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Environmental Monitoring and Control
Investigation of complaints
Service of Abatement Notices as necessary
Undertaking of noise level surveys
Routine sampling of potable waters
Routine sampling of coastal waters
Routine sampling of swimming pools
Sampling of filtration samples
Liaising with other authorities on oil pollution
Supervision of oil pipeline testing
Routine sampling of air for sulphur dioxide and suspended particulates
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Routine sampling is carried out of potable water, coastal waters, swimming pools and air
for various pollutants and contaminants. The quality of our bathing waters is carefully monitored and
analysed from April to October as specified in EC directives and our Public Health (Quality of Bathing Waters)
Rules. Samples are taken from Eastern Beach, Catalan Bay, Sandy Bay, Little Bay, Camp Bay and Western Beach.
The results for the Gibraltar beaches are published at the European Commission website together
with all other European beaches:
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Bathing Water Quality in Gibraltar
Potable Water Quality in Gibraltar
Public swimming pools are checked
regularly to ensure the water quality is safe for bathing bacterialogically and
chemically. Private swimming pools are sampled on request and advice given on
methods of disinfection and water quality maintenance.
The Agency runs two air monitoring
stations on behalf of the Government. One is located in Rosia Road by the
Gibraltar Electricity Authority Offices and the other in the Bleak House car
park. There is automatic monitoring of Sulphur Dioxide, Oxides of Nitrogen,
Carbon Monoxide, Benzene and Ozone. There is also non-automatic monitoring of
PM10, PM2.5 Lead, Cadmium, Nickel, Arsenic and Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Up to
date automatic monitoring results can be seen on-line
at www.gibraltarairquality.gi as well
as collected data from the non-automatic monitoring.
With over three hundred ships a day passing through the Straits of Gibraltar and the busy activities in the Bay we
are under the constant threat of pollution as a result of an oil spill. The Agency plays a central role together with
the Fire and Port Departments in co-ordinating and executing the oil spill response plan for dealing with such
incidents.
Another often overlooked pollutant but one which is all around us is noise which has its own particular effects on
our environment and health. Noise pollution is on the increase due to our lifestyle of powerful cars, motorcycles,
aircraft, hi-fi systems, air conditioning units etc. Noise levels surveys are carried out, usually as a result of a
complaint to the Agency, and an Abatement Notice may be served if the nuisance is deemed to exist. This may require
the person or premises causing the excessive noise to either stop producing the noise or carry out sound insulation
or other works to reduce the noise transmitted.
INTERGRATED POLLUTION PREVENTION & CONTROL
IPPC is a regulatory system that employs an integrated approach to control the environmental
impacts of certain industrial activities. It applies to industry sectors for energy, metals, minerals, chemicals,
waste management and a group of other activities such as textile treatment and food production.
It involves determining the appropriate controls for industry to protect the environment through
a permitting process. To gain a permit, Operators will have to show that they have systematically developed
proposals to apply the "Best Available Techniques" (BAT) and meet certain other requirements, taking account of
relevant local factors. The essence of BAT is that the selection of techniques to protect the environment should
achieve an appropriate balance between realising environmental benefits and costs incurred by Operators.
The Agency intends to implement IPPC to:
Protect the environment as a whole;
Promote the use of "clean technology" to minimise waste at source;
Encourage innovation, by leaving significant responsibility for developing satisfactory solutions to environmental issues with industrial Operators.
Once a permit has been issued, other parts of IPPC come into play. These include compliance monitoring, periodic permit reviews, variations of permit conditions and transfers of permits between Operators. IPPC also requires the restoration of sites when the permitted activities cease to operate.
IPPC operates under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 2001. This Act implements the EC Directive 96/61 on IPPC.
Solvent Emission
Certain industrial activities that use solvents are regulated by the Solvent Emissions Act 2001. This Act transposed the provisions of Council Directive 1999/13/EC on the limitation of the emissions of volatile organic compounds due to the use of organic solvents in certain activities and installation.
Organic solvents are used in many industrial processes and owing to their volatility, some of these solvents are released to the atmosphere. Once released, they undergo a series of complex reactions resulting in the formation of ground-level ozone, an air pollutant. Vulnerable people such as the elderly and those with chronic disease are particularly sensitive to the effects of air pollution. Ozone can also damage crops and vegetation. A number of other solvents, such as carcinogens and mutagens are also harmful to human health.
The Act limits the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the use of organic solvents, and is intended to reduce air pollution and protect human health. The Directive also has the intended purpose to require safer substitutes for solvents known to be carcinogens, mutagens, etc.
The following table shows typical activities that fall within the scope of the Directive:
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Coating use |
Printing and adhesive use |
Other |
| Vehicle refinishing, coil coating, wood coating, leather coating, coating of winding wire, vehicle coating, other coating. |
Heat set printing, publication gravure printing, other printing, wood/plastic lamination, adhesive coating. |
Surface cleaning, dry cleaning, wood impregnation, coating manufacture, rubber conversion, vegetable oil extraction, pharmaceutical manufacture. |
For listed activities to fall within the requirements of the Act they must have a solvent consumption greater than the specific threshold for that listed activity. These activities operators must meet the common conditions set out in the Act and in Article 5 of the Directive and one of the following three options:
- Emission limit values in waste gases and the fugitive emission values; or
- The total emission limit; or
- The requirements of the reduction scheme.
The first option imposes concentration limits on releases and sets fugitive emission values as a percentage of solvent input into the process. The second option imposes a limit related to production, for example 25g of VOCs can be released per pair of footwear manufactured. The third option allows the operator to use an alternative reduction scheme, provided it achieves the same reduction in releases that would have been achieved if the emission limit values had been imposed.
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