Bolton Thermal Recovery Facility - Essay Example

? An environmental and legal assessment report of Bolton thermal recovery facility of the organisation Table of contents Executive summary 3 Introduction 4 Bolton Thermal Recovery Facility 5 Environmental impacts of the facility 6 Environmental legal provisions that govern operations of the facility 8 Future and emerging statutory requirements for facility operations 11 Provisions on environmental reporting 13 Results 15 Recommendations and conclusion 16 Executive summary Thermal recovery is a technique that is used in the recovery of heavy oils that are trapped on the oil fields due to their high density, making such deposit hard to tap into wells. Thermal recovery technique has enabled companies in the mining industry to increase their total yields from an oil field. The principle of physical and chemical change of substances when heated is exploited in thermal recovery. This increases the mobility and fluidity of the oil, making it easier to pump it into the production wells. The construction of Bolton thermal recovery facility is meant to generate electricity and other sources of energy for Manchester and its surrounding. The facility seeks to create enough energy that can power over 7,000 homes in the city and its neighbourhood. The operation of the Bolton thermal recovery facility has a number of environmental impacts and issues that must be considered. The operations of the facility are also governed by strict environmental legal requirements and provisions that must be adhered to. Analysis of the impacts that may arise from operating the facility which are economical, environmental and social must be done by the management. Introduction The purpose of this report is to provide a critical analysis of the operations of Bolton thermal recovery facility that is based in Manchester. In this report, the environmental policies that have been adopted by the management of Bolton recovery facility will be analysed, putting emphasis of their impacts to the environmental, policy and economic drivers of the facility. The environmental impacts of operating the facility will also be detailed in this assessment project to help provide the management of the facility with a clear picture of their strengths and weakness. Environmental laws exist in the United Kingdom that have major impacts on the decisions made by the facility. There is need for the management to be well averse with the laws, regulations and provisions that influence the operation of the facility. This report will provide a detailed description of the available environmental laws, legal notices and statutory provisions that affects the operation, profitability and efficiency of the facility. The aim of Bolton thermal recovery facility environmental laws and regulation assessment report is to provide benchmark for the implementation of the various environmental requirements that guide operations of such facilities. To facilitate this study, a number of literatures that have been done on the environmental impacts of operating a thermal facility were analysed. These ranged from academic materials and scholarly articles written by academic institutions and departments on their research results on the facility. Literature reviewed articles will also be evaluated to understand the environmental impacts of a thermal recovery facility. To gain insights on the available environmental laws and provisions that govern the operation of a facility of this magnitude, environmental based peer reviewed, academic and university research articles will be evaluated. The press release and legal announcement by bodies and government agencies on the environmental impacts such a facility and the legal requirements that govern its operation will be evaluated. Workshops and symposiums conducted on environmental assessment of thermal recovery will also provide accurate data on the emerging regulatory issues that may affect the operations and smooth running of the firm. Bolton Thermal Recovery Facility The energy produced powers the activities of the plant and the excess mega watts produced are transferred to the national grid for use by homes and other small-scale companies. Bolton thermal recovery facility receives waste materials from various regions in the country, which are then mixed uniformly before being fed into the burner. The furnace operates at over 850°C as the waste is reduced to ash and moved to the bottom of the furnace, which is fixed with magnet to remove any ferrous materials in the waste. The ash from this step is employed in various environmental friendly activities like filling landmines or in the manufacture of construction materials. The heat from the furnace is used to boil water, which generates high temperature and energy steam that power the turbines and generate electricity. The development of this project is driven a number of economic impacts and opportunities that it has created and seeks to create to the people of Manchester. Generation of renewable and clean energy is one of the pillars of United Nations and other protocols developed like the Kyoto protocols. These protocols call for the generation of clean and environmental friendly energy that reduces carbon emission and green house effects in our environment. Plastic and polymer wastes are a problem in major parts of the