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The list below is an excerpt from publications in the French and European official journals concerning environment, energy, and occupational health and safety for May 2024.
ENVIRONMENT
Creation of a new portal on industrial emissions and environmental data reporting by industrial installations
Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport REPEALED BY Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on waste shipments [OJEU of 30 April 2024]
Regulation (EU) 2024/1244 of 24 April 2024 lays down rules concerning the collection and reporting of environmental data from industrial installations and establishes, replacing the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR), from 1st January 2028, a portal on industrial emissions at Union level in the form of an online database allowing public access to this data.
In addition to information on individual and contextual installations (production volume and operating hours), this portal contains information on regular and accidental pollutant releases (into air, water, and soil), on the use of water, energy, and raw materials, as well as on waste shipments and pollutant transfers in wastewater.
This regulation applies to installations:
– falling under the activities listed in Annex I and exceeding the indicated capacity thresholds;
– and which either release one of the pollutants listed in Annex II above the applicable thresholds, or exceed the established off-site waste transfer thresholds (2 tonnes per year of hazardous waste, 2000 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2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (recast) REPEALED BY Directive (EU) 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on the energy performance of buildings (recast) [OJEU of 8 May 2024]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 24 April 2024 establishes the European framework for improving energy performance and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.
The Directive repeals Directive 2010/31/EU of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings ('EPBD Directive') from 30 May 2026 for the purpose of clarifying and strengthening the obligations for Member States to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption of buildings.
It aims more specifically to:
- enhance the rollout of infrastructure promoting sustainable mobility, particularly regarding charging stations for electric vehicles and bicycle parking facilities;
- gradually eliminate the use of fossil fuels for heating and air conditioning (among other measures, with a definitive elimination of fossil fuel boilers by 2040);
- reinforce the requirements for the implementation of building technical systems;
- promote the deployment of solar energy on new and existing buildings and parking lots;
- set minimum energy performance requirements for buildings not previously covered;
- and more generally, contribute to the objective of a zero-emission building stock by 2050.
SAFETY
Correction of errors concerning binding OELs
Decree No. 2024-307 of April 4, 2024, setting binding occupational exposure limits for certain chemical agents and supplementing the traceability of worker exposure to carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic chemical agents (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.
Specifically, the OELs for the substances identified below are reintroduced, without modification, into the table of binding OELs:
- isobutyl acetate CAS No. 110-19-0;
- trimethylamine CAS No. 75-50-3;
- n-butyl acetate CAS No. 123-86-4;
- sec-butyl acetate CAS No. 105-46-4;
- isoamyl alcohol CAS No. 123-51-3.
These had been removed by the decree of April 4, 2024.
Furthermore, the 8-hour OEL for Cumene (2-phenyl-propane) CAS No. 98-82-8, returns to 50 mg/m3.
It had been newly set at 100 mg/m3 in the decree of April 4, 2024.
Finally, the effective date of the 8-hour OEL for Beryllium and its inorganic compounds is also corrected and maintained as March 1, 2022.
Evolution of provisions relating to the fire performance of power, control, and communication cables installed in public access buildings
Order of June 25, 1980, approving the general provisions of the safety regulations against fire and panic risks in public access buildings MODIFIED BY Order of May 17, 2024, amending various provisions of the safety regulations against fire and panic risks in public access buildings, and for the construction of high-rise buildings taken respectively by the order of June 25, 1980, and the order of December 30, 2011 [Official Journal of May 23, 2024]
To take into account the provisions of the CPR regulation, the order of May 17, 2024, amends the provisions relating to the fire performance of power, control, and communication cables installed in all public access buildings (ERP) from 1st to 5th category, as well as in special establishments of type CTS – Marquees, tents and structures and GA – Stations.