Standards and regulation in the pharmaceutical industry 

Air emissions

Taking the EU as a whole, gaseous wastes represent a surprisingly large amount of the material lost from the economy every year, considerably more than the material either recycled or sent to landfill. Much of this gaseous waste is from burning fuel to make (primarily) carbon dioxide and water, but other chemicals also enter the air from manufacturing and product use. Air pollution has various forms, including particulate matter (microscopic solids dispersed in the air) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). VOCs encompass a diverse group of chemicals originating from both human and natural sources. VOC emissions are generally decreasing in Europe (EEA, 2024), but VOC emissions from the chemical industry are stubbornly resistant to this trend. Anthropogenic sources of VOCs include refrigerants, fuels and fragrant products (including household cleaning products) and industrial solvents.

Indoor VOC pollution primarily consists of substances like ethyl acetate, formaldehyde, and toluene. These emissions, like all VOCs, pose a substantial environmental threat, contributing to issues like global warming, ozone layer depletion, and smog/haze formation. Furthermore, the high toxicity and carcinogenic potential of most VOCs presents an often underestimated health risk, underscoring the urgency for effective VOC management strategies. This is the motivation behind the reformulation of asthma inhalers. Amazingly, half of pharmaceutical company GSK's carbon footprint comes from the salbutamol inhaler propellant (GSK, 2023). Research has developed a low impact delivery system that is undergoing clinical trials.

As for industrial emissions, various techniques for VOC emission control are documented, including both destruction-based and non-destruction-based methods. Li et al. (2023) meticulously reviewed these technologies, delineating their underlying principles, benefits, drawbacks, and current research focal points. This comprehensive analysis highlighted the necessity of adopting and refining VOC abatement methods to mitigate their environmental and health impacts effectively.

In the pharmaceutical industry, VOCs emissions can be effectively managed using combined treatment methods. If fugative emissions are substantial enough, VOC emissions can be treated in a dedicated plant by incinerating them to generate energy. Preferentially, the VOCs never escape in the first place, and can be contained with appropriate facilities to condense any vapours. There is a significant energy burden to VOC control which is recognised in some pharmaceutical industry solvent selection guides, so although certainly better for human health, VOC containment is not necessarily carbon neutral (depending on energy sources).