EPA last updated these standards in 2008, setting them at 75 ppb.
"Bringing ozone pollution standards in line with the latest science will clean up our air, improve access to crucial air quality information, and protect those most at-risk. It empowers the American people with updated air quality information to protect our loved ones—because whether we work or play outdoors—we deserve to know the air we breathe is safe,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Fulfilling the promise of the Clean Air Act has always been EPA’s responsibility. Our health protections have endured because they’re engineered to evolve, so that’s why we’re using the latest science to update air quality standards—to fulfill the law’s promise, and defend each and every person’s right to clean air.”
EPA scientists examined numerous scientific studies in its most recent review of the ozone standards, including more than 1,000 new studies published since the last update. Studies indicate that exposure to ozone at levels below 75 ppb—the level of the current standard—can pose serious threats to public health, harm the respiratory system, cause or aggravate asthma and other lung diseases, and is linked to premature death from respiratory and cardiovascular causes. Ground-level ozone forms in the atmosphere when emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds “cook” in the sun from sources like cars, trucks, buses, industries, power plants, and certain fumes from fuels, solvents and paints. People most at risk from breathing air containing ozone include people with asthma, children, older adults, and those who are active or work outside. Stronger ozone standards will also provide an added measure of protection for low income and minority families who are more likely to suffer from asthma or to live in communities that are overburdened by pollution. Nationally, 1 in 10 children has been diagnosed with asthma.
According to EPA’s analysis, strengthening the standard to a range of 65 to 70 ppb will provide significantly better protection for children, preventing from 320,000 to 960,000 asthma attacks and from 330,000 to 1 million missed school days. Strengthening the standard to a range of 70 to 65 ppb would better protect both children and adults by preventing more than 750 to 4,300 premature deaths; 1,400 to 4,300 asthma-related emergency room visits; and 65,000 to 180,000 missed workdays.
EPA estimates that the benefits of meeting the proposed standards will significantly outweigh the costs. If the standards are finalized, every dollar we invest to meet them will return up to three dollars in health benefits. These large health benefits will be gained from avoiding asthma attacks, heart attacks, missed school days and premature deaths, among other health effects valued at $6.4 to $13 billion annually in 2025 for a standard of 70 ppb, and $19 to $38 billion annually in 2025 for a standard of 65 ppb. Annual costs are estimated at $3.9 billion in 2025 for a standard of 70 ppb, and $15 billion for a standard at 65 ppb.
A combination of recently finalized or proposed air pollution rules—including “Tier 3” clean vehicle and fuels standards—will significantly cut smog-forming emissions from industry and transportation, helping states meet the proposed standards. EPA’s analysis of federal programs that reduce air pollution from fuels, vehicles and engines of all sizes, power plants, and other industries shows that the vast majority of US counties with monitors would meet the more protective standards by 2025 just with the rules and programs now in place or underway. Local communities, states, and the federal government have made substantial progress in reducing ground-level ozone. Nationally, from 1980 to 2013, average ozone levels have fallen 33%. EPA projects that this progress will continue.
The Clean Air Act provides states with time to meet the standards. Depending on the severity of their ozone problem, areas would have between 2020 and 2037 to meet the standards. To ensure that people are alerted when ozone reaches unhealthy levels, EPA is proposing to extend the ozone monitoring season for 33 states. This is particularly important for at-risk groups, including children and people with asthma because it will provide information so families can take steps to protect their health on smoggy days.
The agency is also proposing to strengthen the “secondary” ozone standard to a level within 65 to 70 ppb to protect plants, trees and ecosystems from damaging levels of ground-level ozone. New studies add to the evidence showing that repeated exposure to ozone stunts the growth of trees, damages plants, and reduces crop yield. The proposed level corresponds to levels of seasonal ozone exposure scientists have determined would be more protective.
EPA will seek public comment on the proposal for 90 days following publication in the Federal Register, and the agency plans to hold three public hearings.
Learn DOT’s New Rules for Lithium Battery Shipments
These changes are designed to ensure that lithium cells and batteries are able to withstand normal transportation conditions and are packaged to reduce the possibility of damage that could lead to an unsafe situation.
