Regulation, beginnings

Because RCRA regulations begin at the "cradle," or generation, of hazardous waste, any business or organization that generates more than 100 kg of... 

Eukaryotic gene regulation begins with an activated transcription factor bound to a specific site on DNA. One scheme for the initiation of transcription by RNA polymerase II requires five steps ... 

Carbon emissions from large stationary sources are more readily controlled than those from smaller, dispersed units. In Europe, the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) that aims to limit carbon emissions from these point sources was implemented on 1 January 2005. Individual plants are issued with permits which specify the level of carbon that each may emit annually. Companies with surplus permits may sell these to others who wish to exceed their respective allowances. At first, the scheme did not work well because the initial allocations were generous and the market price of permits was too low to be effective in curtailing emissions. In the next phase of the programme, permits could be restricted and their market value would then rise. As these regulations begin to bite and companies have to purchase additional permits on the open market at realistic prices, it may become financially attractive - if not actually required by law - to fit carbon-capture equipment to their exhaust stacks. 

The proposed restriction on 1,4-dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB) illustrates the process. Concerns over the potential toxicity of this compound first surfaced under the Dangerous Substances Directive. The European Commission subsequently assessed the risks from exposure to 1,4-EXZB under the Existing Substances Regulation, beginning in the mid-1990s. 

Restriction on the use of certain types of solvents, Hsted as HAPs under the Clean Air Act, are forcing paint manufacturers not only to lower the limits on the amount of organic solvents in a paint, but also to eliminate certain types of solvents. Thus paint manufacturers are challenged to comply simultaneously with both VOC and HAP regulations. These Clean Air Act mandates are expected to affect most types of paints and paint manufacturers beginning in 1996. 

Smaller amounts of phosphoms, or elemental phosphoms-containing materials, are also shipped in 115-L (30-gal) dmms that are DOT regulated (U.S. DOT lAl or 1A2 classification) and have thick shells and special gaskets and fittings for protection. Quantities up to 0.5 kg (1 lb) are allowed for shipping in two hermetically sealed (soldered), nested cans inside a wooden box where the empty space is filled with vermiculite (U.S. DOT 4C1, 4C2, 4D, or 4F classification). AH air transportation of elemental P, both U.S. and international, was prohibited beginning in 1992. 

In fact, recycling was a valuable U.S. industry for decades (witness the success of industrial recycling), especially in metals, newsprint, and some types of glass and aluminum cans. Only when regulators, in response to pubHc pressure, attempted to mandate the collection of materials that were in many instances expensive to collect and process did recycling begin to encounter problems. 

The relationship between workplace exposure to airborne asbestos fibers and respiratory diseases is one of the most widely studied subjects of modern epidemiology (37—39). Asbestos-related health concerns were first raised at the beginning of the century in the UK and the latter appears to have been the first country to regulate the asbestos-user industry (40). However, at that time, infectious respiratory diseases were a much greater concern than those arising from poor industrial hygiene practices. 

Dew-Point Method The dew point of wet air is measured directly by observing the temperature at which moisture begins to form on an artificially cooled polished surface. The polished surface is usually cooled by evaporation of a low-boihng solvent such as ether, by vaporization of a condensed permanent gas such as carbon dioxide or liquid air, or by a temperature-regulated stream of water. 

We begin by reviewing the regulatory driving force in the United States for air pollution abatement. To appreciate the objectives of our Federal air pollution control regulations, an understanding of the fate and transport mechanisms in the environment is important. Hence, some general discussions on the behavior of pollutants in the atmosphere are included in this chapter. 

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