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Approved : Jul 31, 2003 Signed : Nov 10, 2003 Invested : Feb 6, 2004
Sector
Other Agricultural Chemicals (Pesticides, etc.)
Industry
other
Department
Gbl Ind, Manufact, Agribus & Services
Project Description
The proposed project is a part of the corporate restructuring and investment program of United Phosphorus Limited (UPL, or the company). The proposed project will restructure the debt of the company by extending maturities, help rationalize and consolidate the company’s production facilities and expand production of selected agrochemicals, and improve cash flow and international presence through a corporate investment program.
Environmental and Social
IFC requires that this document is made available through the World Bank InfoShop and to the locally affected community no less than 30 days prior to project consideration by the IFC Board of Directors.
The Summary of Project Information (SPI) provides details of where the ERS has been made available to the locally affected community. The SPI must be sent to InfoShop no less than 30 days prior to project consideration by the IFC Board of Directors.
This is a Category B project, according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects because a limited number of specific environmental impacts may result which can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria. The review of this project consisted of appraising technical and environmental information submitted by the project sponsor and a field appraisal of all facilities. The following potential environmental, health and safety impacts of the project were analyzed:
· Environmental and quality certifications, · Air emission control, · Wastewater management and discharge, · Waste/hazardous waste management, and · Safety standards and records.
The sponsor has presented plans to address these impacts to ensure that the proposed project will, upon implementation of the specific measures agreed, comply with applicable host country laws and regulations and World Bank/IFC requirements. The information about how these potential impacts will be addressed by the UPL is summarized in the paragraphs that follow.
As part of UPL''s long-term strategy, all 9 units including two common treatment and disposal facilities, have ISO-14001 (Environmental Management) certification and nearly all have ISO-9001 / 2 (Quality Control) certification. Also, the Jhagadia site has certification under the new Occupational Health & Safety Management System standards OHSAS-18001. This ensures that the UPL top management always has reliable information available.
UPL’s air emissions are generally several factors below the applicable Indian regulations and UPL’s operating permits. UPL also fully complies with World Bank guidelines for active substance control, but at some units does not comply with the World Bank guidelines for HCl and particulate matter. The typical noncompliance for HCl is limited to actual concentrations in the order of 5-14 mg HCl/Nm3, with a guideline limit of 5 mg HCl/Nm3, while the non-compliance for particulate matter depends on the type of production in question and hereby the applicable guidelines (20-50 mg Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)/Nm3). After implementation of an Environmental Action Plan (EAP), to be presented to IFC for approval before first disbursement, all facilities will comply with the HCl limit and as a minimum comply with the a general limit of 50 mg SPM/Nm3, while some facilities will comply with a more stringent limit of 20 mg SPM/Nm3 due to specific pesticide manufacturing activities. The application of the specific limit will be agreed upon during the EAP preparation based on principles for existing facilities as described in the Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook (PPAH).
All UPL’s facilities are currently equipped with or connected to effluent treatment plants. Specifically, one of the operations is a commercial operated common effluent treatment plant providing wastewater treatment services to other Indian companies. All the effluents fully comply with the local standards and are in material compliance with the applicable World Bank guidelines except for Total Suspended Solids (TSS). The World Bank guidelines applied to each of UPL’s facilities reflect the actual operation carried out at these facilities. After implementation of the EAP, described above, all facilities will as a minimum comply with the general limit of 50 mg TSS/liter, while some facilities will comply with a more stringent limit of 10 mg TSS/liter due to specific pesticide manufacturing activities. All UPL facilities already comply fully with both local limits and World Bank guidelines for active substances in the effluents.
Safe hazardous waste management is important when dealing with pesticides, and the waste- and by-products at UPL is treated accordingly. UPL has never deposited products or by-products in landfills. Landfills/storage facilities have previously been operated at the individual production plants, but only for inorganic compounds and these landfills/storage facilities have now been emptied and moved to a commercial secure landfill operation owned and operated by UPL. Further, UPL has three high temperature incineration facilities located strategically within the production. These facilities were implemented together with the initial production units to ensure full destruction of active substances in waste before being deposited. Despite these initial forward looking initiatives the three high temperature incinerators will now need improvements in incineration temperature and retention time to comply with the latest international requirements for hazardous waste incineration (1200oC and ≥2 seconds retention time). As part of the EAP preparation, UPL will present plans for upgrading the existing incinerators to these requirements, or alternatively present plans for installing a new incinerator according to these criteria at one of its locations.
The commercial secure landfill, owned and operated by UPL, was commissioned in 1999 based on German membrane technology. The landfill is up to modern standard and has significant extra land available for a potential expansion.
UPL’s safety records is satisfactory with a corporate 4.7 Lost-Day-Accidents/Million-Man-Hours rate and a good general maintenance and safety standard. The EAP will include some actions to be carried out at UPL’s oldest facility, located in Vapi, to ensure this facility follows the common UPL standard.
Conclusion & Monitoring
Accordingly, IFC concludes that the proposed project will meet the applicable World Bank/IFC environmental and social policies and the environmental, health and safety guidelines upon successful implementation of the agreed mitigation measures.
IFC will evaluate the project''s compliance with the applicable environmental and social requirements during the lifetime of the project by reviewing the annual monitoring reports (AMRs) prepared for the project covering the status of implementing measures contained in the Environmental Action Plan and ongoing performance of project-specific environmental, health and safety activities. Periodic site supervision visits will also be conducted.
Press-Release
Related SPI
Similar Projects
This Environmental Review Summary (ERS) is prepared and distributed in advance of the IFC Board of Directors' consideration of the proposed transaction. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities, and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board of Director’s decision. Any documentation that is attached to this ERS has been prepared by the project sponsor or in conjunction with the project sponsor and authorization has been given for public release. IFC has reviewed this documentation and considers that it is of adequate quality to be released to the public but does not endorse the content. The following ERS is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Disclosure of Information Policy that went into effect September 1998.
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