NESHAP: regulation of air pollution produced by welding, metalworking and spray paints

Sentry Air exists because many jobs produce by-products that shouldn’t be inhaled.

Our air purifiers help protect the respiratory systems of people who do those jobs.

Clean air for everyone

Efforts to have clean air during industrial development go back centuries.

In the early 1300s, England’s King Edward I
banned the burning of a specific coal in
London because of its smoke.

In the U.S., the desire for clean air started during the industrial revolution in specific municipalities and, over the years, has produced national legislation.1

The nation has produced a Clean Air Act in 1963, 1970, and 1990.

NESHAP

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants [NESHAP], 40 CFR Part 63, was issued by the EPA because it was required by the Clean Air Act.

It requires control of hazardous air pollutants produced by specific categories of metal fabrication and finishing.

This blog addresses three of the categories regulated by NESHAP: welding, grinding and spray painting.

Welding fume control

Guideline excerpts from an EPA NESHAP presentation stress practicality.2

For example, if practicable, to reduce welding fumes:

  • Use welding processes, process variations and process materials [e.g., filler, shielding and carrier gases] that can reduce fume generation rates.
  • Optimize welding process variables (e.g., electrode diameter, voltage, amperage, welding angle, shield gas flow rate, travel speed).
  • Use a welding fume capture and control system.

 

The third bullet is where we come in.

We design and manufacture a variety of fume extractors that are effective in most welding and metalworking environments.

You can view them on our website.

Grinding fume control

If you use large, stationary grinding machines, then your process is subject to NESHAP standards.

However, smaller, portable grinders and their emissions could be adding pollutants to workplace air as well.

In both situations, you may want to consider our range of fume extractors as potential controls for your grinding operations.

A solution can be specified with airflow appropriate for your application in portable or stationary configurations.

 

Spray paint fumes

Because spray paints emit pollutants, NESHAP also addresses emissions from spray rooms and spray booths.

When you’d like to do a little touch-up painting without using the full spray room, our Ductless Spray Hoods offer a convenient solution that can be located exactly where necessary without new ductwork or remodeling.

To help you judge their effectiveness, we provide the results of filter longevity and lower explosive limit (LEL) tests results on our website.



General dust reduction

NESHAP documentation stresses the reduction of excess dust in areas surrounding work stations.

Our customers successfully reduce general dust with our ceiling mounted, free-hanging air cleaner, the Model 2000.

Here’s a testimonial about a manufacturing facility that documented a reduction of particles in the ambient air by ~99%.


Additional NESHAP information

We’ve put together an easy-to-follow checklist to see if your operation falls within this regulation. We also posted a NESHAP video to our YouTube channel that further explains this regulation.

Give us a call

For information on options for controlling NESHAP emissions, give us a call at 1.800.799.4609, email us at sales@sentryair.com, or fill out this online form to have a Sentry Air Systems Applications Specialist contact you to discuss your process.

 

Resources

1 History of the Clean Air Act
http://www.ametsoc.org/sloan/cleanair/index.html

2 Metal Fabrication and Finishing Area Source NESHAP (subpart XXXXXX) Small Business SBO/SBEAP State Partners
http://www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/SharingInformation/conferences/conf2011files/Jones_MetalFab6X_050411.pdf

 

3 Rule and Implementation Information for Nine Metal Fabrication and Finishing Area Source Categories – 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart XXXXXX
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/6x/6xpg.html