Pollution Control Laws and Regulations

There are many factors to consider when selecting air cleaning devices. Volume of air flow, concentration of contaminants, kind of contaminant and contaminant properties, temperature, pressure drop, contaminant hazards, and other factors are important. National, state, and local pollution control laws and regulations also affect the choice of collection device. 

A stack shall be used to provide an elevated release of the off-gas with a sufficient velocity (e.g. v > 12 m/s) for dispersing the off-gas. If a plant ventilation stack is available the off-gas discharge piping may be connected to the plant stack to provide a common release and monitoring point. The applicable air pollution control laws and regulations shall be observed for the stack design. 

In most countries, environmental regulation of chemicals started with the introduction of emission standards. The air pollution control law and the water pollution control law were typical examples of this type. 

The most elementary function of an air pollution control agency is its control function, which breaks down into two subsidiary functions enforcement of the jurisdiction s air pollution control laws, ordinances, and regulations and evaluation of the effectiveness of existing regulations and regulatory practices and the need for new ones. 

The purpose of this chapter is to summarize and generalize the various pollution, health, and environmental problems especially specific to the chemical industry and to place in perspective government laws and regulations as well as industry efforts to control these problems. A brief survey of air and water pollution problems will be given, but these are characteristic of all industry and the topics are too vast to be covered adequately in this book. We will be more concerned with toxic chemical pollution and its control and will spend some time on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA, TOSCA) of 1976 and the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) list begun in 1988. 

The Japanese Air Pollution Control Law dates back to 1968 and was designed to promote comprehensive air pollution control measures. Subsequent revisions have included extensions of regulatory objects, nationwide regulation and enforced standards, e.g. those for specific dust (asbestos) in 1989, vehicle fuel in 1995, harmful air pollutants in 1996 and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in 2004. Article 1 of the recent Japanese Air Pollution Control Law [16] states ... 

Environmental reporting is required under the Federal Pollution Control Act and the Federal Waste Act for those companies operating specified activities. The regulations require the designation of one member of the management team to be responsible for the company s compliance with environmental law. 

In the 1960s typical concentrations of NO in the tail-gas ranged from 1,500 to 3,000 ppmv. In recent years concern about pollution control has led to laws and regulations to reduce permissible levels of NQk in tail-gas from nitric acid plants. For example, the maximum concentration in the United States is equivalent to 200 ppmv of NO2 for new plants or 500 ppmv for existing plants. (The level is stated in kg of NO2 equivalent per tonne of HNO3.) In Russia the regulations are even stricter. 

The "Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China" is a technical supjportive document for laws and regulations on the prevention and control of pollution caused by chemical substances. 

Applicable pollution control laws, rules, and regulations ... 

In many countries, provinces or states have enacted air pollution control regulations. Unless or until superseded by national enactment, these regulations are the ones currently in force. In some cases, municipal air pollution control regulatory enactments are the ones currently in force and will remain so unhl superseded by state, provincial, or national laws or regulations,... 

In the U.S., there are local, state, and federal laws regulating health, safety, and the environment. The laws that address the area of pollution control also cover health and safety, toxic substances, noise, transportation, and building site approval. 

The Oil Pollution Act of 1924 was the first federal statute prohibiting pollution of waters strictly by oil. As indicated earlier, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) of 1972 provided a comprehensive plan for the cleanup of waters polluted by oil spills and intentional or accidental release of oil into the water. The subsequent laws, including the Clean Water Act of 1977 and with its later amendments, provide for regulation of pollution of waters by oil spills and other forms of discharges. These legislations also incorporate certain provisions of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, which was intended to prevent any obstruction to the use of navigable waters for interstate commerce. 

The Clean Air Act was originally passed in 1963 and was primarily a source of government funding for air pollution control. A follow-up law in 1965, the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act, regulated the emissions from new vehicles and was the first action taken by the government to control air pollution. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 and 1977 established what we now consider to be the true goals of the CAA. 

China has established a policy and legal framework for environmental protection, which includes these levels (1) the provisions related to environmental protection and resources in the Constitution (2) the comprehensive law on environmental protection, viz. Law on Environmental Protection (3) the thematic laws on environmental protection and pollution control (Table 3.1) (4) the administrative regulations on... 

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