country and Manchester city (Nadella, 2004). An approach that seeks to generate resourceful use from such pollutants is a great initiative towards the elimination of greenhouse effects and carbon emission. The Bolton thermal recovery facility seeks to increase the energy reserve that is supplied in the national grid by pumping over seven megawatts. This reduces the prevalence of power outages, blackouts and power rationing that is caused over reliance on non-renewable electricity generation (Environment Agency, 2004a). Bolton thermal recovery also allows for the recovery of ferrous metals, which are recycled and remoulded into useful products. The ash can also is used to fill the landfills and regain the natural beautiful sceneries of the world. Operations of the facility also seek to reduce the massive impacts that solid waste has created to our ecosystem. The development of this policy thus seeks to create cleaner, safer and environmental friendly renewable source of energy. Employment opportunities that this program creates also have a number of economic impacts to the economy and the country’s GDP. Different stages of plant require skilled and unskilled labour to aid in the successful use of the solid waste. A number of people can be employed to collect and transport the solid waste from various parts of the country to the plant. The sorting out of the waste before being fed into the burner is also done manually, which results into more people being, employed (Ackerman, 2005). Environmental impacts of the facility The operation of Bolton thermal recovery site has a number of environmental impacts, which are both highly desired today to restore our environmental degradation. Some of the effects from the operation of the plant may be hazardous to the environment due to emissions and the generation of particles, that can create heating in the atmosphere. The bottom motivation behind the overall operations of the plant seeks to reduce the environmental damage that solid waste has created. As a result, non-biodegradable solid wastes are combusted at higher temperatures in special furnace to produce energy, which are used to heat water to generate steam (Nadella, 2004). This process has significant implication in the restoration of environmental degradation that has almost reached irreversible levels. In using non-biodegradable particles, Bolton thermal recovery plant seeks to reduce the potential of reducing the overall solid particles scattered all around the cities of Manchester. Environmental watchdog and bodies have used the solid waste to refill landmines directly and other manholes created by human activity (Scottish Environmental protection agency, 2009). However, this process has a number of negative implications on the environment as such solid waste does not decay. Bolton thermal recovery facility however, has the potential of turning such waste to harmless ashes, which are then used, in the filling process. The ashes generated from the furnace are only 25% of the original solid waste that was fed into the furnace (Hogan et al, 2003). The environmental impacts of the wastes such as polymers and other non-biodegradable materials are reduced tremendously if they are subjected to high temperature combustion in the furnaces. Direct use of the solid wastes in refilling the landmines reduces the economic benefits that such materials have. Bolton thermal recovery plant creates and adds value to the solid waste before using it for environmental restorations. Production of clean and renewable energy has boosted the energy position of the city of Manchester. Seven mega watts of energy are supplied to the national grid from the Bolton thermal recovery facility. However, the operation of the facility has the potential of producing dioxins due to the temperature of the furnace (Environment Agency, 2004a). Optimum operation of Bolton thermal recovery facility has a number of economic impacts to the United Kingdom and the European Union as a whole. Apart from creation of massive job employment opportunities, the plant increases the electricity generation in the country by adding 7 mega watts into the national grid and producing enough energy to power its own activities. Such massive amount of electric energy is enough to meet almost half of the electricity requirements in Manchester and its surrounding. Bolton thermal recovery facility thus reduces the strains on the national electric power generators to produce electricity to the ever-increasing high demands of the UK population (Boyer, 2011). The menace of solid waste management is a major concern to major economies in the world, such waste range from biodegradable household waste, industrial wastes, e-wastes and general waste generated from our streets. Sound environmental policies and regulatory legal notices are essential to enable a country constructively use its solid waste to reclaim the environment. The United Kingdom has legal frameworks that have allowed the establishment of Bolton thermal recovery facility, which is attributed to reduced waste in the city of Manchester and its neighbourhood (Environment Agency, 2004b). Environmental legal provisions that govern operations of the facility The UK environmental law requires that such furnaces are operated above 850°C to reduce the possibility of producing the dioxins. Dioxins present