Auto Body Refinishing Operations: What EPA’s 6H Means To You

If your organization is involved in auto body refinishing, you may have received a letter recently from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), outlining the requirements set forth by 40 CFR 63 Subpart HHHHHH (or 6H), the “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating Operations at Area Sources.” To further our commitment to keeping our clients informed and in compliance, we have created an overview of this regulation, reviewing the type of operations affected, the reporting process, and the compliance procedures.

Intent of 6H:

The goal behind 6H is to reduce emissions of certain listed heavy metal Hazardous Air Pollutants, called Target HAP’s. Target HAPs include Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni) and Cadmium (Cd). These materials are found in many of the paints and strippers used in the auto body refinishing industry.

Operations to which 6H may apply include:

• Automotive refinishing, unless specifically exempted;
• Paint stripping, if strippers containing methylene chloride (MeCl) are used;
• Surface coating, if certain Target HAPs are used. Current or future use of paints containing Target HAPs is regulated under 6H.

6H Reporting Requirements

If an operation is:	Then…
not an automotive refinisher, and does not use MeCl or Target HAP’s,	this rule is not applicable.
an automotive refinisher, and does not use any of the Target HAPs (and never will),	a petition for applicability exemption should be submitted to the EPA administrator.
a user of MeCl or paints containing any of the Target HAP’s,	an initial notification should be submitted to the EPA administrator. Next, training should be conducted, and then a Compliance Status Report should be submitted stating company compliance. According to the EPA, even if a company is out of compliance, the sooner the process toward compliance is completed, the better.

6H Compliance Process Dates:

• Initial Notification should have been submitted to the EPA by January 10, 2010.
• Initial training for employees should have been conducted by January 10, 2011.
• New Employees must be trained prior to working in a paint booth.
• Notification of Compliance Status Report is Due March 10, 2011.
• Annual Report must be completed every time a change in compliance status or method of compliance occurs.
• Employee retraining must be conducted every 5-years.

Training:

Within its rules, 6H specifies the areas training programs must cover:

1. Spray gun equipment selection, set up, and operation, including: measuring coating viscosity; selecting the proper fluid tip or nozzle; and achieving the proper spray pattern, air pressure and volume, and fluid delivery rate.
2. Spray technique for the different types of coatings to improve transfer efficiency and minimize coating usage and overspray, including: maintaining the correct spray gun distance and angle to the part; using proper banding and overlap; and reducing lead and lag spraying at the beginning and end of each stroke.
3. Routine spray booth and filter maintenance, including filter selection and installation.
4. Environmental compliance with the requirements of 6H.

Other 6 H Requirements:

• There must be documentation available from the filter manufacturer certifying the exhaust filters on the paint booths to be at least 98% efficient.
• All spray guns must be high volume low pressure (HVLP) or have documentation certifying they are HVLP equivalent.
• Other detailed requirements. Please contact DECA for further information.

Making sure your company comes into and maintains compliance with federal and state environmental regulations is not always a straightforward task. DECA’s Compliance Program can guide you through the full compliance process, or can address just specific portions. Our program will ensure compliance for your company, provide training documentation and certificates for your employees, maintain records, and create an online compliance calendar to make certain the re-training dates are not missed down the road. Please call our office (317-575-0095) for a free initial consultation on this Rule.
Note: This article is intended solely as an overview of the stated regulation. Please contact DECA or review the actual regulation for complete details.

Going Green

Many companies think about going green. Some even talk about going green. But still only a small percentage of companies today are taking that leap. Why? In most cases, the trepidation stems from a fear of the process. What is it going to cost? Will it bring me unwanted attention from regulatory agencies? Will it increase my liability?

D&W Incorporated, a company that supplies glass and mirrors to the recreational vehicles industry, had the same questions. The story of their going green is not a miracle story. It didn’t put them in the limelight in front of government regulators, and it didn’t cost them money. In fact, it had the direct opposite effect. It saved the company money, reduced their regulatory profile, and increased their operational efficiencies.

The company capitalized on the fact that it had made some process changes in order to make it more efficient. That, in conjunction with a reduction in the amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in their coating resulted in them being able to apply for and receive a transition to a lower air permit level, which reduced their regulatory profile substantially. This meant lower annual regulatory cost, red tape, and less cause for costly audits that can halt production unexpectedly.

