U.S. EPA Sets Air Pollution Standards for Paint Manufacturing Facilities

The U.S. EPA recently published in the Federal Register a final rule entitled "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Area Source Standards for Paints and Allied Products Manufacturing."  The rule establishes management practices for volatile hazardous air pollutants and equipment standards for particulate hazardous air emissions.

The rule applies to owners and operators of facilities that perform paint and allied products manufacturing that are area sources of hazardous air pollutant emissions and processes, uses, or generates materials containing benzene, methylene chloride, and compounds of cadmium, chromium, lead, and nickel, in amounts greater than or equal to 0.1 percent by weight.  Paints and allied products manufacturing operations "include the production of paints, inks, adhesives, stains, varnishes, shellacs, putties, sealers, caulks, and other coatings from raw materials, the intended use of which is to leave a dried film of solid material on a substrate."

All existing area source facilities subject to this rule are required to comply no later than December 3, 2012.  New sources are required to comply by December 3, 2009 or upon startup of the facility, whichever is later.

Among other things, the rule requires "owners or operators of all existing and new affected facilities to operate a particulate control device during the addition of pigments and other solids that contain compounds of cadmium, chromium, nickel, or lead, and during the grinding and milling of pigments and solids that contain compounds of cadmium, chromium, nickel, or lead."  The rule also requires "new and existing affected sources to equip process and storage vessels that store or process materials containing benzene or methylene chloride with covers or lids."

The rule also sets initial compliance, continuous compliance, notification, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.