Ross Wright, Author at The Compliance People

The date for the first report publication has changed to the 1st December 2024 rather than 1^st October 2024.

Removes the Invasive Alien Species (IAS) of European Union concern from the scope of Sections 14 and 14ZA of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This brings all offences relating to species of European Union concern into one place under The Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019.

Schedule 9A is amended to ensure that species control agreements can be used for all species of European Union concern, including widely-spread invasive species.

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Amends: European Communities (Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail) Regulations 2010

These Regulations update two definitions to ensure the 2010 Regulations function correctly. The word directive is updated to include reference to Directive (EU) 2018/1846 on the inland transport of dangerous goods to take into account scientific and technical progress. RID is also updated to mean the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail. A reference to Directive (EU) 2018/1846 is made stating that it will be effective from 1^st January 2019.

In order for the 2010 Regulations to function correctly and ensure they are in line with the latest European Union (EU) Directive, the following definitions are updated:

Amends: Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products as amended

These Decisions approve the biocidal product* Bird Free, a gel based bird repellent containing peppermint oil and citronellal, as eligible for the simplified authorisation procedure due to its effectiveness, allowing it to be made available on the market without the need for mutual recognition from other EU countries.

*simplified authorisation procedures allow the product to be made available on the market without the need for mutual recognition from other EU countries to encourage the use of biocidal products that are less harmful for the environment, human and animal health.

3) Transport and Works (Applications and Objections Procedure) (England and Wales) Rules 2006

Minor technical wording changes are made so that this legislation, with regards to Environmental Impact Assessments, will continue to be applicable following the UK’s exit from the EU.

2) Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008

Amendments are made which come into force on the day the UK leaves the EU. References to the European Economic Area (EEA) are replaced with references to the UK and the definition of ‘Certifying Authority’ is updated. Changes are also made to replace out of date references to Directive 1999/32/EC relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels with Directive 2016/802 relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels which was rewritten due to the number of amendments, so they were consolidated into one piece of legislation.

3) Transport and Works (Applications and Objections Procedure) (England and Wales) Rules 2006

Technical wording changes are made so that this legislation, with regards to Environmental Impact Assessment, will continue to be applicable following the UK’s exit from the EU. References are changed so that the UK will still notify EU Member States about transboundary environmental impacts, following its exit from the EU.

This amendment comes into force on the day the UK leaves the European Union (EU).

Minor technical wording changes are made so that this legislation, with regards to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), will continue to be applicable following the UK’s exit from the EU.

2) Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008

Further amendments are made which come into force on the day the UK leaves the European Union (EU). References to the European Economic Area (EEA) are replaced with references to the UK and the definition of ‘Certifying Authority’ is updated. These changes ensure that this legislation can continue to function following the UK’s exit from the EU.

3) Transport and Works (Applications and Objections Procedure) (England and Wales) Rules 2006

This amendment comes into force on the day the UK leaves the European Union (EU).

Technical wording changes are made so that this legislation, with regards to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), will continue to be applicable following the UK’s exit from the EU. References are changed so that the UK will still notify EU Member States about transboundary environmental impacts, following its exit from the EU.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety alert concerning the use of ICAR Capacitors in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. The potential dangers from this safety alert may be fire, and any consequential issues arising from the possible loss of power to connected equipment.

In 2018, a fire occurred in an industrial UPS system. The fire was caused by the dangerous failure of ICAR branded polypropylene capacitors, located in the UPS unit which carry out AC voltage waveform correction.

The HSE have found that another ICAR branded polypropylene capacitor was responsible for a similar UPS system fire in 2011.

Both capacitors are of polypropylene film construction and are intended to be self-healing if a fault occurs within a discrete area of the capacitor. There is localised heating resulting in internal isolation of the faulty area which allows the capacitor to continue in service.

Self-healing capacitors have a limited life span which can be affected by service duty and ambient temperatures. Methods to identify the need to replace the capacitors may include techniques such as;

Dutyholders are advised to take a precautionary approach and consider the replacement of both capacitor models where these have been identified in UPS systems or other industrial equipment.

Dutyholders are also advised to review ventilation and cooling requirements for UPS systems to ensure that acceptable operating temperatures are not exceeded.

Energy efficiency has saved a number of major global companies £107 million according to new research from The Climate Group.

21 companies from the EP100 initiative, including UltraTech Cement, Hilton and H&M have saved over 250 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e), which is the carbon equivalent of running 134 US coal-fired power plants for a year, with those firms saving more than enough energy to power Germany for a year since the initiative’s inception.

The EP100 initiative aims to commit businesses to energy usage targets and improve consumption levels. Reports state that members are increasing their energy productivity by 8% each year and slashing their energy usage by 146TWh (terawatt hour(s)) per year.

Helen Clarkson, the CEO of The Climate Group says, “Smarter energy use benefits businesses at every level, helping to meet expectations of shareholders, customers and employees while generating capital for reinvestment.”

