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Best Available Techniques (BAT)

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• At INC 2 the EU submitted proposals concerning the application of BAT to combustion and manufacturing processes from which mercury is emitted into the air

• BAT concept has been used for many years within international legal instruments concerning environment, e.g. Stockholm Convention, UNECE CLRTAP

• This presentation aims to further explain the concept of BAT as we see it useful for the negotiations

Background

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• Paper UNEP (DTIE)/Hg/INC.3/3 – Part B 2. (b) proposed definition of BAT:

BAT = the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and the methods for their operation that indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing in principle the basis for release limitations designed to eliminate, and where that is not practicable generally to reduce, emissions and releases of mercury and their impact on the environment as a whole

Concept and definition of BAT

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most effective in achieving a high general

level of protection of

the environment as a whole

BEST

developed on a scale that

allows implementation in a relevant industrial sector under economically and

technically viable conditions, taking into

consideration costs and benefits, whether or not the

techniques are used or produced inside the territory

of the Party in question, provided that they are

reasonably accessible to the operator of the facility

the technology used and the

way the installation is

designed, built, maintained,

operated and decommissioned

AVAILABLE(in respect of a given Party

and a given facility within that Party)

TECHNIQUES

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• identification of the environmental issues• examination of the techniques most relevant to address

this key issue• identification of the best environmental performance

levels (achieved at full scale operational installations)• examination of the conditions under which these

performance levels were achieved– costs, cross-media effects, main driving forces involved in the

implementation of these techniques, …

• selection of BAT (using pre-defined criteria)

Key stages in determining BAT through exchange/assessment of information

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• BAT analysis will provide– list of techniques that can be applied (alone or

in combination) for certain processes– environmental performance levels that can be

achieved when applying the techniques

• Those performance levels can serve as emission benchmarks that may be used for defining environmental objectives

BAT and benchmarks

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• BAT needs to be recorded, e.g. in guidelines • BAT should not be seen as prescribing particular

technique(s) as other techniques may be applied that offer equivalent / better environmental performance

• BAT can be defined for new and existing installations separately – it allows to take into account particular applicability constraints for existing installations

• BAT is a dynamic concept – what is BAT now may be different from BAT in the years to come

• Concept also applicable for other provisions than atmospheric emissions

Applying the outcome

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• UNEP Process Optimisation Guide• BAT guidance for UNECE Heavy Metals

Protocol • EU BAT reference documents

– large combustion plants, cement, non-ferrous metals, waste incineration, iron/steel sector, …

Reference information that could serve development of BAT guidelines

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Thank you

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Additional slide

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Criteria for determining BAT• the use of low-waste technology• the use of less hazardous substances• the furthering of recovery and recycling of substances generated and used in the

process and of waste, where appropriate• comparable processes, facilities or methods of operation which have been tried with

success on an industrial scale• technological advances and changes in scientific knowledge and understanding• the nature, effects and volume of the emissions concerned• the commissioning dates for new or existing installations• the length of time needed to introduce the technique• the consumption and nature of raw materials (including water) used in the process

and energy efficiency• the need to prevent or reduce to a minimum the overall impact of the emissions on

the environment and the risks to it• the need to prevent accidents and to minimise the consequences for the environment• information published by public international organisations