New NESHAP 6-H RULE – Paint Stripping and Various Spraying Operations
The National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) is the air quality division of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). NESHAP defined new air quality requirements for surface coating and paint stripping operations in 2008. It becomes enforceable at the end of 2010. This new rule defines a form that has to be submitted for new or modified spray and stripping operations for vehicles and mobile equipment. The forms and requirements are available on-line through your local EPA office at https://www.epa.gov/.
The notes included in this message are a general reference only. Standard Tools and Equipment Co. can explain how our equipment complies with this standard. However, your local authorities have the final say about compliance to this rule. There are no exemptions for completing the form, but there are a very few exceptions for compliance to the requirements within the form (military installation, munitions, spraying no more than two personal vehicles per year, and a low volume system for quality or R&D). New shops or any shop being modified is required to submit this form to the EPA for approval.
The form to be submitted includes information about the facility, types of materials used, training records for painters, and efficiency ratings for the exhaust filters. Stating the efficiency ratings of exhaust filters implies that the painters are using a spray booth. Standard Tools can provide a spray booth for your facility which exceeds the requirements for proper spraying, filtering, and exhausting of hazardous overspray and fumes.
The EPA can be a difficult challenge for any company; many business owners simply want to run and hide at the mention of the EPA. The requirements are often technical and can sometimes seem extremely constrictive. On the other hand, our rivers no longer catch on fire they way they did forty years ago; our air is much cleaner, and we have better information about the chemicals that we use in our shops everyday. Due to the nature of chemicals used in the spray painting and stripping process this task is required. Adhering to this policy will increase the safety within your shop and lower its environmental impact. Please contact Standard Tools & Equipment with any questions about our equipment. Your local EPA office will have more specific information about the forms and requirements specific to your shop.