a number of reproductive and development problems to human beings, they also destroy the immune system of an individual, hormone production and cause cancer. Incomplete burning of the waste solids at Bolton thermal recovery facility has a higher potential of releasing high levels of dioxins into the environment. The process of combustion must thus be highly regulated and moderated to reduce chances of incomplete combustions that result into release of high levels of dioxin into the atmosphere (Environment Agency, 2004a). The full operation of Bolton thermal recovery facility is subject to certification and recommendation from various legal bodies that are mandated by law to ensure that the facility operations are environmental friendly. Currently, a number of statutory controls govern the operations of facilities like Bolton thermal recovery facilities. Such legal requirements range from environmental legal requirements, worker safety and labour requirements. Environmental protection and conservation remains a key concern for the United Kingdom and the European Union altogether. Operations of any facility that has consequences to the environmental sanity and restoration are strictly controlled. A number of environmental legislations have been made in the United Kingdom and the European Union that outlines the requirements for facilities in similar operations as Bolton thermal recovery facility (Germane, 2004). The clean air act, which was enacted in 1990, must be duly considered by the facility before it begins and progresses with its operations. This is because the provisions of the acts outline the requirements that must be met by such a facility before it begins operations. Clean air acts seek to ensure the reduction of widespread pollutants into the environment, which are capable of causing the greenhouse effect. The act seeks to limit the health impacts that operation of facilities like Bolton thermal recovery site has on the general public health of the country (Hogan et al, 2003). The legislation also makes it mandatory for such facilities to demonstrate their abilities to reduce toxic emissions into the atmosphere at anytime during operations. Bolton thermal recovery facility must therefore factor these considerations into its thermal processes to enable the gain adequate certification and legal mandate from the relevant authorities. Failure to abide to such legislations and requirements that seeks to reduce environmental pollution, carbon emission and greenhouse gas effect can result into the closure or legal proceedings against the facility (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2006). A legislation made in 1992 on work place health, safety and welfare also has a number of impacts on the operations of Bolton thermal recovery facility. Workplace safety is covered under the occupational acts and regulations of every country. However, the enactment of workplace regulation act in the United Kingdom has redefined the requirements that each facility that handles dangerous materials has to meet (Scottish Environmental protection agency, 2009). This regulation requires employees to establish worker protection measures especially those exposed to risks in their line of duty. Before certification and the go ahead to begin operations, Bolton thermal recovery facilities must demonstrate its ability to ensure the overall health of its workers. This is so especially due to the high temperatures of the environment that such employees will be required to deliver (Dore et al, 2011). Exposure to high temperatures for a long period increases an individual’s chances of suffering from heat stroke and other heat related stresses. Bolton thermal recovery facility should thus ensure compliance to the OSHA regulations not because of the requirement of the regulation because of its importance to its operation. A healthy work environment creates a healthy mood for service deliver and improves the chances of accomplishing the goals of the facility. Provision of protective devices and accommodative work schedule should be prioritised by the facility to reduce cases of accidents resulting from fatigue and poor work environments (Maurici, 2006). Waste handling and processing is the area of operation of Bolton thermal recovery facility according to registration consultants in the country. Waste recycling and disposals are regulated tightly by various policy and statutory regulations in the United Kingdom and the European Union in general. Changes in such policies and regulatory measures of the member countries affect the operations of Bolton thermal recovery facility. It is therefore prudent and wise for the facility to formulate and implement policies putting in mind such changes in the regulatory agencies. The European Union waste framework directive gives guidelines for the collection, transportation, retrieval and disposal of waste for all member countries, and such collection process must not expose members of the public to harm and injury (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2006). As a facility that deals majorly with solid wastes and its major product, this framework directly affects Bolton thermal recovery facility as it defines their collection, transport and disposal procedures employed by the company. The facility must therefore acquire certification from the European