Posted By David Muldoon Hi I've been through these regs and the supporting documentation a number of times now and though I know what is expected of sites which consume more than 0.5 tonne VOC per annum, I am unclear on the duties placed on sites producing up to 0.499 tonnes VOC per annum. In this instant I am referring to vehicle refinishers. If anyone could shed any light on this I would be very grateful. Regards David

Posted By David Muldoon Its SI 2005, No. 2773. Its all to do with the reduction of VOC's and whilst it covers those already covered under PPC and the Solvent Emissions Directive, for those under these thresholds there is little info (or at least I cant find it if there is). It states that those under PPC will continue as usual and those under SED will have that piece of legislation repealled and replaced by the new VOC regs. I'm only really interested in small scale users i.e. under the 0.5 tonne per annum threshold.

Posted By David Muldoon There was an 'explanatory memorandum' published by Parliament which contains the following paras.. 6. Business sectors affected 6.3. The proposal also affects vehicle-refinishing plants and product suppliers. Plants with a solvent threshold consumption greater than 0.5 tonnes per year are already covered by the Solvents Directive (1999/13/EC). In the United Kingdom there are estimated to be between 2500 and 3000 small bodyshops consuming less than 0.5 tonnes of solvent per year and who currently do not fall within any regulation for solvent use.35 It is believed that there will be a decline in numbers of small bodyshops by about 33 per cent by 2007. Therefore the costs and reductions have been based on a revised estimate of 1840 bodyshops in 2007. This includes around 170 vintage car restorers. The Directive will also benefit manufacturers of low solvent products; and would be to the detriment of the predominantly smaller companies who only produce coatings with high contents of volatile organic compounds. This is stating that the Regs have identified that these under 0.5 tonne per annum sites are around but isn't clear (to me at least) on what, if anything they have to do. I'm hoping it's nothing but am in need of a second opinion. David