Reporting of priority substances in Norway Øyvind Hetland

The national priority list Criteria for identifying priority ecological toxins (national priority list) Substances that are persistent (P) and bioaccumulative (B), and that either have serious long-term health effects, or show high ecotoxicity Substances that are very persistent (vP) and very bioaccumulative (vB) (no requirement for known toxic effects) Substances found in the food chain in levels that give rise to an equivalent level of concern Other substances that give rise to an equivalent level of concern, such as endocrine disruptors and heavy metals.

The national priority list The information used for identification and prioritisation of substances: Norwegian policy Commitments/International priority lists (North Sea Declaration, OSPAR priority lists) List of dangerous substances (Annex 1), the Obs-lists EU risk assessments (ESR Regulation) Information on use (Norwegian Product Register data) and environmental monitoring data http://www.miljostatus.no/en/Topics/Hazardous-chemicals/Hazardous-chemical-lists/List-of-Priority-Substances/

Priority substances – sources Different reporting methodology for different sources Point sources – bottom up Industry Landfills Waste water treatment plants Aqua culture Offshore Diffuse sources – top down: Agriculture Households Transport Products

Reporting requirements for the industry sector Facility sampling and analyzing Facility Electronic report Validation at the agency Norwegian PRTR Quality assurance through audits and inspections The facility can see emission trends during reporting Is the report in accordance with the permit? Indicative list Errors are easily visible

Reporting requirements for the industry sector A general requirement in all discharge permits: Releases of PS in quantities that can have an environmental impact shall be reported (No specific threshold) Some facilities have specific emission limits for one or more PS These substances shall always be reported

Quality assurance Officers in the agency will validate the data – obvious errors will be reported back to the facility and corrected During audits and inspections the agency will go through the monitoring programme and make relevant comments

How to improve the data quality Two levels: Sampling and analysing In the permits, we have to be more specific on the sampling and analysing requirements Sampling frequency Use of standards Accredited third party consultants Specific guidelines (have recently been published by the agency) Indicative list The reporting system A user friendly and foolproof reporting system Motivated officers with good knowledge of the systems Possibility for online interaction between the officer and the reporting facility

How to improve the data quality Guidelines on monitoring and reporting of emissions: The facility’s monitoring programme shall include: all relevant emissions according to the permit and general requirements according to the priority substance list Information on sampling frequency that gives a representative picture of the actual emissions methods for measuring of water- or airflow sampling techniques details about calculations and reporting of emissions assessment of uncertainty in measurements Information on standards applied ...

Search for specific priority substances Possible emissions of PCB/HCB from thermal processes: The agency have recently instructed 20 large facilities to measure eventual emissions of PCB/HCB. This instruction was based on the assumption that facilities that have emissions of dioxins also might have emissions of PCB/HCB

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