building a better future - Cemex

CEMEX reports zero Category 1 1
environmental incidents in 2011
Through rigorous efforts to standardize implementation of
our environmental management processes, we have steadily
decreased our annual Category 1 incident rate from 19 in
2008—when we first began reporting—to zero in 2011.
CEMEX is now prioritizing the reduction of Category 2 and 3
incidents using root-cause analysis, training, and continued
process improvements through our new, risk-based EMS. We
will begin reporting on Category 2 and 3 incidents in our
2012 Sustainable Development Report.
managing our air emissions
The cement-manufacturing process involves significant
releases of atmospheric pollutants, including nitrogen oxides
(NOx), sulfur compounds (SOx), and dust. Other pollutants,
released in very small or negligible quantities, include dioxins,
furans, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals (including
mercury). To control these major and minor emissions and
stay in compliance with local and national regulations, we
have steadily expanded our emissions monitoring efforts at
manufacturing operations. In 2011, 80 percent of our clinker
was produced with continuous monitoring of major emissions
(dust, NOx and SOx), while 82 percent was produced with
monitoring of both major and minor emissions.
Rüdersdorf Cement Plant
CATEGORY 1 INCIDENTS
20
15
10
5
0
08 09 10 11
1 Category 1 incidents are defined as major, uncontrolled spills
or releases beyond site boundaries, and in breach of internal
control procedures and/or standards. These may imply major
damage and/or destruction to protected habitats or species,
and/or material spillage greater than 1,000 liters or 2,000 Kg.
Such incidents require immediate notification and follow-up
with regulators, and may involve legal action.
To further improve upon these efforts, we have updated our
performance targets for 2015, contributed to multi-stakeholder
dialogues in our sector to address the handling of dioxins
and mercury emissions, and aligned our emissions disclosures
with the CSI reporting protocol. While our NOx, SOx, and dust
emissions did increase in 2011, in all cases we are still below
our new 2015 targets, which are more stringent than many
local air-control limits and emissions regulations.
Original
target
New
target
New target
reduction
vs. 2005
baseline
2009 2010 2011
Emissions targets for 2015
Dust specific emissions (g/ton of clinker) 106 89 101 155 120 61%
NOx specific emissions (g/ton of clinker) 1.063 1.134 1.094 1.667 1.600 18%
SOx specific emissions (g/ton of clinker) 410 334 335 520 520 10%
During 2011, we reduced our specific NOx emissions from 1,134 to 1,094 g/ton
clinker, maintained our specific SOx emissions at 335 g/ton clinker and increased
our specific dust emissions from 89 to 101 g/ton clinker. The increase in specific
Dust emissions is mainly due to inaccuracies related to monitoring not done on a
continuous basis in some of our kilns, as we have yet to install monitoring equipment
in 20 percent of our kilns.
< previous 26 next>