Turkish Forum

Tag: environment

  • New legislation could lead to emission tests on Bosphorus vessels

    New legislation could lead to emission tests on Bosphorus vessels

    New legislation could lead to emission tests on Bosphorus vessels

    11 Jan 2012 – Environment

    Sunset on the European side of the Bosphorus, Istanbul. Image: Seha Islam | Wikimedia Commons

    Istanbul Development Agency passes legislation to inspect high polluting vessels navigating the Bosphorus

    Heavy polluters could be subject to fines under new regulations

    A legislation passed by the Istanbul Development Agency (İSTKA) yesterday could mean vessels in the Bosphorus being subject to emission inspections and fines for the use of highly pollutant fuels.

    ISTKA will join forces with the Istanbul Technical University (ITU) to design a feasibility study to identify heavy polluters among strait traffic. Under the new legislation, suspect vessels will then be required to have their emissions measured by authorities, according to Turkey’s Today’s Zaman.

    “We find this (project) essential and will be offering our support,” ISTKA Secretary-General, Abdulmecit Karatas, told Today’s Zaman on Monday.

    “ISTKA currently plans to allocate TL 1 million to the project in the hopes of creating a functioning system for measuring maritime emissions and fining vessels deemed to be using “cheap and highly pollutant fuels,” he added.

    The Bosphorus remains one of the most important shipping channels in the world and is journeyed by nearly 50,000 vessels each year.

    However, the growing number of ships navigating the Bosphorus and its effect on the quality of Istanbul’s air is a matter of deep concern to both environmental campaigners and city officials.

    Project coordinator and geology professor at the ITU, Tayfun Kindap, told Today’s Zaman that maritime emissions are a great threat to the inhabitants of Istanbul.

    via New legislation could lead to emission tests on Bosphorus vessels.

  • Turkey aims to harmonize its chemical legislation with the EU REACH and CLP regulation on Environmental Expert

    Turkey aims to harmonize its chemical legislation with the EU REACH and CLP regulation on Environmental Expert

    By: Rakibe Külçür

    Courtesy of ENHESA – Global EHS Compliance Assurance

    In Turkey, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation has been aiming to comply with the European Union (EU) legislation on chemicals, amongst others European Union (EU) Regulation EC/1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (known as REACH Regulation) and Regulation EC/1272/2008 on Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP Regulation).

    What’s similar to the EU REACH regulation in Turkey?

    In December 2008 the Regulation on Inventory and Control of Chemicals (Kimyasalların Envanteri ve Kontrolü Hakkında Yönetmelik) O.J.27092 was published by the Ministry to collect information on the substances manufactured and imported to Turkey. The Regulation requires importers and manufacturers of chemical substances to notify them to the Ministry of Environment. Under the Regulation, similar to the EU REACH Regulation all substances, except those listed in the Regulation as exempted substances, that are manufactured or imported to Turkey in quantities exceeding 1 tonne/year (there are two tonnage bands 1 – 1000 tonnes per year and greater than 1000 tonnes per year) have to be registered at the Ministry of Environment.

    In addition, manufacturers and importers must also submit the information set out in Articles 7, 8 and 11 of the Regulation to the Ministry. The registration and notification provision to the Ministry does not apply to certain substances listed in Annex 1 to the Regulation including d-glucitol (CAS No.50-70-4); lactose (CAS No.63-42-3); carbon dioxide (CAS No.124-38-9); calcium pantothenate (CAS No.137-08-6); carbon (CAS No.7440-44-0); and lecithins (CAS No.8002-43-5). Polymers are also exempt from the registration provision of Regulation O.J.27092. Moreover, manufacturers and importers that have done the notification to the Ministry are also required to update the information in certain cases within the time frames established by the Regulation.

    What’s different from the EU REACH regulation, and what’s in store?

    It should be noted that, in contrary to the EU REACH Regulation items that contain substances/preparations (e.g. substances composing ink contained in cartridges and pens) and monomers which compose polymers are not subject to the registration requirement. The Ministry of Environment will draft and publish a priority chemicals list on the basis of the information obtained from the producers and importers of substances. A risk assessment will be conducted on the substances listed in the priority list by the Turkish authorities. If requested, importers and producers must provide information and additional test results of substances to the Ministry. It is expected that the implementation regulations related to the REACH will be published in 2013 by the Ministry of Environment.

    Moreover, in 2008 the Regulation on the Classification, Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances and Preparations (Tehlikeli Maddelerin ve Müstahzarların Sınıflandırılması, Ambalajlanması ve Etiketlenmesi Hakkında Yönetmelik) O.J.27092 was published to transpose the EU Dangerous Substances Directive 67/548/EEC and the Dangerous Preparations Directive 99/45/EC into the Turkish legislation. However, the Regulation is not in full compliance with the CLP Regulation. Thus, a draft Turkish CLP Regulation has been prepared by the Ministry to transpose the CLP Regulation fully. To this end, the Technical Assistance Project of the CLP Regulation was completed in June 2011. Once the Turkish CLP Regulation enters into force it will introduce the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System (GHS) in Turkey. The Turkish CLP would introduce new classification criteria, hazard symbols (pictograms) and labeling phrases for chemicals.

    If you are seeking for more information on the Turkish REACH or other rapid regulatory developments related to EHS in Turkey and how your company can ensure it is in compliance, please contact Enhesa at info@enhesa.com.

    via Turkey aims to harmonize its chemical legislation with the EU REACH and CLP regulation on Environmental Expert.

  • The Lightbulb Conspiracy

    The Lightbulb Conspiracy

    light bulb conspiracyThere once was a time when consumer goods were built to last. Then, in the 1920’s, a group of businessmen realized that the longer their product lasted, the less money they made, thus Planned Obsolescence was born, and manufacturers have been engineering products to fail ever since.

    The current throwaway climate – where the latest technology is outdated after a year and electronics are cheaper to replace than to repair – is the basis for economic growth. But infinite consumption is unsustainable with finite resources. With the economy crumbling and consumers becoming increasingly resistant to the practice, has planned obsolescence reached the end of its own life?

    Combining investigative research and rare archive footage with analysis by those working on ways to save both the economy and the environment, this documentary charts the creation of ‘engineering to fail’, its rise to prominence and its recent fall from grace.

    thinktankdocumentaries.org/the-lightbulb-conspiracy/