Pollution control regulations solvents

In 1966, the Los Angeles Air Pollution Control Board designated trichloroethylene as a photochemically reactive solvent that decomposes in the lower atmosphere, contributing to air pollution. In 1970 all states were requited to submit pollution control plans to EPA to meet national air quaUty standards. These plans, known as State Implementation Plans (SIPS), controlled trichloroethylene as a volatile organic compound (VOC). They were designed to have each state achieve the National Ambient Air QuaUty Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. The regulations were estabUshed to control the emission of precursors for ozone, of which trichloroethylene is one. 

SFE has also replaced many regulated solvents in analytical chemistry applications in recent years, primarily because it provides a more reliable measure of the concentrations of environmental contaminants and can play an important role in pollution assessment, abatement, and control. Advantages have been shown for using SFE compared to the conventional Soxhlet extraction with toluene for determining the presence of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in ashes from a municipal incinerator (Dolezal et al., 1995). SFE allows the complete extraction of the analytes from the sample, whereas conventional extraction results in an incomplete, and hence, inferior extraction. 

On the other hand, solvent-based paints have the disadvantage of flammability. Also, they require careful handling because of possible adverse health effects in some cases, and may require control of solvent vapors because of air pollution regulations. 

Stricter regulations regarding air pollution control, water pollution control and waste management have forced companies to remove volatile organics from atmospheric emissions and workplace environments. But apart from compliance with these requirements, economic factors are decisive in solvent recovery. Reuse of solvent in production not only reduces operating cost drastically but may even allow profitable operation of a recovery system. 

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 Pollutants (HAPs). Many of the halogenated solvents are on the HAP list. The solvents discussed in this chapter and that are on the HAP list include methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2-dibromoethane, bromoform, and chlorobenzene. The Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) stan-... 

An important consideration in solvent selection is air pollution requirements. For this reason solvents such as Laktane (quite fast), VM P Naphtha (medium evaporation rate), and mineral spirits (slow) are generally of interest. The latter two can be purchased to comply with regulations such as Southern California Air Pollution Control District Rule 102 (formerly Rule 66). 

After this exemption, TBAC, non-HAP organic solvent is expected to have wider use in adhesives, inks, coatings, industrial cleaners, photo-resist strippers and other formulated products. TBAC can be substituted for more reactive solvents. The businesses using exempt VOCs like TBAC would be subject to fewer regulatory requirements thereby enjoying lower costs of production. For instance, such businesses may not need to operate air pollution control equipments to comply with the regulations. ... 

The paint plants of large automotive manufacturers have been a cause of solvent pollution in the major industrialised countries. Control regulations governing the level of emissions from industrial premises which are coming into force in many countries have given direction to the development in automotive finishing of low V.O.C. coatings. 

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments Hst 189 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that the EPA must regulate to enforce maximum achievable control technology (MACT) to standards which are to be set by the year 2000. The 33/50 project calls for reduction of emissions of 17 specified solvents to predetermined levels by 1995. The SARA statute provides a mechanism by which the community can be informed of the existence, quantities, and releases of toxic chemicals, and requires that anyone releasing specific toxic chemicals above a threshold level to annually submit a toxic chemical release form to the EPA. The status of various ketones under these regulations is shown in Table 4. 

As different regulations have been adopted, the approach to controlling pollution has evolved. Initial regulations controlled solvent composition later regulations were concerned primarily with overall VOC reduction. More recent regulations have combined VOC reduction with composition constraints. 

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