# Commission Implementing Decision of 26 September 2014 establishing the best available techniques (BAT) conclusions, under Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, for the production of pulp, paper and board (notified under document C(2014) 6750) (Text with EEA relevance) (2014/687/EU), Division BAT 17: In order to reduce the emissions of noise from pulp and paper manufacturing, BAT is to use a combination of the techniques given below.

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

Technique
Description
Applicability
a
Noise-reduction programme
A noise-reduction programme includes identification of sources and affected areas, calculations and measurements of noise levels in order to rank sources according to noise levels, and identification of the most cost effective combination of techniques, their implementation and monitoring.
Generally applicable.
b
Strategic planning of the location of equipment, units and buildings
Noise levels can be reduced by increasing the distance between the emitter and the receiver and by using buildings as noise screens.
Generally applicable to new plants. In the case of existing plants, the relocation of equipment and production units may be restricted by the lack of space or by excessive costs.
c
Operational and management techniques in buildings containing noisy equipment
This includes:
improved inspection and maintenance of equipment to prevent failures
closing of doors and windows of covered areas
equipment operation by experienced staff
avoidance of noisy activities during night-time
provisions for noise control during maintenance activities
Generally applicable.
d
Enclosing noisy equipment and units
Enclosure of noisy equipment, such as wood handling, hydraulic units, and compressors in separate structures, such as buildings or soundproofed cabinets, where internal-external lining is made of impact-absorbent material.
e
Use of low-noise equipment and noise-reducers on equipment and ducts.
f
Vibration insulation
Vibration insulation of machinery and decoupled arrangement of noise sources and potentially resonant components.
g
Soundproofing of buildings
This potentially includes use of:
sound-absorbing materials in walls and ceilings
sound-isolating doors
double-glazed windows
h
Noise abatement
Noise propagation can be reduced by inserting barriers between emitters and receivers. Appropriate barriers include protection walls, embankments and buildings. Suitable noise abatement techniques include fitting silencers and attenuators to noisy equipment such as steam releases and dryer vents.
Generally applicable to new plants. In the case of existing plants, the insertion of obstacles may be restricted by the lack of space.
i
Use of larger wood-handling machines to reduce lifting and transport times and noise from logs falling onto log piles or the feed table.
Generally applicable.
j
Improved ways of working, e.g. releasing logs from a lower height onto the log piles or the feed table; immediate feedback of the level of noise for the workers.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2014/687/annex/division/9/division/1.1/division/1.1.9/division/bat+17 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2014-687/annex/division-9/division-1.1/division-1.1.9/division-bat+17
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.