National Perchloroethylene Air Emission Standards for Dry Cleaning Facilities, 75884-75906 [05-24071]
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75884
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 21, 2005 / Proposed Rules
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 63
[OAR–2005–0155; FRL–8008–4]
RIN 2060–AK18
National Perchloroethylene Air
Emission Standards for Dry Cleaning
Facilities
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing revised
standards to limit emissions of
perchloroethylene (PCE) from existing
and new dry cleaning facilities. In 1993,
EPA promulgated technology-based
emission standards to control emissions
of PCE from dry cleaning facilities. As
required by section 112(d)(6) of the
Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA has reviewed
the standards and is proposing revisions
to take into account new developments
in production practices, processes, and
control technologies. In addition,
pursuant to CAA section 112(f), EPA has
evaluated the remaining risk to public
health and the environment following
implementation of the technology-based
rule and is proposing more stringent
standards in order to protect public
health with an ample margin of safety.
The proposed standards are expected to
provide further reductions of PCE
beyond the 1993 national emission
standards for hazardous air pollutants
(NESHAP), based on application of
equipment and work practice standards.
DATES: Comments. Comments must be
received on or before February 6, 2006.
Public Hearing. A public hearing is
currently scheduled for January 5, 2006.
If this date falls on a weekend, the
hearing will be held the next business
day. Under the Paperwork Reduction
Act, comments on the information
collection provisions must be received
by OMB on or before January 20, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments. Submit your
comments, identified by Docket ID No.
OAR–2005–0155, by one of the
following methods:
• https://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• Agency Web site: https://
www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET, EPA’s
electronic public docket and comment
system, will be replaced by an enhanced
Federal-wide electronic docket
management and comment system
located at https://www.regulations.gov.
When that occurs, you will be
redirected to that site to access the
docket and submit comments. Follow
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the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• E-mail: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov,
Attention Docket ID No. OAR–2005–
0155.
• Fax: (202) 566–1741, Attention
Docket ID No. OAR–2005–0155.
• Mail: U.S. Postal Service, send
comments to: EPA Docket Center
(6102T), Attention Docket ID No. OAR
2005–0155, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please
include a total of two copies. In
addition, please mail a copy of your
comments on the information collection
provisions to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), Attn:
Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St., NW.,
Washington, DC 20503.
• Hand Delivery: In person or by
courier, deliver your comments to: EPA
Docket Center (6102T), Attention Docket
ID No. OAR–2005–0155, 1301
Constitution Avenue, NW., EPA West
Building, Room B–108, Washington, DC
20004. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket’s normal
hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information. Please
include a total of two copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. OAR–2005–0155. EPA’s
policy is that all comments received
will be included in the public docket
without change and may be made
available online at https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be confidential business
information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through https://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Send or
deliver information identified as CBI to
only the following address: Mr. Roberto
Morales, OAQPS Document Control
Officer, EPA (C404–02), Attention
Docket ID No. OAR 2005–0155,
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711.
Clearly mark the part or all of the
information that you claim to be CBI.
The https://www.regulations.gov Web
site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system,
which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless
you provide it in the body of your
comment. If you send an e-mail
comment directly to EPA without going
through https://www.regulations.gov,
your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as
part of the comment that is placed in the
public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic
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comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact
information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD–ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form
of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses. For additional information
about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA
Docket Center homepage at https://
www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm or
see the Federal Register of May 31, 2002
(67 FR 38102).
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the https://
www.regulations.gov index. Although
listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material,
will be publicly available only in hard
copy. Publicly available docket
materials are available either
electronically in https://
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the EPA Docket Center, Docket ID No.
OAR 2005–0155, EPA West Building,
Room B–102, 1301 Constitution Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket
Center Public Reading Room is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the
Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744,
and the telephone number for the EPA
Docket Center is (202) 566–1742. A
reasonable fee may be charged for
copying docket materials.
Public Hearing: If a public hearing is
held, it will begin at 10 a.m. and will
be held at EPA’s campus at 109 T.W.
Alexander Drive, Research Triangle
Park, NC, or at an alternate facility
nearby. Persons interested in presenting
oral testimony or inquiring as to
whether a public hearing is to be held
should contact Ms. Janet Eck, Coatings
and Consumer Products Group,
Emission Standards Division, EPA
(C539–03), Research Triangle Park, NC
27711, telephone (919) 541–7946, at
least 2 days in advance of the hearing.
If no one contacts Ms. Eck in advance
of the hearing with a request to present
oral testimony at the hearing, we will
cancel the hearing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
questions about the proposed rule,
contact Ms. Rhea Jones, EPA, Office of
Air Quality Planning and Standards,
Emission Standards Division, Coatings
and Consumer Products Group (C539–
03), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711;
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telephone number (919) 541–2940; fax
number (919) 541–5689; e-mail address:
jones.rhea@epa.gov. For questions on
the residual risk analysis, contact Mr.
Neal Fann, EPA, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, Emission
Standards Division, Risk and Exposure
Assessment Group (C404–01), Research
Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone
number (919) 541–0209; fax number
(919) 541–0840; e-mail address:
fann.neal@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Category
NAICS 1 code
Coin-operated Laundries and Dry Cleaners ............................................................
Dry Cleaning and Laundry Services (except coin-operated) ..................................
Industrial Launderers ...............................................................................................
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1 North
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Regulated Entities. Categories and
entities potentially regulated by the
proposed rule are industrial and
commercial PCE dry cleaners. The
proposed rule affects the following
categories of sources:
Examples of potentially regulated entities
Dry-to-dry machines, Transfer machines.
Dry-to-dry machines, Transfer machines.
Dry-to-dry machines, Transfer machines.
American Industry Classification System.
This table is not intended to be
exhaustive, but rather provides a guide
for readers regarding entities likely to be
regulated by the proposed rule. To
determine whether your facility is
regulated by the proposed rule, you
should examine the applicability
criteria in 40 CFR 63.320 of subpart M
(1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP). If you
have any questions regarding the
applicability of the proposed rule to a
particular entity, contact the person
listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Submitting CBI. Do not submit
information which you claim to be CBI
to EPA through regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the
information that you claim to be CBI.
For CBI information in a disk or CD–
ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the
outside of the disk or CD–ROM as CBI
and then identify electronically within
the disk or CD–ROM the specific
information that is claimed as CBI. In
addition to one complete version of the
comment that includes information
claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment
that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for
inclusion in the public docket.
Information marked as CBI will not be
disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
If you have any questions about CBI
or the procedures for claiming CBI,
please consult either of the persons
identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to
being available in the docket, an
electronic copy of the proposed rule is
also available on the WWW. Following
the Administrator’s signature, a copy of
the proposed rule will be posted on
EPA’s Technology Transfer Network
(TTN) policy and guidance page for
newly proposed or promulgated rules at
https://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg. The TTN
provides information and technology
exchange in various areas of air
pollution control.
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Outline. The information presented in
this preamble is organized as follows:
I. Background
A. What is the statutory authority for
regulating hazardous air pollutants
(HAP)?
B. What are PCE dry cleaning facilities?
C. What are the health effects of PCE?
D. What does the 1993 NESHAP require?
II. Summary of Proposed Rule
A. What are the proposed requirements for
major sources?
B. What are the proposed requirements for
area sources?
C. What are the proposed requirements for
transfer machines at major and area
sources?
III. Rationale for the Proposed Rule
A. What is our approach for developing
residual risk standards?
B. How did we estimate residual risk?
C. What are the residual risks from major
sources?
D. What are the options for reducing risk,
their costs, and risk reduction impacts
for major sources?
E. What is our proposed decision on
acceptable risk and ample margin of
safety for major sources?
F. What are the risks from typical area
sources?
G. What are the options for reducing risk,
their costs, and risk reduction impacts
for typical area sources?
H. What is our proposal for addressing the
remaining emissions for typical area
sources?
I. What are the risks from co-residential
area sources?
J. What is our proposed decision on coresidential area sources?
K. What determination is EPA proposing
pursuant to review of the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP under CAA section
112(d)(6)?
L. What additional changes are we making
to the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP?
IV. Solicitation of Public Comments
A. Additional Requirements for Highest
Risk Facilities
B. Requirement for PCE Sensor and
Lockout as New Source MACT for Major
Sources
C. Alternative Performance-based Standard
for Existing Major Sources
D. Environmental Impacts of PCE
Emissions
E. Additional Time for Complying with
Provisions for Transfer Machines
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V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children from Environmental Health and
Safety Risks
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
I. National Technology Transfer
Advancement Act
I. Background
A. What is the statutory authority for
regulating hazardous air pollutants
(HAP)?
Section 112 of the CAA establishes a
two-stage regulatory process to address
emissions of hazardous air pollutants
(HAP) from stationary sources. In the
first stage, after EPA has identified
categories of sources emitting one or
more of the HAP listed in the CAA,
section 112(d) calls for us to promulgate
national technology-based emission
standards for sources within those
categories that emit or have the
potential to emit any single HAP at a
rate of 10 tons or more per year or any
combination of HAP at a rate of 25 tons
or more per year (known as major
sources), as well as for certain area
sources emitting less than those
amounts. These technology-based
standards must reflect the maximum
reductions of HAP achievable (after
considering cost, energy requirements,
and non-air health and environmental
impacts) and are commonly referred to
as maximum achievable control
technology (MACT) standards.
For area sources, CAA section
112(d)(5) provides that the standards
may reflect generally available control
technology or management practices in
lieu of MACT, and are commonly
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referred to as generally available control
technology (GACT) standards. We
published MACT and GACT standards
for PCE dry cleaning facilities on
September 22, 1993 at 58 FR 49376. The
EPA is then required, pursuant to
section 112(d)(6), to review these
technology-based standards and to
revise them ‘‘as necessary, taking into
account developments in practices,
processes and control technologies,’’ no
less frequently than every 8 years.
The second stage in standard-setting
is described in section 112(f) of the
CAA. This provision requires, first, that
EPA prepare a Report to Congress
discussing (among other things)
methods of calculating risk posed (or
potentially posed) by sources after
implementation of the MACT standards,
the public health significance of those
risks, the means and costs of controlling
them, actual health effects to persons in
proximity to emitting sources, and
recommendations as to legislation
regarding such remaining risk. The EPA
prepared and submitted this report
(Residual Risk Report to Congress, EPA–
453/R–99–001) in March 1999. The
Congress did not act on any of the
recommendations in the report, thereby
triggering the second stage of the
standard-setting process, the residual
risk phase.
Section 112(f)(2) of the CAA requires
us to determine for each section 112(d)
source category whether the MACT
standards protect public health with an
ample margin of safety. If the MACT
standards for HAP ‘‘classified as a
known, probable, or possible human
carcinogen do not reduce lifetime excess
cancer risks to the individual most
exposed to emissions from a source in
the category or subcategory to less than
1-in-1-million,’’ EPA must promulgate
residual risk standards for the source
category (or subcategory) as necessary to
protect public health with an ample
margin of safety. The EPA must also
adopt more stringent standards if
required to prevent an adverse
environmental effect (defined in section
112(a)(7) as ‘‘any significant and
widespread adverse effect * * * to
wildlife, aquatic life, or natural
resources * * *.’’), but must consider
cost, energy, safety, and other relevant
factors in doing so.
B. What are PCE dry cleaning facilities?
Dry cleaners use PCE in a dry
cleaning machine to clean all types of
garments, including clothes, gloves,
leather garments, blankets, and
absorbent materials. There are
approximately 28,000 PCE dry cleaning
facilities in the United States. Of the
28,000 dry cleaners, 15 of the facilities
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are major sources and the remaining are
area sources. Major source PCE dry
cleaners are those that emit 10 tons or
more of PCE per year upon the
compliance date of the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP. The 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP defines this as
facilities that purchase more than 2,100
gallons (gal) of PCE per year (1,800 gal
per year if the facility uses transfer
machines). Area sources are typically
the common neighborhood dry cleaner.
Area sources were divided into large or
small in the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP, with large area sources
defined as those facilities that use
between 140 to 2,100 gal of PCE per year
(or 140 to 1,800 gal per year if the
facility uses transfer machines). Small
area sources use less than 140 gal per
year. Some area sources are collocated
in the same building with residences. In
the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP we did
not specifically discuss these sources,
but in this notice we refer to them as coresidential dry cleaners. A co-residential
dry cleaning facility is located in a
building in which people reside. Coresidential facilities are located
primarily in urban areas.
In general, PCE dry cleaning facilities
can be classified into three types:
commercial, industrial, and leather.
Commercial facilities typically clean
household items such as suits, dresses,
coats, pants, comforters, curtains, and
formalwear. Industrial dry cleaners
clean heavily-stained articles such as
work gloves, uniforms, mechanics’
overalls, mops, and shop rags. Leather
cleaners mostly clean household leather
products like jackets and other leather
clothing. The 15 major sources include
eight industrial facilities, five
commercial facilities, and two leather
facilities. The five commercial facilities
are each the central plant for a chain of
retail storefronts. We do not expect any
new source facilities constructed in the
future to be major sources. Based on the
low emission rates of current PCE dry
cleaning machines and the typical
business models used in the industrial
and commercial dry cleaning sectors, it
is unlikely that any new sources that are
constructed will emit PCE at major
levels, or that any existing area sources
will become major sources due to
business growth.
Dry cleaning machines can be
classified into two types: Transfer and
dry-to-dry. Similar to residential
washing machines and dryers, transfer
machines have a unit for washing/
extracting and another unit for drying.
Following the wash cycle, PCE-laden
articles are manually transferred from
the washer/extractor to the dryer. The
transfer of wet fabrics is the
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predominant source of PCE emissions in
these systems. Dry-to-dry machines
wash, extract, and dry the articles in the
same drum in a single machine, so the
articles enter and exit the machine dry.
Because the transfer step is eliminated,
dry-to-dry machines have much lower
emissions than transfer machines.
New transfer machines are effectively
prohibited at major and area sources
due to the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP
requirement that new dry cleaning
systems eliminate any emissions of PCE
while transferring articles from the
washer to the dryer. Therefore, transfer
machines are no longer sold. Existing
transfer machines are becoming an
increasingly smaller segment of the dry
cleaning population as these machines
reach the end of their useful lives and
are replaced by dry-to-dry machines.
There are approximately 200 transfer
machines currently being used, all at
area sources.
The primary sources of PCE emissions
from dry-to-dry machines are the drying
cycle and fugitive emissions from the
dry cleaning equipment (including
equipment used to recycle PCE and
dispose of PCE-laden waste). Machines
are designed to be either vented or nonvented during the drying cycle.
Approximately 200 dry cleaners (1
percent) use vented machines, and the
remaining facilities use the lowerpolluting, non-vented machines. (The
1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP prohibits
new dry cleaning machines at major and
area sources that vent to the atmosphere
while the dry cleaning drum is rotating.)
In vented machines, the majority of
emissions from the drying cycle are
vented outside the building. In nonvented machines, dryer emissions are
released when the door is opened to
remove garments. Currently, the largest
sources of emissions from dry cleaning
are from equipment leaks, which come
from leaking valves and seals, and the
loading and unloading of garments.
C. What are the health effects of PCE?
The main health effects of PCE are
neurological, liver, and kidney damage
following acute (short-term) and chronic
(long-term) inhalation exposure. Animal
studies have reported an increased
incidence of liver cancer in mice via
inhalation, kidney cancer and
mononuclear cell leukemia in rats. PCE
was considered to be a ‘‘probable
carcinogen’’ (Group B) when assessed
under the previous 1986 Guidelines by
the EPA Science Advisory Board. See
the risk characterization memorandum
in the public docket for additional
information regarding the health effects
of PCE.
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D. What does the 1993 NESHAP
require?
The 1993 NESHAP prescribes a
combination of equipment, work
practices, and operational requirements.
The requirements for process controls
are summarized in table 1 of this
preamble. The 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP defines major and area sources
based on the annual PCE purchases for
all machines at a facility. The
consumption criterion (which affects
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the amount of PCE purchased) varies
depending on whether the facility has
dry-to-dry machines only, transfer
machines only, or a combination of
both. The affected source is each
individual dry cleaning system.
TABLE 1.—SUMMARY OF THE 1993 DRY CLEANING NESHAP PROCESS CONTROLS
Sources
Major Sources ................................
Dry-to-dry ONLY > 2,100 gal/yr ...
Transfer ONLY > 1,800 gal/yr ......
Dry-to-dry AND Transfer > 1,800
gal/yr.
Large Area Sources .......................
Dry-to-dry ONLY 140 to 2,100 gal/
yr.
Transfer ONLY 200 to 1,800 gal/
yr.
Dry-to-dry AND Transfer 140 to
1,800 gal/yr.
Dry-to-dry ONLY < 140 gal/yr ......
Transfer ONLY < 200 gal/yr .........
Dry-to-dry AND Transfer < 140
gal/yr.
New 1 (after 12/9/91)
Annual PCE purchased
Small Area Sources .......................
Existing 2
Dry-to-dry machines with a refrig- Dry-to-dry machines: must have
erated condenser, AND carbon
refrigerated AND condenser.3
adsorber operated immediately Transfer machines: must be enbefore or as the door is opened.
closed in a room exhausting to
a dedicated carbon adsorber.
Dry-to-dry machines with a refrig- Dry-to-dry with machines: must
erated condenser.
have a refrigerated condenser.3
Transfer machines: No controls
required.
Same as large area sources ........
No controls required.
1 No
new transfer machines are allowed after 9/23/93.
date = 9/23/96.
3 Alternatively, carbon adsorber is allowed only if installed before 9/22/93.
2 Compliance
In addition, all sources must comply
with certain operating requirements,
including recording PCE purchases,
storing PCE and PCE-containing waste
in non-leaking containers, and
inspecting for perceptible leaks. Owners
or operators are required to operate and
maintain the control equipment
according to procedures specified in the
1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP and to use
pollution prevention procedures, such
as good operation and maintenance, for
both dry cleaning machines and
auxiliary equipment (such as filter,
muck cookers, stills, and solvent tanks)
to prevent liquid and vapor leaks of PCE
from these sources.
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II. Summary of Proposed Rule
A. What are the proposed requirements
for major sources?
Under the proposed revisions, the
requirements for all new and existing
major sources would be the same. The
proposed revisions would require the
implementation of an enhanced leak
detection and repair (LDAR) program
and the use of dry-to-dry machines that
do not vent to the atmosphere (closedloop) during any phase of the dry
cleaning cycle. A refrigerated condenser
and a secondary carbon adsorber would
be required control equipment for all
machines. The secondary carbon
adsorber would control the PCE
emissions during the final stage of the
dry cleaning cycle immediately before
and as the drum door is opened. Under
the enhanced LDAR program, the
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facility owner or operator would have to
use a PCE gas analyzer (photoionization
detector, flameionization detector, or
infrared analyzer) and perform leak
checks according to EPA Method 21 on
a monthly basis. The facility owner or
operator would also be required to
continue the weekly perceptible leak
check according to the requirements of
the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP.
B. What are the proposed requirements
for area sources?
For existing area sources (large and
small), the proposed revisions would
require implementation of an enhanced
LDAR program and a prohibition on the
use of existing transfer machines.
For new area sources (large and
small), the proposed rule would require
implementation of an enhanced LDAR
program and use of a non-vented dry-todry machine with a refrigerated
condenser and secondary carbon
adsorber. The enhanced LDAR program
for area sources would require facilities
to use a halogenated leak detector
(instead of a more costly gas analyzer
proposed for major sources) to perform
leak checks on a monthly basis. The
facility would also be required to
continue to inspect for perceptible leaks
biweekly for small area sources and
weekly for large area sources according
to the requirements of the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP.
For co-residential area sources, we are
proposing two options. The first
proposed option would effectively
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prohibit new PCE sources from locating
in residential buildings by requiring that
owners or operators eliminate PCE
emissions from the dry cleaning
process. Existing co-residential sources,
under this option, would only be subject
to the same requirements proposed for
all other existing area sources (i.e.,
enhanced LDAR and elimination of
transfer machines). The second
proposed option would, instead of a
prohibition on new co-residential
sources, require that existing and new
co-residential sources comply with
standards based on those required by
New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)
in their Title 6 NYCRR Part 232 rules,
which include using machines
equipped with refrigerated condensers
and carbon adsorbers, enclosed in a
vapor barrier to help prevent exposures
to PCE emissions. We expect to select
one of these options, with possible
modifications in response to public
comments, in the final rule.
C. What are the proposed requirements
for transfer machines at major and area
sources?
The proposed rule would effectively
prohibit the use of all existing transfer
machines 90 days from the effective
date of the final rule by requiring
owners or operators to eliminate any
PCE emissions from clothing transfer
between the washer and dryer.
