Controls on Animal Carcase Incinerators
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REGULATION (EC) No 1774/2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption. & The Animal By-Products (England) Regulations 2005. S.I.2005/2347 CONTROLS ON LOW CAPACITY ANIMAL CARCASE INCINERATION PLANTS – Version 2.2 These notes are intended as guidance for Defra and State Veterinary Service officials and for incinerator operators. They are likely to be subject to some revision in the light of experience gained. Please note the version number at the top of the page. The most recent version of the guidance will be available from the Defra Animal By-Products website (http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/by-prods/default.htm) Please note: The information contained herein is to assist with the understanding of the above legislation. It is not a definitive interpretation of the law which only the courts can provide. If you have any questions/comments on this Guidance Note, please email us on [email protected]. Background 1. Article 12 of the "Animal By Products Regulation” (Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002) provides for the approval of incinerator plants burning only animal by-products (i.e. animal carcases/ parts of carcases) and which are exempt from the more onerous controls of the Waste Incineration Directive, 2000/76/EC (WID). This applies to most incinerators on farms, at hunt kennels and knackers’ yards, and at pet crematoria. Those incinerator plants which burn “processed products” (e.g. meat and bone meal, tallow), catering waste or material other than animal carcases/parts of carcases must be approved under the WID, even if they burn animal by-products as well. 2. Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 permits high capacity (>50kg/hour) incinerator plants to burn Specified Risk Material and ruminant carcases. Furthermore, Commission Regulation 808/2003 of 12 May 2003 amended Regulation 1774/2002 to permit the incineration of Specified Risk Material (SRM) or ruminant carcases containing SRM in low capacity (<50kg/hour) incinerator plants. Specific measures with which these low capacity incinerators must comply are now included in Annex IV, Chapter VII, of the amended Regulation. These additional SRM controls will not apply to the majority of existing low capacity incinerator plants that only incinerate pig and poultry carcases. 1 3. Regulation 1774/2002 is enforced in England by the Animal By- Products Regulations 2005 ((SI 2005/2347) ABPR). In particular, regulation 14 covers incinerator approvals, regulation 35 covers record keeping, and Schedule 3 (Part VI) covers transitional measures for low capacity incinerators. Similar legislation has been introduced in the rest of GB. 4. Under the ABPR, the State Veterinary Service is responsible for inspecting and approving incinerator plants in accordance with Regulation 1774/2002. The controls with which operators must comply are explained in Appendix 1. These apply in addition to the environmental controls summarised in Appendix 2 which are the responsibility of the Environment Agency or the Local Authority, depending on the size of the incinerator. 5. Low capacity incinerators burning animal by-products that are waste, other than carcases from agricultural premises, are controlled by the waste management provisions under Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These premises are regulated by the Environment Agency and are required to either: (a) be controlled by a waste management licence e.g. Pet crematoria; or (b) operate within the exemption from licensing provided by paragraph 29 of Schedule 3 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (WMLR). This is subject to a number of restrictions and applies only if the waste is incinerated at the site of production by the person producing it, and there is no risk to human health or the environment. Therefore, although a plant may be approved under the ABPR it may also require licensing under the WMLR e.g. a pet crematorium burning non- agricultural waste. 6. The provisions of Regulation 1774/2002 applied in full: from 1 May 2003 for low capacity (less than 50 kg/hour) incinerator plants which commenced operation after 1 November 2002 or which incinerate SRM or ruminant carcases from which the SRM has not been removed; and from 1 January 2005 for non-SRM low capacity incinerator plants which commenced operation on or before 1 November 2002. 7. Low capacity incinerator plants are incinerator plants with a throughput of less than 50 kg of animal by-products per hour. This category of incinerator is deemed to be exempt from the requirements of Part B Local Authority Air Pollution Control. In order to validate whether a particular incinerator is exempt from these controls, you should contact your Local Authority. 