Air
Information regarding emissions to air associated with Global Warming and Ozone Depletion are discussed in other sections.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are released to air primarily from the use of solvents in manufacturing processes and research and development activities. Emissions of VOCs to air can give rise to ground level ozone due to the action of UV light. The effects of ground level ozone act at a regional level. Elevated levels may be a health hazard and have an adverse effect on plant life. Some VOCs are also greenhouse gases and may contribute to climate change. VOCs can be divided into two categories; non-halogenated VOCs that account for the majority of our use and halogenated VOCs that are generally considered to have a higher environmental impact.

Solvents are recycled and reused as much as possible at our main manufacturing facilities to minimise the amounts of fresh solvent consumed. We also minimise emissions to air by using VOC abatement equipment including technologies such as catalytic oxidation, low-temperature cryogenic condensation and adsorption of pollutants on activated carbon.

Performance
During 2007 our facilities used 18 thousand tonnes of solvents, an increase of 9% from 2006. Despite this, due to improved abatement control, emissions of VOCs totalled 235 tonnes, a reduction of 23% from 2006.

Halogenated solvent use (343 tonnes) and related VOC emissions (11 tonnes) make up a small portion of these totals.

Water
All of our facilities use water and subsequently discharge wastewater to be treated either on site or by municipalities. We measure both the total volume used and the load that our effluents, primarily from R&D and manufacturing activities, place on the aquatic environment. See the Biodiversity, land and water use section for more details about our water use.

Consistent with our commitment to product stewardship, we are pursuing efforts to minimise the amounts of any pollutants including our products being released into the environment in effluent discharges from our facilities.  For more information, visit the Pharmaceuticals in the Environment section.

Performance
Discharged organic material from our manufacturing sites expressed as Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) decreased by 1% from 2006 to 2007 and amounted to 526 tonnes.