Authorisations for solvent emissions
If you use solvents in your business, you may need an authorisation.
Before you can use solvents within your business, you may need:
- a pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) or your district council in Northern Ireland
- an EASR authorisation from SEPA in Scotland
For example, you may need an authorisation if you use solvents in:
- printing
- surface cleaning metals and other materials
- coating or laminating materials such as metal, plastic, textiles, paper and wood
- manufacturing paints, varnishes, inks and adhesives
- manufacturing pharmaceutical products
- manufacturing footwear
- dry cleaning*
- rubber conversion
- refining or extracting vegetable oil
- impregnating wood
What you must do
Comply with your permit
If you have a PPC permit or EASR authorisation you must comply with the conditions it contains. These will reduce or control your emissions of organic solvents (volatile organic compounds (VOCs)).
Your authorisation will contain details of limits on your solvent emissions and how and when these must be met. For example, you may choose to follow a solvent reduction scheme and you may have limits imposed on specific substances, or you may have limits associated with your production units, such as 25 grams of organic solvent per pair of shoes manufactured.
Your authorisation will also specify:
- any abatement equipment required
- any monitoring and reporting requirements that you must comply with
- other measures to control solvent emissions, such as handling and storing materials correctly
- any controls or limits on releasing solvents to land or to groundwater
If you have an authorisation, you may need to produce a solvent management plan and submit it to the NIEA or your district council in Northern Ireland, or to SEPA in Scotland. The solvent management plan must show your annual solvent consumption and that you comply with the emission limits in your authorisation. It must include any calculations you make.
If you already have authorisation and it doesn't contain conditions controlling your solvent emissions, you must contact the NIEA or your district council, in Northern Ireland, or SEPA, in Scotland
Even if you don't need authorisation, you should manage your solvent emissions and reduce your solvent use - see the pages in this guideline on: Managing your solvents efficiently and Reducing solvent use in production and cleaning processes.
Using harmful substances
There are additional requirements if you use:
- halogenated VOCs with hazard statements H341 or H351
- VOCs with hazard statements H340, H350, H350i, H360D or H360F - all of these have been classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction
You can find out if a solvent has a hazard statement by checking the safety data sheet (SDS) that comes with it. Your supplier must provide you with the SDS under the requirements of the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulation. If you receive any solvents without an SDS, contact your supplier and ask for it.
If you use VOCs with hazard statements H340, H350, H350i, H360D or H360F, you must replace them as soon as possible with less harmful alternatives.
If it is not possible to replace them you must:
- contain and control emissions
- meet very strict emission limits
- regularly reassess the possibility of replacement
For further details, read the process guidance note relevant to your business' activities. See: GOV.UK Statutory Guidance: Process guidance notes for the solvents sector
Further information