Compliance
A total of about 80 percent of the Group’s plants require permits in accordance with local legislation. All 18 of the production units in Sweden are covered by permit or reporting requirements. The permits cover conditions for emissions to air and water, and for waste management. Each year, all of the Swedish plants covered by permits report on their compliance with the permit conditions in separate environmental reports submitted to their local supervisory authorities. Similar reporting to the authorities also takes place in a number of other countries. Applications for renewal of environmental permits are currently in preparation at 34 plants (including three in Sweden), all of which are expected to receive the permits applied for. Infringements of permit conditions or of environment or health and safety legislation were reported at a total of 18 plants (17). These infringements resulted in fines in three of these cases. The total costs of fines amounted to approximately SEK 130,000 in 2006. The most significant causes for the infringements were emissions to air and wastewater.
| Country |
Number of infringements |
|
Czech Republic |
1 |
|
Denamrk |
1 |
|
France |
3 |
|
Spain |
3 |
|
Sweden |
2 |
|
Turkey |
1 |
|
UK |
1 |
|
US |
5 |
|
Mexico |
1 |
In 2006, three incidents involving spillages or other uncontrolled emissions into the environment were reported. None of these incidents resulted in any significant consequences for people or the environment. In total, 35 (22) minor fires and one explosion occurred, the majority of which took place in machinery and were of a limited nature. In the plant in Tarazona, Spain, a large explosion occurred injuring 11 people and causing extensive material damage. An investigation of the accident showed that it was caused by a faulty design of the autoclave, which exploded.
During 2006, six (two) complaints concerning Trelleborg’s plants were reported by neighbors and others who experienced disturbances. All of these complaints related to noise levels. In December 2006 and January 2007, there was a leakage of saline solution (of the type used during vulcanization in a saline bath) in conjunction with the initiation of operations at a new production facility within the Norregård plant, in Värnamo, Sweden. An investigation is currently in progress, as is a preliminary investigation concerning the possibility of an environmental infringement.