Similarly, the installation of new
transfer machines was prohibited by the
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1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP. We
estimate that about 200 transfer
machines remain in use within the
population of 28,000 dry cleaning
machines located at area sources
(estimated one PCE dry cleaning
machine per facility with approximately
28,000 facilities). Most of these
machines will be at or near the end of
their useful economic life by the time
final rule requirements are promulgated.
The typical life of a dry cleaning
machine is 10 to 15 years. By the end
of 2006, the newest transfer machines in
the industry will be 13 years old.
III. Rationale for the Proposed Rule
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A. What is our approach for developing
residual risk standards?
Following our initial determination
that the individual most exposed to
emissions from the category considered
exceeds a 1-in-1 million individual
cancer risk, our approach to developing
residual risk standards is based on a
two-step determination of acceptable
risk and ample margin of safety. The
first step, consideration of acceptable
risk, is only a starting point for the
analysis that determines the final
standards. The second step determines
an ample margin of safety, which is the
level at which the standards are set.
The terms ‘‘individual most exposed,’’
‘‘acceptable level,’’ and ‘‘ample margin
of safety’’ are not specifically defined in
the CAA. However, CAA section
112(f)(2)(B) refers positively to the
interpretation of these terms in our 1989
rulemaking (54 FR 38044, September 14,
1989), ‘‘National Emission Standards for
Hazardous Air Pollutants: Benzene
Emissions from Maleic Anhydride
Plants, Ethylbenzene/Styrene Plants,
Benzene Storage Vessels, Benzene
Equipment Leaks, and Coke By-Product
Recovery Plants (Benzene NESHAP),’’
essentially directing us to use the
interpretation set out in that notice 1 or
to utilize approaches affording at least
the same level of protection.2 We
likewise notified Congress in the
Residual Risk Report that we intended
to utilize the Benzene NESHAP
approach in making CAA section 112(f)
residual risk determinations.3
1 This reading is confirmed by the Legislative
History to CAA section 112(f); see, e.g., ‘‘A
Legislative History of the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990,’’ vol. 1, page 877 (Senate
Debate on Conference Report).
2 Legislative History, vol. 1, p. 877, stating that:
‘‘* * * the managers intend that the Administrator
shall interpret this requirement [to establish
standards reflecting an ample margin of safety] in
a manner no less protective of the most exposed
individual than the policy set forth in the
Administrator’s benzene regulations * * *.’’
3 Residual Risk Report to Congress. March 1999.
EPA–453/R–99–001, page ES–11.
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In the Benzene NESHAP (54 FR
38044, September 14, 1989), we stated
as an overall objective:
* * * in protecting public health with an
ample margin of safety, we strive to provide
maximum feasible protection against risks to
health from hazardous air pollutants by (1)
protecting the greatest number of persons
possible to an individual lifetime risk level
no higher than approximately 1 in 1 million;
and (2) limiting to no higher than
approximately 1 in 10 thousand [i.e., 100 in
1 million] the estimated risk that a person
living near a facility would have if he or she
were exposed to the maximum pollutant
concentrations for 70 years.
As explained more fully in our
Residual Risk Report, these goals are not
‘‘rigid line[s] of acceptability, but rather
broad objectives to be weighed ‘‘with a
series of other health measures and
factors.4’’
B. How did we estimate residual risk?
The ‘‘Residual Risk Report to
Congress’’ (EPA–453/R–99–001)
provides the general framework for
conducting risk assessments to support
decisions made under the residual risk
program. The report acknowledged that
each risk assessment design would have
some common elements, including a
problem formulation phase, an analysis
phase, and the risk characterization
phase. The risk assessment for PCE dry
cleaners used both site-specific data for
many modeling parameters and
population characteristics derived from
census data, as well as default
assumptions for exposure parameters—
some of which were assumed to be
health protective (e.g., exposure
frequency and exposure duration, 70year constant emission rates).5 6 To
estimate the cancer risk and non-cancer
hazard for major source facilities, we
performed refined modeling for a subset
of major source facilities we determined
were representative of all major sources,
including industrial cleaners,
commercial cleaners, and leather
cleaners. Facilities within each of these
three specializations tend to be
homogenous with respect to factors that
affect the emissions, pollutant
dispersion, and population size in the
modeling radius, allowing us to
extrapolate risks from facilities modeled
to those that were not modeled. We
used a combination of modeling and
monitoring approaches to analyze risks
4 Id.
5 Additional details are provided in the risk
characterization memorandum in the rulemaking
docket.
6 Residual Risk Report to Congress, pp. B–18 and
B–22. The approach used to assess the risks
associated with standards for the dry cleaning
industry are consistent with the technical approach
and policies described in the Report to Congress.
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for area sources. See the risk
characterization memorandum in the
public docket for a complete discussion
of the major and area source risk
assessment.
1. How did we estimate the
atmospheric dispersion of PCE emitted
from major and area sources?
We used the Industrial Source
Complex Short-term model, version 3
(ISCST–3) to estimate the dispersion of
PCE from facilities to receptor locations.
For a complete description of the
dispersion modeling, please see the risk
characterization memorandum.
2. How did we assess public health
risk associated with PCE emitted from
PCE dry cleaners?
PCE has been associated with a
variety of health effects, including
cancer. Although PCE has not yet been
reassessed under the Agency’s recently
revised Guidelines for Cancer Risk
Assessment,7 it was considered to be a
‘‘probable carcinogen’’ (Group B) 8
when assessed under the previous 1986
Guidelines by the EPA Science
Advisory Board. Since that time, the
United States Department of Health and
Human Services has concluded that PCE
is ‘‘reasonably anticipated to be a
human carcinogen,9’’ and the
International Agency for Research on
Cancer has concluded that PCE is
‘‘probably carcinogenic to humans.10’’
In our assessment of public health
risk associated with PCE emitted from
PCE dry cleaners, we considered risks of
cancer and other health effects. Cancer
risks associated with inhalation
exposure were assessed using lifetime
cancer risk estimates. The noncancer
risks were characterized through the use
of hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard
index (HI) estimates. An HQ is
calculated as the ratio of the exposure
concentration of a pollutant to its
health-based non-cancer threshold.
In this assessment, values that are
below 1.0 are not likely to be associated
with adverse health effects. An HI is the
sum of HQ for pollutants that target the
same organ or system. For dry cleaners,
PCE is the only HAP emitted, therefore,
HI and HQ are the same.
7 USEPA. 2005. Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk
Assessment. EPA/650/P–03/001B. Risk Assessment
Forum, Washington, DC.
8 March 9, 1988 letter to Lee Thomas,
Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, from Norton Nelson, Chair, Executive
Committee of EPA Science Advisory Board.
9 USDHHS. 1989. Report on Carcinogens, Fifth
Edition; U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Public Health Service, National
Toxicology Program.
10 IARC. 1995. Monographs on the evaluation of
carcinogenic risks to humans. Volume 63. Dry
Cleaning, Some Chlorinated Solvents and Other
Industrial Chemicals. ISBN 9283212630. Geneva,
Switzerland.
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Several sources were considered for
cancer and noncancer dose-response
assessment information. In a 1998
assessment of PCE cancer risks
associated with dry cleaners, EPA’s
Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and
Toxic Substances (OPPTS) derived and
used a lifetime inhalation unit risk
estimate (URE) of 7.1 × 10¥7 per
microgram per cubic meter (ug/m3).11
This reflected an update of the URE of
5.8 × 10¥7 per ug/m3 that was derived
by EPA in the 1980s.12 The PCE cancer
dose-response assessments developed
by others include a lifetime URE of 5.9
× 10¥6 per ug/m3 developed by the
California Environmental Protection
Agency (CalEPA),13 and a lifetime URE
of 3.8 × 10¥7 per ug/m3 developed by
Clewell and others.14
We are currently reevaluating the
available information on health effects
of PCE, including cancer, as part of a
hazard and dose-response assessment
for the Agency’s Integrated Risk
Information System (IRIS). The cancer
component of this evaluation is being
conducted in accordance with the 2005
Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk
Assessment. Data have become available
from the Japanese Industrial Safety
Association (1993) that includes rodent
inhalation studies with a cancer bioassay which was not considered by the
sources above.15 The document
describing the evaluation is expected to
be released for external scientific peer
review and public comment. The
projected schedule for completion of the
IRIS assessment is available at https://
cfpub.epa.gov/iristrac/index.cfm.
While all of the available lifetime URE
are based on the same animal bioassay 16
11 USEPA. 1998. Cleaner Technologies
Substitutes Assessment: Professional Fabricare
Processes. EPA 744–B–98–001. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics, Washington, DC.
12 USEPA. 1996. Addendum to the Health
Assessment Document for Tetrachloroethylene
(Perchloroethylene), Updated Carcinogenicity
Assessment for Tetrachloroethylene
(Perchloroethylene, PERC, PCE). EPA/600/8–82/
005FA. External Review Draft. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Health and
Environmental Assessment, Washington, DC.
13 CDHS. 1991. Health Effects of
Tetrachloroethylene (PCE). California Department
of Health Services (subsequently CalEPA, Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment),
Berkeley, CA.
14 H.J. Clewell, P.R. Gentry, J.E. Kester, and M.E.
Andersen. 2005. Evaluation of physiologically
based pharmacokinetic perchloroethylene.
15 JISA (Japan Industrial Safety Association).
1993. Carcinogenicity Study of Tetrachloroethylene
by Inhalation in Rats and Mice. Data No. 3–1.
Available from: EPA–IRIS Information Desk.
16 NTP. 1986. NTP technical report on the
toxicology and carcinogenesis of
tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene) (CAS No.
127–18–4) in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice
(inhalation studies). National Toxicology Program,
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(1986), there are several factors
contributing to the differences in
magnitude among them. One significant
contributing factor is characterization of
human metabolism of PCE. This is an
area in which widely diverging
quantitative estimates have been
published, and their use leads to notable
differences in human cancer doseresponse value derived from animal
data, illustrated to some extent by the
range of values presented above.
As an interim approach in lieu of the
completed IRIS assessment, we used
two dose-response values to
characterize cancer risk. These two
values were chosen to represent the best
available peer-reviewed science. As we
have stated previously, we will not be
relying exclusively on IRIS values, but
will be considering all credible and
readily available assessments.17 We
used the CalEPA URE (5.9 × 10¥6 per
ug/m3) and the estimate developed by
OPPTS (7.1 × 10¥7 per ug/m3). Both are
derived with consideration of findings
of liver tumors in mouse laboratory
bioassays, with the OPPTS value
additionally considering laboratory
findings of mononuclear cell leukemia
in rats, and both have received public
comment and scientific peer review by
external panels. Dose-response
modeling performed in both
assessments involved use of
metabolized doses with different
estimates of human PCE metabolism
contributing to differences in the
resulting URE.
Effects other than cancer associated
with long-term inhalation of PCE in
worker or animal studies include
neurotoxicity, liver and kidney damage,
and, at higher levels, developmental
effects. To characterize noncancer
hazard in lieu of the completed IRIS
assessment, we used the Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s
(ATSDR) Minimum Risk Level (MRL)
(270 ug/m3.18 This value is based on a
study of neurological effects in workers
in dry cleaning shops, and is derived in
a manner similar to EPA’s method for
derivation of reference concentrations
(Rfc), and with scientific and public
review. The ATSDR MRL is quite
similar to the provisional RfC (170 ug/
m3) derived by OPPTS in 1997 based on
Research Triangle Park, NC. NTP TR 311, NIH
Publication No. 86–2567. August 1986.
17 USEPA. March 1999. Residual Risk Report to
Congress. Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. EPA–
453/R–99–001; available at https://www.epa.gov/ttn/
oarpg/t3/meta/m8690.html.
18 ATSDR. 1997. Toxicological Profile for
Tetrachloroethylene. Department of Health and
Human Services, Public Health Services, Agnecy for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta,
Georgia.
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a study of kidney effects in workers in
dry cleaning shops 19 that reported
effects at similar exposure
concentrations than those elsewhere
reported associated with neurological
effects. The OPPTS value was termed a
provisional RfC because it was derived
by a single EPA program office with
limited cross-office review. This value is
based on a study of neurological effects
in workers in dry cleaning shops. Since
that time, more recent studies have been
published, particularly with regard to
more sensitive neurological effects at
lower exposures.20 We are reviewing
these and all of the available
information on the noncancer health
effects of PCE as part of the IRIS
assessment.
The proposed rule is based on both
the risk estimates derived using both the
CalEPA cancer dose-response values
and the ATSDR noncancer MRL. The
CalEPA cancer dose-response value is
higher than the value derived by
OPPTS, leading to higher cancer risk
estimates. Given our uncertainty
regarding the pending IRIS doseresponse values, we have considered the
range of available potencies with which
to calculate inhalation cancer risk. We
calculate cancer risk using both values,
but propose to use the CalEPA value.
We request comment on both this
approach of using the more health
protective end of the dose-response
range and our selection of dose-response
values. Based on the findings and status
of the IRIS assessment at the time of
promulgation, we may reassess our
estimates of cancer risk and noncancer
hazard. The Agency is aware that some
stakeholders have suggested that we
defer certain action pending completion
of the IRIS assessment for PCE. In
today’s notice, we request comment on
our proposal to use the available
CalEPA and OPPTS potency values, and
we request comments on whether we
should defer further development of the
risk assessment and any rulemakings
under section 112(f)(2) for area sources
pending completion of the IRIS
assessment for PCE.
19 V. Vu. 1997. Memorandum titled ‘‘Provisional
RfC for perchloroethylene’’ From Vanessa Vu,
Acting Director, Health and Environmental Review
Division, to William Waugh, Acting Directory,
Chemical Screening and Risk Assessment Division,
OPPT, USEPA. As cited in OPPTS 1998. Cleaner
Technologies Substitutes Assessment: Professional
Fabricare Processes. EPA–744–B–98–001. USEPA,
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics,
Washington, DC.
20 USEPA. 2004. Summary report of the peer
review workshop on the neurotoxicity of
tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene) discussion
paper. National Center for Environmental
Assessment, Washington, DC; EPA–600–R–04–041.
Available online at https://www.epa.gov/ncea.
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3. How did we assess environmental
impacts of major sources and typical
area sources?
The chemical properties of PCE
suggest that once it is emitted into the
atmosphere as a vapor, it is not likely to
partition significantly into soil, water, or
sediment. Based on fugacity modeling,
we estimate that 99.8 percent of ambient
PCE remains in the atmosphere, with
the remainder partitioning into water
(0.17 percent), and soil (0.05 percent).
Thus, PCE emitted from major
stationary sources is not likely to pose
a significant ecological risk due to any
exposure pathway other than inhalation.
Further, to assess the potential
inhalation risk to mammals from PCE
inhalation, we compared the minimum
lowest observable adverse effect level
(LOAEL) for rats with the highest level
of modeled ambient concentration from
PCE cleaners; the rat LOAEL for PCE
can be found in the ATSDR
toxicological profile that documents the
development of the MRL (https://
www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/
tp18.html). The lowest rat LOAEL (9
parts per million (ppm), or 60 mg/m3) is
about 2,000 times higher than the
highest modeled post-control ambient
concentrations from major stationary
sources.
This large margin of exposure leads us
to conclude that risks to mammals from
PCE inhalation are likely insignificant,
obviating the need to further quantify
ecological risks to any degree.
In the atmosphere, PCE is known to
degrade into many compounds,
including trichloroacetic acid (TCAA).
TCAA is a persistent, known
phytotoxin, which has been
discontinued as a herbicide.
Atmospheric transformation of PCE to
TCAA is the subject of great debate,
with potential conversion efficiencies
estimated to be on the order of 5 to 15
percent. However, there are very few
data quantifying TCAA concentrations
in the air, precipitation, water, soil, or
sediment in the United States. This
scarcity of data makes it difficult to
determine whether there is any
potential for adverse ecological impacts
on plant life from PCE emissions from
dry cleaners due to conversion to
TCAA. While we have no direct
evidence that this will present a
significant ecological risk, we
nonetheless invite public comment and
solicit additional scientific information
on this issue. Since our results showed
no screening level ecological effects, we
do not believe that there is any potential
for an effect on threatened or
endangered species or on their critical
habitat within the meaning of 50 CFR
402.14(a). Because of these results, we
concluded a consultation with the Fish
and Wildlife Service is not necessary.
C. What are the residual risks from
major sources?
Table 2 of this preamble summarizes
the estimated risks remaining for the
seven modeled major source facilities
after compliance with MACT. In
performing residual risk assessments
under the CAA section 112(f)(2), EPA
believes it may evaluate potential risk
based on consideration of both emission
levels allowed under the MACT
standard and actual emissions levels
achieved in compliance with MACT.
See, e.g., 70 FR 19992, 19998 (April 15,
2005). Generally, allowable emissions
are the maximum levels sources could
emit and still comply with existing
standards. It is also reasonable that we
consider actual emissions when
available, as a factor in both steps of the
residual risk determination, to avoid
unrealistic inflation of risk levels or
where other factors suggest basing the
evaluation solely on allowables is not
appropriate. Essentially, the existing dry
cleaning MACT standard is comprised
of equipment standards and various
work practices. Compliance with the
existing MACT standard is
demonstrated by use of the required
equipment and implementation of the
required work practices, and there are
no numeric emissions levels to model.
Therefore, the seven facilities were
modeled using actual 2000–2002
emissions and are representative of the
emissions from major sources. We
conclude that the sampled facilities
represent characteristics of the major
source facility population, including
commercial, industrial, and leather
facilities. The risk analysis shows that
each of the seven modeled facilities
poses a cancer risk of 1-in-1 million or
greater. The highest maximum
individual cancer risk (MIR) is between
300-in-1 million and 2,400-in-1 million.
The MIR is the lifetime risk of
developing cancer for the individual
facing the highest estimated exposure
over a 70-year lifetime. Five of the
modeled facilities pose a risk greater
than 100-in-1 million (the presumptive
unacceptable risk level), and about 550
people are exposed at this level. One
facility has a HQ of greater than 1.0. As
described below in section III.E, we
expect a continuing decline in PCE
emissions even in the absence of
additional Federal regulation. These
baseline risk estimates do not reflect
such a trend, therefore; baseline risks
are likely to be overestimated.
TABLE 2.—MAJOR SOURCE BASELINE RISK ESTIMATES FOR MODELED FACILITIES AFTER APPLICATION OF 1993 DRY
CLEANING NESHAP, BASED ON 70-YEAR EXPOSURE DURATION 1
Parameter
MACT level
(OPPTS URE)
MIR from facility with highest risk ...........................................................................................
Maximum HQ from facility with highest risk based on ATSDR MRL .....................................
Population at risk across all modeled facilities [modeled to 10 kilometers (km)]:
> 1-in-1 million .................................................................................................................
> 10-in-1 million ...............................................................................................................
> 100-in-1 million .............................................................................................................
Total population exposed ................................................................................................
300-in-1 million ..............
2 .....................................
2,400-in-1 million.
2.
16,000 ............................
800 .................................
10 ...................................
3,300,000 .......................
175,000.
12,500.
550.
3,300,000.
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1 In
MACT level
(CalEPA URE)
this table, all risk and population estimates are rounded.
To account for the fact that
individuals may move through areas
(microenvironments) of differing
concentrations during their daily
activities, EPA conducted an exposure
variability analysis in which it used the
Total Risk Integration Methodology
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Exposure model (TRIM.Expo, also
known as the Air Pollutant Exposure
Model 3, or APEX3). The TRIM.Expo
model uses a personal profile approach
in which it stochastically simulates
exposures for individuals of differing
demographic characteristics and
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associated daily activity patterns. The
model output provides a distribution of
exposure estimates which are intended
to be representative of the study
population with respect to their
demographically based behavior, in
terms of the microenvironments through
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which they move during a day and
throughout a year (see https://
www.epa.gov/ttn/fera for more
information regarding the model). To
estimate cancer risk, EPA assumes that
this 1-year exposure scenario continues
for 70 years. Table 3 contrasts ISCST–
3 and TRIM.Expo estimates of
population risk for the worst-case
facility, using the CalEPA URE; this
example is illustrative only.21
TABLE 3.—COMPARISON OF ISCST–3 EXPOSURE ESTIMATES WITH ACTIVITY-PATTERNED/DAY, LIFETIME EXPOSURE
[ISCST–3+Trim.Expo]
Total population at cancer risk
Model
>100-in-1
million
ISCST–3 ......................................................................................................................................
TRIM.Expo ...................................................................................................................................
TRIM.Expo provides a more central
tendency estimate of risk by accounting
for variability in personal exposure. The
table above shows a smaller number of
individuals exposed at the higher levels
of cancer risk and a slightly larger
number of individuals exposed at a
cancer risk of at least 1-in-1 million.
