Division of Air and Waste Management

Congress sought to reduce cancer and non-cancer health risks due to the exposure to hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act. Under Section 112(k) - Area Source Program, Congress mandated that the EPA identify 30 or more HAPs that posed the greatest threat to public health in urban areas, and to identify the small (i.e., area) sources that emit any of these pollutants.

In 1999, the EPA identified 33 HAPs that posed the greatest threat to public health and has, since that time, identified over 60 area source categories for which standards are to be promulgated. Click here for more information on the Federal "Area Source Program."

On January 9, 2008, the EPA finalized another of these federal area source standards affecting Delaware facilities. The standard found at 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart HHHHHH, is applicable to new and existing area source paint stripping operations and/or surface coatings operations.

Due to the complexity of this federal standard (Subpart HHHHHH) and its broad spectrum of affected businesses, most of which are small businesses, Air Quality Management has decided to separate the federal rule into three individual regulatory development actions under Regulation 1138. 

Section 15 of Regulation 1138 will contain requirements applicable to area source surface coating operations that perform spray application of coatings that contain target HAPs to motor vehicles or mobile equipment.  For the purposes of Section 15.0, target HAPs are compounds of cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, or nickel.

Click here for additional information on this separation and for links to the related paint stripping and miscellaneous parts or products surface coating regulatory development actions.

The area source mobile vehicles or mobile equipment surface coating standard addresses the emissions of 5 metal HAPs.  These HAPs include compounds of cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, and manganese.  In the federal rule these compounds are referred to collectively as "Target HAPs".Compounds of each of these metals, except manganese, have been classified by the EPA as probable carcinogens.  The systematic impacts of the various metal compounds differ.  Compounds of all these metals can pose non-cancerous risks to the exposured public.  The health effects of these compounds are provided in the links in the Reference Information, below.

Path forward 

Delaware's anticipated schedule for adopting the "motor vehicles or mobile equipment surface coating operation" requirements into Regulation 1138 is:

• Start Action Notice Approved - Completed Aug. 24, 2009
• Draft Regulatory Language Available - Fall 2009
• Public Workshop Held - Winter 2010
• Proposed Regulatory Language Published in Delaware Register - Spring 2010
• Public Hearing Held - Summer 2010
• Secretary's Order Issued - Fall 2010
• Effective Date - Fall 2010

REGULATORY INFORMATION

Reference Information

• Potential Adverse Health Effects Associated with Target HAPs. 

EPA provides fact sheets describing the effects on human health of substances that are identified as hazardous air pollutants in the 1990 amendments of the Clean Air Act. These substances include certain volatile organic chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and radionuclides that present tangible hazards, based on scientific studies of exposure to humans and other mammals. Target HAPs are classified as a hazardous air pollutants.

 

Links to EPA's Health Effects Fact Sheets are provided below:

• For cadmium compounds
• For chromium compounds
• For lead compounds
• For manganese compounds
• For nickel compounds
• For other HAPs

• The Federal Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating Operations Rule, as of February 13, 2008

• Federal Rules and Amendments
• Correction - 73 FR 8408, February 13, 2008
• Final Federal Rule - 73 FR 1738, January 9, 2008
• Proposed Federal Rule - 72 FR 52958, September 17, 2008