EPA - Tougher Standards for Hospital, Medical, and Infectious Waste Incinerators Emmisions

EPA Tightens Air Emissions for Hospital, Medical, and Infectious Waste Incinerators

Release date: 09/16/2009

Contact Information: Cathy Milbourn milbourn.cathy@epa.gov 202-564-7849 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON – EPA is setting new limits that will affect most existing hospital, medical, and infectious waste incinerators. This final action will reduce about 390,000 pounds of several pollutants each year including acid gases, nitrogen oxides, and metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. EPA is also finalizing additional testing, monitoring, and inspection requirements.
This final action revises the September 1997 new source performance standards and emission guidelines for these incinerators and responds to the Court remand of the regulations. It also satisfies the Clean Air Act requirement to conduct a review of the standards every five years.

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What is a Nonattainment Area in Air Quality Standards?

In United States environmental law, a non-attainment area is an area considered to have air quality worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards as defined in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 (P.L. 91-604, Sec. 109).

Non attainment areas must have and implement a plan to meet the standard, or risk losing some forms of federal financial assistance.

 An area may be a nonattainment area for one pollutant and an attainment area for others.

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While this may have nothing to do with Green House Gases yet, I suspect that in Nonattainment areas, thresholds for reporting ghg emissions may be modified in the future

-Editor

EPA's 40 CFR PART 98 New Rule May be Published this week

40 CFR Part 98 is the EPA's proposed rule making mandatory the reporting of Green House Gases. The Draft rule was published in April, has been making is appropriate rounds and public forums. Roumer has it that the new rule will be signed this week.

This will extend the regulatory reach of the Clean Air Act to include the reporting of  some green house gases.  A wide range of new industries will be required to begin gathering emissions data for reporting effective 1 January, 2010, in less than 4 months...

-Editor