Pollution Prevention

The government plays an important role in ensuring healthy living conditions in Iceland, in part by adopting laws and rules on reference limits for pollution, pollution control, industrial operating requirements and monitoring. In so doing, an attempt is made to prevent or reduce pollution which could negatively affect the quality of human life or conditions for other life forms.

All industrial activity which could result in pollution must have a valid operating licence, stating among other things reference limits for pollutants and pollution prevention, monitoring, measurement and research. The Environment Agency issues operating licences for power-intensive and large-scale industries which could cause pollution, while the Health Inspectorates of local authorities license other polluting industrial operations. These parties are also responsible for supervision of pollution prevention by the industries they license.

The Environment Agency of Iceland