Federal Clean Air Act Amendment

The federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 appear to be working. In the 1990s, Tier 1 standards greatly reduced tailpipe emissions of new light-duty vehicles which includes cars and most sport utility vehicles. 

Environmental laws and regulations including permits are reviewed in this chapter. Included are the Federal Clean Air Act Amendment (CAAA), the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or, as it is also known, the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Also discussed along with the regulations under OSHAare the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER). 

Solvent use is controlled by both state and federal regulations. The federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 mandate controls on solvent use in the industry. Almost all organic solvents are classified as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) under Title I of the 1990 Amendments and these regulations will require further reductions in future solvent use. Title III of the 1990 Amendments contains a long list of substances considered Hazardous Air... 

Solvent use is controlled by both state and federal regulations. The federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 mandate controls on solvent use in the... 

The two main federal agencies involved in the protection of human health and the environment are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). EPA s principal concern is the protection of the environment, in most cases, the area outside of an industrial faciUty. There are 10 regional offices that carry out the regulatory functions of the agency (Table 1). Primary laws covered by EPA are the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and LiabiUty Act (CERCLA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and Eederal Insecticide, Eungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 

Tide V of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 covers federally approved state operating permits for manufacturing faciUties. One requirement of this regulation is that manufacturers must report emissions information of identified ha2ardous air pollutants specific to thein operation from a list of 189 named in the Clean Air Act Amendments. Rubber and tine manufacturers had to meet this requirement by the end of 1995. The Rubber Manufacturers Association has begun an industrywide project to develop accurate and reliable emissions data to aid manufacturers to comply with these requinements (44). 

Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Of aU the federal laws placing environmental controls on industiy (and, in particular, on new plants), perhaps the most confusing and restrictive are the limits imposed for the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) of air quahty. These limits apply to areas of the countiy that are already cleaner than required by ambient air-quality standards. This regula-toiy framework evolved from judicial and administrative ac tion under the 1970 Clean Air Act and subsequently was given full statutoiy foundation by the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments. 

The United States Clean Air Act of 1977 set as a national goal the prevention of any future degradation and the reduction of any existing impairment of visibility in mandatory class I federal areas caused by anthropogenic air pollution. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 reinforce the support of these goals. (See Chapter 22 foj a discussion of federal classes of areas.) These areas include most of the major national parks, such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Zion Park. This portion of the Clean Air Act ad-... 

Before the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (3), hazardous air pollutants were regulated through federal promulgation of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS). The EPA listed only eight hazardous air pollutants under NESHAPS. 

Other Titles - The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 continue the federal acid rain research program and contain several provisions relating to research, development and air monitoring. They also contain provisions to provide additional unemployment benefits through the Job Training Partnership Act to workers laid off as a consequence of compliance with the Clean Air Act. The Act also contains provisions to improve visibility near National Parks and other parts of the country. Strict enforcement of the Clean Air Act Amendments is the driving force behind pollution abatement. Non-compliance is simply not an option, since there are both financial and criminal liabilities that outweigh any benefits derived from a business. 

US Congress amended the Federal Clean Air Act in 1990 to address a large number of air pollutants that are known to cause or may reasonably be anticipated to cause adverse effects to human health or adverse environmental effects. 188 specific pollutants and chemical groups were initially identified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), and the list has been modified over time. 

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 21 832 U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, 18 566. See also Clean Air Act entries United States entries U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 12 30. See also Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)... 

Title V Operating Permits Title V of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments established a new operating permit program to be administered by state agencies in accordance with federal guidelines. The program basically requires a source to obtain a permit that covers... 

Odors. The 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments directed EPA to study the effects, sources, and control feasibility of odors. Although no federal legislation has been established to regulate odors, individual states have responded to odor complaints by enforcing common nuisance laws. About 50% of all citizen air pollution complaints concern odors (see ODORMODIFICATION). A disagreeable odor is perceived as an indication of air pollution but many substances can be detected by the human olfactory system at concentrations well below those considered harmful. For example, hydrogen sulfide 17783-06-4y, H2S, can be detected by most people at 0.0047 ppm, whereas the occupation health 8-h TLV is 10 ppm. Although exposures to such odors in low concentrations may not in itself cause physical harm, the exposure can lead to nausea, loss of appetite, and other effects. 

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