The EU's Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive (96/61/EC) was adopted in September 1996, requiring member states to issue permits for major industrial installations to promote the use of best available techniques (BATs) for reducing emissions of specified pollutants. The Directive is already in force for new installations but existing sites have until October 2007 to comply. The Directive applies to a wide range of activities in the mining, processing, manufacturing and industrial agriculture sectors. Each industry sector has to develop a set of BAT reference notes (BREFs) in order to guide regulators on appropriate BATs for each element of that industry's activities, taking into account the levels of pollution abatement that are achievable, any cross-media implications, energy consumption and cost. These BREFs have been developed through information exchange between the main stakeholders and their representatives. That for the mineral oil and gas refining sector (the "refinery BREF") included input from the oil companies' European organisation for environment, health and safety (Concawe), which has issued a guidance manual to explain to its mem-bers the implications of the Directive, what it intends to achieve and what they will have to do to comply. The text of the guidance document can be downloaded from Concawe's website at www.concawe.be/Html/Reports.htm.
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