While we performed this analysis for
the worst-case facility, it is reasonable to
infer that the risk distribution above
would be similar to the remainder of the
major source facilities. One limitation of
this analysis is that we assume
continuous 70-year exposure when
calculating cancer risk, and some
individuals are likely to move away
from the facility. However, given the
large number of area source dry cleaners
nation wide, and the consequent
ubiquity of PCE exposure, it is unlikely
that the PCE exposure of individuals
moving out of the TRIM.Expo study area
would fall to zero.
>10-in-1
million
900
400
>1-in-1
million
14,000
9,000
75,000
80,000
For illustrative purposes, below we
provide estimates of individual
inhalation cancer risk based on different
assumptions regarding exposure
duration. In contrast to the TRIM.Expo
estimates above, the risk estimates
below do not account for personal
activity patterns and assume that
individuals receive continuous
exposure for the duration noted.
TABLE 4.—ESTIMATES OF INDIVIDUAL INHALATION CANCER RISK BASED ON DIFFERENT EXPOSURE DURATIONS
Assumed exposure duration 1
Estimated lifetime cancer risk
70
Risk per Million (CalEPA) ............................................................................................
Risk per Million (OPPTS) .............................................................................................
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1 Risk
50
30
2,400
300
1,700
210
1,030
130
20
10
700
90
340
40
estimates derived using maximum exposure concentration.
D. What are the options for reducing
risk, their costs, and risk reduction
impacts for major sources?
We evaluated several methods for
reducing risks. These methods include
enhanced LDAR and three emission
control technologies.
Enhanced LDAR. Enhanced LDAR
would require the facility owner or
operator to use a portable PCE gas
analyzer to perform leak checks on a
monthly basis. Two major sources and
several State and local agencies
currently use a photoionization
detector, one type of gas analyzer, for
leak inspections. The detection probe is
moved slowly along the equipment part,
and if PCE is detected, the device gives
a concentration reading of the leak. The
proposed leak definition is a
concentration of 25 ppm. Portable gas
analyzers cost about $3,300 and have a
10-year life expectancy. The facility
would be required to continue to
perform the weekly perceptible leak
checks as required by the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP. A nominal amount
of additional labor would be required as
a result of the proposed requirement to
use a gas analyzer. We estimated 1 hour
of labor per machine per month to
perform the leak inspection. The
estimated total capital cost to the
industry to establish an enhanced LDAR
program is $40,000, with a annual cost
savings of $390,000. The cost savings is
due to reduced PCE consumption.
Control Technologies. Three types of
emission control technologies can be
used to reduce emissions from dry
cleaning machines. The first two are a
refrigerated condenser and a secondary
carbon adsorber. The third technology is
a PCE sensor and lockout. By using the
first two control technologies together,
and by operating them properly, a
significant amount of PCE can be
recovered.
Refrigerated condensers are the most
effective method for reducing PCE from
the drying cycle. They are used to
condense PCE vapor for reuse. By
operating at lower temperatures than
water-cooled condensers, refrigerated
condensers recover more PCE from the
drying air and reduce emissions. By the
end of the cool-down cycle, refrigerated
condensers can reduce PCE
concentrations in the drum to between
2,000 and 8,600 ppm. Refrigerated
condensers require relatively little
maintenance, needing only to have their
refrigerant recharged and to have lint
removed from the coils (yearly or even
less frequently).
A secondary carbon adsorber controls
the PCE emissions during the final stage
of the dry cleaning cycle just prior to the
drum door opening. A carbon adsorber
removes organic compounds from air by
adsorption onto a bed of activated
carbon as the air passes over the bed.
Carbon adsorbers have a PCE removal
efficiency of 95 percent or greater.
Properly designed and operated
secondary adsorbers have been shown
to reduce the PCE concentration in the
drum from several thousand ppm to less
21 Note that the ISCST–3 modeling results do not
match earlier risk estimates due to the fact that EPA
used an earlier set of ISCST–3 modeling results for
the TRIM.Expo analysis. The original ISCST–3
results are retained here so that the comparison
with TRIM.Expo will be consistent.
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than 100 ppm, and in some cases, to less
than 10 ppm. Most new dry cleaning
machines sold today are equipped with
secondary carbon adsorbers. Carbon
adsorbers require periodic desorption to
recover PCE and maintain their peak
PCE collection efficiency.
The technologies currently in use by
major and area source dry cleaners
include vented dry-to-dry machines
with water-cooled condensers and
carbon adsorbers, non-vented (closedloop) dry-to-dry machines with
refrigerated condensers, non-vented dryto-dry machines with refrigerated
condensers and secondary carbon
adsorbers and transfer machines. To
meet a standard requiring a refrigerated
condenser and secondary carbon
adsorber, existing dry cleaning
machines without this control could be
retrofitted, or new replacement
machines could be purchased
depending on the remaining useful life
of each existing machine. The costs to
add control technologies range from
$13,000 to $40,000 per machine,
depending on the size of the existing
machine and the level of control of the
machine. Machine replacement costs are
approximately $900 to $1,000 per
pound of capacity. Additional analysis
of costs can be found in the Background
Information Document in the public
docket.
A PCE sensor is the third control
technology used in machines with a
secondary carbon adsorber. The sensor
controls the carbon adsorption cycle to
achieve a set PCE concentration in the
drum. This device uses a single-beam
infrared photometer to measure the
concentration of PCE in the drum, and
prolongs the carbon adsorption cycle
until the concentration set point is
achieved. An interlock (lock-out)
ensures that the PCE set-point has been
attained before the machine door can be
opened.
Regulatory Options. We considered
three options for reducing risk from
major source dry cleaners. Option I
would require all major sources to use
an enhanced LDAR program and have
dry-to-dry machines with a refrigerated
condenser and a secondary carbon
adsorber. Option II would require a PCE
sensor and lock-out in addition to the
Option I controls. Option III would
require no PCE emissions from major
sources (a ban on the use of PCE).
Table 5 of this preamble shows the
costs and risk estimates for each
regulatory option. The population risk
estimates were extrapolated from the
seven modeled facilities to all 15 major
source facilities. The cost estimates are
also for all 15 major source facilities.
TABLE 5.—RISK ESTIMATES AND COSTS OF CONTROL OPTIONS FOR MAJOR SOURCES BASED ON 70-YEAR EXPOSURE
DURATION 1
Parameter
MACT level
MIR from facility with highest risk (CalEPA
URE).
MIR from facility with highest risk (OPPTS
URE).
Maximum HQ from facility with highest risk ..
Option I
Option II
Option III
2,400-in-1 million .......
270-in-1 million ..........
150-in-1 million ..........
NA.2
300-in-1 million ..........
30-in-1 million ............
20-in-1 million ............
NA.
2 .................................
0.2 ..............................
0.1 ..............................
NA.
Population at Risk Across All Facilities 3 (Population Risk Range Represents Difference Between OPPTS and CalEPA URE)
> 1-in-1 million ...............................................
> 10-in-1 million .............................................
> 100-in-1 million ...........................................
Total population exposed (within 10 km) .......
Capital Cost ($1000) ......................................
Annualized Cost ($1000) ...............................
Emission Reduction (tons per year (tpy)) ......
1 In
35,000 to 375,000 ......
2,000 to 27,000 ..........
10 to 1,200 .................
....................................
....................................
....................................
2,000 to 55,000 ..........
20 to 1,800 .................
0 to 13 ........................
9,300,000
830 .............................
(220) ...........................
209 .............................
1,000 to 26,000 ..........
10 to 900 ....................
0 to 6 ..........................
5,700 ..........................
420 .............................
249 (40 incremental) ..
NA.
NA.
NA.
NA.
8,200.
Not Estimated.
293 (44 incremental).
this table, risk estimates are based on both OPPTS and the CalEPA URE. All risk and population estimates are rounded.
= not applicable. Under Option III, risk from PCE would be eliminated, however, potential risks from alternative solvents were not ana-
2 NA
lyzed.
3 Modeled to 10 km.
E. What is our proposed decision on
acceptable risk and ample margin of
safety for major sources?
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Section 112(f)(2)(A) of the CAA states
that if the MACT standards for a source
emitting a:
* * * known, probable, or possible human
carcinogen do not reduce lifetime excess
cancer risks to the individual most exposed
to emissions from a source in the category
* * * to less than one in one million, the
Administrator shall promulgate [residual
risk] standards * * * for such source
category.
The residual risk to the individual
most exposed to emissions from PCE
dry cleaners is estimated at 1-in-1
million or greater at each major source
dry cleaner modeled. Major source dry
cleaners subject to the proposed rule
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emit a possible to probable human
carcinogen, and, as shown in table 3 of
this preamble, we estimate that the MIR
associated with the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP limits is between 300-in-1
million and 2,400-in-1 million.
Therefore, we believe a residual risk
standard is necessary.
In the 1989 Benzene NESHAP, the
first step of the residual risk decision
framework is the determination of
acceptable risk (i.e., are the estimated
risks due to emissions from these
facilities ‘‘acceptable’’). This
determination is based on health
considerations only, without
consideration of costs. The
determination of what represents an
‘‘acceptable’’ risk level is based on a
judgment of ‘‘what risks are acceptable
in the world in which we live’’ (54 FR
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38045, 1987, quoting the Vinyl Chloride
decision at DC Circuit Courts Decision
in NRDC vs. EPA, 824 F.2d at 1165)
recognizing that our world is not riskfree.
In the 1989 Benzene NESHAP, we
stated that a MIR of approximately 100in-1 million should ordinarily be the
upper end of the range of acceptable
risks associated with an individual
source of pollution. We characterized
the MIR as ‘‘the estimated risk that a
person living near a facility would have
if he or she were exposed to the
maximum pollutant concentrations for
70 years.’’ We explained that this
measure of risk ‘‘is an estimate of the
upper bound of risk based on
conservative assumptions, such as
continuous exposure for 24 hours per
day for 70 years.’’ We acknowledge that
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the MIR ‘‘does not necessarily reflect the
true risk, but displays a conservative
risk level which is an upper bound that
is unlikely to be exceeded.’’
Understanding that there are both
benefits and limitations to using MIR as
a metric for determining acceptability,
we acknowledged in the 1989 Benzene
NESHAP that ‘‘consideration of
maximum individual risk * * * must
take into account the strengths and
weaknesses of this measure of risk.’’
Consequently, the presumptive risk
level of 100-in-1 million provides a
benchmark for judging the acceptability
of MIR, but does not constitute a rigid
line for making that determination. In
establishing a presumption for the
acceptability of maximum risk, rather
than a rigid line for acceptability, we
explained in the 1989 Benzene NESHAP
that risk levels should also be weighed
with a series of other health measures
and factors, including the following:
• The numbers of persons exposed
within each individual lifetime risk
range and associated incidence within,
typically, a 50 km (about 30 miles)
exposure radius around facilities.
• The science policy assumptions and
estimation uncertainties associated with
the risk measures.
• Weight of the scientific evidence for
human health effects.
• Other quantified or unquantified
health effects.
• The overall incidence of cancer or
other serious health effects within the
exposed population.
In some cases, these health measures
and factors taken together may provide
a more realistic description of the
magnitude of risk in the exposed
population than that provided by MIR
alone.
Based on use of the criteria identified
above, we judge the level of risk
resulting from regulatory option I to be
acceptable for this source category (table
3 of this preamble). This option requires
dry cleaning machines at all major
sources to have an enhanced LDAR
program and closed-loop, dry-to-dry
machines with refrigerated condensers
and secondary carbon adsorbers. The
calculated MIR is between 30-in-1
million and 270-in-1 million. While the
upper-end of this risk range is greater
than the presumptively acceptable level
of MIR under the 1989 Benzene
NESHAP formulation (100-in-1 million),
we also considered other factors in
making our determination of
acceptability, as directed by the 1989
Benzene NESHAP. The principal factors
that influenced our decision were that
nearly all of the population living
within 10 km of each facility receive
cancer risk at less than 1-in-1 million.
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Considering the very small number of
individuals that are estimated to receive
greater than 100-in-1 million cancer risk
coupled with the exposure and doseresponse assessment methodology that
was conservatively health protective, it
is likely that no actual persons are
exposed at risk levels above 100-in-1
million. Among the exposed population
of 9.3 million individuals, a maximum
of between 0 and 13 people are
estimated to receive risks of more than
100-in-1 million. Under option I, the
exposure to maximum exposed
individuals would be reduced from
between 300-in-1 million to 2,400-in-1
million to between 30-in-1 million and
270-in-1 million. Total combined cancer
incidence would be between 0.002 and
0.003 cases per year for all seven major
source facilities that were modeled. In
addition, no significant non-cancer
health effects are predicted. The
maximum HQ would be reduced from 2
to 0.2, and no adverse ecological
impacts are predicted under option I. In
addition, we expect that PCE usage will
continue to drop as has been the trend
over the past 10 years. This trend has
been caused by the greater use of
alternative solvents, older machines at
the end of their useful lives being
replaced with newer, lower emitting
dry-to-dry machines with refrigerated
condensers and secondary carbon
adsorbers, and State and industry
programs that improve machine
efficiency and reduce PCE consumption.
All of these factors will cause risks to
continue to decrease in the future in the
absence of further Federal regulatory
requirements. Therefore, we have
determined that the risks associated
with regulatory option I are acceptable
after considering MIR, the population
exposed at different risk levels, the
projected absence of noncancer effects
and adverse ecological effects, and the
projected decline in PCE usage.
While not relevant for determining
the acceptable risk level, the national
capital costs of regulatory option I are
$830,000 and annualized cost savings of
$220,000. Most facilities would
recognize a cost savings primarily from
implementing the enhanced LDAR
program. Leak detection and repair is a
pollution prevention approach where
reduced emissions translate into less
PCE consumption and reduced
operating costs because facilities would
need to purchase less PCE. The capital
costs for individual facilities would
range from $0 to $313,000, with a
median cost of $51,000. Annualized
costs would range from a cost savings of
$106,000 per year to a cost of $22,000
per year.
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75893
The second step in the residual risk
decision framework is the determination
of standards that are equal to or lower
than the acceptable risk level and that
protect public health with an ample
margin of safety. In making this
determination, we considered the
estimate of health risk and other health
information along with additional
factors relating to the appropriate level
of control, including costs and
economic impacts of controls,
technological feasibility, uncertainties,
and other relevant factors, consistent
with the approach of the 1989 Benzene
NESHAP.
We evaluated regulatory option II as
the first level of control more stringent
than the acceptable risk level for this
source category. Our analysis showed a
relatively small incremental risk
reduction beyond that achieved by
option I. Under option I, one of the
seven modeled facilities would pose
risks greater than 100-in-1 million using
the CalEPA URE and no facility would
pose risks greater than 100-in-1 million
using the OPPTS URE. Under option II,
this facility would still have risks above
100-in-1 million using the CalEPA URE
only. For the other six modeled
facilities, the risks would remain in the
range of 10-in-1 million under option II
using the CalEPA URE and risks would
drop below the range of 10-in-1 million
for three of seven facilities using the
OPPTS URE.
The national capital cost for option II
(all 15 major sources) is $5.7 million
with an annualized cost of $420,000.
These costs include retrofitting PCE
sensors and lockout systems on
machines that were manufactured in
1998 or later, and the costs of replacing
machines installed before 1998, which
cannot reliably meet the same level of
emission reduction with a PCE sensor.
Overall, option II has high costs
considering the relatively low risk
reduction for most of the major sources.
These costs do not achieve a significant
risk reduction for most sources.
Consequently, we determined that
requiring the addition of a PCE sensor
and lock-out was not a reasonable or
economically feasible option for all
major sources.
We also evaluated regulatory option
III, a ban on PCE use, as a level of
control more stringent than the
acceptable risk level for this source
category. This would completely
eliminate risk from PCE for the
population around the 15 major source
facilities by essentially eliminating the
sources of PCE. The costs to eliminate
PCE usage at major sources would
require a capital cost to the industry of
approximately $8.2 million. This
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estimate was based on the total cost of
replacing all PCE machines with
machines using an alternative solvent
(not an incremental cost of a new PCE
machine versus a new alternative
solvent machine). Alternative solvents
currently being used in the industry
include cyclic siloxanes, liquid carbon
dioxide, wetcleaning, and synthetic
hydrocarbon. There are some
uncertainties that these solvents do not
have the cleaning power (kB value) of
PCE for the heavy soiled or greasy
garments like leather work gloves and
aprons which are the typical garments
cleaned by industrial major sources.
There are some fabrics that cannot be
cleaned in the alternative solvents.
There are also some uncertainties about
whether the waste from alternative
solvent systems would be classified as
hazardous. Alternative solvents have a
role in the industry, and are being used
for certain cleaning applications.
However, there is not enough
experience to determine that these
technologies are sufficiently
demonstrated for all applications such
that PCE should be eliminated from the
marketplace. Therefore, we have
determined that regulatory option III is
not a viable option at this time
considering cost, economic impacts,
technical feasibility, and uncertainties.
Based on the information analyzed for
the three options, we are proposing that
option I provides an ample margin of
safety to protect public health for major
sources in the dry cleaning industry.
F. What are the risks from typical area
sources?
We are not mandated to develop
residual risk standards for area sources
regulated by GACT. Under our
discretion, we have developed estimates
of the remaining risk for these sources.
In estimating the inhalation cancer risk
that area sources pose, we considered
the risks from facilities co-located with
residences (co-residential area sources)
separately from those located in all
other settings (typical area sources).
To assess risks from area sources, we
first analyzed readily available data. The
1999 National Air Toxics Assessment
(NATA) provides census tract level
estimates of cancer risk and noncancer
hazard across the United States for a
subset of the 188 HAP. Using this
assessment, we were able to generate a
course-scale estimate of population risk
for PCE area source dry cleaners by
scaling the NATA cancer for PCE by the
relative contribution of area source
cleaners to PCE emissions. See table 6
below for a summary of the NATAderived estimated risks for area source
cleaners.
TABLE 6.—ESTIMATED NATA-DERIVED POPULATION CANCER RISK FOR PCE AREA SOURCE DRY CLEANERS
Estimated cancer risk at least:
Dose-response value
100-in-1
million
OPPTS .........................................................................................................................................
CalEPA ........................................................................................................................................
This assessment provides a screeninglevel estimate of PCE risk to the general
population.
Next, we performed a ‘‘model facility’’
assessment. In this modeling scenario,
we used information regarding typical
10-in-1
million
0
0
facility size and dispersion parameters
and average and upper-end emissions of
a facility meeting the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP to create a set of ‘‘model
facilities.’’ See the risk characterization
memorandum in the public docket for a
1-in-1
million
0
400,000
960,000
56,000,000
complete description of the two
modeling methodologies. Table 7 of this
preamble summarizes the cancer and
noncancer risk for typical area sources
(excluding transfer machines).
TABLE 7.—ESTIMATED INCREMENTAL LIFETIME INDIVIDUAL CANCER RISK AND NON-CANCER HAZARD FOR TYPICAL AREA
SOURCES USING A RANGE OF EMISSIONS AND WORST-CASE DISPERSION MODELING
Model facility emissions
Risk estimate
Average
(.05 tons)
99th percentile
(4 tons)
MIR (OPPTS URE) ..........................................................
MIR (CalEPA URE) .........................................................
Noncancer HQ 1 ...............................................................
2-in-1 million ......................
15-in-1 million ....................
0.001 ..................................
20-in-1 million ....................
120-in-1 million ..................
0.07 ....................................
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1 HQ
Maximum
(8 tons)
30-in-1 million.
220-in-1 million.
0.1.
estimates have been rounded.
G. What are the options for reducing
risk, their costs, and risk reduction
impacts for typical area sources?
We evaluated three control measures
to reduce risks from typical area
sources. These measures are an
enhanced LDAR program for area
sources, elimination of emissions from
existing transfer machines, and the use
of a refrigerated condenser and
secondary carbon adsorber (same
control technologies described above for
major sources). These control measures
have been commercially demonstrated
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at area source dry cleaners in the United
States. The three control measures were
used to develop two regulatory options
to reduce risk.
The enhanced LDAR program for area
sources would require the use of a
halogenated leak detector instead of a
gas analyzer, which is being proposed
for major sources. The cost of a
halogenated leak detector ($250) is
significantly less than a gas analyzer
($3,300). A gas analyzer is a more
accurate device that provides a
quantitative reading of PCE
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concentration. This device can be
particularly useful in pinpointing leaks
at major sources that have high
background concentrations of PCE. The
halogenated leak detector is a nonquantitative device that provides an
audible or visual display when it detects
a leak above 25 ppm. We have
concluded that a halogenated leak
detector is sufficient for detecting leaks
at area source dry cleaners and will
provide a significant improvement in
reducing emissions compared to the
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current requirement to inspect for
perceptible leaks only.
