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The list below is an extract from the French and European official gazettes concerning the environment, energy and health and safety at work in May 2024.
ENVIRONMENT
Creation of a new portal on industrial emissions and reporting of environmental data by industrial facilities
Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 15, 2006 on the harmonization of certain social legislation relating to road transport REPEALED BY Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 11, 2024 on shipments of waste [OJEU of April 30, 2024].
Regulation (EU) 2024/1244 of April 24, 2024 lays down rules for the collection and communication of environmental data from industrial facilities, and establishes, as a replacement for the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) as of January1, 2028, a portal on industrial emissions at European Union level in the form of an online database providing public access to these data.
In addition to information on individual plants and contextual data (production volume and number of operating hours), this portal contains information on regular and accidental releases of pollutants (to air, water and soil), on the use of water, energy and raw materials, and on the transfer of waste and pollutants to wastewater.
This regulation applies to the following installations:
- activities listed in Appendix I and exceeding the capacity thresholds indicated ;
- and either discharges one of the pollutants listed in Annex II above the applicable thresholds, or exceeds the set off-site waste transfer thresholds (2 tonnes per year of hazardous waste, 2,000 tonnes per year of non-hazardous waste).
ENERGY
Recast of the Energy Performance Directive
Directive No 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (recast) REPEALED BY Directive (EU) 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on the energy performance of buildings (recast) [OJEU of 8 May 2024].
As part of the "Fit for 55" legislative package, Directive (EU) 2024/1275 of April 24, 2024 sets out the European framework for improving the energy performance and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of buildings.
The Directive repeals Directive 2010/31/EU of May 19, 2010 on the energy performance of buildings ("EPBD") as of May 30, 2026, in order to clarify and strengthen Member States' obligations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption in buildings.
More specifically, it aims to :
- Strengthen the deployment of infrastructures that promote sustainable mobility, particularly with regard to charging stations for electric vehicles and bicycle parking facilities;
- phase out the use of fossil fuels for heating and cooling (among other things, with a definitive phase-out of fuel-fired boilers by 2040);
- strengthen obligations for the installation of technical building systems;
- promote the deployment of solar energy on new and existing buildings and parking lots;
- set minimum energy performance requirements for buildings not previously concerned;
- and, more generally, to achieve the goal of a zero-emissions building stock by 2050.
SAFETY
Correction of errors concerning binding TLVs
Decree no. 2024-307 of April 4, 2024 setting binding occupational exposure limit values for certain chemical agents and completing the traceability of workers' exposure to chemical agents that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction. (corrigendum) [JORF of May 11, 2024]
The corrigendum to decree no. 2024-307 of April 4, 2024 corrects certain errors made in the initial decree.
In detail, the TLVs of the substances identified below are reintroduced, unchanged, into the table of binding TLVs:
- isobutyl acetate CAS No. 110-19-0 ;
- trimethylamine n°CAS 75-50-3 ;
- n-butyl acetate CAS No. 123-86-4 ;
- sec-butyl acetate CAS No. 105-46-4 ;
- isoamyl alcohol CAS n° 123-51-3.
These were abolished by the decree of April 4, 2024.
In addition, the 8h VLEP for Cumene (2-phenyl-propane) CAS no. 98-82-8, has been reduced to 50 mg/m3.
It was newly set at 100 mg/m3 in the decree of April 4, 2024.
Lastly, the effective date of the 8h VLEP for beryllium and its inorganic compounds has also been corrected, to March 1, 2022.
Changes in provisions concerning the fire behavior of power, control and communication cables installed in buildings open to the public
Arrêté du 25 juin 1980 portant approbation des dispositions générales du règlement de sécurité contre les risques d'incendie et de panique dans les établissements recevant du public MODIFIÉ PAR Arrêté du 17 mai 2024 modifiant diverses dispositions des règlements de sécurité contre les risques d'incendie et de panique dans les établissements recevant du public, et pour la construction des immeubles de grande hauteur pris respectivement par l'arrêté du 25 juin 1980 et l'arrêté du 30 décembre 2011 [JORF du 23 mai 2024].
In order to take into account the provisions of the RPC regulations, the Order of May 17, 2024 amends the provisions relating to the fire behavior of power, control and communication cables installed in all 1st to 5th category ERP, as well as in special establishments of type CTS - Marquees, tents and structures and GA - Railway stations.