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by Steven Titch, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | Chemicals manufacturers are turning to new software platforms to ensure real-time compliance with environmental regulations in the U.S. and the EU. |
In March 23, 2005, an explosion ripped through BP's 1,200-acre refinery in Texas City, TX, about 30 miles southeast of Houston, killing 15 plant workers. The explosion, which will cost BP plc approximately $1 billion in rebuilding, $21 million in fines, and untold millions in lawsuits, was caused by unenforced and undefined procedures for managing environmental compliance. As environmental issues move to the political fore worldwide, governments are not only increasing the amount of environmental health and safety (EH&S) regulations on chemicals manufacturers, they are making the cost of non-compliance prohibitive. Two trends are driving the chemicals industry toward investment in advanced systems that ensure regulatory compliance in emissions tracking and reduction. First, there are ongoing clean air and water initiatives designed to reduce pollution, including the European Union's Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) requirements, which call for chemicals manufacturers to gather information on the properties of their substances and to register the information in a central database. Second, treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol have set up emissions trading systems that create an economic incentive for chemicals companies to manage their emissions. [Click to continue] |