and silos has been included in Chapter 7 and a section on thermal and catalytic oxidation installations has been included in Chapter 10.
9. The Danish EPA has stipulated new recommended emission limit values for PAH substances and lower emission values for dioxins and general dust, amongst other substances.
10. Examples of terms with emission limit values, outlet heights, and inspection requirements and rules have been included in the last part of Chapter 5. The objective of including these examples is to facilitate the processing of applications, etc.
11. Examples have been included to illustrate various problems with a view to facilitating the use of the guidelines.

Please note that these guidelines do not include many C-values, and that those included are only examples. In future, C-values will be published in a separate set of guidelines on C-values from the Danish EPA. The Danish EPA expects to revise these guidelines every two or three years.

The guidelines are not binding but are intended to offer advice to the authorities on how to process cases concerning the limitation of air pollution. The authorities should always base their actions on the guidelines when placing demands on emissions of substances from an installation.

In addition to these guidelines, the following guidelines also deal with air pollution (unfortunately they are not available in English):

	guidelines on limiting odour nuisance from installations2,
	guidelines for the surface treatment of ships3,
	guidelines for the seeds and fertilisers sector4,
	guidelines for limiting pollution from combustion plants5, and
	guidelines for limiting air pollution from installations emitting welding smoke6.

All these guidelines still apply.

The odour guidelines regulate odour emissions from installations emitting mixtures of odorous substances where it is not possible to state the concentration in weight units of each substance.

The Danish EPA hopes that these guidelines will provide a clearer and more informative tool for preparing terms and reassessments of environmental approvals and for issuing orders.

These guidelines replace guidelines No. 6/1990 on limiting air pollution from installations.