Article
1
Definitions
For the purposes of the present Protocol,
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1.
“Convention” means the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, adopted in Geneva on 13 November 1979;
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2.
“EMEP” means the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe;
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3.
“Executive Body” means the Executive Body for the Convention constituted under article 10, paragraph 1, of the Convention;
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4.
“Commission” means the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe;
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5.
“Parties” means, unless the context otherwise requires, the Parties to the present Protocol;
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6.
“Geographical scope of EMEP” means the area defined in article 1, paragraph 4, of the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution on Long-term Financing of the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP), adopted in Geneva on 28 September 1984;
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7.
“SOMA” means a sulphur oxides management area designated in annex III under the conditions laid down in article 2, paragraph 3;
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8.
“Critical load” means a quantitative estimate of an exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on specified sensitive elements of the environment do not occur, according to present knowledge;
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9.
“Critical levels” means the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere above which direct adverse effects on receptors, such as human beings, plants, ecosystems or materials, may occur, according to present knowledge;
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10.
“Critical sulphur deposition” means a quantitative estimate of the exposure to oxidized sulphur compounds, taking into account the effects of base cation uptake and base cation deposition, below which significant harmful effects on specified sensitive elements of the environment do not occur, according to present knowledge;
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11.
“Emission” means the discharge of substances into the atmosphere;
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12.
“Sulphur emissions” means all emissions of sulphur compounds expressed as kilotonnes of sulphur dioxide (kt SO2) to the atmosphere originating from anthropogenic sources excluding from ships in international traffic outside territorial waters;
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13.
“Fuel” means any solid, liquid or gaseous combustible material with the exception of domestic refuse and toxic or dangerous waste;
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14.
“Stationary combustion source” means any technical apparatus or group of technical apparatus that is co-located on a common site and is or could be discharging waste gases through a common stack, in which fuels are oxidized in order to use the heat generated;
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15.
“Major new stationary combustion source” means any stationary combustion source the construction or substantial modification of which is authorized after 31 December 1995 and the thermal input of which, when operating at rated capacity, is at least 50 MWth. It is a matter for the competent national authorities to decide whether a modification is substantial or not, taking into account such factors as the environmental benefits of the modification;
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16.
“Major existing stationary combustion source” means any existing stationary combustion source the thermal input of which, when operating at rated capacity, is at least 50 MWth;
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17.
“Gas oil” means any petroleum product within HS 2710, or any petroleum product which, by reason of its distillation limits, falls within the category of middle distillates intended for use as fuel and of which at least 85% by volume, including distillation losses, distils at 350°C;
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18.
“Emission limit value” means the permissible concentration of sulphur compounds expressed as sulphur dioxide in the waste gases from a stationary combustion source expressed in terms of mass per volume of the waste gases expressed in mg SO2 /Nm3, assuming an oxygen content by volume in the waste gas of 3% in the case of liquid and gaseous fuels and 6% in the case of solid fuels;
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19.
“Emission limitation” means the permissible total quantity of sulphur compounds expressed as sulphur dioxide discharged from a combustion source or group of combustion sources located either on a common site or within a defined geographical area, expressed in kilotonnes per year;
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20.
“Desulphurization rate” means the ratio of the quantity of sulphur which is separated at the combustion source site over a given period to the quantity of sulphur contained in the fuel which is introduced into the combustion source facilities and which is used over the same period;
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21.
“Sulphur budget” means a matrix of calculated contributions to the deposition of oxidized sulphur compounds in receiving areas, originating from the emissions from specified areas.