Union, which before permitting operations will inspect the facilities collection, transport and waste disposal equipments (Dore et al, 2011). The fact that Bolton thermal recovery facility deals with a wide range of waste products, a number of hazardous waste materials are handled by the facility on a daily basis, the hazardous waste regulations under the European Union influence the waste handling ability of the facility. Consequently, the facility must ensure that it has appropriate equipments that enable it to handle poisonous and hazardous waste without exposing their employees to risks of contracting diseases (HSE, 2002). The scale of operation of the facility is also big making it mandatory for the facility to ship solid waste from other parts of the country and the region. Shipment of solid waste is also guided by strict regulatory mechanisms under the European Union ship recycling strategy. Written notifications and permissions from the relevant quarters are needed before any facility can be able to ship in or out any solid wastes (Boyer, 2011). Such regulatory policies have direct impacts on the management and administration of Bolton thermal recovery facility. Such regulatory policies that runs across the entire European union member countries thus requires sound administrative policies from the facility that ensures its processes are not halted due to lack of compliance (Environment Agency, 2004b). Future and emerging statutory requirements for facility operations As a facility that is operated in an area under strict regulation of different statutory bodies, Bolton thermal recovery facility is under duress to make clear policies that ensures it remains aloft. Future regulatory and non-regulatory changes in the policy-making environment affect the operations of Bolton thermal recovery facility (Carnwath, 2012). The United Nations under different conventions and protocols continuously ratifies different requirements that are meant to reduce destruction to the environment. Such protocols are binding all member countries of the body and such ratification makes such countries liable to impose each industry player to ensure compliance. Handling of waste materials especially solid waste forms part of a major concern among European Union countries (Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, 2006). Poor handling and disposal of electronic solid waste has created a lot of concern due the possibility of mixing such waste with other less harmful waste. Electronic wastes require careful handling as the silicon component of the motherboard can cause a number of environmental degradation and health concerns. However, poor disposal of the wastes has resulted into mixing of both the electronic and other solid waste together. This calls for keen and attentive sorting of the waste before they can be fed into the burners for combustion (Environment agency, 2011). A number of reviews have been conducted by the various waste disposals and handling bodies to determine the impacts of careless handling of electronic wastes and the impacts it has on the environmental sanity. Policies makers are likely to develop new laws and statutory requirements on waste handling with the goal of eliminating the health effects of electronic and e-waste mishandling. Such policy changes will obviously affect the position of Bolton thermal recovery plant as more production and energy generation steps may be needed. The facility must therefore formulate adequate frameworks in anticipations to such changes (Environment Agency, 2004c). With changes in the composition of the waste materials that the facility will be handling the near future demonstrates the levels of risks that workers are exposed to. Safety and health regulatory policies that shall be developed in the future will definitely require the development of measures that enhances worker safety and health at the workplace. Such policies may call for the abolition of the current measures that are available within the facility, which may affect the administrative decisions of the facility. Bolton thermal recovery must therefore conduct an in depth analysis of their practises with the aim of changing to meet any future change of policy. Companies in the UK must be able to understand the role that they play in the society and the responsibilities that their position accords them in ensuring environmental conservation. The ability of a business to prosper and grow beyond the limits depends on its compliance with the available regulations on environmental conservation and protection. Facilities such as Bolton thermal recovery centre have unlimited responsibilities to ensure that their actions protect the environment at all times (Carnwath, 2012). Operations at high thermal temperatures have a number of risks and opportunities and exploiting both requires accurate reporting and assessment. Environmental report is a compliance review card that is presented to both the shareholders and the stakeholders in an organisation detailing the steps that a facility has put in place to ensure that environmental conservation is prioritised at all times. Environmental reporting benefits an organisation in major ways key among being the ability to provide adequate management information that can enable an organisation exploit cost saving approaches in their management