Pollutants of interest include:

• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): include a variety of organic chemicals including paints, lacquers, glues and adhesives, by-products of the processing wood, and others. VOCs are precursors of ground-level ozone.
• Nitrogen Oxides (NOx): NOx are also precursors of ground level ozone.
• Formaldehyde: in the atmosphere formaldehyde is rapidly broken down in atmospheric ions; formaldehyde is a component of acid rain.
• Methanol: methanol reacts in the air to produce formaldehyde and other chemicals that are washed out by rain. Methanol is the most common VOC found in the production of wood and paper-based products.
• Sulfur Compounds: in the atmosphere sulfuric acid contributes to acid rain, and it can be transported large distances from the point of release.
• Volume and Quality of the waste water including:
• Biochemical or Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the water discharge; BOD is the amount of oxygen that micro-organisms consume to degrade the organic material in the water. High levels of BOD can result in the reduction of dissolved oxygen in the water. This may adversely affect aquatic organisms. BOD is usually measured in kilograms per metric ton of pulp.
• Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in the water discharge; COD is the amount of oxidizable organic matter and it can be used as an indicator of the quantity of organic matter in the water. COD is measured in kilograms per metric ton of pulp.
• Total Suspended Solids (TSS); measured in kilograms per metric ton.
• Absorbable Organic Halogens (AOX), including chlorine; there has been heavy pressure to stop using elemental chlorine in the bleaching processes because chlorine compounds can react with organics and generate chlorinated compounds (dioxins). Dioxins are persistent substances that have been considered a probable human carcinogen. AOX can be used as an indirect indicator of the quantity of chlorinated organic compound in the effluent. Reductions in the amounts of AOX can be used as indicator of continued technological improvement. However, AOX from ECF-bleached pulp do not contain highly chlorinated compounds.