Written on: May 1, 2019 by Doug Raymond
CARB
Are you ready for the next round of California Air Resources Board (CARB) Consumer Product Regulations? On April 12, CARB held its first workshop for this next rule development. It is looking to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in aerosol products by 2023 and beyond. CARB staff plans to publish product categories that will be reviewed for emission reductions. It will then hold calls on each product category to try and narrow the scope of the product categories that will be regulated.
CARB staff needs emission reductions by 2023, and even more by 2031. Thus, some categories may end up with future effective VOC limits beyond 2023.
Additionally, definitions for product categories may be reviewed and modified. These changes may affect your product more than a VOC limit. Stay tuned for more to come.
Finally, if you are planning to use the Reactivity Option for the Multi-purpose Lubricant future effective limit, remember to register your product with CARB before moving to this option. The regulation clearly spells out that there is reporting required before selling the product.
Consumer & Commercial Product Survey
CARB Staff has finalized the data for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Consumer Products Survey, which includes more than 400 Consumer and Commercial Product categories sent in by more than 1,500 product manufacturers and formulators. CARB reviewed more than 300,000 product formulas and sales. This is the largest survey of Consumer Products ever.
This data will be the foundation for the next rule making; it can be reviewed here
CARB Webcast
A webcast was held on April 19 by the CARB Research Division on Consumer Product Volatile Chemical Products. Dr. Brian McDonald, from the Cooperative Institute of Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado, presented. You may remember that he is the author of the article in the February 2018 issue of Science magazine that described emissions of Consumer Products.
Colorado
On April 8, the Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Enforcement (CDPHE) released a draft of its proposed rule. Unfortunately, they have chosen to move to Phase 4 of the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) Regulation. This proposal was heard on April 18. The proposed rule can be found here. The document is called “041819-Regulation 21_materials.pdf,” found under the Regular Agenda Item tab.
LADCO
On April 15, the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO) held an Air Quality Stakeholders meeting in Chicago, IL. The objectives of the meeting were to facilitate collaborations between stakeholders, state air programs and the U.S. Dept. of Environmental Protection (EPA) on regional air quality. More to come on this.
EPA bans methylene chloride in consumer paint removers
The EPA has issued a final rule to prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing and distribution of methylene chloride in all paint removers for consumer use. EPA has taken this action because of the acute fatalities that have resulted from exposure to the chemical. Paint removal products containing methylene chloride will not be sold at any retail or distribution establishments that offer consumer sales. Those prohibitions start 180 days after the effective date of the final rule, which provides time for establishments selling this chemical to consumers to become compliant with EPA’s ban.
Additionally, EPA is soliciting public input for a future rulemaking that could establish a training, certification and limited access program for methylene chloride for commercial uses. SPRAY