2 NB: To ascertain ‘throughput’ it is necessary to know the capacity of the plant. For the purpose of approving animal carcase incinerators, we interpret ‘throughput’ as meaning the ‘sum of the incineration capacities of the furnaces of which an incineration plant is composed, as specified by the manufacturer and confirmed by the operator, with due account taken, in particular, of the calorific value, expressed as the quantity of waste incinerated per hour’. This is the definition of ‘nominal capacity’ in Article 3(7) of Directive 2000/76/EC’ (Waste Incineration Directive). Operators of a multi-incinerator plant must contact their local authority, who may require further information, to ascertain whether or not the plant is indeed operating at under 50kg/hour. Provided the local authority is content that the plant is operating at under 50kg/hour, we should consider it as being a ‘low capacity’ plant for the purpose of approving the premise under the ABPR. 8. SVS Inspections and Approvals 8.1 When the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003 came into force on the 1 July 2003, we issued general approvals to premises which had previously been handling animal by-products e.g. on-farm non-SRM incinerators. The purpose of the general approvals was to allow sufficient time for operators to apply for approval, and for the State Veterinary Service (SVS) to undertake the necessary inspection visits and grant or refuse an individual approval. 8.2 These general approvals have now expired and operators must obtain and complete an application form (ref: abpr 2) for individual approval from their local animal health office.] 8.3 Failure to obtain an individual approval will mean that the incinerator is operating illegally and continued use of them to dispose of animal by-products is a criminal offence. NB: Approval may be withdrawn at any time if the operator does not comply with the basic transitional requirements in paragraph 9 above and, if so, will not be re-instated until the incinerator complies with the full requirements of Regulation 1774/2002. 9. WID Approved Incinerators 9.1 Although, the SVS are not responsible for the approval of WID incinerator plants, veterinary officials will inspect these plants to ensure compliance with the other provisions of the ABPR e.g. record keeping requirements, pest control, transportation and collection of animal by- products. 3 10. Validating Incinerators: 10.1 We have agreed that manufacturers can seek Type Approval from Defra for their various models of low capacity incinerator. The reason for this is twofold; (i) Type Approval will demonstrate that the “residence time” of gases can be achieved in accordance with the Regulation in that particular model (i.e. The gases resulting from the combustion process must reside in the combustion chamber for at least 2 seconds at 850°C); and (ii) The issuing of Type Approvals will assist incinerator operators/manufacturers in demonstrating that the incinerators comply with the requirements of the Regulation without the need to seek independent verification of the residence time for each individual incinerator. However, if, at anytime, the approving authority (SVS/Defra) are not content that the “residence time” requirements are being met, they can ask for additional independent verification, at the operators/manufacturers expense (as appropriate), and approval may be subsequently withdrawn if that verification cannot be given. Additionally, the competent authority must be seen to be verifying the data on which we have based out Type Approvals. Therefore, we propose that, during 2005 we will require independent verification at the manufacturers expense of the technical data on which Type Approval was based. Initially this would be for 1 model per manufacturer, on a specific model chosen by Defra. 10.2 A suggested methodology that manufacturers can use is at Appendix 3, but alternative methods may be used provided they take account of operation according to the manufacturers’ standards, the flow of the main (and usually secondary) chamber, and demonstrated flow rate through the stack. Where such alternative methods are used, Defra may require that the methodology is independently verified at the manufacturers expense. NB: The Type Approval Methodology, as set out in Appendix 3, is only applicable to incineration plants which have both a primary and secondary chamber fitted. Manufacturers/operators of single chamber incinerators must obtain independent verification of the residence time prior to seeking approval. 10.3 Prior to the inspection visit for approval, operators should check with either their incinerator manufacturer or with their local Defra Animal Health Office as to whether or not their incinerator is either; a) a fully Type Approved Incinerator i.e. Defra is satisfied that, on the basis of the information submitted by the manufacturer, the incinerator model complies with the “residence time” requirements; or b) are currently undergoing Defra verification of the Type Approval Declaration information submitted by the manufacturer. 4 10.4 Any incinerators, which do not have Defra Type Approval, must be certified independently to the same standard (i.e. The gases resulting from the combustion process must reside in the combustion chamber for at least 2 seconds at 850°C) at the operator's expense from a [suitably qualified person].