Analysis of the fish and seafood canning industry under the IPPC framework

Fish and seafood canning industry constitutes a fundamental sector for the economy of Galicia (NW Spain), where those companies represent more than 50% of the total number of installations of this sector in Spain, and they account for 80% of the national production. So, highlighting their essential role in the economy of the region, it is important to foster the sustainability through the responsible consumption of raw materials, the prevention and reduction of waste generation and the use of green technologies. This is a desirable goal at the European Union which can be undertaken with the philosophy proposed by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive. This Directive lays down a framework requiring EU Member States to issue oper- ating permits for industrial installations carrying out certain activities described in its Annex 1, including fish and seafood canning industry in its epigraph 6.4.b. The main points of those laws are prevention, multimedia li- censing, reporting, freedom of access of information, use of Best Available Techniques (BAT), and setting of Emission Limit Values (ELVs). Moreover, the Directive takes into account emissions to the air, water and soil, as well as waste management, resource efficiency and energy efficiency aspects. In brief, the purpose of the IPPC is to achieve a high level of protection for the total environment and the health of people. This paper presents the application of the Directive to the fish and seafood canning sector in Galicia, considering the following steps: general information of the sector, which includes a statistical study and the degree of affectation, analysis of the industrial processes, environmental aspects of the productive system, involving the consumption and emission levels, and selection of BAT by offering a method to establish cleaner options or candidate techniques described in a previous work. Several guidelines as BREFs, have been used to establish BAT.