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Local Authorities and the Environment Agency regulate industrial processes to ensure the reduction and prevention of emissions to air, water and land.
Pollution from industrial processes has been regulated for over 100 years. The legislation controlling these emissions has changed recently.
Previously, many smaller industrial processes (for example petrol filling stations) were regulated by the Local Authority through the Environmental Protection Act 1990, in a scheme known as Local Air Pollution Control (LAPC). This controlled releases to air only.
Other larger processes were regulated by the Environment Agency, through a scheme called Integrated Pollution Control (IPC), which controlled releases to air, water and land.
New legislation has now been introduced following the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (96/61/EC). This is being implemented by the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) Regulations, which are slowly replacing the previous schemes mentioned above.
Further details on how local authorities regulate pollution control is given on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defra) website.
This legislation means that a larger number of industrial processes will require prior approval of measures that they have taken, or plan to, to overcome their actual or potential atmospheric emissions. The PPC Regulations introduce three separate, but linked, systems of pollution control;
Under the LAPPC and LA-IPPC, the Council is responsible for the permitting and inspecting all Part A(2) and Part B installations.
Currently, there are no Part A(2) installations within the Borough. Part B installations are those that have the potential to cause air pollution only and include activities such vehicle re-finishing and unloading of petrol. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is almost entirely residential in character therefore there are very few industrial processes.
Map showing Part B Processes in the Royal Borough [PDF file] (File size 41Kb)
There are ten Part B installations currently operating that hold a LAPC authorisation or LAPPC permit. These are outlined in the table below:
| Company | Address | Authorisation Date | Activity | Emissions to air |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J S Sainsbury | 2 Canal Way, Ladbroke Grove, London, W10 5AA | June 2003 | Filling Station - Vapour recovery | Volatile organic compounds |
| Shell | 106 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London, W14 3RA | January 2004 | Filling Station - Vapour recovery | Volatile organic compounds |
| Shell | 49 Tadema Road, Chelsea, SW10 0FY | March 2004 | Filling Station - Vapour recovery | Volatile organic compounds |
| Tesco | 249 Fulham Road, CHelsea, SW10 9UZ | May 2003 | Filling Station - Vapour recovery | Volatile organic compounds |
| Total | Andrew's Garage, 22 St. Marks Road, W11 1RB | June 2003 | Filling Station - Vapour recovery | Volatile organic compounds |
| Total | Hockmead Ltd., Chelsea Cloisters, Sloane Square Avenue, SW3 3EL | June 2003 | Filling Station - Vapour recovery | Volatile organic compounds |
| Joseph Cowlin and Company Ltd | 146-152 Freston Road, North Kensington, W10 6TR | July 2005 | Respraying of road vehicles | Volatile organic compounds |
| Kensington Dry Cleaners | 1 Russell Road, Kensington, W14 8EZ | July 2005 | Dry Cleaning Installation | Volatile Organic Compounds |
| Ken’s Dry Cleaners | 193 Portobello Road , W11 2ED | July 2005 | Dry Cleaning Installation | Volatile Organic Compounds |
| Johnson Cleaners | 406-408 Kings Road, London, SW10 0LJ | November 2005 | Dry Cleaning Installation | Volatile Organic Compounds |
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): They are a large group of predominantly gaseous compounds produced through the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels and include, for example Benzene and 1,3–butadiene.
VOCs may alter into substances that are able to damage the genetic material in cells and initiate the development of cancer, although the capacity to damage cells in this way depends upon the individual VOC.
The filling stations have all been authorised for operating a vapour recovery system. When a vehicle delivers petrol to a storage installation at a filling station there is a risk of vapour escaping.
Pollutants of concern include VOCs for example, benzene. The vapour recovery process works by returning vapours displaced by the delivery of petrol into storage installations through a vapour tight connection line to the tanker delivering the petrol.
The system currently applies to the unloading of petrol from a delivery vehicle into the storage tanks of filling stations. Soon vapour recovery systems will also be introduced for the filling of customer's tanks.
Recently new legislation, the Solvent Emissions Regulations 2004 (SED Regs), has been introduced to limit further emissions of VOCs through the use of organic solvents. This gives effects to European Directive 1999/13/EC, which is commonly referred to as the Solvent Emissions Directive.
All new dry cleaning installations using organic solvents (in particular perchloroethylene (PER), hydrocarbon solvent (HSC) and siloxane) must have a permit before operations commence. However, if a business opened before 1st April 2001 it must have completed an application form by the 31st October 2006, to ensure compliance with the requirements of the SED Regulations/PPC Regulations by 31 October 2007.
If the dry cleaner uses any of the solvents listed in the regulations throughout any of the process (from the receipt if the raw materials, the cleaning process and dispatch of finished products) then it must not release into the environment any more than 20 grams of solvent per kilogram (2 percent) of the clean and dried product.
The Council is required to check compliance with this directive requirement by reviewing the annual return submitted by the operator. This records details of the loads that are dry cleaned, including the weight of loads prior to cleaning, it also contains a record all of the services that may be provided by the operator, including water proofing and spot cleaning solutions.
All installations and processes are inspected on a regular basis, by both the regulating body and the operator to ensure compliance with their permit or authorisation. The frequency of the inspections is dependant on the results of a risk assessment process.
The risk assessment process has been devised by Defra and is undertaken annually. The risk assessment comprises an environmental impact appraisal and an operator performance appraisal.
The Council must be informed of any planned change to the process that may have an impact on the environment. The operator must notify the Council in writing at least 14 days prior to making the change. This must contain a full description of the proposed change and its likely consequences. The Council may alter the permit conditions that have been set as a result of the changes that are to be made.
The fees and charges associated with local authority environmental regulation are set annually by Defra. There are fees to apply for a permit and also annual subsidence fees. The fees and charges for 2006 to 2007 can be seen on the Defra website.
The Council maintains a register of all authorised processes in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This register can be viewed Monday to Friday during normal office hours at:
Council Offices
37 Pembroke Road
London, W8 6PW
Telephone 020 7341 5760
There is no charge for accessing the public register. Any photocopying of information will incur an administration charge.
In addition to Part B processes, there are also Part A processes. These are large industrial processes and are regulated by the Environment Agency.
Until September 2002 we had one Part A process in the Royal Borough - the Lots Road Generating Station. This has now ceased to operate.
Further information can either be viewed in the Councils Part A register held in the Environmental Health department or by contacting the Environment Agency.
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