EPA Process for Designation New Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)
EPA’s expanded powers to regulate a wider universe of substances as hazardous air pollutants.
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are those pollutants that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects. The original list of HAPs in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 included 189 pollutants. Since 1990, EPA has removed two pollutants from the list, but has not added any new ones. Sources of HAP emissions are subject to national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP), such as the NESHAP for chromium electroplating and anodizing.
On June 11, 2021 EPA issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding the addition of 1-bromopropane (also known as n-propyl bromide) as a hazardous air pollutant. In the action, EPA asserted that the substantive decision to designate 1-bromopropane was made last year on June 18, 2020 in a Federal Register notice that granted the petition to list it as a HAP. EPA noted that the decision would not have legal effect until the regulatory HAP list is amended through a rulemaking. In the notice, EPA sought comments on a wide range of implementation issues related to the listing of 1-bromopropane as a HAP.
EPA’s process may be problematic for several reasons – because of how the agency did this, additional listings of air pollutants could be on the horizon with little opposition. For example, several stakeholders have been advocating for listing PFOS and PFOA as HAPs.
The consequences of a new HAP listing could be significant. New listings could reopen current air rules for industry source categories and drive modifications to facility permits. The additional potential new HAP emissions could also trigger some area sources to become major sources subject to more stringent requirements.
Several industry trade groups have indicated that they intend to challenge EPA’s perceived “regulatory shortcut” to listing new pollutants. The challenge will be in the context of the HAP listing for a single substances, 1-bromopropane, but it will likely set the precedent for future HAP listing decisions. NASF will continue to work with other industry trade groups on the effort and provide updates to members. If you have any questions or would like additional information on this issue, please contact Jeff Hannapel with NASF at jhannapel@thepolicygroup.com.
This update is courtesy of the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF). For more information or to become a member, visit nasf.org.
Related Content
-
NASF/AESF Foundation Research Project #122: Electrochemical Approaches to Treatment of PFAS in Plating Wastewater - 12th Quarterly Report
This NASF-AESF Foundation research project report covers the 12th quarter of project work (October – December 2023) at the University of Georgia. In our previous report, we described our work on performance and effect of surface fluorinated Ti4O7 anodes on PFAS degradation in reactive electrochemical membrane (REM) mode. This quarter, our experiments involved utilizing porous Ti4O7 plates serving both as anodes and membranes. Tests compared pristine and F-18.6 Ti4O7 anodes at current densities of 10 mA/cm2 and 40 mA/cm2. This 12th quarterly report discusses the mechanisms of the effects on EO performance by anode surface fluorination.
-
NASF/AESF Foundation Research Project #122: Electrochemical Approaches to Treatment of PFAS in Plating Wastewater - 7th Quarterly Report
The NASF-AESF Foundation Research Board has selected a project on addressing the problem of PFAS and related chemicals in plating wastewater streams, studying PFAS destruction via electrooxidation and electrocoagulation. Our last report described the results from experiments of EO with a Magnéli phase Ti4O7 anode on the degradation of eight perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs). In this seven quarter report, we describe work to further explore how the degradation of different PFAAs are related to their molecular structures.
-
Novel Wastewater Treatment Targets Micropollutants
Swiss wastewater treatment technology provider Oxyle specializes in advanced wastewater treatment for removal of highly persistent micropollutants such as PFAS.
