Statutory Inspection
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At OCA Global, we rely on our professional team, the best in the sector, and we organise our services and resources to meet your demands. As a highly qualified independent inspection body with a global presence, we guarantee the quality and efficiency of all our inspection services anywhere in the world.
Inspection is necessary in most projects and products to guarantee the highest standards of quality and safety in each stage of the process. Through our regulatory inspection services, we help our clients to reduce risks and to comply with the necessary regulatory requirements in the different regions and existing markets.
Environment
Water is a unique and irreplaceable resource; nothing can replace it as a support for life and progress. This resource is the result of the interaction of the various components in the environment, since it is the link between the atmosphere, the ocean, the earth’s surface and the subsoil.
Precisely, on this surface we find waste materials or leftover substances that can be classified as hazardous and non-hazardous. Non-hazardous waste does not pose any threat to health or the environment, however, hazardous waste has dangerous characteristics – these elements are toxic, corrosive, irritant, flammable, explosive, etc. If the latter type of waste is found in water, the consequences can be serious.
OCA Global, through Royal Decree 849/1986, carries out inspections according to the parameters required in discharge authorisations and/or integrated environmental authorisations applicable to each specific industry.
Applicable regulations
- Royal Decree 849/1986
- Royal Decree 606/2003
Industrial processes and combustion centres located in incinerators, smelters and power plants, among others, are considered potential sources or air pollution. The control of the emissions is based on the preventive maintenance and the monitoring of their hours of operation.
Emission of combustion gases
The field of application is for gases emitted in fixed emission sources associated with combustion plants:
On the one hand, by means of electrochemical cells, determining the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen (O2), nitrogen monoxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulphur dioxide (SO2). o On the other hand, in accordance with EN standards, determining the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) by non-dispersive infrared spectrometry (UNE-EN 15058), nitrogen oxides (NOx) by chemiluminescence (UNE-EN 14792), oxygen (O2) by paramagnetism (UNE-EN 14789), and sulphur dioxide (SO2) by uptake (UNE-EN 14791).
TOC emissions
TOC emissions are emissions of volatile organic compounds, including those due to the use of solvents in certain activities. To guarantee the control of the aforementioned activities, it is established that those that are not subject to authorisation must be notified for registration to the competent authority. The purpose is to define the sampling process and equipment necessary for the determination of the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration in effluent gases containing VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from stacks and industrial stationary focuses, according to criteria established in the standard.
Gaseous emissions of particles and other pollutants
The field of application is for the following pollutants found in gas emissions from fixed sources in industrial facilities, thermal power plants, incinerators, etc.: particles, sulphur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen sulphide (SH2), ammonia (NH3), sulphuric acid (H2SO4), hydrochloric acid (HCI), chlorine (Cl2), hydrofluoric acid (HF), metals (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb) , Sb, Se, Sn, Tl, V, and Zn), individualized VOC fluorides, dioxins, and furans.
Applicable national regulations
- Royal Decree 100/2011
- Royal Decree 117/2003
Ambient air quality The determination of ambient air quality aims to prevent and reduce the harmful effects of certain substances harmful to human health and the environment. This entails the evaluation of said substances in their generation areas, which requires the determination of their concentration in the external environment, at ground level, and that to which the personnel are exposed. Examples of centres whose activity affects air quality can be industries that work with plaster, aggregates, cement, etc.
The field of application is for the total suspended particles, for the sedimentable particles, for the determination of the PM 10 fraction, and for the determination of ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulphide (SH2).
Applicable regulations
- Royal Decree 678/2014 Royal Decree 102/2011
- Royal Decree 102/2011
The soil and associated groundwater act as a sink for pollutants that are generated as a result of poor waste management, inadequate practices in industrial facilities, and accidents in the storage or transport of substances.
The field of application of this inspection is for the verification of compliance according to the concentration of pollutants. It is necessary to make a preliminary report when the activity of a company is classified in Annex I of the Royal Decree 9/2005. In addition, the concentration of pollutants in soils must be determined in order to establish if a risk analysis is necessary.
Applicable regulations
- Royal Decree 9/2005
- Royal Decree 646/2020
The state regulations for large oil refining and combustion plants (Royal Decree 430/2004) and waste incineration (Royal Decree 653/2003) require the continuous monitoring of atmospheric emissions (AMS or CEM) and compliance with the levels of guarantee established in the UNE-EN 14181:2005 standard for quality assurance of automatic measurement systems.
OCA Global, as testing laboratory, provides the following services:
- NGC2: calibration of the AMS and determination of the variability of the measured values according to Standard Reference Methods (SRM).
- AFT (Annual Follow-up Test): Evaluation to verify that the AMS is functioning correctly and that the analytical function obtained during NGC2 is still valid.
- Other tests established by the autonomous communities for facilities not affected by Royal Decree 430-04 or Royal Decree 653-03, but with BFT (Biennial Follow-up Test).
Applicable regulations
- Royal Decree 430/2004