The amended TA-Luft 2021 (Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control) dated August 18, 2021, is the relevant legal regulation for air quality control for industrial plants in Germany. It pursues the clear goal of significantly reducing emissions, including diffuse emissions from fittings.

The transition period for shut-off and control devices ends on December 1, 2025, after which the new technical requirements will become binding.

This affects industries with emission-relevant media—in particular, the chemical and petrochemical industries, refineries, tank farms, sewage treatment plants, and generally all facilities requiring approval in accordance with the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG).

In future, fittings will be subject to binding leakage limits, which must be verified by means of test procedures. In practice, independent bodies will carry out these tests and issue a certificate as transparent proof that the products comply with the legal requirements for tightness.

Replacement fittings must already be procured in accordance with TA-Luft today. Existing fittings may continue to be used as long as they are technically leak-tight and do not exceed the TA-Luft limits.

From December 1, 2025, at the latest, authorities will also have greater scope for action: they will be able to request technical inventories, check maintenance and testing routines, and order the replacement of non-compliant components.

In addition to certification, maintenance and documentation are also becoming more important. In order to ensure that the valve remains leak-tight in the long term, requirements for testing and maintaining sealing systems must be specified in management instructions.

The “TA Luft 2021” guideline from VCI and VDMA specifies this in more detail: If strength class CO3 (shut-off valves) or CC3 (control valves) is achieved without shaft or shaft adjustment (e.g., “SSA-0”), manually operated valves can be assumed to be maintenance-free – unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise.

For valves in strength classes CO1 and CO2, the manufacturer is obliged to provide an appropriate maintenance concept. For valves that are operated very infrequently (e.g., pressure gauge valves), strength class CO1 is sufficient to assume maintenance-free operation. We provide you with the appropriate maintenance concept directly in the operating instructions. This gives you a reliable basis for developing economical and efficient maintenance concepts.

TA-Luft-compliant valves help to reliably minimize emissions, comply with the legal requirements of TA-Luft and BImSchG, and ensure the safe operation of systems in the long term. They also support complete and future-proof documentation, which ensures transparent traceability for authorities and internal audits.

We support you with a wide selection of TA-Luft-certified shut-off valves as well as all necessary certificates and documentation.

Use the remaining time until the deadline to set up your systems in a legally compliant and future-proof manner – emission-safe, legally compliant, and technically up to date.