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Total hazardous waste

in thousands of tonnes
2004		97
2003		61
2002		831

			Recycled
			Landfilled
			Incinerated

The increase in total 2004 hazardous waste tonnage compared to 2003 is attributable to the Pechiney acquisition.

Total hazardous waste trends vary as specific substances are subject to regulatory changes and individual country classifications. For example, Alcan data in 2003 shows a large decrease over 2002 due to residue disposal pond returned supernatant liquor at the Gove, Australia refinery being declassified as hazardous waste in 2003.

Bauxite residue is excluded in 2003 and 2004 and is now reported separately.

Total hazardous waste rate

in tonnes of hazardous waste per million US$ sales
2004		3.89
2003		4.40
2002		66.57

			Recycled
			Landfilled
			Incinerated

Environmental events

total number of minor events
2004		324
2003		256
2002		259

The increase in environmental events can be attributed to the Pechiney acquisition. Pechiney implemented incident reporting in 2004.

The Alcan share of 2004 minor events is 180, a very significant decrease compared to 2003.

Environmental events rate

minor events per million hours worked
2004		1.76
2003		2.24
2002		2.62

Minor environmental events result in minor or no harm or injury to any person or wildlife and insignificant damage to habitat. The impacts, if any, are temporary in nature, with total restoration occurring in a short period of time. No major environmental events occured during the reporting period.

Bauxite residue

in millions of tonnes
2004		4.3
2003		3.13
2002		2.78

The increase in bauxite residue in 2004 is mainly due to the Pechiney acquisition.

Bauxite residue rate

in tonnes of bauxite residue per tonne of alumina hydrate produced
2004		0.89
2003		1.01
2002		0.84

Excludes bauxite residue from joint ventures outside of Alcan's internal reporting system.

Generated spent potlining

in thousands of tonnes
2004		78.6
		41.7
		0
		54.5
2003		44.5
		77.5
		0
		1.7
2002		47.1
		49.1
		0
		17.2

			1,000s of tonnes of spent potlining generated
			Landfilled
			Incinerated
			Recycled

The increase in spent potlining generated in 2004 is largely due to the Pechiney acquisition and an unusally large production of spent potlining (16,000 tonnes) in Vlissingen following a major retrofit. The 2003 figure has been restated due to the availability of more accurate figures. The amount of spent potlining per year fluctuates as it depends on the number of potlinings replaced as part of routine potline maintenance.

Generated spent potlining rate

in kg per tonne of hot metal produced
2004		23.2
2003		20.5
2002		21.5

The increase in the rate of 20.5 in 2003 to 23.2 in 2004 is largely attributable to an unusally large production of spent potlining (16,000 tonnes) in Vlissingen following a major retrofit.

Primary Metal dust emissions – smelters only

in kilograms
2004		12,644
2003		10,685
2002		9,991

Although the increase in total particulate emissions is attributable to the Pechiney acquisition, Pechiney accounts for only 3,100 tonnes. With the closure of Arvida in 2004 (approximately 1,400 tonnes), the total increase remains below 2,000 tonnes.

Primary Metal dust emissions rate – smelters only

in kilograms per tonne of hot metal produced
2004		3.74
2003		3.73
2002		3.53

Primary Metal fluoride emissions

in kilograms
2004		5,144
2003		3,694
2002		3,432

Most sites reported improvements in fluoride emissions in 2004.

The increase in total fluoride emissions in 2004 is due to the Pechiney acquisition.

Primary Metal fluoride emissions rate

in kilograms per tonne of hot metal produced
2004		1.52
2003		1.64
2002		1.57

Primary Metal PAH emissions

(Söderberg smelters only) in tonnes
2004		523
2003		621
2002		574

Data for 2003 and 2004 has been restated to more accurately reflect global emissions. Prior data included North American sites only.

Primary Metal PAH emissions rate

(Söderberg smelters only) in kilograms per tonne of hot metal produced
2004		1.01
2003		1.07
2002		1.09

The decrease in rates can be explained by the fact that all sites showed improvements in PAH emissions from 2003 to 2004.

The closure of Arvida (71,000 tonnes) also contributed significantly to the decrease in PAH emissions.

Packaging VOC emissions

in thousands of tonnes
2004		37.9
2003		26.1
2002		11.9

Packaging VOC emissions rate

in thousands of tonnes per million US$ packaging sales
2004		6.19
2003		9.11
2002		5.29

The increase in VOC tonnage is attributable to the Pechiney acquisition.

The reduction in VOC emission rates can be explained by: 1.  The installation of VOC emission reduction systems. Weston installed new oxidisers in 2004; 2.  Permanent total enclosure (PTE) in Shelbyville resulted in a 50% VOC emission reduction; 3.  Sélestat replaced its incinerator and extended solvent recovery systems in 2004; 4.  Through the acquisition of Pechiney, we have increased our sales significantly; 5.  The many sites acquired from Pechiney are mostly located in countries with strict regulatory policies accounting for comparatively lower emission rates.

Alcan’s VOC emissions rose between 2002 and 2003, following the purchase of VAW Packaging (FlexPac), which used exclusively solvent-based processes. Despite the fact that the emission figures for 2004 show the impact of the integration of the Pechiney plants with an increase in overall absolute emissions, there has been a significant improvement in the ratio between Alcan’s VOC emissions and overall volumes.