EPA issues new HAP rule for architectural work. (Finishing Newsfront).

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a new rule to reduce emissions of some organic hazardous air pollutants from certain wood finishing operations.

The rule sets emission limits for five subcategories of wood products: doors and windows; flooring; interior wall paneling and tileboard; other interior panels; and exterior siding and doorskins. The rule affects any facility that applies coatings to those products, uses more than 4,170 liters (1,100 gallons) of coatings per year and is a "major" source of air toxics emissions.

The EPA expects the rule to affect about 205 facilities with annual nationwide costs of $27.3 million. It believes the rule will reduce HAP emissions by 4,900 tons per year, a 63 percent decrease.

Lynn Dail, environmental scientist for the EPA's Coatings and Consumer Products Group, Emission Standards Division, said the rule will likely be published in the Federal Register in late May or early June. "Generally, rules take effect three years after promulgation," Dail said. He noted that the rule has been formally signed as a final version, so it will not be changed before it takes effect without some formal rulemaking process.

Rule Specifics

The rule regulates the amount of organic HAPs that covered facilities may emit. The HAPs that wood finishing facilities typically need to be concerned about include xylene, toluence, ethyl benzene, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, methanol, styrene and formaldehyde. The complete list of covered chemicals is defined by Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, which is available online at www.epa.gov/oar/caa/caal12.txt

The rule sets separate emission limits for each type of product coated. ft also has different limits for new or reconstructed facilities and for existing facilities. The EPA anticipates no new wood finishing facilities in the next five years, however, so it expects no impact from the source limits for new facilities. See the table below for specific limits.

"There are generally options for complying with the rule," Dail said. Finishers can comply with the rule by applying materials that meet the emission limits, using a capture system or add-on control device to prevent HAP emissions, or a combination of the two.

Dail said enforcement of the rule will generally be handled by state agencies. "Facilities will have to maintain records," of their HAP emissions, Dail said. "If a state makes an inspection or review, that information will have to be available."

For questions about the new rule contact Dail at [phone]. Or, see the EPAs Web site about the rule at www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/wbldg/wbldgpg.html.

HAP Emission Limits

Organic HAP emission limits (grams HAP/liter solids)

Product Coated          New or Reconstructed  Existing
                               Source          Source

Exterior siding and              0                7
primed doorskins

Flooring                         0               94

Interior wall paneling           5              183
or tileboard

Other interior panels            0               20

Doors and windows               57              231

RELATED ARTICLE: AWFI and ETAC Form Alliance to Serve Wood Finishers

A new strategic alliance will help wood finishers reduce VOC emissions.

The American Wood Finishing Institute and the Electrotechnology Applications Center of Northampton Community College have joined in an alliance to provide wood finishers with a complete resource of finishing technologies.

Services that AWFI and ETAC will provide include plant evaluations and recommendations on how to increase efficiency and reduce VOCs, research and development of finishing processes and materials, and curing facilities for R&D and training in ultraviolet, electron beam, infrared, radio frequency and microwave curing.

For more information, contact AWFI at [phone] or ETAC at [phone], or visit www.awfi.org or www.etctr.com.