In the midst of the end-of-year rush, a new EU Directive aiming to reduce air pollution in EU countries was signed into law. It’s the NEC Directive (National Emissions Ceilings Directive), which sets national limits for five air pollutants and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - and will come into force on 31 December 2016.
The aim of the directive is to cut the negative impacts of air pollution on human health, which cause more than 450,000 premature deaths in Europe each year. However, after two years of negotiations, the end product has been increasingly watered down and it’s now in question whether this Directive will be fit for purpose and ready to tackle the invisible killer: air pollution. Looking specifically at the waste sector – an important source of air pollution through the burning of waste in incinerators and cement kilns - it’s unclear how this Directive will be an effective driver ensuring clean air for all.
On the one hand, one of the most positive aspects of the new Directive is the inclusion of reduction targets for Particulate Matter (PM2.5 microns), which are microscopically small solid particles, and often the result of toxic emissions from waste incineration. A recent study that looked into a medium-sized city in south-western Sweden, clearly identified their new modern incinerator as the single most significant source of PM2.5s. The inclusion of this new target will be a positive step towards reducing this contaminant.
On the other hand, the directive does not include reduction targets for ultra-fine particles, which are even more problematic than PM2.5s. The smaller the particles, the deeper they can penetrate into the respiratory system, and the more hazardous they are to breathe.
Evidence from the waste incineration industry shows that there is a significant amount of ultra-fine particles that escape the filter systems in the facilities and therefore end up in the atmosphere.
Professor C.V. Howard, who has extensive expertise on the topic, exposed that while a “… filter collection efficiency in incinerators was 95-99% for PM10s, 65-70% for PM2.5s, it was only 5-30% for particles smaller than 2.5 microns, even before the filters become coated with lime and activated carbon”.
Even more worryingly is the situation of waste incineration in cement kilns, which is on the increase all over the world despite these facilities having no way to filter out volatile heavy metals (such as mercury, thallium, and cadmium) and other contaminants regulated by the NEC Directive such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
The impact that this pollution has on surrounding communities has been well documented, with independent scientific studies linking waste incineration with increased morbidity and mortality that include high rates of cancers, miscarriage and respiratory disease. Increasingly, civil society has clearly responded that these polluting activities need to end, if the right to breathe clean air is to be preserved.
In conclusion, national targets to limit air pollution are a positive step forwards, but the scale of action needed to ensure effective results needs to be much stronger. The lack of inclusion of ultra-fine particles in the NEC Directive is a missed opportunity to tackle one of the most problematic contaminants. This should be complemented with policy measures to encourage the reduction of toxic emissions at the source, providing member states with incentives to take appropriate action, allowing strong monitoring and reporting measures that guaranty transparency and avoidance of any potential loopholes which could undermine member states’ ability to comply with the directive and effectively reduce toxic emissions.
Air pollution may be an invisible killer, but action needs to be bolder than ever.