US places new limits on aerosol paint compounds

16 November 2007 18:30  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday it was implementing new limits on emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in aerosol spray paints. 

The regulations, filed under the federal Clean Air Act, will create the first nationwide limit on VOCs. Commercial and industrial paints manufactured in or imported into the US must meet the new standards by 1 January 2009.

The regulation was modelled on a rule implemented by the California Air Resources Board, said EPA spokeswoman Margot-Perez Sullivan. The federal regulation focuses on the VOCs with the most potential to form ground-level ozone, or smog, she said.

“This rule will better control a product’s contribution to ozone formation by encouraging the use of less reactive VOC ingredients, rather than treating all VOC in a product alike through the traditional mass-based approach,” the EPA said. “It will allow (manufacturers) to choose the VOCs they reduce, provided they meet emissions limits.”

The three companies that manufacture nearly 85% of the spray paints used in the US are already in compliance with the new regulation, she said.

Companies that have not previously manufactured, imported, or distributed in California may file for a one-year extension, according to the rule. US manufacturers that produce aerosol paints containing less than 8.3 tonnes of VOCs annually are exempt.

The EPA estimated the new rules would reduce VOCs by 3,100 tonnes/year.

By: Ben Lefebvre
+1 713 525 2653

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