Section 52.254 - Organic solvent usage(a) This section is applicable in the Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and San Joaquin Valley Intrastate Air Quality Control Regions (the "Regions"), as described in 40 CFR part 81, dated July 1, 1979, except as follows: (1) In the following portions of the San Joaquin Valley Region, only the hourly emission limitations contained in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section are in effect; the following paragraphs, needed for interpretation are also in effect: Paragraphs (e) through (l) and (o) through (q) of this section. In addition, this section is entirely rescinded for specific operations for some of the counties noted below:(i) This section is rescinded entirely for metal parts and products coaters which are subject to and in full compliance with Rule 409.4 for the Fresno County APCD, Rule 410.4 for the Kings County APCD, Rule 410.4 for the Madera County APCD, Rule 409.4 for the Merced County APCD, Rule 409.4 for the San Joaquin County APCD, Rule 409.4 for the Stanislaus County APCD, and Rule 410.4 for the Tulare County APCD.(ii) Kern County APCD. This section is rescinded entirely for metal parts and product coaters which are subject to and in full compliance with Rule 410.4.(iii) Fresno County APCD.(iv) San Joaquin County APCD.(2) In the following portions of the San Joaquin Valley Region, only the hourly emission limitations contained in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section and the architectural coatings and solvent disposal emission limitations contained in paragraphs (m) and (n) of this section are in effect; the following paragraphs, needed for interpretation and enforcement of these emission limitations, are also in effect: Paragraphs (e) through (l) and (o) through (q) of this section. (3) In the following portions of the Sacramento Valley Region, this section is rescinded: (i) Sacramento County APCD.(iii) Shasta County APCD.(iv) Placer County APCD (Mountain Counties Air Basin portion).(vii) El Dorado County (Mountain Counties Air Basin portion).(4) This section is rescinded for the San Francisco Bay Area Intrastate Region except for paragraph (d), which is retained until December 31, 1982 for sources constructed prior to October 2, 1974. The following paragraphs, needed for interpretation and enforcement of paragraph (d) are also in effect: Paragraphs (e) through (l) and (o) through (q) of this section.(5) In the following portions of the Sacramento Valley Intrastate Region, paragraph (m) of this section is rescinded.(b) No person shall discharge into the atmosphere more than 15 pounds of organic materials in any 1 day or more than 3 pounds in any 1 hour from any article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance in which any organic solvent or any material containing organic solvent comes into contact with flame or is baked, heat-cured, or heat-polymerized in the presence of oxygen, unless said discharge has been reduced by at least 85 percent. Those portions of any series of articles, machines, equipment, or other contrivances designed for processing continuous web, strip, or wire that emit organic materials in the course of using operations described in this section shall be collectively subject to compliance with this section.(c) A person shall not discharge to the atmosphere more than 40 pounds of organic materials in any 1 day or more than 8 pounds in any 1 hour from any article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance used under conditions other than those described in paragraph (b) of this section for employing or applying any photochemically reactive solvent, as defined in paragraph (k) of this section, or material containing such photochemically reactive solvent, unless said discharge has been reduced by at least 85 percent. Emissions of organic materials into the atmosphere resulting from air- or heated-drying of products for the first 12 hours after their removal from any article, machine, or other contrivance described in this section shall be included in determining compliance with this paragraph. Emissions resulting from baking, heat-curing, or heat-polymerizing as described in paragraph (b) of this section shall be excluded from determination of compliance with this section. Those portions of any series of articles, machines, equipment, or other contrivances designed for processing a continuous web, strip, or wire that emit organic materials in the course of using operations described in this section shall be collectively subject to compliance with this section.(d) A person shall not, after August 31, 1976, discharge into the atmosphere more than 3,000 pounds of organic materials in any 1 day or more than 450 pounds in any 1 hour from any article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance in which any non-photochemically reactive organic solvent or any material containing such a solvent is employed or applied, unless said discharge has been reduced by at least 85 percent. Emissions of organic materials into the atmosphere resulting from air- or heated-drying of products for the first 12 hours after their removal from any article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance described in this section shall be included in determining compliance with this section. Emissions resulting from baking, heat-curing, or heat-polymerizing as described in paragraph (b) of this section shall be excluded from determination of compliance with this section. Those portions of any series of articles, machines, equipment, or other contrivances designed for processing a continuous web, strip, or wire that emit organic materials in the course of using operations described in this section shall be collectively subject to compliance with this section.(e) Emissions of organic materials to the atmosphere from the cleaning with photochemically reactive solvent, as defined in paragraph (k) of this section, of any article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance described in paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this section, shall be included with the other emissions of organic materials for determining compliance with this rule.(f) Emissions of organic materials into the atmosphere required to be controlled by paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this section, shall be reduced by:(1) Incineration, provided that 90 percent or more of the carbon in the organic material being incinerated is oxidized to carbon dioxide, or(3) Processing in a manner determined by the Administrator to be not less effective than the methods outlined in paragraph (f) (1) or (2) of this section.(g) A person incinerating, adsorbing, or otherwise processing organic materials pursuant to this section shall provide, properly install and maintain in calibration, in good working order and in operation, devices as specified in the authority to construct or permit to operate, or as specified by the Administrator, for indicating temperatures, pressures, rates of flow, or other operating conditions necessary to determine the degree and effectiveness of air pollution control.(h) Any person using organic solvents or any materials containing organic solvents shall supply the Administrator upon request and in the manner and form prescribed by him, written evidence of the chemical composition, physical properties, and amount consumed for each organic solvent used.(i) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:(1) The manufacture of organic solvents, or the transport or storage of organic solvents or materials containing organic solvents.(2) The use of equipment for which other requirements are specified by rules or which are exempted from air pollution control requirements by applicable rules affecting the storage of petroleum products, effluent oil-water separators, and the transfer of gasoline.(3) The spraying or other employment of insecticides, pesticides, or herbicides.(4) The employment, application, evaporation, or drying of saturated halogenated hydrocarbons or perchloroethylene.(5) The use of any material in any article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance described in paragraph (b), (c), (d), or (e) of this section, if:(i) The volatile content of such materials consists only of water and organic solvent, and(ii) The organic solvents comprise not more than 20 percent by volume of said volatile content, and(iii) The volatile content is not photochemically reactive as defined in paragraph (k) of this section, and(iv) The organic solvent or any material containing organic solvent does not come into contact with flame. This last stipulation applies only for those articles, machines, equipment, or contrivances that are constructed or modified after the effective date of this section.