Transfer machines have substantially
higher emissions than dry-to-dry
machines. The 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP effectively bans new transfer
machines, but existing machines were
grandfathered. In 1993, we determined
that the capital costs required to replace
all transfer machines would have
created an adverse economic impact on
a substantial portion of the industry,
especially small businesses that had
recently purchased new transfer
machines. We estimate that about 200
transfer machines remain in use within
the population of 28,000 dry cleaning
machines located at area sources
(estimated one PCE dry cleaning
machine per facility with approximately
28,000 facilities). Most of these
machines will be at or near the end of
their useful economic life by the time
final rule requirements are promulgated.
The typical life of a dry cleaning
machine is 10 to 15 years. By the end
of 2006, the newest transfer machines in
the industry will be 13 years old.
Replacing these machines with new
machines meeting the requirements for
new sources under the proposed
75895
amendments would reduce PCE
emissions substantially.
We developed two regulatory options
to evaluate area source risk reductions.
Option I would require enhanced LDAR
and eliminate emissions from existing
transfer machines by requiring that they
be replaced with new machines. This
option would apply to both large and
small area sources. Option II would
require all area sources to use a
refrigerated condenser and secondary
carbon adsorber in addition to option I.
Table 8 of this preamble summarizes the
cancer and noncancer risks from these
control options.
TABLE 8.—ESTIMATED MAXIMUM1 CANCER RISK AND NONCANCER HAZARD FOR TYPICAL AREA SOURCES
Control option
Risk metric
1993 NESHAP
Estimated Lifetime Cancer Risk (OPPTS URE) .............
Estimated Lifetime Cancer Risk (CalEPA URE) .............
Noncancer HQ .................................................................
Capital Cost—($1,000,000) .............................................
Annualized Cost—($1,000,000) ......................................
Emission Reduction (tpy) ................................................
Option I—LDAR
30-in-1 million ....................
220-in-1 million ..................
0.1 ......................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
20-in-1 million ....................
175-in-1 million ..................
0.1 ......................................
$12.4 ..................................
($2.7) .................................
3,236 ..................................
Option II—LDAR +
secondary controls
15-in-1 million.
110-in-1 million
0.1
$85.7
$7.9
5,749
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1Assumes a facility using a dry-to-dry machine with a refrigerated condenser emitting 8 tons of PCE a year (highest known emitting dry-to-dry
machine). Risks from transfer machines are not included in the tables. The costs and risk estimates in this table do not consider the impacts of
future trends of declining PCE usage.
H. What is our proposal for addressing
the remaining emissions for typical area
sources?
We are considering adopting a
residual risk decision process for area
sources which is based on that used for
major sources. This involves first
determining an acceptable level of risk
to the public and then determining an
ample margin of safety to protect public
health, considering costs and economic
impacts of controls, technological
feasibility, uncertainties, and other
relevant factors. We request comments
on this approach for area sources.
As part of this rulemaking, we have
determined that exposure to emissions
under the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP
constitutes an acceptable level of risk
for typical area sources. Currently, we
estimate that more than 98 percent of
28,000 existing dry cleaners use a dryto-dry machine with a refrigerated
condenser to comply with the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP or State emission
standards. Using the most health
protective modeling assumptions for
meteorology and location, the model
facility analysis indicated that the
highest known emitting area source
would pose cancer risks of between 30in-1 million and 220-in-1 million. The
risk from the vast majority of area
sources would be substantially less. For
example, cancer risk for the typical area
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source, which emits approximately 0.5
ton of PCE per year, is estimated at
between 4-in-1 million and 15-in-1
million. In addition, the assessment
showed no significant acute health
effects (HQ of 1.0 for the highest
emitting area source facility).
Considering the relatively low level of
risk posed by the great majority of area
sources, the projected absence of
significant noncancer and ecological
effects, and the projected decline in PCE
usage, we believe that the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP level of control
results in an acceptable level of risk to
the public.
Replacing transfer machines with new
dry-to-dry equipment would reduce
risks from the potentially highestemitting sources. Under either option I
or II, transfer machines would be
replaced with dry-to-dry machines with
a refrigerated condenser and a
secondary carbon adsorber (i.e., the
proposed new source requirements for
area sources, which are discussed
below).
For dry-to-dry machines, equipment
leaks are the largest source of emissions,
particularly from older dry cleaning
machines. While the perceptible leaks
program under the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP may prevent major leaks, a
substantial emission reduction can be
achieved by earlier leak detection using
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an instrument like a halogenated
hydrocarbon leak detector.
Therefore, to protect public health
with an ample margin of safety, we are
proposing to eliminate the use of
transfer machines and require an
enhanced LDAR program for dry-to-dry
machines (option I). This option would
reduce PCE emissions by 3,200 tpy and
reduce risks to the public from between
30-in-1 million and 220-in-1 million to
between 20-in-1 million and 175-in-1
million.
Option I would require total capital
costs of $12 million. The enhanced
LDAR program would cost about $5
million. About 20,000 facilities would
be required to purchase a halogenated
hydrocarbon detector at a cost of $250
each. About 200 facilities would be
required to replace their existing
transfer machines with dry-to-dry
machines with refrigerated condensers
and carbon adsorber at a cost of about
$36,000 each for a total industry cost of
$7.3 million. Annually, option I is
expected to result in a cost savings to
industry of about $2.7 million per year.
Cost saving would be realized because
both replacement of transfer machines
and enhanced LDAR will reduce annual
PCE consumption. The reduction in
annual PCE consumption at the 200
businesses that would replace transfer
machines is more than sufficient to
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offset the annualized cost of the new
equipment. In particular, we believe
most of the transfer machines are at the
end of their useful life and it would be
economically beneficial for the facilities
to replace the transfer machines with
dry-to-dry machines. Thus, we believe
the economic impacts to the affected
businesses and facilities are negligible.
Finally, these costs and risk estimates
do not consider the impacts of future
trends of declining PCE usage.
We are not proposing the option of
requiring existing area sources to install
secondary carbon adsorbers (option II).
Secondary carbon adsorbers would
reduce maximum risks at the highest
risk area sources from between 20-in-1
million and 175-in-1 million under
option I to between 15-in-1 million and
110-in-1 million under option II. Under
option II, about 7,500 facilities would be
required to raise capital to install carbon
adsorbers (27 percent of the industry).
For these sources, the capital costs for
compliance would be about $85 million
with an annualized cost of about $8
million. The capital cost for individual
facilities would range from $4,000 to
$45,000. A majority of sources that
would be affected by option II are small
businesses. For these small businesses,
the annualized costs would average
from 10 to 20 percent of sales, and this
amount is much higher than the average
profit per unit of sales that small dry
cleaners normally experience (1 to 3
percent). This cost would lead to a high
number of small businesses owning
affected facilities that will likely close
due to the lack of available capital for
the needed investment in carbon
adsorbers. Therefore, we are not
proposing to require a secondary carbon
adsorber on existing area sources,
because the risk reduction would be
relatively minor and the costs would
impose adverse economic impacts on a
number of small businesses.
We do not believe that the proposed
requirements for area sources pose more
than a minimal burden; however, we
specifically ask for comment on
methods by which EPA could focus the
additional regulatory requirements
being proposed by this rule to only
those area sources (typical and coresidential) which pose significant risks
to human health. For example, we seek
comments on whether there could be a
methodology by which facilities could
conduct site specific risk assessments to
demonstrate that their PCE emissions
pose cancer risk levels that are less than
1-in-1 million, with a HI of less than 1,
and with no acute human health risks
or adverse environmental effects, and
thereby avoid the additional
requirements that would otherwise
apply under the proposed rule
revisions. Comments should address
whether such an approach is feasible
(for example, if facilities would be able
to conduct these risk assessments), the
legal authority for such an approach, the
methodology sources would use for
conducting risk assessments, the
specific criteria by which potential
‘‘low-risk’’ sources would be evaluated,
the mechanism for evaluating and
determining whether source risk
assessments meet those criteria, how the
process would be implemented by
Federal and/or State and local agencies,
how it would be enforced (for example,
through a permitting program or other
regulatory structure to ensure that any
sources found to be ‘‘low-risk’’ remain
so), and what would be the
consequences if and when a source, for
whatever reason, is found to no longer
qualify as a ‘‘low-risk’’ source.
I. What are the risks from co-residential
area sources?
Residents living in the same building
with a dry cleaner may receive
significantly higher exposures to PCE
than people not living above or in the
same building as a dry cleaner. We
estimate there are approximately 1,300
co-residential dry cleaning facilities in
the United States. Residents in these
buildings can receive elevated PCE
concentrations because PCE vapor
travels through the building walls and
up elevator and pipe shafts into
residences. Emissions of PCE also can
enter from the ambient air into
residences via open windows. Even
after the dry cleaner closes, PCE
absorbed onto surfaces can continue to
be emitted throughout the day and
night. To assess potential risks, we used
indoor air monitoring data collected by
the New York Department of Health and
the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)
between 2001–2003 as part of an
epidemiological study examining
neurological endpoints. In considering
the New York data, it should be
recognized that the data resulted from
an epidemiological study, and dry
cleaner building and apartment
inclusion and exclusion criteria
influenced buildings that were
ultimately sampled. Also, certain
buildings were identified in order to
potentially increase the likelihood of
finding apartments with elevated PCE
levels. Data collected during this period
indicate that resident exposures ranged
from a geometric mean of 33 ug/m3 to
a maximum of 5,000 ug/m3. The New
York Department of Health collected
these data during the final
implementation of title 6 NYCRR Part
232 rules, which require the use of a
refrigerated condenser and secondary
carbon adsorber, and a vapor barrier or
room enclosure around co-residential
dry cleaning machines. We extrapolated
these 24-hour samples to lifetime
exposure to estimate inhalation cancer
risk and noncancer hazard. For a full
description of the methodology that we
used, see the risk characterization
memorandum in the public docket.
Table 9 of this preamble summarizes the
inhalation cancer risk and noncancer
hazard of co-residential area sources.
TABLE 9.—ESTIMATED INCREMENTAL LIFETIME INDIVIDUAL CANCER RISK AND NONCANCER HAZARD FOR CO-RESIDENTIAL
AREA SOURCES USING A RANGE OF MONITORED EXPOSURES
Distribution of Monitored Exposure
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Risk metric 3
Lower 5th
percentile 2
Estimated Lifetime Cancer Risk
(OPPTSURE).
Estimated Lifetime Cancer Risk
(CalEPAURE).
Noncancer HQ 1 ..................................
Median
Geometric mean
Upper 95th
percentile
Maximum
4-in-1 million .........
10-in-1 million ......
20-in-1 million .......
500-in-1 million .....
4,000-in-1 million.
30-in-1 million .......
50-in-1 million .......
200-in-1 million .....
4,000-in-1 million ..
30,000-in-1 million.
0.02 ......................
0.06 ......................
0.1 ........................
3 ...........................
20
1 HQ
estimates have been rounded.
2 The lowest 5th percentile of exposure is equal to the non-detect limit of the monitors, which is 5 ug/m 3.
3 These estimates reflect only facilities in full compliance with Title 6 NYCRR Part 232.
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To better characterize inhalation
cancer risk among residents of
apartments co-located with area source
cleaners, we performed a sensitivity
analysis in which we varied the
assumed exposure duration. Table 10
illustrates the results from this analysis.
TABLE 10.—ESTIMATED HIGH-END CANCER RISKS FOR RESIDENTS OF CO-LOCATED APARTMENTS: EXPOSURE DURATION
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS 1
Assumed Exposure Duration
Estimated Lifetime Cancer Risk
70 years
Risk per million (CalEPAURE) .............................................
Risk per million (OPPTSURE) .............................................
HQ ........................................................................................
50 years
4,000
500
7
30 years
3,000
400
5
20 years
2,000
200
3
10 years
1,000
100
2
600
80
1
Inhalation cancer risk estimates using the 95th percentile exposure level range from a maximum of between 4,000 and 500-in-1 million, assuming 70-year expsure to between 600 and 80-in-1 million assuming 10-year experience.
1 Cancer risk estimates derived using 95th percentile PCE exposures for monitoring data from facilities in full compliance with NYSDEC
requirements.
The PCE exposure concentrations
presented in table 11 of this preamble
show the potential risk levels that coresidential sources may pose. The MIR
was predicted at between 4,000-in-1
million and 30,000-in-1 million, which
is higher than the maximum risk at both
major sources and typical area sources.
This table suggests that maximum coresidential area source risks are about 13
times higher than the maximum major
source risks and about 140 times higher
than the maximum typical area source
risk.
TABLE 11.—COMPARISON OF PCE EXPOSURE CONCENTRATIONS BY TYPE OF FACILITY 3
Facility
Co-residential area
source
Typical area source
Maximum Exposure Concentration (ug/m 3) ............................................
Geometric Mean Exposure Concentration (ug/m 3) .................................
Maximum Inhalation Risk (per million) ....................................................
Maximum Noncancer HQ ........................................................................
Geometric Mean Noncancer HQ .............................................................
5,000 1 .......................
33 ..............................
3,000 to 30,000 2 .......
20 ..............................
0.1 .............................
37 ..............................
1 ................................
30 to 220 ...................
0.1 .............................
0.004 .........................
Major source
405
1.3
300 to 2,400
2
0.004
1 New
York Department of Health monitoring data.
cancer risks were extrapolated from 24-hour monitoring data, assuming continuous exposure for 70 years at the maximum monitored concentration.
3 Estimate range represents difference between estimated risk using OPPTS and CalEPA URE.
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2 Inhalation
J. What is our proposed decision on coresidential area sources?
We are proposing two options for coresidential area sources in today’s
proposal. We expect to select one of
these options, with possible
modifications in response to comments,
in the final rule. The first option
addresses both risks and technological
developments for new co-residential
area sources as a combined CAA Section
112(f) residual risk and Section
112(d)(6) rulemaking, and is described
further in this section. This is consistent
with the approach we are taking for
typical area sources and for major
sources. However, for existing coresidential area sources under this
option, we are not exercising our
discretion to impose a section 112(f)
residual risk standard, but only a
section 112(d)(6) standard. We
recognize that developing residual risk
standards for area sources is
discretionary under the CAA, and that
emissions reductions can also be
achieved under CAA section 112(d)(6)
that do not rely upon our section 112(f)
authority. Therefore, we are also
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proposing a second option to achieve
emissions reductions through a
technology based standard for both
existing and new co-residential sources
relying only on our Section 112(d)(6)
authority, as discussed below and in
section III.K. We request comment on
alternative approaches that might
protect public health with an ample
margin of safety.
As our first option, we are proposing
different requirements for new and
existing co-residential sources. For new
sources, we propose not to allow any
new co-residential machines that emit
PCE. Our proposal is based on the highend estimated MIR of between 4,000-in1 million and 30,000-in-1 million, and
on our conclusion that risks from new
co-residential sources should be
substantially reduced. These risk
estimates are based on monitored
concentrations taken from apartments
above co-residential dry cleaners with
the level of equipment control required
by NYSDEC in their title 6 NYCRR Part
232 rules (e.g., a refrigerated condenser
and secondary carbon adsorber, and a
vapor barrier or room enclosure).
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For new co-residential sources, the
most stringent possible control option
with the greatest risk reduction is a
prohibition of PCE use at such sources.
This option would eliminate PCE risks
for new sources and require that any
new dry cleaning machines located in a
residential building would have to use
an alternative cleaning solvent. We
believe the owner/operator can choose
from other alternative solvent dry
cleaning systems to use in a residential
building.
The national capital costs of this
regulatory option for new co-residential
sources are $8.6 million, and the
annualized costs are approximately
$950,000. These cost estimates are based
on the assumption that existing facilities
will replace PCE machines that have
reached the end of their useful lives (15
years) and are estimated for facilities
affected within the first 5 years after the
final rule takes effect. These costs reflect
the incremental cost between replacing
existing machines with PCE machines
with refrigerated condensers and carbon
adsorbers, and replacing them with
machines using hydrocarbon solvents.
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This analysis includes costs for all
affected facilities, such as the cost
incurred to install fire protection
sprinklers required by most applicable
fire codes to operate a hydrocarbon
technology, that would not be necessary
with other options. Cost estimates
would be much lower if facilities using
this option have sprinkler systems in
place, or if they choose a less costly
alternative garment cleaning option
utilizing non-flammable solvents, or
conducting dry cleaning operations offsite from the co-residential facility. We
estimate that this control option for new
co-residential sources may, after about
15 years, result in the elimination of
cancer risks from all co-residential
sources, as existing sources would be
replaced by new non-PCE sources. This
means that maximum individual risk
levels due to these sources would
decline from between 30,000- and
4,000-in-1 million to 0; average
individual risk would decline from
between 1,000- and 200-in-1 million to
0; and annual incidence would decline
from between 2.2 and 0.3 cases per year
to 0. These risk reduction estimates for
all co-residential dry cleaners are
subject to a number of limitations, the
greatest of which are likely: (1) The
degree to which the small sampled
subset of co-residential dry cleaners (16)
is representative of the full set (about
1,300) of all co-residential dry cleaners;
(2) our uncertainty of the size of the
affected population; and (3) the possible
range of cancer potency factors used in
our analysis, which is reflected in the
ranges of the risk metrics reported
above.
We also recognize that a proposal to
prohibit new co-residential sources
could encourage continued operation of
existing co-residential PCE machines
beyond their useful lives rather than
replacement with new machines. We
request comment on a sunset provision,
where, after some period of time that
reflects the typical lifetime of a dry
cleaning machine, existing coresidential sources would have to be
replaced with new machines that do not
emit PCE.
As part of this first option, we are
proposing no additional control
requirements for existing co-residential
dry cleaners beyond the proposed
requirements for existing area sources.
However, we also request comment on
the appropriateness of adopting other
alternatives. In particular, we are
continuing to analyze the potential
health risks at co-residential sources
and the range of options to reduce these
risks. Options under consideration
range from voluntary initiatives to
regulatory action. About 1,100 of the
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estimated 1,300 co-residential sources
are located in New York and California.
These sources are controlled with the
technology equivalent to the
requirements of the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP for new major sources; plus,
the facilities in New York have installed
room enclosures to reduce exposure
from residual emissions.
At this time we have limited data on
co-residential sources outside of New
York and California. We do not know
how representative the dataset is of all
facilities in New York City. We do not
know how many people are exposed at
other sources and if the exposure and
risk levels in other parts of the United
States are similar to those in New York
City buildings. We have little
information on the distribution of PCE
concentrations, the number of persons
living in co-residential buildings, or the
number of persons exposed to various
PCE concentration levels. Based on the
New York monitoring data, we know the
level of PCE concentrations can vary
substantially within co-residential
buildings. While we believe that the
dataset used for this risk assessment
represents a high-quality set of
measurements which is appropriate for
estimating risks, we are also aware that
the dataset may contain a selection bias
due to the fact that the study from
which the data were taken was an
epidemiological study aimed at
identifying high exposures within
minority and economicallydisadvantaged populations. Moreover,
we are also aware that variable attention
to work practices, difficulties in
achieving compliance with newlyinstalled equipment, and poor
ventilation in sampled apartments may
also have increased the measured
concentration values relative to the
remaining population of apartments colocated with area source dry cleaners.
Thus, we specifically request comment
on the appropriateness of using this
dataset to develop a risk assessment
which represents the population of coresidential facilities. We also request
any additional data that might be used
to characterize these risks.
If a long-term time series dataset of
concentration measurements were
available, we would estimate chronic
exposure based on it to take into
account the true temporal variability of
exposures. However, we do not have
such a dataset. Instead, we base our
exposure and risk estimates on snapshot
data available, recognizing that an
extrapolation from short-term
monitoring values can lead to an
upward bias of the high-end chronic
exposures and risks and a downward
bias of the low-end chronic exposures
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and risks. We request comment on ways
to minimize these biases. In evaluating
the potential impact of NYSDEC
requirements, our analysis focused on
those facilities which were deemed to
be in compliance with the NYSDEC part
232 regulations. However, it is not
always clear from the available data
what the exact compliance status of the
facilities was at the time that
measurements were taken. For example,
we note that the highest measured
exposure level (5,000 ug/m3), which is
associated with a facility that was
reported to be in full compliance with
the NYSDEC regulations at the time of
the measurements, has been called into
question by industry stakeholders based
on evidence that the facility was
inspected and found to be out of
compliance (due to equipment
operation problems) approximately 2
months after the measurements were
taken. These problems were remedied
and compliance was certified a week
later. This uncertainty in exact
compliance status leads to an
uncertainty in whether the measured
concentration values actually reflect a
level of control consistent with
implementation of the NYSDEC
requirements. Thus, we request
comment on whether and to what extent
temporal variability or compliance
problems among the facilities located in
buildings with the sampled apartments
may have biased the sampled
measurements high or low and
influenced the results of the risk
assessment.
