upon. This is explained using terms which have gainedcommon currency such as ‘process contribution’, ‘ambientconcentration’, ‘predicted environmental concentration’ and‘environmental quality criteria’ for contamination of air, waterand land. In Chapter 4 there is a worked example whichdemonstrates the techniques for assessing the signi� cance ofdischarges to air of combustion gases and metallic fumes andto water of heavy metals.

The publication is certainly chock-full of important andrelevant information. It is well worth a place on the shelves ofreference books of project and SHE managers and buddingchemical engineers. Its particular strength is as an aid to‘joined-up thinking’ by specifying and giving guidance on thelogic trail between source terms and signi� cance of releases.

I found the presentation of the ‘references’, ‘relatedinformation’ and ‘sources’ a tad inconsistent.

The inclusion of a worked example was a good idea butthis would have been even better if there had been more thana passing reference to sensitive target sites and whom toapproach for specialist information on these.

Although BATNEEC is discussed, BPEO deserves morethan the passing mention it gets. Many examples come tomind where, for an identical IPC Process sited in differentareas of the UK, the BPEO abatement is dictated by localcircumstances. In a case in my experience the treatment of� uoride-containing fumes for one company in the north-west of England was scrubbing and discharge to sewer. Forthe sister company in southern England it had to be dry� ltration as the local municipal sewage treatment workscould not accept the loading of the aqueous discharge. Thesedifferences obviously affect the nature of the releases andthe consequent environmental assessments and analyses.

It would have been useful to say that applications to theEnvironmental Agencies need to contain results from pre-application monitoring of emissions and also a strategy forcontinued monitoring including proposals for monitoringfrequency. If this information is not volunteered theAgencies will set a condition in the licence which meetstheir requirements.

In respect of emissions to air, emphasis is rightly placedon the importance of odours and there are some usefulreferences given but there are others which surprisingly donot get a mention, such as the DoE/HMIP publication on thecharacterization of VOCs. This latter publication not onlyclassi� es or gives criteria for classi� cation but also givesinformation on odour thresholds.

The overall usefulness of this IChemE publication is notin doubt and will increase the understanding and skills of allpractitioners of environmental assessment.

Readers wishing to order IChemE publications pleasecontact Book Sales, Institution of Chemical Engineers,Davis Building, 165–189 Railway Terrace, Rugby CV213HQ, UK. Tel: +44 1788 578214, Fax: +44 1788 560833,E-mail: booksales@icheme.org.uk

1999 Pollution Handbook—The Essential Guide to UKand European Pollution Control LegislationLoveday Murley (ed)National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protec-tion (NSCA), 1999530 pp, £32.00ISBN 0903 474 42 5

Reviewed by Richard Grif� ths (Environmental TechnologyCentre, Department of Chemical Engineering, UMIST,Manchester, UK).

This well-known Handbook has been published eachyear since 1985. The 1999 edition has only a modestincrease in length over last year’s edition. The currentedition has the following chapters:

(1) Integrated Pollution Control and Other Principles ofControl: General principles; Implementation and enforce-ment authorities; Integrated pollution control; Nuisance;Access to environmental information; Planning controland environmental assessment; Environmental managementand audit systems; Environmental liability.(2) Air Pollution: Early controls; International andEuropean initiatives; Implementation and enforcementauthorities; Air quality management; Regulation of indus-trial emissions; Regulation of agricultural pollution;Regulation of pollution from road vehicles; Aircraftemissions; Radiation; Control of process odours.(3) Noise Pollution: General neighbourhood noise; Regula-tory controls on neighbourhoo d noise nuisance; Entertain-ment noise; Industrial and construction site noise; Road traf� cnoise; Aircraft noise; Rail noise; Occupational noise; Lowfrequency noise; Effects of noise; Measurement of noise.(4) Waste Pollution: Waste, general; The European Unionand waste management; Implementation and enforce-ment authorities; Waste on land: regulatory controls;Contaminated land; Litter; Radioactive waste.(5) Water Pollution: Introduction to controls on waterpollution; The European Union and water pollution control;Implementation and enforcement authorities; Regulatorycontrols; Marine pollution; Pesticides.

Appendices: Integrated pollution control and otherprinciples of control; Air pollution; Noise pollution (nomaterial in this appendix this year); Waste pollution; Water;The European Community and the environment.

There is a useful bibliography organized into topicareas, and the index is very thorough.

The Handbook has been updated to December 1998, witha preface drawing attention to a number of developmentsthat are in the pipeline. These include reference to theimplementation of the 1996 Directive on IntegratedPollution Prevention and Control, for which regulationsmust be in place by the end of October 1999, issues concern-ing charging and reporting in relation to integrated pollu-tion control, the Government’s proposals for amending theNational Air Quality Strategy, the adoption of a new Direc-tive on drinking water, and the cessation of the dumpingof sewage sludge at sea as of 1 January 1999, as requiredby the 1991 Directive on Urban Waste Water Treatment.

These substantial developments will no doubt result in aconsiderable expansion of the content of the Handbook forthe year 2000 edition. As noted in previous reviews, theNSCA Handbook is very modestly priced, and is mostexcellent value, especially considered as an alternative toa subscription to one of the loose-leaf updateable publica-tions. Provided one keeps pace with the current develop-ments, the NSCA Handbook is by far the most cost-effective summary and guide that is currently availableon this topic. It is highly commended to anyone requiringa comprehensive guide to this � eld.

250 BOOK REVIEWS

Trans IChemE, Vol 77, Part B, July 1999