Emission Accounts.ppt

Emission Accounts Outline What do emission accounts measure? Basic definitions SEEAW standard tables Supplementary tables/information What do emission accounts measure? Emission accounts describe, in physical units, flows of pollutants added to wastewater as a result of production and consumption, and flowing into water resources either directly or through the sewage network. Why compiling emission accounts Emission accounts provide information on Which activities are responsible for the emission How much is being emitted Where is being emitted Thus they are useful for designing policies aimed at reducing pressure on the environment Why compiling emission accounts Since they are linked to the economic accounts, they allow for the formulation of cost-effective policies aiming at reducing emissions the evaluation of the economic impacts of policies aiming at reducing emissions Basic concepts and definitions Emissions to water are defined as direct release of a pollutant to water as well as the indirect release by transfer to an off-site wastewater treatment plant. The SEEAW focuses only on the release of substances into water resources through the (direct and indirect) discharge of wastewater into water resources. The direct discharge of heavy metals and hazardous waste not through wastewater is not covered in the water emission accounts but in the waste accounts. Wastewater and pollutants pathways Basic concepts and definitions Point source emissions are those emissions for which the geographical location of the discharge of the wastewater is clearly identified (for example, emissions from wastewater treatment plants, power plants, other industrial establishments) They are generally considered easier to measure since the point of emission to the water resources is clearly identified Basic concepts and definitions Non-point (or diffuse) sources of pollution are sources without a single point of origin or a specific outlet into a receiving water body. Pollutan