- Enhance packaging and hazard communication requirements for lithium batteries transported by air
- Replace equivalent lithium content with Watt-hours for lithium ion cells and batteries
- Adopt separate shipping descriptions for lithium metal batteries and lithium ion batteries
- Revise provisions for the transport of small and medium lithium cells and batteries including cells and batteries packed with, or contained in, equipment
- Revise the exceptions for small cells and batteries in air transportation
- Revise the requirements for the transport of lithium batteries for disposal or recycling
- Harmonize the provisions for the transport of low production and prototype lithium cells and batteries with the ICAO Technical Instructions and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code
- Adopt new provisions for the transport of damaged, defective, and recalled lithium batteries
If you ship batteries by ground or air, you must comply with the latest DOT and IATA/ICAO regulations that specify how the batteries must be packaged, marked, labeled, and transported. The rules apply not only to batteries, but also to equipment or vehicles that contain batteries as well as batteries packed along with equipment. Virtually all types of batteries are regulated, including lithium, lead-acid, nickel cadmium, and metal hydride alkaline. According to 49 CFR 172.704, all personnel involved in the classification, packaging, marking, labeling, or shipment of batteries must receive initial and recurrent transportation training.
These webcasts are designed to meet the DOT’s requirements for hazmat employee training of personnel responsible for the shipment of batteries.
Wilmington RCRA and DOT Training
Raleigh Area 24-Hour HAZWOPER Training
Cleveland RCRA and DOT Training
EPA Plan Will Reduce Pollution and Improve Visibility in Texas, Oklahoma
EPA is proposing to approve the part of Texas’ plan as meeting the Clean Air Act requirement that shows certain older, industrial sources meet existing requirements for best-available retrofit technology to reduce harmful emissions.
These sources are contributing to haze conditions in Texas’ Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks and also to Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. EPA’s proposal requires cost-effective controls, consistent with treatment used at power plants across the country, that will improve visibility in all of those areas, and prevent uncontrolled pollution emitted from Texas' plants from drifting to Oklahoma and affecting visibility there, as required by the Clean Air Act. The federal plan would be effective until the state replaces it with an approvable state plan.
Under EPA’s proposed plan, 15 units at 8 coal-fired electricity generating facilities in Texas will be required to reduce SO2 as part of the national long-term strategy for improving visibility. These pollution controls will be very much like those already in place for almost all similar power plants in other states.
The proposal would cut about 230,000 tons of SO2 emissions per year, which will better protect the parks and the refuge from hazy conditions, while also providing health and environmental benefits. In addition to forming haze and impairing visibility, SO2 can harm people’s health and the environment. SO2 reacts with other compounds in the air to form fine particles. Studies show that fine particles penetrate deeply into sensitive parts of the lungs, where they can worsen respiratory diseases, such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can aggravate existing heart disease. Airborne fine particles are linked to increased hospital admissions, missed days of work or school, and premature death. When deposited on land and in estuaries, lakes and streams, SO2 can also acidify sensitive ecosystems resulting in a range of harmful effects on plants, soils, water quality, and fish and wildlife.
No facilities in Oklahoma will be affected by the recent action. Oklahoma has already committed to haze-preventing pollution controls at three electricity generating plants and submitted an approvable state plan to partially replace the EPA’s federal plan in that state.
After being published in the Federal Register, the proposed plan will be open to a 60-day public comment period. EPA will also hold a public hearing in Austin on January 13, 2015, and one in Oklahoma City on January 15, 2013.
Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: 2014 Revisions and Confidentiality Determinations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems
These revisions include changes to certain calculation methods, amendments to certain monitoring and data reporting requirements, clarification of certain terms and definitions, and corrections to certain technical and editorial errors that have been identified during the course of implementation. This action also finalizes confidentiality determinations for new or substantially revised data elements contained in these amendments and revises the confidentiality determination for one existing data element.
Ohio Proposes Revisions to Air Toxics Contaminant Rule
The rule in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3745-114 contains a list compounds which, when emitted by a facility, may be cause for the director of Ohio EPA to require a permit-to-install under OAC chapter 3745-31. Pursuant to a court decision by the 10th appellate district and the requirements of ORC 119.032, Ohio EPA has reviewed OAC rule 3745-114-01 and finds the need to add compounds to the list of toxic air contaminants contained in the rule.
A public comment period will run until Tuesday, January 6, 2015. A public hearing on this proposed rule making will be held to consider public comments in accordance with Section 119.03 of the Ohio Revised Code. This hearing will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, at Ohio EPA Central Office, 50 W. Town Street, Suite 700, Columbus, Ohio.
Questions regarding this rule package may be directed to Paul Koval at the Ohio EPA Division of Air Pollution Control at 614-644-3615.
Sims Group USA to Pay Nearly $2.4 Million for Unlawful Release and Disposal of Hazardous Waste
Sims Group USA will pay nearly $2.4 million to settle a civil environmental enforcement action resulting from an investigation of its Redwood City facility by the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s (DTSC) Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI).
The California Attorney General’s Office filed the action in San Mateo County Superior Court and negotiated the settlement on behalf of DTSC.
DTSC alleges that scrap metal recycling operations at the Sims Facility at 699 Seaport Boulevard in Redwood City, releases light fibrous material, some of which deposits onto nearby property and becomes a waste.