practises. It also provides an opportunity for a facility to set out and argue the best environmental compliance step that is deemed beneficial to both the environment and the facility (Environment Agency, 2004b). Provisions on environmental reporting The UK government has formulated a number of guidelines on environmental reporting for waste recycling facilities and other organisations that operate within the country. The guidelines provides clear guidance to facilities on how to plan, format and present their environmental performance reports based on key performance indicators. The guidelines thus define and describe which key performance indicators are relevant to which sectors of operation for different industries (Environment Agency, 2004a). Bolton thermal facility must in a position to identify the area of operation that the guidelines place it and the requirements for environmental reporting under such guidelines. The guidelines are however non-compulsory but designed to ensure compliance with environmental regulatory requirements in the European Union and the United Kingdom (Dore et al, 2011). Environmental reporting for site operations are given much prominence within the United Kingdom environmental reports requirements for it enables facilities to conduct reviews on the compliance with the available statutory requirements and environmental laws under the European Union. In designing the report, facilities are required by the provisions of the legal notice to include their current operations and environmental conservation approaches that they have adopted. Bolton thermal recovery facility has a number of strict rules and reporting guidelines that it must adhere to based on their area of operations (Environment agency, 2011). The facility is thus required to provide a detailed description of their thermal regulation mechanisms and how they control and regulate the internal temperatures of combustions within their facility. The European Union and the United Kingdom has strict temperature requirements for such plants to help protect the environment from harmful emissions like dioxins (Germane, 2004). The report must also detail the capability of the facility to handle the wide range of waste products that they use in their plants to protect the locals against harmful effects of waste collection and transport. Such a report will thus include the transport ability, facility, training and the staffs available to oversee the whole process (Alberini, 2004). Based on the report produced, the regulatory bodies under the provisions are mandated to recommend any changes that may be made to improve the facilities ability to operate smoothly while complying with the environmental laws. Waste handling is governed by many laws in the United Kingdom and the European Union as a whole. An environmental report on such from a facility like Bolton thermal recovery facility must be reviewed by many legal bodies. This makes it proper for the facility to conduct a deep analysis of their abilities, facilities and the challenges that they encounter in handling the wastes (Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, 2006). Environmental reporting provisions also require facility operators to formulate and develop ways of countering future challenges to environmental conservation in their reports. A facility that handles solid waste like the Bolton thermal recovery facility requires the ability to develop ways of handling emerging threats that may occur because of waste processing. A report from the facility must comprehensively detail the facility’s approaches to emerging environmental concerns to pollution and climate change. A major area of concern to regulatory authorities that may require the attention and input of Bolton thermal recovery facility is to report on ways of handling e-waste and how the facility has improved on its combustion infrastructure to reduce harmful gas emission (Germane, 2004). Results This study has generated a number of results that requires the attention of the management of the facility to ensure its smooth operation and energy generation. Environmental laws are subjected to periodical review and changes that affects waste products handlers in the United Kingdom. Waste products are also governed by international laws and regulations formulated by the United Nations environmental program and other bodies in the European Union. This study has however noticed that Bolton thermal recovery facility has been at the forefront of ensuring full compliance with the regulations and provisions that govern thermal recovery facilities. The waste handling capacity of the facility has been upgraded to improve their ability to handle more dangerous waste products which are used in the facility. Handling waste materials require highly trained and highly sophisticated tools that protect both the workers and the environment. Bolton thermal recovery facility has invested in high power machines that mechanically separate the wastes into different classes before they can be moved to the burner, and this enables the facility to prevent t he combustion of any potentially harmful waste materials. Recommendations and conclusion Environmental conservation has been one of the major concerns of various international bodies the world over. This is attributed to the high level of greenhouse gas