The Environment Protection Act 1990, like the
Health and Safety at Work Act, allows the Secretary
of State to introduce Regulations to control, amongst
other things, the release of harmful substances to air,
water and land. The legislation is wide in scope, with
the long-term aim of minimizing environment pollution.
The paint application industry is among the
third largest group of environment polluters, and it is
because of this that the EPA introduces many refinishing
industry specific controls. The object of the
Act is to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in surface coatings,
using the best available techniques not entailing
excessive costs (BATNEECs). VOCs are substances
which react with nitrous oxides in sunlight to create
low-level ozone. This photochemical air pollution
causes damage to vegetation and can also cause
serious breathing difficulties in humans and animals.
All users will have to use BATNEECs to prevent,
minimize and render harmless any release of VOCs.
If there is alleged contravention, the user will have to
prove that no better techniques were available.
Bodyshops purchasing more than 2 tonnes of
solvent per year will be required to register under the
classification of Part B ‘The Respraying of Motor
Vehicles’ of the Act. Any bodyshop currently operating
below these levels is not required to register.
Existing bodyshops who registered by the deadline
set for their area of the country (in England and
Wales by 30 September 1992, and in Scotland by
31 March 1993) have until October 1998 to fulfil
all their legal obligations under the Act.
Two separate pollution control regimes are
established in Part 1 of the Act to control industrial
processes falling into the categories A and B.
Category A is integrated pollution control (IPC)
operated by HMIP in England and Wales and
HMIPI in Scotland. Category B is local authority
air pollution control.
Environmental Protection (Prescribed
Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991
These identify the respraying of road vehicles as a
category B process (local authority air pollution
control) if the process may result in the release into
the air of any particular matter or of any volatile
organic compound (solvents) where the process
is likely to involve the use of 2 tonnes or more of
organic solvents in any 12 month period. Cleaning
agents, fillers, stoppers, primers, gunwash and many
other products in the refinishing of motor vehicles
all contribute to this figure. The figure should represent
the amount consumed in the process, i.e. lost
through evaporation, spillage and transfer.
If the process involves the use of 2 tonnes of
organic solvents in any 12 month period then the
bodyshop operator must seek authorization from
his or her local authority to carry out the process. If
the operator of the bodyshop calculates the solvent
usage to be less than 2 tonnes, then the best advice
would be to monitor solvent usage in order to
demonstrate the fact to the local authority.
First check with the local authority, who will
require information about your operation such as:
1 Who and where you are
2 What you do and how you do it
3 What is released to air, how much, and wherefrom
4 What you do to prevent, control and monitor
such releases
5 Evidence or proposals that the objectives of
BATNEEC will be met.
Upgrading of existing bodyshops to comply
with the Act
The engineering controls that the EPA imposes upon
equipment are very significant, particularly regarding
spray booths if emission exceeds the 2 tonnes VOCs
limit. For spray booths already working there is a
requirement to submit an upgrading programme to
the local authority within 12 months of the initial
registration. That programme must be implemented
by 1 April 1998.
The requirements for upgrading are as follows:
1 Filtration systems have to ensure that the
concentration of paint particulate matter in
the final discharge to atmosphere from the
spray booth does not exceed 10 mg/m3.
2 Manufacturers or companies upgrading booths
will be required to provide a guarantee confirming
that the equipment conforms to the emissions
limit.
3 The vent velocity of the extract duct must achieve
a minimum of 15 m/s for dry filter systems.
4 The vent velocity of the extract duct must achieve
a maximum of 9 m/s where a wet method is used.
5 Pressure control systems must be provided
which will shut down the spray booth if it is
over-pressurized and activate an audio alarm.
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6 Exhaust duct openings must not be fitted with
plates, caps or cowls that could act as restrictors
or deflectors.
7 Exhaust ducting (the chimney) must be a minimum
of 8 metres above ground level, but it
also has to be a minimum of 3 metres higher
than the roof height of any nearby building
which is within a distance of five times the
uncorrected chimney height.
8 Preventive measures must be taken for fugitive
emissions of odour, fumes and particulate matter
from mechanical operations like welding,
grinding or sanding. All these activities should
take place in a building.
9 Shot blasting emissions must not exceed
50 mg/m3.
10 Paint mixing and equipment cleaning are to
take place in an adequately ventilated area.
11 An automatic totally enclosed machine for
cleaning spray guns and equipment must be
provided.
12 Spray gun testing must be into an extracted area.
Waste management: EPA Part 11
Section 34 of the EPA makes it a criminal offence
to ‘treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste in a
manner likely to cause pollution of the environment
or to harm human health’. In order to meet
this stated aim, the Part 11 provisions impose a
‘duty of care’ on everybody involved in the chain
of waste management. This means that if you are
involved in the creation of waste, then you are
responsible for its safe and proper disposal. Typical
relevant bodyshop waste includes dirty solvent,
paint residues, empty cans and dirty rags.
Those subject to the duty of care must try to
achieve the following four things:
1 To prevent any other person committing the
offence of disposing of ‘controlled waste’, or
treating it, or storing it without a waste management
licence; or breaking the conditions of a
licence; or in a manner likely to cause pollution
or harm to health.
2 To prevent the escape of waste which is, or at
any time has been, under their control (this has
implications for waste storage facilities and
waste containment).
3 To ensure that if waste is transferred it goes
only to an ‘authorized person’ or to a person for
‘authorized transport purposes’.
4 When waste is transferred, to make sure that
there is also transferred a written description of
the waste, which is good enough to enable each
person receiving it to avoid committing any
offence under 1, and to comply with the duty at
2 to prevent the escape of waste.
Under the code of practice, the waste must be:
1 Identified (paint, solvent, paper and tape, dust,
loaded extract filter media, scrap metal, tyres
and batteries)
2 Categorized
3 Kept in appropriate containers (external skip,
internal container, paper baler, can crusher,
solvent/paint ‘closed loop’ system, parts for
recycling)
4 Collected and disposed of by a registered operator
(transfer note signed by the disposer and
collector, and a written description of the waste)
5 Documented at all stages.
