Environmental legislation

Environmental legislation

Engineering activities can have harmful effects on the physical environment and therefore on people. In order to minimize these effects, there is a range of legislation (rules and regulations) that all engineering companies must observe.

The appropriate United Kingdom Acts of Parliament include Deposit of Poisonous Wastes Act, Pollution of Rivers Act, Clean Air Act, Environmental Protection Act, Health and Safety at Work etc Act and the like. Additionally, not only are there local by-laws to be observed there are also EU directives that are activated and implemented either through existing UK legislation in the form of Acts of Parliament or mandatory instructions called Statutory Instruments (SI).

New acts and directives are introduced from time to time and industry needs to be alert to and keep abreast of these changes. Typical of these new initiatives is the European Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) legislation. This states that with effect from 1st January 1996, it is a requirement that all products marketed must conform with the new legislation. This new EMC legislation, at last, officially recognizes the well­ known problem of unwanted electromagnetic wave radiation that emanates from most pieces of electrical equipment. The unwanted radiation can interfere with nearby electronic equipment causing it to malfunction.

In the case of UK Acts of Parliament, the above legislation is implemented by judgement in UK Courts of Justice in the normal manner but based on EU legislation, if more appropriate, or by judgement of the European Court of Justice.

The purpose of this legislation is to provide the following functions:

·         prevent the environment being damaged in the first place;

·         regulate the amount of damage by stating limits, for example, the maximum permitted amount of liquid pollutant that a factory may discharge into the sea;

·         compensate people for damage caused, for example, from a chemical store catching fire and spreading wind borne poisonous fumes across the neighbourhood;

·         impose sanctions on those countries or other lesser parties that choose to ignore the legislation;

·         define who is responsible for compliance with legislation to persons who can be named and their precise area of responsibility documented.

For the purposes of showing understanding of the above, you are not expected to have a detailed understanding of the various acts; however, you should be aware of the general provisions of the legislation and what it is trying to achieve. Your school, college or local library will be able to provide you with more details.

The effects of the above legislation on engineering activities has, in general, made them more difficult and more expensive to implement. A few simple examples of this follow.

·         Chemical factories can no longer discharge their dangerous waste effluent straight into the river or sea without first passing it through some form of purification.

·         Coal fuelled power stations must ensure that their chimney stacks do not pollute the neighbourhood with smoke containing illegal limits of grit, dust, toxic gases and other pollutants. A system of smoke filtration and purification must be (expensively) incorporated.

·         Motor car exhaust gases must be sufficiently free of oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and other toxic gases. This can only be achieved by, among other things, replacing the crude petrol carburettor with a more sophisticated petrol injection system and fitting a catalytic converter in the exhaust system. All this has added to the price of the motor car and has made it more difficult for the DIY motorist to service his or her vehicle.

·         All electrical equipment, including TVs, PCs, power hand tools, electro-medical machines, lighting and the like, must be tested and certified that they comply with the EMC legislation. So, in addition to the cost reducing any excessive radiation from the product itself, the purchase or hire of expensive EMC test equipment and the training of people to use must also be taken into account. Further, because of delays in obtaining an official EMC examination and a supporting EC certificate, the introduction of new product designs can also be delayed and this may have adverse marketing effects.

Finally, it is important to be clear about the difference waste products and by-products. The by-products from one process can be sold as the raw materials for other processes. For example, natural gas is a by­-product of oil extraction and a useful fuel used in the generation of electricity. Waste products are those that cannot be sold and may attract costs in their disposal. Nuclear power station waste is a typical example.