emission that has occurred and continues to occur around the globe. The operations of a thermal recovery facility have the potential to conserve and clean our environment and also harm the environment. Each situation depends on the ability of the facility to implement and come up with measures that can curb any environmental harm that can arise from their operations. Bolton thermal recovery facility has demonstrated its ability to operate while adopting measures which ensure environmental conservation. However, a lot still need to be done by the facility to facilitate environmental conservation and adoption of environmental laws and regulations. A biannual evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation is necessary to enable the facility management generate a report on their ability to abide to environmental laws. Such an evaluation should assess both the impacts of the combustions processes and the possibility of any leakages which may be hazardous to the environment. The facility should also improve their environmental reporting approach and frequency. An environmental approach enables the company have an external audit which can provide them with ways to measuring their strengths and weaknesses. Bolton thermal recovery facility has a potential to grow into a major electricity generator and waste recycle facility in the United Kingdom. Based on the fragility of the environmental that its operation is anchored upon, a sound policy that promotes the facility’s ability to adhere to regulatory provisions is essential. The success of the facility and its continued operations depend hugely to the positive impacts it creates to the long battle against climate change. The management and administration of the facility must provide adequate grounds for ensuring compliance and respects for the legal requirements within their area of operations. References Ackerman, B., 2005, The uncertain search for environmental quality, New York: free press. Alberini, A, 2004, ‘Strict liability as a deterrent in toxic waste management: empirical evidence form accidents and spill data’, journal of environmental economics and management. vol. 38(1), pp. 20-48 Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, 2006, ‘Greater Manchester Local Transport Plan 2. [Online] Available at: http://www.tfgm.com/Corporate/Documents/GMLTP/LTP2.pdf [Accessed 10/08/2013] Boyer, M. and Laffont, J. 1999, ‘Toward a political theory of the emergence of environmental incentive regulation’, The Rand Journal of Economics; 30, 1; Carnwath, R., 2012, ‘The state of UK environmental law in 2011-2012: is there a case for legislative reforms’, Cardiff: UK environmental law association. Defra, 2006, Environmental key performance indicators: reporting guidelines for UK businesses, London: queen’s printer. Department for Communities and Local Government, 2006, ‘Planning for the Protection of European Sites: Appropriate Assessment’. [Online] Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20061101113831/http:/www.communities.gov.uk/staging/embedded_object.asp?id=1502353 [Accessed 10/08/2013] Dore, C., Goodwin, J., Watterson, J., Murrells, T., Passant, N., Hobson, M., Haight, K., Baggott, S., Pye, S., Coleman, P. and King, K., 2003 ‘UK Emissions of Air Pollutants 1970 to 2001’ Abingdon, UK: AEA Technology. Environment Agency, 2004a, ‘Monitoring of particulate matter in ambient air around waste facilities Technical Guidance Document (Monitoring)’. [Online] Available at: http://persona.uk.com/kings_lynn/Core_docs/Q/Q1.pdf [Accessed 10/08/2013] Environment Agency, 2004a, Monitoring of particulate matter in ambient air around waste facilities Technical Guidance Document (Monitoring), M17. [Online] Available at: http://persona.uk.com/kings_lynn/Core_docs/Q/Q1.pdf [Accessed 10/08/2013]. Environment Agency, 2004b, ‘Guidance on Assessment of Risk on Landfill Sites’. Bristol. Environment Agency, 2004c, ‘Habitats Directive Work Instruction (Appendix 6): Further Guidance applying the Habitat Regulations to Waste Management Facilities’. [Online] Available at: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/41054573/52_02-Habitats-DirectiveWork-Instruction-(Appendix-6)-Further [Accessed 10/08/2013] Environment Agency, 2007, ‘The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007, Draft Standard rules seventeen – composting in open windrows’. Bristol. Environment agency, 2011, ‘Integrated waste management, final assessment report’, Bristol. Germane, R., 2004, ‘Environmental law and economics in the European Union and the United States: a common ground’, university of London. Hogan, R. et al. 2003, ‘Energy self sufficiency for new biosolids digestion and drying, biocycle energy’. HighBeam Research. [Online] Available at: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-379399651.html [Accessed 10/08/2013]. HSE, 2002, Workplace health, safety and welfare: a short guide for managers, London: HSE Books. Maurici, J., 2006, ‘An introduction to environmental law’, landmark chambers. [Online] Available at: http://landmarkchambers.co.uk/resources/AN_INTRODUCTION_TO_ENVIRONMENTAL_LAW.pdf [Accessed 10/08/2013]. Nadella, M, 2004, Improving energy efficiency in thermal oil recovery surface facilities, SNC Lavalin Inc Scottish Environmental protection agency, 2009, ‘SEPA’s thermal treatment of waste guidelines 2009’, Scotland. Read More