Volatile Organic Solvents

Ireland has regulations governing installations and activities using organic solvents (including vehicle refinishers and dry cleaners), these are:

The above regulations are relevant to operators in the Dry Cleaning and Vehicle Refinishing sectors using organic solvents as well as for certain industrial solvent use activities which are not licenced by the Environmental Protection Agency but which fall within the scope of the Solvent Regulations.  The Regulations aim to prevent or reduce direct and indirect effects of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) into the environment and the potential risks to human health by providing measures and procedures to be implemented for specified activities.

Operators which fall under the scope of the regulations must hold a valid certificate of compliance from their Local Authority. To acquire a certificate of compliance, an installation must first engage the services of an approved assessor (details below) for the purposes of having their premises inspected. The approved assessor shall determine the compliance of the operator with the requirements of the regulations and will issue a compliance report to the operator which will either recommend or decline the issuing of a certificate of compliance.

The report must be forwarded to Wexford County Council by the owner/operator with a completed application form and the appropriate fee.  The local authority must then decide, within 28 days, whether to issue a certificate of compliance. Certificates of compliance may be issued for a period of up to 3 years. However, certificates of a shorter duration may be issued if Wexford County Council has concerns about a specific installation (including failure to renew certificates on time).   Application for renewal of a certificate of compliance must be made at least 28 days prior to its expiry date.

Operating without a valid Certificate of compliance is an offence under the 2024 amendment to the regulations and is subject to penalties including a fixed payment notice (on-the-spot fine) of up to €1000. 

If your premises is subject to the Regulations and is not listed in the Registers Below, please contact Wexford County Council as a matter of Urgency.   

Please refer to the above legislation for a list of activities that require a certificate.

Registers 

Best Practice Guidelines

Best Practice Guidelines for Dry Cleaning
Best Practice Guidelines for Vehicle Refinishing

Petrol Stations - Petroleum Vapour Emissions:

Petroleum contains volatile organic compounds (VOC) which are carbon-based chemicals that evaporate readily into the atmosphere. Once emitted to air, VOC are associated with several health and environmental problems.

Wexford County Council has a role in relation to the monitoring of VOC emissions at petrol stations under the following legislation:

Stage 1b Petrol Vapour Recovery:

Stage II Petrol Vapour Recovery:

All service station owners/operators are legally required to ensure that their facility is designed and operated in accordance with these regulations.

Under the above regulations all service station owners/operators are required to engage the services of an independent approved assessor (AA) to carry out an assessment of the Vapour Recovery System at the service station.

Stage 1B Approved Assessor List

Stage 1B Application form

Where a competent authority is satisfied that a report submitted under article 12 discloses that the requirements of the Regulations with regard to testing of a service station have been fulfilled it shall duly notify the manager of the relevant service station and shall, upon payment by the manager of the fee prescribed in article 15, issue a certificate to that effect in the form set out in Section 2 of the Second Schedule. 

A copy of this certificate must be readily available for inspection at the relevant service station.

Decorative Paints 

EPA Decorative Paints Video 

Solvents and Decorative Paints Information

Compliance Certificate Application

Compliance Certificate Application Auto Refinishers

Compliance Certificate Application Dry Cleaners