OCI has made investigation and pursuit of enforcement of such cases a top priority.
“The control of hazardous pollution that falls from the air and accumulates on the ground is an important enforcement initiative for DTSC,” said Miriam Ingenito, Acting Director for DTSC. “The enclosure of the Sims facility will further protect the community and the environment by controlling the releases of metal-contaminated waste from the shredding operations.”
Under the settlement, Sims will pay $2,393,814 as follows:
- $825,000 to DTSC in civil penalties and reimbursement of DTSC’s investigative costs
- $125,000 to the Environmental Enforcement and Training Account Program as a Supplemental Environmental Project
- At least $1,443,814 to upgrade the facility beyond current regulatory requirements
The facility upgrades are designed to reduce the potential for release of heavy metal-contaminated light fibrous material. They include construction of buildings to enclose the metal shredder, the screening unit and associated magnets; improving the air pollution control system; and constructing additional perimeter fencing.
Until the upgrades are complete, Sims will conduct weekly inspections to determine whether light fibrous material has accumulated on private properties and public sidewalks and streets near the facility and immediately remove any deposits. Any light fibrous material that might be released during the short term required to complete the upgrades should not exceed the standards set forth in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Permit to Operate, which are designed to protect human health.
OCI is the only criminal investigation unit within the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Triax Turbine Components Fined $12,000 for Hazardous Waste Violations
These actions support EPA‘s commitment to protecting public health and the environment in Indian Country.
Routine inspections at the facility in 2013 uncovered violations of federal standards governing the handling and storing of hazardous waste.
Hill Brothers Chemical Company, based in Orange, California, was fined $12,000 for violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act for selling mislabeled, industrial-use pesticides on the Ak-Chin Indian Community in 2013. Hill Brothers sold two products without providing the complete use instructions to the water reclamation facility on the tribe’s land in Maricopa. The violations were discovered by the tribe after it inspected the facility following an incident involving an accidental release of chlorine gas.
Consumers are required to follow pesticide label directions for proper use and should look for the EPA registration number printed on product labels.
L’Oreal USA Fined $146,500 for Redken Products that Violated California Air Quality Regulations
The California Air Resources Board recently announced that L’Oreal USA S/D, Inc., has paid $146,500 in penalties for selling three Redken-brand hair care products that failed to meet the state’s air quality regulations.
L’Oreal agreed to pay the fine after settling a consumer products case with the state Air Resources Board. New Jersey-based L’Oreal owns American hair care brand Redken.
The Redken products were formulated at 55% VOC content for finishing hair sprays. However, since these products only made styling claims—no claims to “finish, maintain, or hold previously styled hair”—they are subject to a lower 6% VOC limit for products in the hair styling category. Under the state regulation, finishing hair spray products may also make styling claims while meeting the less stringent VOC limit; however, if the products only make styling claims they are subject to a more stringent VOC limit. VOC compounds react with other pollutants under sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a main ingredient in smog.
“When consumers statewide use products that do not comply with California’s standards, they unknowingly release significant quantities of smog-forming chemicals into the atmosphere,” ARB Enforcement Chief James Ryden said. “These violations by L’Oreal impact air quality and public health.”
The violations, which resulted in the release of an estimated 11.3 tons of excess emissions, took place over a three-year period between 2011 and 2014. The fines go into the California Air Pollution Control Fund. L’Oreal also agreed not to sell, supply, offer for sale, or manufacture for sale in California any consumer product in violation of ARB consumer products regulations.
Air Quality Violation Found in North Minneapolis
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has found that air quality in an industrial part of North Minneapolis recently violated a state standard for large airborne particles.
“Although it isn’t an immediate health threat, this is a situation that concerns us,” said MPCA Industrial Division Manager Jeff Smith. “These larger particles are less of a health risk because they can’t be inhaled deeply into the lungs like small particles. However, any violation of this nature is a serious matter.”
The violation was detected by an air monitoring station near the Lowry Avenue bridge on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Levels of large particles, also known as Total Suspended Particulates (TSP), exceeded the state standard on October 26 and November 1, 2014. This triggered an MPCA investigation into possible sources and corrective actions. That investigation is ongoing.
Smith said, “We know these larger particles tend to be heavier and do not travel far. Therefore the cause of the violation, and any effects, are likely to be within about a quarter-mile of the monitor.”
The station that detected the violation monitors the overall quality of the ambient, or background, air in that area. It does not measure the emissions from specific nearby sources such as regulated industries—which are monitored separately. There may be multiple nearby sources that contributed to the problem.
Monitoring has continued since the violation was identified. Although additional violations have not been detected, the MPCA is looking into all of the potential sources that may have caused or contributed to the violation, and is moving quickly to identify specific actions to prevent future violations.