The success story doesn’t stop there, however. This decrease changed business inside the four walls at D&W. It made cleanup easier at the end of the day, enabling the factory to reliably shut down every night—something they hadn’t done in years. They reduced their energy costs, solvent use, and other raw material consumption. And, low and behold, the product itself actually improved in quality.

The story isn’t finished, either. Going green is not just a one-time event. It involves adopting a process of identifying and taking advantage of green opportunities, which in many cases can help the bottom line as well.

If you’ve thought about going green but just couldn’t imagine that there would be any substantial impact to be gained, think again. As the story of D&W shows, even the slightest edge can make a huge difference in today’s highly competitive manufacturing industry.

Waste Profiling

Do you profile your waste? Believe it or not, this is a high-priority task for many manufacturing companies. And, unfortunately, it is one environmental issue that commonly slips through the cracks. Profiling means to determine the characteristics of the waste, and determine whether it is hazardous waste or non-hazardous waste. Profiling can be done using the MSDS to inform the landfill what is in the waste or by using a laboratory to analyze the waste.

Many industrial waste streams are categorized and disposed of as non-hazardous waste. This is fine as long as the generator is diligently keeping up with the requirement to profile the waste stream at appropriate times. It is the responsibility of the generator to ensure that the waste is being disposed of properly. Many waste management companies are very helpful in helping the generator assure this, but it is ultimately the generator's responsibility. In other words, if you placed your trust in a helpful hint or educated guess, the fault still falls back on you.

What's more, once a waste is improperly disposed of, it is much too late to change course. This may result in fines at the very least, and in egregious cases, criminal prosecution. That is why it is essential to be proactive and stay on top of all waste streams at your facility.

What follows is an actual account of one customer that DECA Environmental recently engaged.

A manufacturer had been using the same paint for years, and disposing of non-hazardous filters with a nearby landfill. As is customary, the landfill required companies to profile their waste every three years. The manufacturer's previous two samples had determined the waste to be non-hazardous. Why expect any different this time around?

But this year, the sample that was submitted was found to contain chromium (Cr) greater than the regulatory limit of 5 mg/l. After the results were received an immediate investigation was conducted to determine the source of the increased Cr. The manufacturer kept detailed records of the paint usage and subsequent emissions of VOCs and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) as was required for compliance with their Air Permit.

DECA gathered purchase records from the paint supplier, and using their custom-built database software, determined the emissions. To date, no purchase records with new paints had been added to the source. However, the paint used to fill in sanded stainless steel parts was being used as a trial paint. Luckily, the filters were all still onsite and had not been disposed of in the non-hazardous landfill.

The potential issues if the filters were shipped off could have been very expensive. Let's go down the trail: The manufacturer (generator) would have offered filters (hazardous waste) to a non-hazardous waste permitted transporter. The transporter would have then transported the waste to a non-hazardous waste permitted landfill. The waste would have been improperly characterized to determine if it is hazardous waste or not.

Furthermore, improper labeling would have been on the containers. There would have also been Land Disposal notification and proper manifesting requirements. All of these issues would have been indicated on the citation and subsequent Agreed Order. This would have lead to a fine from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) Office of Land Quality. A typical fine could be as high as $25,000 for this type of issue.

As a generator, what should you be paying attention to? The following is a short list:

• Process changes such as changes in material usage or production techniques
• Changes in maintenance procedures
• Increases in production
• Changes in the utilization of production equipment that produces waste
  

These are just a few examples. Having a laboratory analyze your waste can be costly and is not always necessary. If the generator can conclusively demonstrate that nothing in the process has changed which would have caused the waste material in question to become hazardous, they may see much lower analysis costs. The operative word, however, is conclusively.

Could you be at risk? The costs of ignorance may be more than you can afford. A quick call to DECA may be just what you need to find out what, if any, risks you might have looming and what you can do to mitigate them.

Welcome to New Website

Welcome to our new website. We've always been a service-based company, so naturally we wanted our website to be a simple extension of our ultimate mission to serve you best. On our new site, you can now find valuable information including a library of relevant website links and news articles.

Coming soon, you will be able to access automated online tools online. We have developed and used these tools in-house for years. Once published online, purchasing agents, vendors, production personnel, and other stakeholders in your company will have access to valuable tools for meeting and maintaining environmental & safety compliance. Some of the features will include:

• Air Permitting records and reports online;
• NESHAP records and reports online;
• Calculations for EPCRA reports such as Form R and Tier II online;
• Regulatory Calendars online; and,
• An MSDS Library.