We believe that the risk assessment
underlying the proposal of our first
option is appropriate for rulemaking
purposes, however, given the
uncertainties discussed above, we are
proposing a second option solely under
the authority of section 112(d)(6) of the
CAA. We propose the NYSDEC title 6
NYCRR Part 232 rules (or similar
standards) as the basis for control
standards for both new and existing
sources, instead of prohibiting any new
co-residential machines that emit PCE
and the standards proposed for typical
area sources and existing co-residential
sources. The NYSDEC requires that coresidential dry cleaning machines have
refrigerated condensers and secondary
carbon adsorbers, and that equipment be
housed inside a vapor barrier with
general ventilation to the outside air for
both new and existing facilities.
Facilities must conduct weekly leak
inspections using a leak detection
device such as a halogenated
hydrocarbon detector. Facilities are
required to obtain annual third party
inspections by a professional engineer,
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and must make available the most
recent inspection report to interested
individuals for their review. The
NYSDEC also requires that the facility
owner and/or manager and the dry
cleaning machine operator be certified
by an organization that offers a training
program approved by the State agency.
Most co-residential facilities meet the
New York standards (of the 1,300 coresidential facilities nationwide,
approximately 900 are in New York),
but approximately 240 facilities across
the country would need to upgrade their
equipment to comply with this second
proposal option. The capital cost of this
option is approximately $3 million, and
the annual cost is $0.5 million. These
estimates include the cost for
approximately 240 existing facilities to
either upgrade or replace their existing
equipment to include a refrigerated
condenser and carbon adsorber, install a
vapor barrier and conduct the leak
detection and repair described above.
These estimates do not include the cost
of third party inspections and operator
training, so cost impacts may be
understated. Emissions reduction is
estimated to be about 48 tons per year
from the use of refrigerated condensers
and carbon adsorbers. Vapor barriers do
not remove emissions, but contain them
to help prevent exposures to emissions.
For this second option, we request
data on the emission levels, exposure,
and risks associated with meeting the
level of control required by the NYSDEC
standards and for any other control
options for co-residential sources that
may substantially reduce emissions
from co-residential sources (e.g.,
periodic gasket replacement in lieu of
inspections).
K. What determination is EPA proposing
pursuant to review of the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP under CAA section
112(d)(6)?
Section 112(d)(6) of the CAA requires
us to review and revise MACT
standards, as necessary, every 8 years,
taking into account developments in
practices, processes, and control
technologies that have occurred during
that time. If we find relevant changes,
we may revise the MACT standards and
develop additional standards. We do not
interpret CAA section 112(d)(6) as
requiring another analysis of MACT
floors for existing and new sources.
For major sources, we considered as
a MACT alternative the same options
considered above for residual risk (table
5 of this preamble). The use of a PCE
sensor/lock system (option II on table 5
of this preamble) is an option more
stringent than the level of control that
we are proposing to protect the public
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from residual risks with an ample
margin of safety. The system would
reduce emissions by 40 tpy. Total
capital costs are estimated to be $5.7
million for the 15 major sources with an
annualized cost of $420,000. Additional
analysis of costs can be found in the
Background Information Document in
the public docket. The incremental costeffectiveness of the option is $17,000
per ton of PCE removed (overall,
considering all 15 facilities).
Consequently, we propose that requiring
enhanced LDAR and a refrigerated
condenser/secondary carbon adsorber
would meet the requirements for CAA
section 112(d)(6).
Section 112(d)(6) of the CAA also
requires that we review and, if
necessary, revise the technology-based
standards for area sources. The 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP for area sources was
based on the use of GACT. The options
selected for evaluating GACT for
existing area sources are the same two
options that we discussed above;
enhanced LDAR and eliminating
transfer machines (option I on table 8 of
this preamble), and the use of secondary
carbon adsorbers (option II on table 8 of
this preamble). Option I would reduce
emissions by an estimated 3,200 tpy and
would result in a net cost savings to area
sources. Option II would reduce
emissions by an additional 3,000 tpy.
However, as explained above,
retrofitting a secondary carbon adsorber
would not be cost-effective for many
existing area source dry cleaners.
Consequently, we propose that requiring
enhanced LDAR and eliminating
transfer machines at existing area
sources would meet the requirements of
CAA section 112(d)(6).
For new machines located at area
source dry cleaners, we are proposing
the use of refrigerated condensers,
secondary carbon adsorbers, and
enhanced LDAR. Requiring the use of
secondary carbon adsorbers on new
machines will not impose any
significant new costs to the industry,
because the majority of new machines
today are sold with secondary carbon
adsorbers. Vented machines, watercooled condensers, and transfer
machines are no longer sold. Many area
source dry cleaners are buying this
latest technology (dry-to-dry machine
with refrigerated condenser and
secondary carbon adsorber) because
they are easier to operate, use less PCE,
and produce less hazardous waste. In
addition, several States require the use
of this technology. A machine
manufacturer stated that 70 percent of
the new PCE machines sold in the year
2000 were dry-to-dry machines with
refrigerated condensers and secondary
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75899
carbon adsorbers, and by 2003 nearly all
of the PCE machines sold would have
this technology. New York and,
beginning in 2007, California, will
require this technology for all existing
major and area sources. Due to the vast
number of area sources compared to
major sources, the majority of the new
PCE machines are purchased by area
sources to replace older technology
machines. Therefore, we are proposing
the use of dry-to-dry machines with
refrigerated condensers and secondary
carbon adsorbers for new machines at
area sources to meet the requirements of
CAA section 112(d)(6).
For co-residential area sources, the
most stringent standards currently in
place are those enforced by NYSDEC
(described in section III.J). In some
cases, these and related requirements
have been effective in reducing
exposure levels; the mean exposure has
dropped by tenfold since 1997
(McDermott, et al., 2005). However, as
described earlier, a monitoring study in
New York City suggests that risk levels
after implementation of these standards
may remain relatively high. Under our
first option for addressing co-residential
area sources discussed above in section
III.J of this preamble, we are not
proposing the NYSDEC levels of control
under Section 112(d)(6). However,
under the second option for coresidential sources, we are proposing
under CAA section 112(d)(6) standards
based on those required by NYSDEC
Part 232 for new and existing coresidential sources, which would be
modified, as appropriate, to function as
nationally applicable Federal standards
rather than State standards. While the
first proposed option would eventually
eliminate PCE exposures from coresidential sources, this second option
would initially reduce exposures from
existing co-residential sources more
than the first option to require enhanced
LDAR for all area sources. This second
option for co-residential sources
eliminates the continued use of
equipment without secondary carbon
adsorbers at new and existing coresidential sources; this contrasts with
the first option discussed in section J
above, which prohibits the use of new
PCE machines and may give facilities
the incentive to prolong the use of
existing machines rather than purchase
newer, lower emitting PCE machines at
existing sources. With respect to new
facilities, this option would allow new
co-residential facilities to use PCE only
if they also use equipment with
refrigerated condensers and secondary
carbon adsorbers housed in a vapor
barrier. EPA is seeking comment and
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additional information in section III.J to
help assess risk reductions that could be
achieved through application of
standards similar to NYSDEC part 232.
L. What additional changes are we
making to the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP?
In 40 CFR 63.322(e), we are deleting
the term ‘‘diverter valve,’’ but retaining
the requirement to prevent air drawn
into the door of the dry cleaning
machine from passing through the
refrigerated condenser. We are
proposing this change because some
newer machines accomplish this
objective without a diverter valve. This
change does not subject sources to any
new requirements and does not change
the requirement for machines with
diverter valves.
In 40 CFR 63.322(m) and 40 CFR
63.324(d), we are changing ‘‘perceptible
leaks’’ to ‘‘leaks’’ because the
requirements now apply to both the
monthly inspection for vapor leaks,
which would require the use of a leak
detection instrument, as well as the
weekly or biweekly inspections for
perceptible leaks. This harmonizing
change would not change the nature of
existing inspection requirements. To
support the proposed requirements for
monthly vapor leak inspection, we have
proposed to add definitions of ‘‘vapor
leak,’’ ‘‘PCE gas analyzer,’’ and
‘‘halogenated hydrocarbon detector.’’
The 40 CFR 63.323(b) would be
revised to add PCE gas analyzers as an
acceptable monitoring instrument in
addition to colorimetric tubes. Major
sources would need a PCE gas analyzer
for enhanced leak detection and repair.
This analyzer could also be used for
monitoring a carbon adsorber. Also, the
phrase ‘‘or removal of the activated
carbon’’ would be added to clarify that
any major source required to use a
carbon adsorber is required to monitor
the adsorber exhaust weekly for PCE.
Previously, this requirement was
unclear for sources that disposed of the
carbon instead of desorbing it.
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IV. Solicitation of Public Comments
We request comments on all aspects
of the proposed amendments. We are
also considering additional rule
amendments and specifically solicit
comments on these potential
amendments. The additional
amendments are described in the
following sections. All significant
comments received will be considered
in the development and selection of the
final amendments.
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A. Additional Requirements for Highest
Risk Facilities
For one of the modeled major source
facilities, the estimated emissions after
installing controls required by the
proposed rule would pose a MIR greater
than 100-in-1 million using the CalEPA
URE. An alternative approach we are
considering is establishing more
stringent requirements for this source.
We would like information about
whether such an approach would be
appropriate and what would be a
suitable regulatory basis for creating a
separate class for this major source. We
are considering requiring this facility to
install a PCE sensor and lockout on each
dry cleaning machine.
Under the proposed rule, this facility
would be required to install a
refrigerated condenser and secondary
carbon adsorber. Most dry cleaning
machines with secondary carbon
adsorbers sold in this country since
1998 are equipped with a lockout that
prevents the drum from being opened
until the completion of the timed
adsorption cycle. These machines have
been demonstrated to achieve a
concentration inside the drum of less
than 300 ppm without a PCE sensor.
The addition of a sensor ensures that
this target concentration will be met for
every load, thereby preventing episodes
of high emissions caused by operator
error or machine malfunction.
The PCE sensor and lockout system
originally was developed to meet the 2.
BImSchV German Emission Control
Law, which requires a PCE
concentration in the dry cleaning
machine drum of less than 2 grams per
cubic meter (∼300 ppm) at the end of the
drying cycle. Dry cleaning machines
equipped with PCE sensors are widely
used in Germany and are available in
the United States. However, there is
limited experience with this technology
in the United States. We are aware of
only two commercial dry cleaners in the
United States and one industrial dry
cleaner in Canada that use a PCE sensor.
Because of the limited United States
experience, we do not have emission
test data to evaluate the performance of
this system relative to machines with a
timed lockout system, particularly with
industrial articles such as work gloves.
The emissions reductions that we used
to evaluate the PCE sensor and lockout
system were based on estimates of
solvent mileage (pounds garments
cleaned per gal of PCE used) compared
to machines with a refrigerated
condenser and secondary carbon
adsorber. The estimated mileage of the
various dry cleaning systems was
obtained from engineering judgment by
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several industry experts. Facilities using
a PCE sensor and lockout system could
possibly observe a wide range of
emission reduction potential. For
example, facilities that use good
maintenance procedures and follow
manufacturers specifications would
achieve lower emission reductions than
facilities with poor maintenance
procedures. This control technology
ensures optimal operation of the carbon
adsorber by preventing the door from
being opened until the PCE
concentration in the drum is less than
300 ppm at the end of the drying cycle.
Facilities with good maintenance
procedures will have fewer high
emission episodes caused by premature
termination of the drying cycle.
We solicit comments on the
appropriateness of requiring greater
emission reduction at the highest risk
source, the performance of the PCE
sensor and lockout system and its
effectiveness in reducing risks from this
source, and the basis for creating a
separate class for this major source dry
cleaner. We also request information on
the feasibility, cost, and amount of
emission reduction that could be
achieved at this source through other
techniques, such as the use of
alternative solvents or other approaches.
B. Requirement for PCE Sensor and
Lockout as New Source MACT for Major
Sources
We are considering making PCE
sensor and lockout controls a
requirement for new machines installed
at major sources. The decision to select
option I instead of this control option
for major sources was based on the
relatively small emission reduction
estimated to result from the installation
of PCE sensor and lockout controls. We
would like additional data on the
amount of PCE reduction achieved by
these controls in both industrial and
commercial applications, and about
how site-specific factors influence the
reduction achieved.
C. Alternative Performance-Based
Standard for Existing Major Sources
We are considering establishing an
alternative performance-based standard
for existing major sources. The
alternative standard would be a facilitywide PCE use limitation (e.g., gal PCE
per year, solvent mileage or other
metrics), which would be determined as
a percent reduction of actual PCE use
from a baseline year. If adopted, a
source could elect to comply with either
the proposed process vent controls (i.e.,
closed loop machine with refrigerated
condenser and secondary carbon
adsorber) or the performance-based
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alternative. Facilities that use the
performance-based alternative still
would be required to comply with the
operating controls (i.e., enhanced leak
detection and repair, etc.) in the
proposed rule.
The alternative standard would
provide more flexibility in choosing the
method of reducing emissions. This
flexibility provides the opportunity to
decrease compliance costs, reduce
recordkeeping, and simplify compliance
and enforcement. We anticipate that any
facility selecting this alternative would
reduce emissions by replacing some
machines with alternative solvent
machines and continuing to operate
some PCE machines without secondary
controls. Additional emission
reductions could also be achieved by
more aggressive maintenance and leak
detection programs.
The performance-based alternative we
are considering would limit annual PCE
consumption on a facility-wide basis.
Usage of PCE correlates directly with
PCE emissions. The limit would be
based on the average fraction of
emissions reduced by the control
technology requirement for the different
types of affected sources. For the three
major source industrial facilities that
would be required to make equipment
changes to comply with the proposed
rule, the average estimated facility-wide
emission reduction, including enhanced
leak detection and repair, would be 76
percent. For the four affected major
source commercial facilities, the average
estimated total emission facility-wide
reduction would be 67 percent. These
reductions are relative to estimated
emissions from these facilities in 2002.
Therefore, we envision that facilities
that clean industrial articles such as
work gloves would be required to
reduce PCE usage by at least 76 percent.
For facilities that do not clean work
gloves or shop rags, we envision a PCE
reduction of 67 percent. For a
description of how the emission
reduction percentages were estimated,
refer to the Background Information
Document in the public docket. The
baseline year for determining the PCE
usage limit would be 2002. Annual PCE
usage would be calculated based on the
amount of PCE purchased during the
calendar year, adjusted for the PCE in
use and storage at the beginning and
end of the calendar year.
If the performance alternative is
selected, the required PCE usage percent
reduction levels will be prescribed in
the final rule. The percent reductions
would be selected to be equivalent to
the emission reductions achieved by the
technology based MACT requirements
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and the residual risk requirements
adopted in the final rule.
The performance-based alternative
would apply only to existing major
sources. New major sources are not
eligible for these performance-based
alternative standards because no
baseline PCE data exists for determining
a required emission reduction level.
This alternative also would not be
practicable for area sources because the
proposed rule has no process vent
requirements for existing area sources.
The only requirements for existing area
sources are the ban on transfer
machines, enhanced LDAR, and the
operating requirements. Moreover, most
area sources operate only one dry
cleaning machine.
We solicit comments on whether such
an approach would be appropriate for
major sources. We would also like
comments from affected sources
regarding the likelihood that they would
select this alternative standard. In
addition, we welcome comments on
other options for a performance-based
alternative. Please include in your
comments how the option ensures
equivalent emission reductions to the
proposed equipment standards and how
the option could be enforced, including
any recordkeeping needed.
D. Environmental Impacts of PCE
Emissions
As discussed above, due to the large
margin of exposures relative to known
thresholds, risks to mammals from PCE
inhalation are likely insignificant. Also,
the scarcity of data makes it difficult to
identify any potential for adverse
ecological impacts to plant life from
PCE emissions from dry cleaners due to
conversion to TCAA. While we have no
direct evidence that this will present a
significant ecological risk, we
nonetheless, invite public comment and
solicit additional scientific information
on this issue.
E. Additional Time for Complying With
Provisions for Transfer Machines
As discussed in section III.H of this
preamble, we are proposing to eliminate
the use of transfer machines. Per section
112(f) of the CAA, sources have 90 days
to comply with health based standards.
However, we are soliciting comment on
what additional time beyond the 90-day
compliance period, if any, might be
necessary for area sources to replace
existing transfer machines with dry-todry machines, and on whether, if EPA
were to grant area sources replacing
transfer machines additional
compliance time in the final rule, any
further steps should be taken by these
area sources before achieving
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compliance to assure that the health of
persons will be protected from
imminent endangerment, consistent
with section 112(f)(4)(B) of the CAA.
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866, Regulatory
Planning and Review
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR
51735, October 4, 1993), EPA must
determine whether the regulatory action
is ‘‘significant’’ and, therefore, subject to
OMB review and the requirements of
the Executive Order. The Executive
Order defines ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ as one that is likely to result in
a rule that may:
(1) Have an annual effect on the
economy of $100 million or more, or
adversely affect in a material way the
economy, a sector of the economy,
productivity, competition, jobs, the
environment, public health or safety, or
State, local, or tribal governments or
communities;
(2) create a serious inconsistency or
otherwise interfere with an action taken
or planned by another agency;
(3) materially alter the budgetary
impact of entitlements, grants, user fees,
or loan programs or the rights and
obligations of recipients thereof; or
(4) raise novel legal or policy issues
arising out of legal mandates, the
President’s priorities, or the principles
set forth in the Executive Order.
Pursuant to the terms of Executive
Order 12866, OMB has determined that
it considers this proposed rule a
‘‘significant regulatory action’’ within
the meaning of the Executive Order. The
EPA has submitted this action to OMB
for review. Changes made in response to
OMB suggestions or recommendations
will be documented in the public
record.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection
requirements in this proposed rule have
been submitted for approval to the OMB
under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44
U.S.C. 3501, et seq. The Information
Collection Request (ICR) document
prepared by EPA has been assigned EPA
ICR number 1415.06 and OMB Control
Number 2060–0234.
The 2005 proposed revisions to the
Dry Cleaning NESHAP contain
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements beyond the recordkeeping
and reporting requirements that were
promulgated on September 22, 1993.
Owners or operators will continue to
keep records and submit required
reports to us or the delegated State
regulatory authority. Notifications,
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reports, and records are essential in
determining compliance and are
required, in general, of all sources
subject to the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP. Owners or operators subject
to the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP
continue to maintain records and retain
them for at least 5 years following the
date of such measurements, reports, and
records. Information collection
requirements that were promulgated on
September 22, 1993 in the Dry Cleaning
NESHAP prior to the 2005 proposed
amendments, as well the NESHAP
General Provisions (40 CFR part 63,
subpart A), which are mandatory for all
owners or operators subject to national
emission standards, are documented in
EPA ICR No. 1415.05.
The information collection
requirements described here are only
those notification, recordkeeping, and
reporting requirements that are
contained in the 2005 proposed
revisions to the Dry Cleaning NESHAP.
To comply with the 2005 proposed
revisions to the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP, owners or operators of dry
cleaning facilities would read
instructions to determine how they
would be affected. All sources would
begin an enhanced leak detection and
repair program that requires a handheld
portable monitor. Major source facilities
would purchase a PCE gas analyzer and
area sources would purchase a
halogenated hydrocarbon leak detector.
Owners and operators would incur the
capital/startup cost of purchasing the
monitors, plus ongoing annual
operation and maintenance costs. The
total capital/startup cost for this ICR is
$5,049,000. Annual operation and
maintenance cost would be $552,825.
Owners and operators of major and
area sources would conduct enhanced
leak detection and repair and keep
monthly records of enhanced leak
detection and repair events.
Approximately 28,000 existing area
sources and 15 existing major sources
are subject to the proposed rule and are
subject to the 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP. We estimate that an average of
2,330 new area sources per year will
become subject to the regulation in the
next 3 years, but that the overall number
of facilities will remain constant as the
new owners will take over old existing
facilities. No new major sources are
expected. The estimated annual labor
cost for major and area sources to
comply with the 2005 proposed rule is
approximately $3.9 million.
The recordkeeping and reporting
requirements are specifically authorized
by CAA section 114 (42 U.S.C. 7414).
All information submitted to us
pursuant to the recordkeeping and
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reporting requirements for which a
claim of confidentiality is made is
safeguarded according to our policies
set forth in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B.
