New industrial dust limits discussed

Parties to the 1999 pan-European Gothenburg protocol on air pollution discussed stricter limits for dust emissions at a meeting of the UN’s Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)in early September. The new limits would be included in an annex of a revised version of the Gothenburg protocol and would affect dust emissions from refineries, combustion plants and other major industrial installations in sectors such as cement, and steel and waste incineration.

The Gothenburg protocol sets limits for specific emission sources and national emission ceilings for four major pollutants in more than 30 European countries (SO2, NOxⁱ, VOCsⁱ and ammonia). In the EU, the Gothenburg protocol has been implemented through the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive.

The EU is seeking to include more stringent national emissions ceilings for 2020 and aspirational emission reduction targets for 2050. It is also planning the first ever caps on PM2.5 emissions, however this may be technically difficult to achieve. A final version of the revised treaty is expected in December 2010.