Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999

1 General purpose of section 2 and definitions

(1) The purpose of section 2 is to enable provision to be made for or in connection with—

(a) implementing Council Directive 96/61/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control;

(b) regulating, otherwise than in pursuance of that Directive, activities which are capable of causing any environmental pollution;

(c) otherwise preventing or controlling emissions capable of causing any such pollution.

(2) In this Act—

• “activities” means activities of any nature, whether—

  (a)

  industrial or commercial or other activities, or

  (b)

  carried on on particular premises or otherwise,

  and includes (with or without other activities) the depositing, keeping or disposal of any substance;

• “environmental pollution” means pollution of the air, water or land which may give rise to any harm; and for the purposes of this definition (but without prejudice to its generality)—

  (a)

  “pollution” includes pollution caused by noise, heat or vibrations or any other kind of release of energy, and

  (b)

  “air” includes air within buildings and air within other natural or man-made structures above or below ground.

(3) In the definition of “environmental pollution” in subsection (2), “harm” means—

(a) harm to the health of human beings or other living organisms;

(b) harm to the quality of the environment, including—

(i) harm to the quality of the environment taken as a whole,

(ii) harm to the quality of the air, water or land, and

(iii) other impairment of, or interference with, the ecological systems of which any living organisms form part;

(c) offence to the senses of human beings;

(d) damage to property; or

(e) impairment of, or interference with, amenities or other legitimate uses of the environment (expressions used in this paragraph having the same meaning as in Council Directive 96/61/EC).