Air monitoring requirements for chemical sector and O&G refineries from the European Industrial Emission Directive reference documents (BREFs)

Emission streams monitoring requirements are stablished in environmental permits by Competent Authorities permit writers. These requirements must comply now with BAT conclusions from their corresponding reference document. The Best Available Techniques reference documents (BREFs) have become thus more relevant under the European Industrial Emission Directive ('IED', 2010). 

Comitology procedures from the EC facilitate the participation of industrial stakeholders on the selection of this analytical method requirements. The procedures used to review these reference documents are experiencing certain changes regarding scope, pollutants or environmental issues. Experts on Analytical methods for industrial systems are required to ensure higher quality of the agreements reached in the Technical Working Groups.

The BREFs on mineral oil and gas refineries ('REF') and Large Volume Organic Chemicals (LVOC) have been already reviewed under IED: there are a number of monitoring BAT conclusions. Petrochemical sites and refinery installations, depending on their activity or manufacturing processes, may need to comply also with other horizontal BREFs such as the "Common Waste Water and Waste Gas Treatment/ Management Systems in the Chemical Sector" (CWW) and/or the Common Waste Gas Treatment for Chemical sector BREF ('WGC'). The EC has started development of WGC on January 2017.

The European Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau has recently released a reference document without BAT conclusions (REF) on monitoring methods. This document is not legally binding but contains key aspects on vertical BREFs monitoring features. BREF will cross reference this document to ensure systematic approach on analytical measures across BREF series.