The MPCA began operating a fine-particle monitor at the site in January 2013, which measures particles of 2.5 microns or less (a human hair is about 70 microns in diameter). Fine particles are of a greater concern to human health because they can be inhaled more deeply into the lungs. The fine-particle monitor was installed partly in response to community concerns about air quality, and has not shown any problems since start-up. The MPCA discovered the large-particle violation after it expanded the types of particles monitored at the station in October 2014 to compare with other monitors in the Twin Cities.
“We will continue to follow up to see if the high levels of large particles were isolated to just those two days, or whether they’re part of a larger pattern,” Smith said. “Despite the fact our investigation is not complete, we’re already taking steps to identify potential contributors and work with them to reduce their emissions.”
EPA Finalizes Greenhouse Gas Permit for Carbon Capture Facility
EPA has issued a final greenhouse gas (GHG) Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) construction permit to Nuevo Midstream, L.L.C., to build three gas processing plants. The facility is located Orla, Texas, about 100 miles west of Odessa.
“This facility will help increase processing of natural gas in Texas and New Mexico,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry. “The facility is an example of how providers can meet customer demand while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.”
The project will involve the expansion of three cryogenic plants and two 1,000-gpm amine plants. It is also the first GHG PSD construction permit in Texas for carbon capture sequestration. The project also plans to sell GHGs for oil recovery operations. The project can emit up to 568,067 tons of CO2 annually. The additions will bring almost $300 million in capital investments for the local area.
In June 2010, EPA finalized national GHG regulations, which specify that beginning on January 2, 2011, projects that substantially increase GHG emissions require an air permit.
EPA believes states are best equipped to run GHG air permitting programs. EPA will continue to work closely with applicants who have pending permits retained by EPA at their request. This action will increase efficiency and allow industry to continue to grow in Texas.
Since January 2, 2011, projects in Texas that substantially increase GHG emissions required an air permit from the EPA. In Texas alone, EPA has received 86 GHG permit applications from businesses since 2011. Of the 192 GHG permits issued nationwide, EPA has completed 64 and the states have issued 129 permits.
EPA, San Jose, Recycler Celebrate Food Waste to Energy Conversion
“Thanksgiving is a great time to focus on reducing food waste, the largest single material still going to landfills,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “By turning food scraps into compost and renewable energy, San Jose and Zero Waste Energy Development are helping fight waste and climate change.”
The San Jose compost and biogas program and Zero Waste Energy Development (ZWED) facility supports the city’s goal of achieving zero waste by 2022. The city currently diverts about 74% of waste material from landfills through reuse, recycling, composting, and anaerobic digestion.
“Our strong public-private partnership with ZWED exemplifies our bold Green Vision,” said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. “We’re diverting waste from our landfill and converting it to energy by collaborating with ZWED at the world’s largest anaerobic digestion facility. This is project is a win-win for our businesses, our community, and the environment.”
During its first ten months of operation in 2014, the ZWED facility has recycled more than 30,000 tons of food scraps from restaurants and grocery stores that would otherwise go to the landfill. This food waste generates 500 kilowatts per hour of electricity that is used to power onsite operations, and it has produced approximately 6,000 tons of compost. The facility is capable of digesting and composting 90,000 tons of organic waste per year and is expected to produce 1.6 megawatts and sell excess power to the grid in early 2015.
“We’re pleased to have the EPA and City of San Jose join in celebrating our first anniversary of the opening of our facility,” said Richard Cristina, president of ZWED. “We’re excited to showcase the tremendous success of our partnership to keep San Jose’s commercial wet waste out of landfills while creating a high quality compost and renewable energy.”
San Jose garbage, recycling, and composting systems start with state-of-the-art facilities where all commercial waste is first sorted before anything is sent to the landfill. Organic and food waste is moved to the ZWED facility, where 16 anaerobic digesters use bacteria to break down the material in an oxygen-depleted environment to create a biogas rich in methane. The gas in turn fuels a combined heat and power plant that generates electricity for adjacent recycling operations.
California recently announced the recipients of $14.5 million in grants to reduce GHG emissions from food and other organic waste going to landfill. Five projects in California will each receive $2.5 to $3 million to expand or develop anaerobic digester or composting facilities similar to San Jose’s.
EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge and new Reducing Wasted Food & Packaging Toolkit encourage businesses and organizations to reduce food waste and help feed people in need. Participants donated more than 98,000 tons of food and diverted more than 375,000 tons of wasted food from landfills last year, cutting GHG emissions equivalent to taking 85,000 cars off the road.
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Trivia Question of the Week
Which of the following foods consume the most water to produce one kilogram of the product?
a) Beer
b) Chocolate
c) Pizza
d) Beef