Burden means the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons
to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose
or provide information to or for a
Federal agency. This includes the time
needed to review instructions; develop,
acquire, install, and utilize technology
and systems for the purposes of
collecting, validating, and verifying
information, processing and
maintaining information, and disclosing
and providing information; adjust the
existing ways to comply with any
previously applicable instructions and
requirements; train personnel to be able
to respond to a collection of
information; search data sources;
complete and review the collection of
information; and transmit or otherwise
disclose the information.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. The OMB control
numbers for EPA’s regulations in 40
CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
To comment on EPA’s need for this
information, the accuracy of the
provided burden estimates, and any
suggested methods for minimizing
respondent burden, including the use of
automated collection techniques, EPA
has established a public docket for the
proposed rule, which includes this ICR,
under Docket ID No. OAR–2005–0155.
Submit any comments related to the ICR
for the proposed rule to EPA and OMB.
See the ADDRESSES section at the
beginning of today’s notice for where to
submit comments to EPA. Send
comments to OMB at the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
OMB, 725 17th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk
Office for EPA. Since OMB is required
to make a decision concerning the ICR
between 30 and 60 days after December
21, 2005, a comment to OMB is best
assured of having its full effect if OMB
receives it by January 20, 2006. The
final rule will respond to any OMB or
public comments on the information
collection requirements contained in the
proposed rule.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
generally requires an agency to prepare
a regulatory flexibility analysis of any
rule subject to notice and comment
rulemaking requirements under the
Administrative Procedure Act or any
other statute unless the agency certifies
that the rule will not have a significant
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economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. Small entities
include small businesses, small
organizations, and small governmental
jurisdictions.
For the purposes of assessing the
impacts of today’s proposed rule on
small entities, small entity is defined as:
(1) A small business based on the
following Small Business
Administration (SBA) size standards,
which are based on annual sales
receipts: NAICS 812310—Coin-Operated
Laundries and Dry Cleaners-$6.0
million; NAICS 812320—Dry Cleaning
and Laundry Services (Except CoinOperated)-$4.0 million; NAICS
812332—Industrial Launderers-$12.0
million; (2) a small governmental
jurisdiction that is a government of a
city, county, town, school district or
special district with a population of less
than 50,000; and (3) a small
organization that is any not-for-profit
enterprise which is independently
owned and operated and is not
dominant in its field. Under these
definitions, over 99 percent of
commercial dry cleaning firms are
small. For more information, refer to
https://www.sba.gov/size/
sizetable2002.html. The economic
impacts of the regulatory alternatives
were analyzed based on consumption of
PCE, but are described in terms of
comparing the compliance costs to dry
cleaning revenues at affected firms. For
more detail, see the current Economic
Impact Analysis in the public docket.
After considering the economic
impacts of today’s proposed rule on
small entities, I certify that the proposed
rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. This
certification is based on the economic
impact of the proposed rule to affected
small entities in the entire PCE dry
cleaning source category and considers
the economic impact associated with
both proposed options for co-residential
facilities. Over 98 percent of the
approximately 20,000 small entities
directly regulated by the proposed rule,
including both major and area sources,
are expected to have costs of less than
1 percent of sales. The cost impacts for
all regulated small entities range from
cost savings to less than 1.9 percent of
sales. The small entities directly
regulated by the proposed rule are dry
cleaning businesses within the NAICS
codes 812310, 812320, and 812332. We
have determined that all of the major
sources affected by the proposed rule
are owned by businesses within NAICS
812332. The proposed rule is expected
to affect 14 ultimate parent businesses
that would be regulated as major
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sources. Eight of the parent businesses
are small according to the SBA small
business size standard. None of the
eight firms would have an annualized
cost of more than 1 percent of sales
associated with meeting the
requirements for major sources (option
I noted earlier in this preamble).
We have determined that virtually all
of the affected small businesses that
own area source dry cleaners are in
NAICS 812320. Small businesses
complying with the proposed area
source requirements (area source option
I described earlier in this preamble) are
expected to have the following impacts.
Over 98 percent of the approximately
20,000 small entities owning area
sources directly regulated by the
proposed rule, are expected to have
costs of less than 1 percent of sales. The
one-time cost of $250 for purchasing a
halogenated hydrocarbon detector is
less than 0.10 percent of the average
annual revenues for dry cleaning
businesses in NAICS 812320, and there
are minimal annualized costs associated
with a detector’s use. Of the nearly 200
small businesses that would have to
replace their transfer machines (or 1
percent of the total number of affected
small entities), most of these businesses
would experience an annual cost
savings and the others would have
compliance costs of less than 1.2
percent of sales. Of the remaining 200
affected small businesses (or 1 percent
of the total number of affected small
entities), all of which are owners of coresidential facilities, the compliance
costs based on the first proposed option
for co-residential area sources range
from 0.9 to 1.9 percent of sales. For the
second proposed option for coresidential area sources, there are 240
small firms that will be affected, and
these firms will have compliance costs
ranging from 0.4 to 1.9 percent of sales.
Cost impacts associated with the
proposed decision for major sources are
presented in Section III.E of this
preamble. These impacts are also
presented for area sources in Section
III.H, and for co-residential sources in
Section III.J. These impacts are detailed
in the BID in the public docket as
memos 5 through 7. For more
information on the small entity
economic impacts associated with the
proposed decisions for dry cleaners
affected by today’s action, please refer to
the Economic Impact and Small
Business Analyses in the public docket.
Although the proposed rule would
not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small
entities, we nonetheless tried to reduce
the impact of the proposed rule on small
entities. When developing the revised
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standards, we took special steps to
ensure that the burdens imposed on
small entities were minimal. We
conducted several meetings with
industry trade associations to discuss
regulatory options and the
corresponding burden on industry, such
as recordkeeping and reporting.
Following publication of the proposed
rule, copies of the Federal Register
notice and, in some cases, background
documents, will be publically available
to all industries, organizations, and
trade associations that have had input
during the regulation development, as
well as State and local agencies. We
continue to be interested in the
potential impacts of the proposed rule
on small entities and welcome
comments on issues related to such
impacts.
informing, educating, and advising
small governments on compliance with
the regulatory requirements.
We have determined that the
proposed rule does not contain a
Federal mandate that may result in
expenditures of $100 million or more
for State, local, and tribal governments,
in the aggregate, or to the private sector
in any 1 year. Thus, the proposed rule
is not subject to the requirements of
sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA.
EPA has determined that today’s
proposed rule contains no regulatory
requirements that might significantly or
uniquely affect small governments
because it contains no requirements that
apply to such governments or impose
obligations upon them. Therefore, the
proposed rule is not subject to section
203 of the UMRA.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public
Law 104–4, establishes requirements for
Federal agencies to assess the effects of
their regulatory actions on State, local,
and tribal governments and the private
sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA,
EPA generally must prepare a written
statement, including a cost-benefit
analysis, for proposed and final rules
with ‘‘Federal mandates’’ that may
result in expenditures to State, local,
and tribal governments, in the aggregate,
or to the private sector, of $100 million
or more in any 1 year. Before
promulgating an EPA rule for which a
written statement is needed, section 205
of the UMRA generally requires EPA to
identify and consider a reasonable
number of regulatory alternatives and
adopt the least costly, most costeffective, or least burdensome
alternative that achieves the objectives
of the rule. The provisions of section
205 do not apply when they are
inconsistent with applicable law.
Moreover, section 205 allows EPA to
adopt an alternative other than the least
costly, most cost-effective, or least
burdensome alternative if the
Administrator publishes with the final
rule an explanation why that alternative
was not adopted. Before EPA establishes
any regulatory requirements that may
significantly or uniquely affect small
governments, including tribal
governments, it must have developed
under section 203 of the UMRA a small
government agency plan. The plan must
provide for notifying potentially
affected small governments, enabling
officials of affected small governments
to have meaningful and timely input in
the development of EPA regulatory
proposals with significant Federal
intergovernmental mandates, and
E. Executive Order 13132, Federalism
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255,
August 10, 1999) requires EPA to
develop an accountable process to
ensure ‘‘meaningful and timely input by
State and local officials in the
development of regulatory policies that
have federalism implications.’’ ‘‘Policies
that have federalism implications’’ is
defined in the Executive Order to
include regulations that have
‘‘substantial direct effects on the States,
on the relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government.’’
The proposed rule does not have
federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the States,
on the relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government, as specified in
Executive Order 13132. None of the
affected dry cleaning facilities are
owned or operated by State or local
governments. Thus, Executive Order
13132 does not apply to the proposed
rule. In the spirit of Executive Order
13132, and consistent with EPA policy
to promote communications between
EPA and State and local governments,
EPA specifically solicits comment on
the proposed rule from State and local
officials.
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F. Executive Order 13175, Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000) requires EPA to
develop an accountable process to
ensure ‘‘meaningful and timely input by
tribal officials in the development of
regulatory policies that have tribal
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implications.’’ The proposed rule does
not have tribal implications as specified
in Executive Order 13175. It will not
have substantial direct effects on tribal
governments, on the relationship
between the Federal government and
Indian tribes, or on the distribution of
power and responsibilities between the
Federal government and Indian tribes.
No tribal governments own dry cleaning
facilities subject to the proposed
standards for dry cleaning facilities.
Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not
apply to the proposed rule. EPA
specifically solicits additional comment
on this proposed rule from tribal
officials.
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G. Executive Order 13045, Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
and Safety Risks
Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) applies to any rule that:
(1) Is determined to be ‘‘economically
significant’’ as defined under Executive
Order 12866, and (2) concerns an
environmental health or safety risk that
EPA has reason to believe may have a
disproportionate effect on children. If
the regulatory action meets both criteria,
the Agency must evaluate the
environmental health or safety risk of
the planned rule on children, and
explain why the planned regulation is
preferable to other potentially effective
and reasonably feasible alternatives
considered by the Agency.
The proposed rule is not subject to the
Executive Order because it is not
economically significant as defined in
Executive Order 12866, and because the
Agency does not have reason to believe
the environmental health or safety risks
addressed by this action present a
disproportionate risk to children. This
conclusion is based on our assessment
of the information on PCE effects on
human health and exposures associated
with dry cleaner operations.
H. Executive Order 13211, Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
The proposed rule is not a
‘‘significant energy action’’ as defined in
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355,
May 22, 2001) because it is not likely to
have a significant adverse effect on the
supply, distribution, or use of energy.
The proposed rule would have a
negligible impact on energy
consumption because less than 1
percent of the industry would have to
install additional emission control
equipment to comply. The cost of
energy distribution should not be
affected by the proposed rule at all since
the standards do not affect energy
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distribution facilities. We also expect
that there would be no impact on the
import of foreign energy supplies, and
no other adverse outcomes are expected
to occur with regards to energy supplies.
Further, we have concluded that the
proposed rule is not likely to have any
significant adverse energy effects.
I. National Technology Transfer
Advancement Act
Section 112(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act (NTTAA) of 1995 (Public Law No.
104–113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note),
directs EPA to use voluntary consensus
standards (VCS) in its regulatory
activities unless to do so would be
inconsistent with applicable law or
otherwise impractical. VCS are
technical standards (e.g., materials
specifications, test methods, sampling
procedures, and business practices) that
are developed or adopted by VCS
bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA to
provide Congress, through OMB,
explanations when the Agency decides
not to use available and applicable VCS.
The proposed revisions to the 1993
NESHAP for PCE dry cleaners do not
include requirements for technical
standards beyond what the NESHAP
requires. Therefore, the requirements of
the NTTAA do not apply to this action.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 63
Environmental Protection, Air
pollution control, Hazardous
substances, Reporting and
Recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: December 9, 2005.
Stephen L. Johnson,
Administrator.
For the reasons stated in the
preamble, title 40, chapter I of the Code
of Federal Regulations is proposed to be
amended as follows:
PART 63—[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 63
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
Subpart M—[Amended]
2. Section 63.320 is amended by
revising paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e)
to read as follows:
§ 63.320
Applicability.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) The compliance date for a new dry
cleaning system depends on the date
that construction or reconstruction
commences.
(1) Each dry cleaning system that
commences construction or
reconstruction on or after December 9,
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1991 and before December 21, 2005,
shall be in compliance with the
provisions of this subpart except
§ 63.322(o) beginning on September 22,
1993 or immediately upon startup,
whichever is later, except for dry
cleaning systems complying with
section 112(i)(2) of the Clean Air Act;
and shall be in compliance with the
provisions of § 63.322(o) beginning on
[90 DAYS AFTER DATE FINAL RULE
IS PUBLISHED IN THE Federal
Register] or immediately upon startup,
whichever is later, except as provided
by § 63.6(b)(4).
(2) Each dry cleaning system that
commences construction or
reconstruction on or after December 21,
2005 and before [DATE FINAL RULE IS
PUBLISHED IN THE Federal Register],
shall be in compliance with the
provisions of this subpart except
§ 63.322(o) immediately upon startup,
and shall be in compliance with the
provisions of § 63.322(o) beginning on
[DATE FINAL RULE IS PUBLISHED IN
THE Federal Register] or immediately
upon startup, whichever is later.
(3) Each dry cleaning system that
commences construction or
reconstruction on or after [DATE FINAL
RULE IS PUBLISHED IN THE Federal
Register], shall be in compliance with
provisions of this subpart, including
§ 63.322(o) immediately upon startup.
(c) Each dry cleaning system that
commenced construction or
reconstruction before December 9, 1991,
and each new transfer machine system
and its ancillary equipment that
commenced construction or
reconstruction on or after December 9,
1991 and before September 22, 1993,
shall comply with §§ 63.322(c), (d), (i),
(j), (k), (l), and (m); 63.323(d); and
63.324(a), (b), (d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(3), (d)(4),
and (e) beginning on December 20,
1993, and shall comply with other
provisions of this subpart except
§ 63.322(o) by September 23, 1996; and
shall comply with § 63.322(o) by [DATE
90 DAYS AFTER DATE FINAL RULE IS
PUBLISHED IN THE Federal Register].
(d) Each existing dry-to-dry machine
and its ancillary equipment located in a
dry cleaning facility that includes only
dry-to-dry machines, and each existing
transfer machine system and its
ancillary equipment, and each new
transfer machine system and its
ancillary equipment installed between
December 9, 1991 and September 22,
1993, as well as each existing dry-to-dry
machine and its ancillary equipment,
located in a dry cleaning facility that
includes both transfer machine
system(s) and dry-to-dry machine(s) is
exempt from §§ 63.322, 63.323, and
63.324, except paragraphs 63.322(c), (d),
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(i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (o)(1), and (o)(4);
63.323(d); and 63.324 (a), (b), (d)(1),
(d)(2), (d)(3), (d)(4), and (e) if the total
perchloroethylene consumption of the
dry cleaning facility is less than 530
liters (140 gallons) per year.
Consumption is determined according
to § 63.323(d).
(e) Each existing transfer machine
system and its ancillary equipment, and
each new transfer machine system and
its ancillary equipment installed
between December 9, 1991 and
September 22, 1993, located in a dry
cleaning facility that includes only
transfer machine system(s), is exempt
from §§ 63.322, 63.323, and 63.324,
except paragraphs 63.322(c), (d), (i), (j),
(k), (l), (m), (o)(1), and (o)(4), 63.323(d),
and 63.324 (a), (b), (d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(3),
(d)(4), and (e) if the perchloroethylene
consumption of the dry cleaning facility
is less than 760 liters (200 gallons) per
year. Consumption is determined
according to § 63.323(d).
*
*
*
*
*
3. Section 63.321 is amended by
revising the definition of Filter, and
adding in alphabetical order definitions
for Halogenated hydrocarbon detector,
Perchloroethylene gas analyzer,
Residence, and Vapor leak to read as
follows:
§ 63.321
Definitions.
erjones on PROD1PC68 with PROPOSALS2
*
*
*
*
*
Filter means a porous device through
which perchloroethylene is passed to
remove contaminants in suspension.
Examples include, but are not limited
to, lint filter, button trap, cartridge filter,
tubular filter, regenerative filter,
prefilter, polishing filter, and spin disc
filter.
Halogenated hydrocarbon detector
means a portable device capable of
detecting vapor concentrations of
perchloroethylene of 25 parts per
million by volume and indicating a
concentration of 25 parts per million by
volume or greater by emitting an audible
or visual signal that varies as the
concentration changes.
*
*
*
*
*
Perchloroethylene gas analyzer means
a flame ionization detector,
photoionization detector, or infrared
analyzer capable of detecting vapor
concentrations of perchloroethylene of
25 parts per million by volume.
*
*
*
*
*
Residence means any dwelling or
housing in which people reside
excluding short-term housing that is
occupied by the same person for a
period of less than 180 days (such as a
hotel room).
*
*
*
*
*
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15:27 Dec 20, 2005
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Vapor leak means a
perchloroethylene vapor concentration
exceeding 25 parts per million by
volume (50 parts per million by volume
as methane) as indicated by a
halogenated hydrocarbon detector or
perchloroethylene gas analyzer.
*
*
*
*
*
4. Section 63.322 is amended by
revising paragraphs (e)(3), (k)
introductory text, and (m), and adding
paragraph (o) to read as follows:
§ 63.322
Standards.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) * * *
(3) Shall prevent air drawn into the
dry cleaning machine when the door of
the machine is open from passing
through the refrigerated condenser.
*
*
*
*
*
(k) The owner or operator of a dry
cleaning system shall inspect the system
weekly for perceptible leaks while the
dry cleaning system is operating.
Inspection with a halogenated
hydrocarbon detector or
perchloroethylene gas analyzer also
fulfills the requirement for inspection
for perceptible leaks. The following
components shall be inspected:
*
*
*
*
*
(m) The owner or operator of a dry
cleaning system shall repair all leaks
detected under paragraph (k) or (o)(1) of
this section within 24 hours. If repair
parts must be ordered, either a written
or verbal order for those parts shall be
initiated within 2 working days of
detecting such a leak. Such repair parts
shall be installed within 5 working days
after receipt.
*
*
*
*
*
(o) Additional requirements:
(1) The owner or operator of a dry
cleaning system shall inspect the
components listed in paragraph (k) of
this section for vapor leaks monthly
while the component is in operation.
(i) Area sources shall conduct the
inspections using a halogenated
hydrocarbon detector or
perchloroethylene gas analyzer that is
operated according to the
manufacturer’s instructions. The
operator shall place the probe inlet at
the surface of each component interface
where leakage could occur and move it
slowly along the interface periphery.
(ii) Major sources shall conduct the
inspections using a perchloroethylene
gas analyzer operated according to EPA
Method 21.
(2) The owner or operator of a dry
cleaning system at any major source
shall route the air-perchloroethylene
gas-vapor stream contained within each
dry cleaning machine through a
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
75905
refrigerated condenser and shall pass
the air-perchloroethylene gas-vapor
stream from inside the dry cleaning
machine drum through a carbon
adsorber or equivalent control device
immediately before or as the door of the
dry cleaning machine is opened. The
carbon adsorber must be desorbed in
accordance with manufacturer’s
instructions.
(3) The owner or operator of each dry
cleaning system installed after
December 21, 2005 at an area source
shall route the air-perchloroethylene
gas-vapor stream contained within each
dry cleaning machine through a
refrigerated condenser and pass the airperchloroethylene gas-vapor stream
from inside the dry cleaning machine
drum through a carbon adsorber or
equivalent control device immediately
before the door of the dry cleaning
machine is opened. The carbon adsorber
must be desorbed in accordance with
manufacturer’s instructions.
(4) The owner or operator of any dry
cleaning system shall eliminate any
emission of perchloroethylene during
the transfer of articles between the
washer and the dryer(s) or reclaimer(s).
(5) The owner or operator shall
eliminate any emission of
perchloroethylene from any dry
cleaning system that is installed after
December 21, 2005 and that is located
in a building with a residence.