Finally, we're most excited about our new blog. We want to share our expertise, experience, and insights as we provide fresh content on up-to-date environmental issues facing your business. Please feel free to read, share, and even comment as you feel comfortable. We look forward to your feedback.

Reasonable Estimates for Woodworking PTE

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) Air Permitting section, in my opinion, has made some great strides. Currently, they have been hiring excellent people at all levels of the organization. This is resulted in more reasonable and technically correct permitting determinations. We recently had some success working with an IDEM permit writer. The process being controlled was a wood milling operation. The control device was a cyclone as the first stage, and a baghouse as the second stage. The company which manufactured the control device and their local distributor had excellent documentation of control efficiency for various sized particles. They also had a well described methodology for determining the outlet grain loading for their equipment, based on the amount of material collected in the hopper of the second stage, which the IDEM liked very much.

Only particles less than 100 microns are defined as "Particulate Matter" in the rules. This means that the IDEM has no legal jurisdiction to issue air permits based on the amount of particles present which are greater than 100 microns. Sawdust from woodworking operations contains only a very small percentage of Particulate Matter (particles under 100 microns). In the past there have been administrative barriers to getting reasonable estimates for PM/PM10 PTE from woodworking operations, but DECA is beginning to have some success in eliminating those barriers. We are dedicated to doing this for our clients, because DECA is committed to representing its clients in the regulated community well, and to obtaining reasonable, technically correct permitting decisions. This is good news for those industries who are currently suffering from unreasonable determinations made by the IDEM in the past.

Many industries that have woodworking operations are frustrated by the fact that the IDEM has historically over estimated their PM/PM10 PTE. Many companies are Title V or FESOP based solely on woodworking operations. In some cases, had a proper permitting determination been made, they would have only needed an Exemption Letter or a Registration. Instead they have to pay $3000 to get a Federally Enforceable State Operating Permit (FESOP) and then $1500 per year after that; or $1500 per year and $33 per ton for a Title V Permit. Many times, in order to get a reasonable estimate for PM/PM10, companies have had to do stack testing. DECA is leading the fight to gain reasonable estimates from the IDEM for PM/PM10 from woodworking operations without having to do stack testing. We are gaining ground, thanks to some good permit writers and administrators at the IDEM.

Integrated Air Toxics

EPA is close to promulgating the first national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for area sources engaged in paint stripping, surface coating of motor vehicles and mobile equipment, and miscellaneous surface coating operations. We predict this will go into the Federal Register early next year. This NESHAP potentially could apply to everyone in the above industry categories regardless of whether they are a major source of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) or not. (A major source of HAPs is one that produces more than 10 tons per year of one individual HAP, or more than 25 tons per year of all HAPs combined.)

This rule will be applicable only if methylene chloride (MeCl) is used for paint stripping; or, if coatings using any of the "target HAPs;" which include compounds of Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), or Cadmium (Cd); are used in the motor vehicle and mobile equipment or miscellaneous surface coating operations.

There will be an initial notification requirement, a notice of compliance status report, a MeCl minimization plan with an annual review for paint stripping operations, an annual notification of changes report, training for employees within 180 days and every 5 years, a requirement to keep records of the training, a requirement to keep records on the paint booth filters and documentation of the transfer efficiency of the sprayers, and records of any deviations from the standards.

DECA can help you evaluate whether this rule applies to your facility, submit the required reports, generate the proper records and plans, implement training, and track training. Please contact for us at deca@indy.net for more information.

Extension on FESOP and MSOP Permit Terms

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is finalizing a rulemaking which will extend the permit term for Federally Enforceable State Operating Permit (FESOP) renewals and Minor Source Operating Permit (MSOP) renewals from 5 years to 10 years. The permit term for initial MSOPs and FESOPs will remain the same.

You can choose to implement this change only if you are on your second or subsequent renewal. This will be processed by the IDEM as either an Administrative Amendment (AA) for FESOPs, or as a Notice Only Change (NOC) for MSOPs. This basically means that the process for changing is relatively simple and no public notice period is necessary. Please contact DECA. We will be glad to help you apply for this change to your permit.