Clean Air Act requirements

The 1990 Amendments to the U.S. Clean Air Act require a 50% reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions by the year 2000. Electric power stations are beheved to be the source of 70% of all sulfur dioxide emissions (see Power generation). As of the mid-1990s, no utiUties were recovering commercial quantities of elemental sulfur ia the United States. Two projects had been aimounced Tampa Electric Company s plan to recover 75,000—90,000 metric tons of sulfuric acid (25,000—30,000 metric tons sulfur equivalent) aimuaHy at its power plant ia Polk County, Elorida, and a full-scale sulfur recovery system to be iastaHed at PSl Energy s Wabash River generating station ia Terre Haute, Indiana. Completed ia 1995, the Terre Haute plant should recover about 14,000 t/yr of elemental sulfur. 

Finally, Sec. 112 of the Clean Air Act required that EPA pronml-gate National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs). Between 1970 and 1989, standards were promulgated for asbestos, beiylhum, mercuiy, vinyl chloride, benzene, arsenic, radionuclides, and coke-oven emissions. 

Amendments to the Clean Air Act require employer-employees consultation to develop and implement PSM program elements and hazard assessments. Section 304 requires employee training and education on the findings of PSM incident investigations. 

At the state level, there is growing awareness of the essential role of nuclear power in meeting Clean Air Act requirements, and the continued importance of emission free nuclear energy in the future. Just ask the state of Georgia, which is concerned about the... 

Finally, Sec. 112 of the Clean Air Act required that EPA promulgate National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants... 

A classic example of this occurred in the USA, when the 1970 Clean Air Act required electric generating companies to install emission abatement technology to limit sulfur emissions. Faced with significant investment costs, some companies switched from higher- to lower-quality coal. The result was an increase in sulfur emissions from dirty coal , offsetting any reductions from the end-of-pipe desulfurisation process [209]. 

The carbon content of ash is also a major factor. High carbon ash hinders setting of cement. In particular, ash produced by low-NO burners contains a high proportion of carbon. To meet the Clean Air Act requirements, future industries may opt for low-NOj burners that will produce ash unsuitable for cement. 

The Eederal Clean Air Act requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish hazardous air pollutant emission criteria per unit of production. These standards have been promulgated and range from 0.2 to 0.25 kg for 100 kg of oilseeds processed, for specihc categories of extraction and oilseed type. Attainment of this hgure requires a properly designed vent and cooling water system with minimal intermptions to the operations. 

The EPA established the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which included allowable ceilings for specific pollutants. However, the states have the option to make any or all parts of the Clean Air Act requirements more stringent than the minimums set by EPA. The EPA is required to regularly evaluate the compliance status of all geographic areas with respect to pollutants, that is, whether the NAAQS is being met for each criteria pollutant. An area where NAAQS is not met is designated as a nonattainment area (N. A.) for that pollutant. 

The Clean Air Act requires a revised permit for any change to a major source facility s emissions fingerprint resulting from the addition of physical emission points or the change of a facility s... 

The Clean Air Act requires each state to adopt a plan, a State Implementation Plan (SIP), which provides for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS. It is, of course, emission reductions that will abate air pollution. Thus the states plans must contain legally enforceable emission limitations, schedules, and timetables for compliance with such limitations. The control strategy must consist of a combination of measures designed to achieve the total reduction of emissions necessary for the attainment of the air quality standards. The control strategy may include, for example, such measures as emission limitations, emission charges or taxes, closing or relocation of commercial or industrial facilities, periodic inspection and testing of motor vehicle... 

As of December 1994, there were at least 157 coal-fired boiler imits at 92 power plants with wet scrubbing systems operating. These plants are located in at least 32 states [66,72-75]. Additional scrubbers are planned or under construction in order to achieve compliance with the Clean Air Act requirements. As of 1996, the operating scrubber systems at coal-fired power plants generated approximately 21.4 million metric tons (23.8 million tons) of FGD sludge aimuaUy [71-80]. 

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