5. Section 63.323 is amended by
revising paragraphs (b) introductory
text, (b)(1), (b)(2), and (c) to read as
follows:
§ 63.323
Test methods and monitoring.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) When a carbon adsorber is used to
comply with § 63.322(a)(2) or exhaust is
passed through a carbon adsorber
immediately upon machine door
opening to comply with § 63.322(b)(3)
or § 63.323(o)(2), the owner or operator
shall measure the concentration of
perchloroethylene in the exhaust of the
carbon adsorber weekly with a
colorimetric detector tube or
perchloroethylene gas analyzer. The
measurement shall be taken while the
dry cleaning machine is venting to that
carbon adsorber at the end of the last
dry cleaning cycle prior to desorption of
that carbon adsorber or removal of the
activated carbon to determine that the
perchloroethylene concentration in the
exhaust is equal to or less than 100 parts
per million by volume. The owner or
operator shall:
(1) Use a colorimetric detector tube or
perchloroethylene gas analyzer designed
to measure a concentration of 100 parts
per million by volume of
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erjones on PROD1PC68 with PROPOSALS2
perchloroethylene in air to an accuracy
of ±25 parts per million by volume; and
(2) Use the colorimetric detector tube
or perchloroethylene gas analyzer
according to the manufacturer’s
instructions; and
*
*
*
*
*
(c) If the air-perchloroethylene gas
vapor stream is passed through a carbon
adsorber prior to machine door opening
to comply with § 63.322(b)(3) or
§ 63.323(o)(2), the owner or operator of
an affected facility shall measure the
concentration of perchloroethylene in
the dry cleaning machine drum at the
end of the dry cleaning cycle weekly
with a colorimetric detector tube or
perchloroethylene gas analyzer to
determine that the perchloroethylene
concentration is equal to or less than
300 parts per million by volume. The
owner or operator shall:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:27 Dec 20, 2005
Jkt 208001
(1) Use a colorimetric detector tube or
perchloroethylene gas analyzer designed
to measure a concentration of 300 parts
per million by volume of
perchloroethylene in air to an accuracy
of ±75 parts per million by volume; and
(2) Use the colorimetric detector tube
or perchloroethylene gas analyzer
according to the manufacturer’s
instructions; and
(3) Conduct the weekly monitoring by
inserting the colorimetric detector or
perchloroethylene gas analyzer tube into
the open space above the articles at the
rear of the dry cleaning machine drum
immediately upon opening the dry
cleaning machine door.
*
*
*
*
*
6. Section 63.324 is amended by
revising paragraphs (d)(3), (d)(5), and
(d)(6) to read as follows:
PO 00000
§ 63.324 Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) * * *
(3) The dates when the dry cleaning
system components are inspected for
leaks, as specified in § 63.322(k), (l), or
(o)(1), and the name or location of dry
cleaning system components where
leaks are detected;
*
*
*
*
*
(5) The date and temperature sensor
monitoring results, as specified in
§ 63.323 if a refrigerated condenser is
used to comply with § 63.322(a) or (b);
and
(6) The date and monitoring results,
as specified in § 63.323, if a carbon
adsorber is used to comply with
§ 63.322(a)(2), (b)(3), or (o)(2).
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 05–24071 Filed 12–20–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75884-75906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24071]
[[Page 75883]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Part II
Environmental Protection Agency
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
40 CFR Part 63
National Perchloroethylene Air Emission Standards for Dry Cleaning
Facilities; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 21, 2005 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 75884]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 63
[OAR-2005-0155; FRL-8008-4]
RIN 2060-AK18
National Perchloroethylene Air Emission Standards for Dry
Cleaning Facilities
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing revised standards to limit emissions of
perchloroethylene (PCE) from existing and new dry cleaning facilities.
In 1993, EPA promulgated technology-based emission standards to control
emissions of PCE from dry cleaning facilities. As required by section
112(d)(6) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA has reviewed the standards
and is proposing revisions to take into account new developments in
production practices, processes, and control technologies. In addition,
pursuant to CAA section 112(f), EPA has evaluated the remaining risk to
public health and the environment following implementation of the
technology-based rule and is proposing more stringent standards in
order to protect public health with an ample margin of safety. The
proposed standards are expected to provide further reductions of PCE
beyond the 1993 national emission standards for hazardous air
pollutants (NESHAP), based on application of equipment and work
practice standards.
DATES: Comments. Comments must be received on or before February 6,
2006.
Public Hearing. A public hearing is currently scheduled for January
5, 2006. If this date falls on a weekend, the hearing will be held the
next business day. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on the
information collection provisions must be received by OMB on or before
January 20, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No.
OAR-2005-0155, by one of the following methods:
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
Agency Web site: https://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET,
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, will be replaced by
an enhanced Federal-wide electronic docket management and comment
system located at https://www.regulations.gov. When that occurs, you
will be redirected to that site to access the docket and submit
comments. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No.
OAR-2005-0155.
Fax: (202) 566-1741, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2005-
0155.
Mail: U.S. Postal Service, send comments to: EPA Docket
Center (6102T), Attention Docket ID No. OAR 2005-0155, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total
of two copies. In addition, please mail a copy of your comments on the
information collection provisions to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attn: Desk
Officer for EPA, 725 17th St., NW., Washington, DC 20503.
Hand Delivery: In person or by courier, deliver your
comments to: EPA Docket Center (6102T), Attention Docket ID No. OAR-
2005-0155, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., EPA West Building, Room B-
108, Washington, DC 20004. Such deliveries are only accepted during the
Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be
made for deliveries of boxed information. Please include a total of two
copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. OAR-2005-0155.
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
public docket without change and may be made available online at http:/
/www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be confidential
business information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through https://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. Send or deliver information identified as CBI to only the
following address: Mr. Roberto Morales, OAQPS Document Control Officer,
EPA (C404-02), Attention Docket ID No. OAR 2005-0155, Research Triangle
Park, NC 27711. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that
you claim to be CBI. The https://www.regulations.gov Web site is an
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without
going through https://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at https://www.epa.gov/
epahome/dockets.htm or see the Federal Register of May 31, 2002 (67 FR
38102).
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the https://
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in https://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center,
Docket ID No. OAR 2005-0155, EPA West Building, Room B-102, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the EPA
Docket Center is (202) 566-1742. A reasonable fee may be charged for
copying docket materials.
Public Hearing: If a public hearing is held, it will begin at 10
a.m. and will be held at EPA's campus at 109 T.W. Alexander Drive,
Research Triangle Park, NC, or at an alternate facility nearby. Persons
interested in presenting oral testimony or inquiring as to whether a
public hearing is to be held should contact Ms. Janet Eck, Coatings and
Consumer Products Group, Emission Standards Division, EPA (C539-03),
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-7946, at least 2
days in advance of the hearing. If no one contacts Ms. Eck in advance
of the hearing with a request to present oral testimony at the hearing,
we will cancel the hearing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about the proposed rule,
contact Ms. Rhea Jones, EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, Emission Standards Division, Coatings and Consumer Products
Group (C539-03), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711;
[[Page 75885]]
telephone number (919) 541-2940; fax number (919) 541-5689; e-mail
address: jones.rhea@epa.gov. For questions on the residual risk
analysis, contact Mr. Neal Fann, EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards, Emission Standards Division, Risk and Exposure
Assessment Group (C404-01), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone
number (919) 541-0209; fax number (919) 541-0840; e-mail address:
fann.neal@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulated Entities. Categories and entities potentially regulated
by the proposed rule are industrial and commercial PCE dry cleaners.
The proposed rule affects the following categories of sources:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category NAICS 1 code Examples of potentially regulated entities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coin-operated Laundries and Dry 812310 Dry-to-dry machines, Transfer machines.
Cleaners.
Dry Cleaning and Laundry Services 812320 Dry-to-dry machines, Transfer machines.
(except coin-operated).
Industrial Launderers.............. 812332 Dry-to-dry machines, Transfer machines.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ North American Industry Classification System.
This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by the
proposed rule. To determine whether your facility is regulated by the
proposed rule, you should examine the applicability criteria in 40 CFR
63.320 of subpart M (1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP). If you have any
questions regarding the applicability of the proposed rule to a
particular entity, contact the person listed in the preceding FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Submitting CBI. Do not submit information which you claim to be CBI
to EPA through regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all
of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a
disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or
CD-ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-
ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information marked as CBI will not be disclosed except in accordance
with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
If you have any questions about CBI or the procedures for claiming
CBI, please consult either of the persons identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section. Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to being
available in the docket, an electronic copy of the proposed rule is
also available on the WWW. Following the Administrator's signature, a
copy of the proposed rule will be posted on EPA's Technology Transfer
Network (TTN) policy and guidance page for newly proposed or
promulgated rules at https://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg. The TTN provides
information and technology exchange in various areas of air pollution
control.
Outline. The information presented in this preamble is organized as
follows:
I. Background
A. What is the statutory authority for regulating hazardous air
pollutants (HAP)?
B. What are PCE dry cleaning facilities?
C. What are the health effects of PCE?
D. What does the 1993 NESHAP require?
II. Summary of Proposed Rule
A. What are the proposed requirements for major sources?
B. What are the proposed requirements for area sources?
C. What are the proposed requirements for transfer machines at
major and area sources?
III. Rationale for the Proposed Rule
A. What is our approach for developing residual risk standards?
B. How did we estimate residual risk?
C. What are the residual risks from major sources?
D. What are the options for reducing risk, their costs, and risk
reduction impacts for major sources?
E. What is our proposed decision on acceptable risk and ample
margin of safety for major sources?
F. What are the risks from typical area sources?
G. What are the options for reducing risk, their costs, and risk
reduction impacts for typical area sources?
H. What is our proposal for addressing the remaining emissions
for typical area sources?
I. What are the risks from co-residential area sources?
J. What is our proposed decision on co-residential area sources?
K. What determination is EPA proposing pursuant to review of the
1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP under CAA section 112(d)(6)?
L. What additional changes are we making to the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP?
IV. Solicitation of Public Comments
A. Additional Requirements for Highest Risk Facilities
B. Requirement for PCE Sensor and Lockout as New Source MACT for
Major Sources
C. Alternative Performance-based Standard for Existing Major
Sources
D. Environmental Impacts of PCE Emissions
E. Additional Time for Complying with Provisions for Transfer
Machines
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination with
Indian Tribal Governments
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children from
Environmental Health and Safety Risks
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act
I. Background
A. What is the statutory authority for regulating hazardous air
pollutants (HAP)?
Section 112 of the CAA establishes a two-stage regulatory process
to address emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from stationary
sources. In the first stage, after EPA has identified categories of
sources emitting one or more of the HAP listed in the CAA, section
112(d) calls for us to promulgate national technology-based emission
standards for sources within those categories that emit or have the
potential to emit any single HAP at a rate of 10 tons or more per year
or any combination of HAP at a rate of 25 tons or more per year (known
as major sources), as well as for certain area sources emitting less
than those amounts. These technology-based standards must reflect the
maximum reductions of HAP achievable (after considering cost, energy
requirements, and non-air health and environmental impacts) and are
commonly referred to as maximum achievable control technology (MACT)
standards.
For area sources, CAA section 112(d)(5) provides that the standards
may reflect generally available control technology or management
practices in lieu of MACT, and are commonly
[[Page 75886]]
referred to as generally available control technology (GACT) standards.
We published MACT and GACT standards for PCE dry cleaning facilities on
September 22, 1993 at 58 FR 49376. The EPA is then required, pursuant
to section 112(d)(6), to review these technology-based standards and to
revise them ``as necessary, taking into account developments in
practices, processes and control technologies,'' no less frequently
than every 8 years.
The second stage in standard-setting is described in section 112(f)
of the CAA. This provision requires, first, that EPA prepare a Report
to Congress discussing (among other things) methods of calculating risk
posed (or potentially posed) by sources after implementation of the
MACT standards, the public health significance of those risks, the
means and costs of controlling them, actual health effects to persons
in proximity to emitting sources, and recommendations as to legislation
regarding such remaining risk. The EPA prepared and submitted this
report (Residual Risk Report to Congress, EPA-453/R-99-001) in March
1999. The Congress did not act on any of the recommendations in the
report, thereby triggering the second stage of the standard-setting
process, the residual risk phase.
Section 112(f)(2) of the CAA requires us to determine for each
section 112(d) source category whether the MACT standards protect
public health with an ample margin of safety. If the MACT standards for
HAP ``classified as a known, probable, or possible human carcinogen do
not reduce lifetime excess cancer risks to the individual most exposed
to emissions from a source in the category or subcategory to less than
1-in-1-million,'' EPA must promulgate residual risk standards for the
source category (or subcategory) as necessary to protect public health
with an ample margin of safety. The EPA must also adopt more stringent
standards if required to prevent an adverse environmental effect
(defined in section 112(a)(7) as ``any significant and widespread
adverse effect * * * to wildlife, aquatic life, or natural resources *
* *.''), but must consider cost, energy, safety, and other relevant
factors in doing so.
B. What are PCE dry cleaning facilities?
Dry cleaners use PCE in a dry cleaning machine to clean all types
of garments, including clothes, gloves, leather garments, blankets, and
absorbent materials. There are approximately 28,000 PCE dry cleaning
facilities in the United States. Of the 28,000 dry cleaners, 15 of the
facilities are major sources and the remaining are area sources. Major
source PCE dry cleaners are those that emit 10 tons or more of PCE per
year upon the compliance date of the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP. The 1993
Dry Cleaning NESHAP defines this as facilities that purchase more than
2,100 gallons (gal) of PCE per year (1,800 gal per year if the facility
uses transfer machines). Area sources are typically the common
neighborhood dry cleaner. Area sources were divided into large or small
in the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP, with large area sources defined as
those facilities that use between 140 to 2,100 gal of PCE per year (or
140 to 1,800 gal per year if the facility uses transfer machines).
Small area sources use less than 140 gal per year. Some area sources
are collocated in the same building with residences. In the 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP we did not specifically discuss these sources, but in
this notice we refer to them as co-residential dry cleaners. A co-
residential dry cleaning facility is located in a building in which
people reside. Co-residential facilities are located primarily in urban
areas.
In general, PCE dry cleaning facilities can be classified into
three types: commercial, industrial, and leather. Commercial facilities
typically clean household items such as suits, dresses, coats, pants,
comforters, curtains, and formalwear. Industrial dry cleaners clean
heavily-stained articles such as work gloves, uniforms, mechanics'
overalls, mops, and shop rags. Leather cleaners mostly clean household
leather products like jackets and other leather clothing. The 15 major
sources include eight industrial facilities, five commercial
facilities, and two leather facilities. The five commercial facilities
are each the central plant for a chain of retail storefronts. We do not
expect any new source facilities constructed in the future to be major
sources. Based on the low emission rates of current PCE dry cleaning
machines and the typical business models used in the industrial and
commercial dry cleaning sectors, it is unlikely that any new sources
that are constructed will emit PCE at major levels, or that any
existing area sources will become major sources due to business growth.
Dry cleaning machines can be classified into two types: Transfer
and dry-to-dry. Similar to residential washing machines and dryers,
transfer machines have a unit for washing/extracting and another unit
for drying. Following the wash cycle, PCE-laden articles are manually
transferred from the washer/extractor to the dryer. The transfer of wet
fabrics is the predominant source of PCE emissions in these systems.
Dry-to-dry machines wash, extract, and dry the articles in the same
drum in a single machine, so the articles enter and exit the machine
dry. Because the transfer step is eliminated, dry-to-dry machines have
much lower emissions than transfer machines.
New transfer machines are effectively prohibited at major and area
sources due to the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP requirement that new dry
cleaning systems eliminate any emissions of PCE while transferring
articles from the washer to the dryer. Therefore, transfer machines are
no longer sold. Existing transfer machines are becoming an increasingly
smaller segment of the dry cleaning population as these machines reach
the end of their useful lives and are replaced by dry-to-dry machines.
There are approximately 200 transfer machines currently being used, all
at area sources.
The primary sources of PCE emissions from dry-to-dry machines are
the drying cycle and fugitive emissions from the dry cleaning equipment
(including equipment used to recycle PCE and dispose of PCE-laden
waste). Machines are designed to be either vented or non-vented during
the drying cycle. Approximately 200 dry cleaners (1 percent) use vented
machines, and the remaining facilities use the lower-polluting, non-
vented machines. (The 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP prohibits new dry
cleaning machines at major and area sources that vent to the atmosphere
while the dry cleaning drum is rotating.) In vented machines, the
majority of emissions from the drying cycle are vented outside the
building. In non-vented machines, dryer emissions are released when the
door is opened to remove garments. Currently, the largest sources of
emissions from dry cleaning are from equipment leaks, which come from
leaking valves and seals, and the loading and unloading of garments.
C. What are the health effects of PCE?
The main health effects of PCE are neurological, liver, and kidney
damage following acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation
exposure. Animal studies have reported an increased incidence of liver
cancer in mice via inhalation, kidney cancer and mononuclear cell
leukemia in rats. PCE was considered to be a ``probable carcinogen''
(Group B) when assessed under the previous 1986 Guidelines by the EPA
Science Advisory Board. See the risk characterization memorandum in the
public docket for additional information regarding the health effects
of PCE.
[[Page 75887]]
D. What does the 1993 NESHAP require?
The 1993 NESHAP prescribes a combination of equipment, work
practices, and operational requirements. The requirements for process
controls are summarized in table 1 of this preamble. The 1993 Dry
Cleaning NESHAP defines major and area sources based on the annual PCE
purchases for all machines at a facility. The consumption criterion
(which affects the amount of PCE purchased) varies depending on whether
the facility has dry-to-dry machines only, transfer machines only, or a
combination of both. The affected source is each individual dry
cleaning system.
Table 1.--Summary of the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP Process Controls
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources Annual PCE purchased New \1\ (after 12/9/91) Existing \2\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Major Sources........................ Dry-to-dry ONLY > 2,100 Dry-to-dry machines Dry-to-dry machines:
gal/yr. with a refrigerated must have refrigerated
Transfer ONLY > 1,800 condenser, AND carbon AND condenser.\3\
gal/yr. adsorber operated Transfer machines: must
Dry-to-dry AND Transfer immediately before or be enclosed in a room
> 1,800 gal/yr. as the door is opened. exhausting to a
dedicated carbon
adsorber.
Large Area Sources................... Dry-to-dry ONLY 140 to Dry-to-dry machines Dry-to-dry with
2,100 gal/yr. with a refrigerated machines: must have a
Transfer ONLY 200 to condenser. refrigerated
1,800 gal/yr. condenser.\3\
Dry-to-dry AND Transfer Transfer machines: No
140 to 1,800 gal/yr. controls required.
Small Area Sources................... Dry-to-dry ONLY < 140 Same as large area No controls required.
gal/yr. sources.
Transfer ONLY < 200 gal/
yr.
Dry-to-dry AND Transfer
< 140 gal/yr.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No new transfer machines are allowed after 9/23/93.
\2\ Compliance date = 9/23/96.
\3\ Alternatively, carbon adsorber is allowed only if installed before 9/22/93.
In addition, all sources must comply with certain operating
requirements, including recording PCE purchases, storing PCE and PCE-
containing waste in non-leaking containers, and inspecting for
perceptible leaks. Owners or operators are required to operate and
maintain the control equipment according to procedures specified in the
1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP and to use pollution prevention procedures,
such as good operation and maintenance, for both dry cleaning machines
and auxiliary equipment (such as filter, muck cookers, stills, and
solvent tanks) to prevent liquid and vapor leaks of PCE from these
sources.
II. Summary of Proposed Rule
A. What are the proposed requirements for major sources?
Under the proposed revisions, the requirements for all new and
existing major sources would be the same. The proposed revisions would
require the implementation of an enhanced leak detection and repair
(LDAR) program and the use of dry-to-dry machines that do not vent to
the atmosphere (closed-loop) during any phase of the dry cleaning
cycle. A refrigerated condenser and a secondary carbon adsorber would
be required control equipment for all machines. The secondary carbon
adsorber would control the PCE emissions during the final stage of the
dry cleaning cycle immediately before and as the drum door is opened.
Under the enhanced LDAR program, the facility owner or operator would
have to use a PCE gas analyzer (photoionization detector,
flameionization detector, or infrared analyzer) and perform leak checks
according to EPA Method 21 on a monthly basis. The facility owner or
operator would also be required to continue the weekly perceptible leak
check according to the requirements of the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP.
B. What are the proposed requirements for area sources?
For existing area sources (large and small), the proposed revisions
would require implementation of an enhanced LDAR program and a
prohibition on the use of existing transfer machines.
For new area sources (large and small), the proposed rule would
require implementation of an enhanced LDAR program and use of a non-
vented dry-to-dry machine with a refrigerated condenser and secondary
carbon adsorber. The enhanced LDAR program for area sources would
require facilities to use a halogenated leak detector (instead of a
more costly gas analyzer proposed for major sources) to perform leak
checks on a monthly basis. The facility would also be required to
continue to inspect for perceptible leaks biweekly for small area
sources and weekly for large area sources according to the requirements
of the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP.
For co-residential area sources, we are proposing two options. The
first proposed option would effectively prohibit new PCE sources from
locating in residential buildings by requiring that owners or operators
eliminate PCE emissions from the dry cleaning process. Existing co-
residential sources, under this option, would only be subject to the
same requirements proposed for all other existing area sources (i.e.,
enhanced LDAR and elimination of transfer machines). The second
proposed option would, instead of a prohibition on new co-residential
sources, require that existing and new co-residential sources comply
with standards based on those required by New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in their Title 6 NYCRR Part 232
rules, which include using machines equipped with refrigerated
condensers and carbon adsorbers, enclosed in a vapor barrier to help
prevent exposures to PCE emissions. We expect to select one of these
options, with possible modifications in response to public comments, in
the final rule.
