Brussels, 27/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - The EU's internet-based public register of industrial emissions to air and water, the European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER), and which can be consulted on the internet, was updated on 23 November from some 12,000 industrial installations across Europe. These figures - for 2004 - can now be compared with those for 2001 for a number of pollutants, installations, industrial activities or Member States, at least for the “EU15”. The comparison reveals a substantial increase in the total quantity of polluting emissions. In a press release the Commission explained that it will carry out a thorough analysis of the data to see if new or modified emissions policy measures are needed. The data for 2004 for the first time covers installations in the ten new Member States.
EPER is a register of the emissions produced by large and medium-sized industrial facilities. The data that has just been added is for all 25 EU Member States. Until now the register included only the 2001 data for the 15 Member States before the 2004 enlargement of the EU (EU-15), except for Norway and Hungary which reported data voluntarily. The new input of information for 2004 makes it possible to compare data for the EU-15 countries which provided data for these two years. Comparisons show that total emissions were generally higher in 2004 than in 2001. The Commission explains that “this may be because the 2004 data is more complete and includes more facilities”. The Commission illustrates that, “a better basis for comparison is to look at specific facilities for both years” and deplored the fact that examples of emission increases include greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, which rose by 9.0 and 8.5 %, respectively. Emissions of air pollutants such as hydrogen cyanide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons rose by 79% and 53% respectively. Water pollutants such as cyanides, phenols and mercury increased by 69%, 35%, and 52%. Again, “such large increases” may be real but could, the Commission explained, “also be the result of more complete reporting in 2004”.
There were, however, improvements in discharges of pollutants to water, notably decreases in organic pollutants (-11%), phosphorus (-16%) and nitrogen (-14%), possibly because an increasing number of waste water treatment plants are being fitted with more efficient equipment. Reductions in air pollutants such as sulphur oxides (-11%) are the results of on-going efforts to switch fuels and to cut down the sulphur content of waste gases. For 58 water and air pollutants the most polluting facilities have been identified: 43 are in the 15 old Member States and 15 in the ten new Member States. The main sectors of activity of these top polluters are the production and processing of metals (21), chemicals (13), energy (9), waste management (6), food processing (4), pulp and paper (2).
A report reviewing the emissions register will be published in the spring of 2007. Following this review EPER will be replaced by the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (European PRTR). The PRTR's first edition is expected to be published in the autumn of 2009. This register will be more comprehensive than EPER since it will cover more than 91 substances emitted from industrial installations in 65 different sectors of activity, and from other sources such as road traffic, domestic heating and agriculture. It will also include transfers of waste and waste water from industrial facilities to other locations. EPER website http://www.eper.ec.europa.eu/ . (ol)