The report indicates that 94% of EP100 members say financial savings were “very significant” or “significant” in improving energy productivity.

Many members have recognised the high upfront costs of investing in energy efficiency however this was coupled with the acknowledgement of the 2-4 years’ payback periods from the initiative.

The EP100 countries are stepping up to show what is now possible, encompassing growth and success, a standard that needs to be implemented globally.

Following the Department for Education’s Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP) Survey report, the teacher’s union has highlighted that asbestos in schools is still not being managed safely.

NASUWT – The Teachers’ union is deeply concerned about the number of schools where asbestos is still not being managed safely. This comes with the knowledge that teachers and other education staff die on a yearly basis from mesothelioma, caused by exposure to asbestos fibres. In addition, up to 300 adults die each year due to exposure to asbestos in schools during childhood.

They have also expressed the lack of government involvement and action, regarding the absence of regulation making it compulsory for all schools to report on the presence and condition of asbestos, highlighting this as inexcusable.

Results from the Departments AMAP survey show more than one in ten schools did not participate and 3,485 schools (17.8% of participating schools) are not compliant with the Departments Guidance. This relates to numerous schools being reported to the Health and Safety Executive over concerns that they are failing in their duty to safety manage asbestos.

The desired outcome would be governments to implement in-depth inspections of all schools and buildings identified or suspected to pose a threat from asbestos exposure, however with government cuts to funding, responsibility falls on schools and building owners themselves completing the AMAP survey report and reporting any concerns.

A study from the University of Sussex has revealed statistics that state Europe could power the entire world up until 2050 if it installed onshore wind farms on all its suitable sites.

Researchers state that Europe has the capacity to generate more than 100 times the amount of energy it currently produces through onshore wind farms.This would be from the 11 million turbines that could theoretically be installed across the five million square kilometers of suitable terrain, with Turkey, Russia and Norway having the most potential wind power.

Although this study is not a blueprint for development it is intended to show policymakers the potential of what can be done with wind power and where major opportunities exist.

The future for the onshore wind sector seems bright with aspirations for a 100% renewable energy grid now within grasp in light of these studies.

With 46% of Europe’s territory being deemed suitable for onshore wind farms and onshore wind being found to be the cheapest source of new power generation, it seems like governments and policymakers will have to look into the potential of an onshore wind venture. Not to mention further deployment in the UK could cut energy bills by 7% and support 31,000 jobs.

Peel Environmental have signed an agreement for the development of up to 11 new plants, designed to produce hydrogen through small-scale gasification technology using plastic waste as a feedstock.

Peel, a property and infrastructure development company has reached the £130 million agreement with both PowerHouse Energy, a technology firm and Waste2Tricity waste specialists.

Peel is developing a 54 hectare Protos site as an ‘energy hub’, containing a range of sites aimed at renewable energy production. Some current developments include a waste wood gasification plant, alongside plans for a 350,000 tonnes-per-year energy from waste plant.

Collaborations with the three companies are already underway, on a plastic-to-hydrogen facility planned to be located at Peel’s Protos renewable energy site near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire. The development of PowerHouse Energy’s ‘Distributed Modular Gasification’ (DMG) technology enables unrecyclable plastic to be converted into syngas, used to produce hydrogen, electricity and other industrial products. This process can generate more than 1 tonne of ‘road-fuel quality’ h7 (Hydrogen), and roughly 28MW/h (megawatt per hour) of exportable electricity per day.

This DGM plant will be the first in the plans, expected to cost around £7 million and will be capable of handling up to 25 tonnes of material per day. A further 10 plants are planned to be constructed following the first DGM, site locations for these sites have not yet been disclosed.

Not only will these plants create local sources of hydrogen and low carbon transport fuel, but also provide a solution to plastic waste, one of the worlds biggest problems at this time.

The Environment Agency (EA) has set out new plans with the intention to toughen the regulation of waste exports and tighten checks at ports.

The EA reported that in 2016/17 it ordered the return of 170 containers to waste sites, preventing the illegal export of 4,000 tonnes of waste. In 2017/18 the EA inspected 1,012 shipping containers of waste at English ports and ordered the return of 367 containers to UK waste sites, preventing the illegal export of over 7,000 tonnes of waste.

There are concerns that the packaging recovery note (PRN) system is being abused and this results in the export of poor quality recyclable waste. Hence the countries like China are returning the waste, saying they are being used as a dumping ground for poor quality recyclates.

The EA said a review into the process of assessing applications for accreditation of packaging exporters will be carried out. Increased levels of information required to prove that waste is high quality and contains minimal contamination, are going to be implemented along with destination sites properly accredited with appropriate permits to receive waste.

The EA said it rejected 11 applications in 2019 while another six operators withdrew their applications for accreditation, claiming that the updated process meant they would be unable to comply with the Regulations “without significant business change”.

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