1. The purpose of this annex is to provide the Parties to the Convention with guidance in identifying best available techniques to allow them to meet the obligations in article 3, paragraph 5, of the Protocol. Further description of, and guidance regarding, such best available techniques is provided in a guidance document adopted by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body and may be updated as necessary by a consensus of the Parties meeting within the Executive Body.
2. "Best available techniques" (BAT) means the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation which indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing in principle the basis for emission limit values designed to prevent and, where that is not practicable, generally to reduce emissions and their impact on the environment as a whole:
- ‘Techniques' includes both the technology used and the way in which the installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned;
- ‘Available' techniques means those developed on a scale which allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages, whether or not the techniques are used or produced inside the territory of the Party in question, as long as they are reasonably accessible to the operator;
- ‘Best' means most effective in achieving a high general level of protection of the environment as a whole.
In determining the best available techniques, special consideration should be given, generally or in specific cases, to the factors below, bearing in mind the likely costs and benefits of a measure and the principles of precaution and prevention:
- The furthering of recovery and recycling of substances generated and used in the process and of waste;
- Comparable processes, facilities or methods of operation which have been tried with success on an industrial scale;
- The consumption and nature of raw materials (including water) used in the process and its energy efficiency;
- The need to prevent or reduce to a minimum the overall impact of the emissions on the environment and the risks to it;
The concept of best available techniques is not aimed at the prescription of any specific technique or technology, but at taking into account the technical characteristics of the installation concerned, its geographical location and the local environmental conditions.
3. Information regarding the effectiveness and costs of control measures is based on documents received and reviewed by the Task Force and the Preparatory Working Group on POPs. Unless otherwise indicated, the techniques listed are considered to be well established on the basis of operational experience.
4. Experience with new plants incorporating low-emission techniques, as well as with retrofitting of existing plants, is continuously growing. The regular elaboration and amendment of the guidance document referred to in paragraph 1 above will therefore be necessary. Best available techniques (BAT) identified for new plants can usually be applied to existing plants provided there is an adequate transition period and they are adapted.
5. The guidance document referred to in paragraph 1 above lists a number of control measures which span a range of costs and efficiencies. The choice of measures for any particular case will depend on a number of factors, including economic circumstances, technological infrastructure and capacity, and any existing air pollution control measures.
7. PCDD/F are emitted from thermal processes involving organic matter and chlorine as a result of incomplete combustion or chemical reactions. Major stationary sources of PCDD/F may be as follows:
(b) Thermal metallurgical processes, e.g. production of aluminium and other nonferrous metals, iron and steel;
(e) Wood preservation installations, except for a Party for which this category does not make a significant contribution to its total emissions of PAH (as defined in annex III).
9. Emissions of HCB result from the same type of thermal and chemical processes as those emitting PCDD/F, and HCB is formed by a similar mechanism. Major sources of HCB emissions may be as follows: