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Indicator Specification
No rationale has been identified for this indicator
This indicator tracks trends of industrial emissions of selected water pollutants. The indicator includes releases of certain heavy metals (Cadmium, Nickel, Mercury and Lead), nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) and a global parameter to indicate the load of organic matter (total organic carbon). These trends are overlaid to the trend in gross value added by industry, as an indicator of the economic contribution of the sector.
The aggregated EU-27 trends feature in Figure 1 while country specific trend changes are offered in Figure 2.
The geographical coverage comprises the 27 EU Member States (EU-27) (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden).
The temporal coverage is 2010-2019. Data were reported to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR).
Emissions — percentage change with reference to 2010
Gross value added — percentage change with reference to 2010
Anthropogenic emissions of heavy metals, nutrients and organic matter contribute to a wide range of detrimental effects for the environment and human health. While many human activities contribute to these emissions, industry and waste water treatment operations are significant sources.
The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) requires industry operators to submit, among other data, values for direct releases of pollutants into water across 91 pollutants. Additionally, large waste water treatment plants also report to the E-PRTR. These collect water from sewer systems that contain effluents both from industry, commercial, residential and other activities. While they are designed to reduce pollution, their efficiency is not complete and the E-PRTR captures the remaining pollution they release into water ecosystems.
Protection of water ecosystems from industrial emissions is regulated mainly via the water policy and the industrial emission policy. The former has two key pieces of EU law that are most relevant: 1) the mechanisms of priority substances and 2) the waste water treatment plant Directive. This EU legislation imposes a case-by-case permit for large industrial operators, which contains emission limit values to water. If the industry operator releases water to the sewerage system, provisions as to how and which emission levels are acceptable are also foreseen.
This indicator is useful to capture how these mechanisms contribute to a progressive reduction in the final releases to water ecosystems in Europe. Due to the way the reporting mechanisms are designed and the fact that industry is often connected to a sewerage system, this indicator cannot distinguish releases that are fully generated in an industry context, from those that are mixed with other sources (e.g. commercial or residential).
No targets have been specified
No related policy documents have been specified
Queries are applied to the Industrial Emissions Database (where the E-PRTR is included) to extract and aggregate emissions reported individually for each operator in Europe to produce Figures 1 and 2. Emissions are aggregated at country and European level, indexed to 2010 levels and a trend line is then constructed.
For Fig. 1, the gross added value is indexed to 2010 levels and a trend line constructed.
Gap filling was performed to complete data missing for some countries in the last years of the timeline. Future versions will include more complete datasets as countries resolve these issues as time passes by.
While the E-PRTR contains data since 2007, the earlier years are incomplete and of lesser quality. This has led to the indicator showing data starting from 2010.
EC, undated, ‘Industrial policy’ (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy_en) accessed 5 October 2020.
EC, 2020, ‘Making Europe’s businesses future-ready: A new industrial strategy for a globally competitive, green and digital Europe’ (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_416) accessed 5 October 2020.
EEA, 2019a,Industrial waste water treatment — Pressures on Europe’s environment, EEA Report No 23/2018, European Environment Agency (https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/industrial-waste-water-treatment-pressures/at_download/file) accessed 4 April 2019.
EEA, 2019b, ‘The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR), Member States reporting under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 166/2006’, European Environment Agency (https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/member-states-reporting-art-7-under-the-european-pollutant-release-and-transfer-register-e-prtr-regulation-18) accessed 5 October 2020.
EU, 2000, Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1-73).
No methodology for gap filling has been specified. Probably this info has been added together with indicator calculation.
No uncertainty has been specified
No uncertainty has been specified
No uncertainty has been specified
Work specified here requires to be completed within 1 year from now.
Work specified here will require more than 1 year (from now) to be completed.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/industrial-pollutant-releases-to-water or scan the QR code.
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