The goal of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) is to preserve the natural habitats and biodiversity of the Baltic Sea. The HAZBREF initiative, funded at the European level, was created to realise this plan, and carries out regular wastewater and air analyses of industrial plants. On the German side, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) helped implement the initiative. adelphi provided support by preparing recommendations for the textile sector.
In addition to testing, the HAZBREF project analysed and documented emission pathways for industrial facilities in the Baltic Sea region. Initially, some gaps in regulations werer noticed such as the European regulation on chemicals (REACH), for example – and ‘Best Available Techniques’ (BAT) documents lack information on hazardous substances and detailed responses to questions of chemicals management. This was because the substance information and risk management recommendations had not been systematised and were not easily accessible. The results of the HAZBREF project from four EU partner countries developed specific recommendations on how to make the information in these BAT leaflets more specific in order to allow working out legally binding conclusions from them. To this end, the project compiled and evaluated comprehensive, plant-specific information on the use of hazardous substances along with the approval process of the plants in legal terms.
As part of this interregional initiative, adelphi helped the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) coordinate and process the results, with a focus on the textile sector in Germany, Estonia, Poland and Sweden. Based on sectoral case studies, surveys and questionnaires, adelphi developed an industry guide – not only to provide information on the application and management of hazardous chemicals in the textile sector, but also to introduce model chemical approvals. adelphi also used the case studies to identify and document industry-specific and generally transferable measures for the selection and management of chemicals, substitution options, and the prevention of emissions.