Written on: June 1, 2019 by Doug Raymond
CARB
On April 12, 2019, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff held its first Public Workshop on its new round of rule development for Consumer Products.
CARB staff is proposing to evaluate consumer product survey categories with more than 0.5 tons per day (tpd) volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions as part of its rule development process. Two exceptions are “Pipe Cement & Primer” and “Multipurpose Lubricants,” which were both recently regulated by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and CARB.
CARB staff is also proposing that a new Regulatory Strategies Public Work Group meet regularly to review each of the survey categories with at least 0.5 tpd VOC emissions to prioritize opportunities for achieving additional emission reductions and air quality benefits. These work group meetings will typically be held by teleconference.
As we go to press, the meetings were all scheduled for the end of May. Categories included Hair Finishing Spray; No Rinse Shampoo; Dye, Permanent; General Purpose Cleaner (non-aerosol); General Purpose Degreaser (non-aerosol); Bathroom & Tile Cleaner (aerosol); Glass Cleaner (aerosol); Air Freshener, Single Phase Aerosol; Air Freshener, Double Phase Aerosol; Dual Purpose Air Freshener/Disinfectant (Aerosol); Air Freshener, liquid/pump spray; Air Freshener, solid/semisolid; Laundry Detergent; Liquid Fabric Softener; Dish Detergent/Soap (manual) and Aerosol Cooking Spray.
CARB intends to utilize these meetings to propose specific categories and possible regulatory options for discussion at a second public workshop in Fall 2019.
Further meetings on the remaining categories will be held in June. Likewise in June, meetings will start on definitional changes, so any changes we would like to entertain we should get to CARB in the next month.
Details of the entire process include:
• April 2019: Kickoff Public Workshop
• Spring–Summer 2019: Topic-specific Workgroups
• Regulatory Strategies
• Regulatory Definition/Language Updates
• Fall 2019: Public workshop to identify and quantify emissions benefits of regulatory options
• Late 2019/Early 2020: Additional public workshop(s) as needed
• Ongoing: Meet with interested stakeholders
• Late 2020: Proposed regulatory amendments for Board consideration
Strategy for regulating products is as follows:
• Based on survey data
• Screening process to narrow our focus to identify survey categories that might yield reductions
significant enough to proceed into rule making
• Begin with highest VOC/OFP (Ozone Forming Potential) categories (greater than 0.5 tpd VOC)
• Currently Unregulated Categories
• Average product VOC content
• Category not subject to recent rule-making processes
• Potential for toxic disbenefits
• Others
The examples given at the meeting were:
• Hair Finishing Spray (10.4 tpd VOC, 15.2 tpd OFP)
• Complying Market Share & Feasibility
• No Rinse Shampoo (0.9 tpd VOC, 1.1 tpd OFP)
• Complying Market Share & Feasibility
• Sunscreen (hair or body) (aerosol) (3.5 tpd VOC, 5.5 OFP)
• Health Benefits & Other Regulatory Regimes
• Laundry Detergent (4.6 tpd VOC, 32.5 tpd OFP)
• Average Product VOC Content & Fragrance
• Floor Wax Stripper (1.3 tpd VOC, 7.9 tpd OFP)
• High OFP Ingredients
Please contact Lucy Negrete at CARB to inform her of your interest in participating in these calls:
lucy.negrete@carb.ca.gov.
On April 19, 2019, CARB held a Research Seminar to discuss the decline in transportation emissions and relative growth in Consumer Products. This seminar highlighted the work done by Brian McDonald from the Cooperative Institute of Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). McDonald published a paper in Science magazine last year describing VOC emissions from Consumer Products and Coatings.
About 30 people attended the meeting. McDonald discussed his work with what he describes as Volatile Chemical Products (VCP) emissions. These differ from VOC emissions because he counts all VOCs, low vapor pressure compounds (LVPs) and exempts in VCPs. His talk was mainly about past work and new work that he has done in New York on D-5 Siloxane as a marker for antiperspirants and hairspray. In addition, his group has tried to use terpenes as a marker for fragrances without much luck. His main point was that Consumer Products and Coatings are a major source of emissions.
CARB 2019–2020 preliminary fee invoices
On May 1, 2019, CARB staff mailed out the Preliminary Fee Determinations for 2019–2020. The fee is based on VOC emissions estimated on 2017 sales, based on 2015 data reported.
The Preliminary rate is $195 per VOC tons. Companies have 60 days (from May 1) to work with staff if there are questions. This is an AB10X fee that has been ongoing for years.
Colorado
On April 18, 2019, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) held a public meeting to determine if the currently proposed regulation on Consumer Products and Architectural & Industrial Maintenance Coatings (AIM) should be set for a hearing. Industry testified that the Consumer Products Regulation and AIM Coating Regulation cannot be combined as suggested in the proposal. Also, Industry asked that Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) Model 2 for Consumer Products be phased in instead of Model 4.
Industry stated that at least a year after the adoption date is needed for it to comply. Currently the proposed time frame only allows about eight months or fewer. AQCC voted to move forward with the rules but urged staff to work with stakeholders.There was a status conference on May 21, 2019 to discuss these issues. Currently, the proposed effective date is May 1, 2020. The adoption date is scheduled for late in the summer of 2019.
LADCO
On April 15, 2019, the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO) held a meeting. The States that belong to LADCO are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
In attendance were approximately 65–70 people. Cathy Stepp, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Administrator, discussed working with the States and Industry to try to have a more cooperative relationship, which has been successful.
Finally, each of the States gave an update on its programs and where it is headed. The good news is that most States are close to compliance with the Ozone Standard. Some States still have regions that are not compliant; those mostly include the bigger cities. The great news is not one State Air Program mentioned adding or amending any State regulations to add more Consumer Product Regulations. SPRAY