(6) The use of any material in any article, machine, equipment or other contrivance described in paragraph (b), (c), (d), or (e) of this section, if:(i) The organic solvent content of such material does not exceed 30 percent by volume of said material; this to be effective until January 1, 1977. After January 1, 1977, the organic solvent content of such material must not exceed 20 percent by volume of said material.(ii) The volatile content is not photochemically reactive as defined in paragraph (k) of this section, and(iii) The organic solvent or any material containing organic solvent does not come into contact with flame. This last stipulation applies only for those articles, machines, equipment, or contrivances that are constructed or modified after the effective date of this section.(j) For the purposes of this section, organic solvents include diluents, thinners, and reducers and are defined as organic materials that are liquids at standard conditions and are used as dissolvers, viscosity reducers, or cleaning agents, except that such materials exhibiting a boiling point higher than 220 °F at 0.5 millimeter mercury absolute pressure or having an equivalent vapor pressure shall not be considered to be solvents unless exposed to temperatures exceeding 220 °F.(k) For the purpose of this section, a photochemically reactive solvent is any solvent with an aggregate of more than 20 percent of its total volume composed of the chemical compounds classified below or which exceeds any of the following individual percentage composition limitations, referred to the total volume of solvent: (1) A combination of hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ethers, or ketones having an olefinic or cycloolefinic type of unsaturation; 5 percent;(2) A combination of aromatic compounds with 8 or more carbon atoms to the molecule except ethylbenzene, phenyl acetate, and methyl benzoate; 8 percent;(3) A combination of ethylbenzene, ketones having branched hydrocarbon structures, trichloroethylene or toluene: 20 percent. Whenever any organic solvent or any constituent of an organic solvent may be classified from its chemical structure into more than one of the above groups of organic compounds, it shall be considered as a member of the most reactive chemical group, that is, that group having the least allowable percent of the total volume of solvents.
(l) For the purpose of this section, organic materials are defined as chemical compounds of carbon excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbonates, and ammonium carbonate.(m) Architectural coatings and their use shall conform to the following requirements, on or before January 1, 1975: (1) A person shall not sell or offer for sale or use in the areas in which this section applies, in containers of 1-quart capacity or larger, any architectural coating containing photochemically reactive solvent, as defined in paragraph (k) of this section.(2) A person shall not employ, apply, evaporate, or dry in the areas in which this section applies, any architectural coating purchased in containers of 1-quart capacity or larger containing photochemically reactive solvent, as defined in paragraph (k) of this section.(3) A person shall not thin or dilute any architectural coating with a photochemically reactive solvent, as defined in paragraph (k) of this section.(4) For the purpose of this section, an architectural coating is defined as a coating used for residential or commercial buildings and their appurtenances, or for industrial buildings.(n) A person shall not during any one day dispose of a total of more than 1.5 gallons of any photochemically reactive solvent as defined in paragraph (k) of this section, or of any material containing more than 1.5 gallons of any such photochemically reactive solvent by any means that will permit the evaporation of such solvent into the atmosphere.(o)Compliance schedule.(1) Except where other final compliance dates are provided in this section, the owner or operator of any stationary source subject to this section shall comply with this section on or before March 31, 1974. In any event: (i) Any owner or operator in compliance with this section on the effective date of this section shall certify such compliance to the Administrator no later than 120 days following the effective date of this section.(ii) Any owner or operator who achieves compliance with this section after the effective date of this section shall certify such compliance to the Administrator within 5 days of the date compliance is achieved.(p) Any owner or operator of a stationary source subject to paragraph (o)(1) of this section may, not later than 120 days following the effective date of this section, submit to the Administrator for approval a proposed compliance schedule that demonstrates compliance with the provisions in paragraph (o)(1) of this section as expeditiously as practicable but no later than July 31, 1975. The compliance schedule shall provide for increments of progress toward compliance. The dates for achievement of such increments of progress shall be specified. Increments of progress shall include, but not be limited to: Submittal of a final control plan to the Administrator; letting of necessary contracts for construction or process changes or issuance of orders for the purchase of component parts to accomplish emission control or process modification; initiation of onsite construction or installation of emission control equipment or process modification; completion of onsite construction or installation of emission control equipment or process modification and final compliance.
(q) Any owner or operator who submits a compliance schedule pursuant to this section shall, within 5 days after the deadline for each increment of progress, certify to the Administrator whether or not the required increment of the approved compliance schedule has been met.38 FR 31249, Nov. 12, 1973 For FEDERAL REGISTER citations affecting §52.254, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.