C. What are the proposed requirements for transfer machines at major
and area sources?
The proposed rule would effectively prohibit the use of all
existing transfer machines 90 days from the effective date of the final
rule by requiring owners or operators to eliminate any PCE emissions
from clothing transfer between the washer and dryer. Similarly, the
installation of new transfer machines was prohibited by the
[[Page 75888]]
1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP. We estimate that about 200 transfer machines
remain in use within the population of 28,000 dry cleaning machines
located at area sources (estimated one PCE dry cleaning machine per
facility with approximately 28,000 facilities). Most of these machines
will be at or near the end of their useful economic life by the time
final rule requirements are promulgated. The typical life of a dry
cleaning machine is 10 to 15 years. By the end of 2006, the newest
transfer machines in the industry will be 13 years old.
III. Rationale for the Proposed Rule
A. What is our approach for developing residual risk standards?
Following our initial determination that the individual most
exposed to emissions from the category considered exceeds a 1-in-1
million individual cancer risk, our approach to developing residual
risk standards is based on a two-step determination of acceptable risk
and ample margin of safety. The first step, consideration of acceptable
risk, is only a starting point for the analysis that determines the
final standards. The second step determines an ample margin of safety,
which is the level at which the standards are set.
The terms ``individual most exposed,'' ``acceptable level,'' and
``ample margin of safety'' are not specifically defined in the CAA.
However, CAA section 112(f)(2)(B) refers positively to the
interpretation of these terms in our 1989 rulemaking (54 FR 38044,
September 14, 1989), ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants: Benzene Emissions from Maleic Anhydride Plants,
Ethylbenzene/Styrene Plants, Benzene Storage Vessels, Benzene Equipment
Leaks, and Coke By-Product Recovery Plants (Benzene NESHAP),''
essentially directing us to use the interpretation set out in that
notice \1\ or to utilize approaches affording at least the same level
of protection.\2\ We likewise notified Congress in the Residual Risk
Report that we intended to utilize the Benzene NESHAP approach in
making CAA section 112(f) residual risk determinations.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This reading is confirmed by the Legislative History to CAA
section 112(f); see, e.g., ``A Legislative History of the Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990,'' vol. 1, page 877 (Senate Debate on
Conference Report).
\2\ Legislative History, vol. 1, p. 877, stating that: ``* * *
the managers intend that the Administrator shall interpret this
requirement [to establish standards reflecting an ample margin of
safety] in a manner no less protective of the most exposed
individual than the policy set forth in the Administrator's benzene
regulations * * *.''
\3\ Residual Risk Report to Congress. March 1999. EPA-453/R-99-
001, page ES-11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Benzene NESHAP (54 FR 38044, September 14, 1989), we stated
as an overall objective:
* * * in protecting public health with an ample margin of safety, we
strive to provide maximum feasible protection against risks to
health from hazardous air pollutants by (1) protecting the greatest
number of persons possible to an individual lifetime risk level no
higher than approximately 1 in 1 million; and (2) limiting to no
higher than approximately 1 in 10 thousand [i.e., 100 in 1 million]
the estimated risk that a person living near a facility would have
if he or she were exposed to the maximum pollutant concentrations
for 70 years.
As explained more fully in our Residual Risk Report, these goals
are not ``rigid line[s] of acceptability, but rather broad objectives
to be weighed ``with a series of other health measures and
factors.\4\''
\4\ Id.
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B. How did we estimate residual risk?
The ``Residual Risk Report to Congress'' (EPA-453/R-99-001)
provides the general framework for conducting risk assessments to
support decisions made under the residual risk program. The report
acknowledged that each risk assessment design would have some common
elements, including a problem formulation phase, an analysis phase, and
the risk characterization phase. The risk assessment for PCE dry
cleaners used both site-specific data for many modeling parameters and
population characteristics derived from census data, as well as default
assumptions for exposure parameters--some of which were assumed to be
health protective (e.g., exposure frequency and exposure duration, 70-
year constant emission rates).5 6 To estimate the cancer
risk and non-cancer hazard for major source facilities, we performed
refined modeling for a subset of major source facilities we determined
were representative of all major sources, including industrial
cleaners, commercial cleaners, and leather cleaners. Facilities within
each of these three specializations tend to be homogenous with respect
to factors that affect the emissions, pollutant dispersion, and
population size in the modeling radius, allowing us to extrapolate
risks from facilities modeled to those that were not modeled. We used a
combination of modeling and monitoring approaches to analyze risks for
area sources. See the risk characterization memorandum in the public
docket for a complete discussion of the major and area source risk
assessment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Additional details are provided in the risk characterization
memorandum in the rulemaking docket.
\6\ Residual Risk Report to Congress, pp. B-18 and B-22. The
approach used to assess the risks associated with standards for the
dry cleaning industry are consistent with the technical approach and
policies described in the Report to Congress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. How did we estimate the atmospheric dispersion of PCE emitted
from major and area sources?
We used the Industrial Source Complex Short-term model, version 3
(ISCST-3) to estimate the dispersion of PCE from facilities to receptor
locations. For a complete description of the dispersion modeling,
please see the risk characterization memorandum.
2. How did we assess public health risk associated with PCE emitted
from PCE dry cleaners?
PCE has been associated with a variety of health effects, including
cancer. Although PCE has not yet been reassessed under the Agency's
recently revised Guidelines for Cancer Risk Assessment,\7\ it was
considered to be a ``probable carcinogen'' (Group B) \8\ when assessed
under the previous 1986 Guidelines by the EPA Science Advisory Board.
Since that time, the United States Department of Health and Human
Services has concluded that PCE is ``reasonably anticipated to be a
human carcinogen,\9\'' and the International Agency for Research on
Cancer has concluded that PCE is ``probably carcinogenic to
humans.\10\''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ USEPA. 2005. Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment. EPA/
650/P-03/001B. Risk Assessment Forum, Washington, DC.
\8\ March 9, 1988 letter to Lee Thomas, Administrator, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, from Norton Nelson, Chair,
Executive Committee of EPA Science Advisory Board.
\9\ USDHHS. 1989. Report on Carcinogens, Fifth Edition; U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service,
National Toxicology Program.
\10\ IARC. 1995. Monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic
risks to humans. Volume 63. Dry Cleaning, Some Chlorinated Solvents
and Other Industrial Chemicals. ISBN 9283212630. Geneva,
Switzerland.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In our assessment of public health risk associated with PCE emitted
from PCE dry cleaners, we considered risks of cancer and other health
effects. Cancer risks associated with inhalation exposure were assessed
using lifetime cancer risk estimates. The noncancer risks were
characterized through the use of hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index
(HI) estimates. An HQ is calculated as the ratio of the exposure
concentration of a pollutant to its health-based non-cancer threshold.
In this assessment, values that are below 1.0 are not likely to be
associated with adverse health effects. An HI is the sum of HQ for
pollutants that target the same organ or system. For dry cleaners, PCE
is the only HAP emitted, therefore, HI and HQ are the same.
[[Page 75889]]
Several sources were considered for cancer and noncancer dose-
response assessment information. In a 1998 assessment of PCE cancer
risks associated with dry cleaners, EPA's Office of Prevention,
Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) derived and used a lifetime
inhalation unit risk estimate (URE) of 7.1 x 10-\7\ per
microgram per cubic meter (ug/m\3\).\11\ This reflected an update of
the URE of 5.8 x 10-\7\ per ug/m\3\ that was derived by EPA
in the 1980s.\12\ The PCE cancer dose-response assessments developed by
others include a lifetime URE of 5.9 x 10-\6\ per ug/m\3\
developed by the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA),\13\ and a lifetime URE of 3.8 x 10-\7\ per ug/m\3\
developed by Clewell and others.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ USEPA. 1998. Cleaner Technologies Substitutes Assessment:
Professional Fabricare Processes. EPA 744-B-98-001. U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, Washington, DC.
\12\ USEPA. 1996. Addendum to the Health Assessment Document for
Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene), Updated Carcinogenicity
Assessment for Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene, PERC, PCE).
EPA/600/8-82/005FA. External Review Draft. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment,
Washington, DC.
\13\ CDHS. 1991. Health Effects of Tetrachloroethylene (PCE).
California Department of Health Services (subsequently CalEPA,
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment), Berkeley, CA.
\14\ H.J. Clewell, P.R. Gentry, J.E. Kester, and M.E. Andersen.
2005. Evaluation of physiologically based pharmacokinetic
perchloroethylene.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are currently reevaluating the available information on health
effects of PCE, including cancer, as part of a hazard and dose-response
assessment for the Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).
The cancer component of this evaluation is being conducted in
accordance with the 2005 Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment.
Data have become available from the Japanese Industrial Safety
Association (1993) that includes rodent inhalation studies with a
cancer bio-assay which was not considered by the sources above.\15\ The
document describing the evaluation is expected to be released for
external scientific peer review and public comment. The projected
schedule for completion of the IRIS assessment is available at https://
cfpub.epa.gov/iristrac/index.cfm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ JISA (Japan Industrial Safety Association). 1993.
Carcinogenicity Study of Tetrachloroethylene by Inhalation in Rats
and Mice. Data No. 3-1. Available from: EPA-IRIS Information Desk.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
While all of the available lifetime URE are based on the same
animal bioassay \16\ (1986), there are several factors contributing to
the differences in magnitude among them. One significant contributing
factor is characterization of human metabolism of PCE. This is an area
in which widely diverging quantitative estimates have been published,
and their use leads to notable differences in human cancer dose-
response value derived from animal data, illustrated to some extent by
the range of values presented above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ NTP. 1986. NTP technical report on the toxicology and
carcinogenesis of tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene) (CAS No.
127-18-4) in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice (inhalation studies).
National Toxicology Program, Research Triangle Park, NC. NTP TR 311,
NIH Publication No. 86-2567. August 1986.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As an interim approach in lieu of the completed IRIS assessment, we
used two dose-response values to characterize cancer risk. These two
values were chosen to represent the best available peer-reviewed
science. As we have stated previously, we will not be relying
exclusively on IRIS values, but will be considering all credible and
readily available assessments.\17\ We used the CalEPA URE (5.9 x
10-\6\ per ug/m\3\) and the estimate developed by OPPTS (7.1
x 10-\7\ per ug/m\3\). Both are derived with consideration
of findings of liver tumors in mouse laboratory bioassays, with the
OPPTS value additionally considering laboratory findings of mononuclear
cell leukemia in rats, and both have received public comment and
scientific peer review by external panels. Dose-response modeling
performed in both assessments involved use of metabolized doses with
different estimates of human PCE metabolism contributing to differences
in the resulting URE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ USEPA. March 1999. Residual Risk Report to Congress. Office
of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, NC
27711. EPA-453/R-99-001; available at https://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/
t3/meta/m8690.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effects other than cancer associated with long-term inhalation of
PCE in worker or animal studies include neurotoxicity, liver and kidney
damage, and, at higher levels, developmental effects. To characterize
noncancer hazard in lieu of the completed IRIS assessment, we used the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) Minimum Risk
Level (MRL) (270 ug/m\3\.\18\ This value is based on a study of
neurological effects in workers in dry cleaning shops, and is derived
in a manner similar to EPA's method for derivation of reference
concentrations (Rfc), and with scientific and public review. The ATSDR
MRL is quite similar to the provisional RfC (170 ug/m\3\) derived by
OPPTS in 1997 based on a study of kidney effects in workers in dry
cleaning shops \19\ that reported effects at similar exposure
concentrations than those elsewhere reported associated with
neurological effects. The OPPTS value was termed a provisional RfC
because it was derived by a single EPA program office with limited
cross-office review. This value is based on a study of neurological
effects in workers in dry cleaning shops. Since that time, more recent
studies have been published, particularly with regard to more sensitive
neurological effects at lower exposures.\20\ We are reviewing these and
all of the available information on the noncancer health effects of PCE
as part of the IRIS assessment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ ATSDR. 1997. Toxicological Profile for Tetrachloroethylene.
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services,
Agnecy for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, Georgia.
\19\ V. Vu. 1997. Memorandum titled ``Provisional RfC for
perchloroethylene'' From Vanessa Vu, Acting Director, Health and
Environmental Review Division, to William Waugh, Acting Directory,
Chemical Screening and Risk Assessment Division, OPPT, USEPA. As
cited in OPPTS 1998. Cleaner Technologies Substitutes Assessment:
Professional Fabricare Processes. EPA-744-B-98-001. USEPA, Office of
Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Washington, DC.
\20\ USEPA. 2004. Summary report of the peer review workshop on
the neurotoxicity of tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene)
discussion paper. National Center for Environmental Assessment,
Washington, DC; EPA-600-R-04-041. Available online at https://
www.epa.gov/ncea.
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The proposed rule is based on both the risk estimates derived using
both the CalEPA cancer dose-response values and the ATSDR noncancer
MRL. The CalEPA cancer dose-response value is higher than the value
derived by OPPTS, leading to higher cancer risk estimates. Given our
uncertainty regarding the pending IRIS dose-response values, we have
considered the range of available potencies with which to calculate
inhalation cancer risk. We calculate cancer risk using both values, but
propose to use the CalEPA value. We request comment on both this
approach of using the more health protective end of the dose-response
range and our selection of dose-response values. Based on the findings
and status of the IRIS assessment at the time of promulgation, we may
reassess our estimates of cancer risk and noncancer hazard. The Agency
is aware that some stakeholders have suggested that we defer certain
action pending completion of the IRIS assessment for PCE. In today's
notice, we request comment on our proposal to use the available CalEPA
and OPPTS potency values, and we request comments on whether we should
defer further development of the risk assessment and any rulemakings
under section 112(f)(2) for area sources pending completion of the IRIS
assessment for PCE.
[[Page 75890]]
3. How did we assess environmental impacts of major sources and
typical area sources?
The chemical properties of PCE suggest that once it is emitted into
the atmosphere as a vapor, it is not likely to partition significantly
into soil, water, or sediment. Based on fugacity modeling, we estimate
that 99.8 percent of ambient PCE remains in the atmosphere, with the
remainder partitioning into water (0.17 percent), and soil (0.05
percent). Thus, PCE emitted from major stationary sources is not likely
to pose a significant ecological risk due to any exposure pathway other
than inhalation.
Further, to assess the potential inhalation risk to mammals from
PCE inhalation, we compared the minimum lowest observable adverse
effect level (LOAEL) for rats with the highest level of modeled ambient
concentration from PCE cleaners; the rat LOAEL for PCE can be found in
the ATSDR toxicological profile that documents the development of the
MRL (https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp18.html). The lowest rat
LOAEL (9 parts per million (ppm), or 60 mg/m\3\) is about 2,000 times
higher than the highest modeled post-control ambient concentrations
from major stationary sources.
This large margin of exposure leads us to conclude that risks to
mammals from PCE inhalation are likely insignificant, obviating the
need to further quantify ecological risks to any degree.
In the atmosphere, PCE is known to degrade into many compounds,
including trichloroacetic acid (TCAA). TCAA is a persistent, known
phytotoxin, which has been discontinued as a herbicide. Atmospheric
transformation of PCE to TCAA is the subject of great debate, with
potential conversion efficiencies estimated to be on the order of 5 to
15 percent. However, there are very few data quantifying TCAA
concentrations in the air, precipitation, water, soil, or sediment in
the United States. This scarcity of data makes it difficult to
determine whether there is any potential for adverse ecological impacts
on plant life from PCE emissions from dry cleaners due to conversion to
TCAA. While we have no direct evidence that this will present a
significant ecological risk, we nonetheless invite public comment and
solicit additional scientific information on this issue. Since our
results showed no screening level ecological effects, we do not believe
that there is any potential for an effect on threatened or endangered
species or on their critical habitat within the meaning of 50 CFR
402.14(a). Because of these results, we concluded a consultation with
the Fish and Wildlife Service is not necessary.
C. What are the residual risks from major sources?
Table 2 of this preamble summarizes the estimated risks remaining
for the seven modeled major source facilities after compliance with
MACT. In performing residual risk assessments under the CAA section
112(f)(2), EPA believes it may evaluate potential risk based on
consideration of both emission levels allowed under the MACT standard
and actual emissions levels achieved in compliance with MACT. See,
e.g., 70 FR 19992, 19998 (April 15, 2005). Generally, allowable
emissions are the maximum levels sources could emit and still comply
with existing standards. It is also reasonable that we consider actual
emissions when available, as a factor in both steps of the residual
risk determination, to avoid unrealistic inflation of risk levels or
where other factors suggest basing the evaluation solely on allowables
is not appropriate. Essentially, the existing dry cleaning MACT
standard is comprised of equipment standards and various work
practices. Compliance with the existing MACT standard is demonstrated
by use of the required equipment and implementation of the required
work practices, and there are no numeric emissions levels to model.
Therefore, the seven facilities were modeled using actual 2000-2002
emissions and are representative of the emissions from major sources.
We conclude that the sampled facilities represent characteristics of
the major source facility population, including commercial, industrial,
and leather facilities. The risk analysis shows that each of the seven
modeled facilities poses a cancer risk of 1-in-1 million or greater.
The highest maximum individual cancer risk (MIR) is between 300-in-1
million and 2,400-in-1 million. The MIR is the lifetime risk of
developing cancer for the individual facing the highest estimated
exposure over a 70-year lifetime. Five of the modeled facilities pose a
risk greater than 100-in-1 million (the presumptive unacceptable risk
level), and about 550 people are exposed at this level. One facility
has a HQ of greater than 1.0. As described below in section III.E, we
expect a continuing decline in PCE emissions even in the absence of
additional Federal regulation. These baseline risk estimates do not
reflect such a trend, therefore; baseline risks are likely to be
overestimated.
Table 2.--Major Source Baseline Risk Estimates for Modeled Facilities After Application of 1993 Dry Cleaning
NESHAP, Based on 70-Year Exposure Duration \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parameter MACT level (OPPTS URE) MACT level (CalEPA URE)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIR from facility with highest risk 300-in-1 million..................... 2,400-in-1 million.
Maximum HQ from facility with 2.................................... 2.
highest risk based on ATSDR MRL.
Population at risk across all
modeled facilities [modeled to 10
kilometers (km)]:
> 1-in-1 million............... 16,000............................... 175,000.
> 10-in-1 million.............. 800.................................. 12,500.
> 100-in-1 million............. 10................................... 550.
Total population exposed....... 3,300,000............................ 3,300,000.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In this table, all risk and population estimates are rounded.
To account for the fact that individuals may move through areas
(microenvironments) of differing concentrations during their daily
activities, EPA conducted an exposure variability analysis in which it
used the Total Risk Integration Methodology Exposure model (TRIM.Expo,
also known as the Air Pollutant Exposure Model 3, or APEX3). The
TRIM.Expo model uses a personal profile approach in which it
stochastically simulates exposures for individuals of differing
demographic characteristics and associated daily activity patterns. The
model output provides a distribution of exposure estimates which are
intended to be representative of the study population with respect to
their demographically based behavior, in terms of the microenvironments
through
[[Page 75891]]
which they move during a day and throughout a year (see https://
www.epa.gov/ttn/fera for more information regarding the model). To
estimate cancer risk, EPA assumes that this 1-year exposure scenario
continues for 70 years. Table 3 contrasts ISCST-3 and TRIM.Expo
estimates of population risk for the worst-case facility, using the
CalEPA URE; this example is illustrative only.\21\
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\21\ Note that the ISCST-3 modeling results do not match earlier
risk estimates due to the fact that EPA used an earlier set of
ISCST-3 modeling results for the TRIM.Expo analysis. The original
ISCST-3 results are retained here so that the comparison with
TRIM.Expo will be consistent.
Table 3.--Comparison of ISCST-3 Exposure Estimates with Activity-Patterned/Day, Lifetime Exposure
[ISCST-3+Trim.Expo]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total population at cancer risk
-----------------------------------------------
Model >100-in-1 >10-in-1 >1-in-1
million million million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISCST-3......................................................... 900 14,000 75,000
TRIM.Expo....................................................... 400 9,000 80,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIM.Expo provides a more central tendency estimate of risk by
accounting for variability in personal exposure. The table above shows
a smaller number of individuals exposed at the higher levels of cancer
risk and a slightly larger number of individuals exposed at a cancer
risk of at least 1-in-1 million. While we performed this analysis for
the worst-case facility, it is reasonable to infer that the risk
distribution above would be similar to the remainder of the major
source facilities. One limitation of this analysis is that we assume
continuous 70-year exposure when calculating cancer risk, and some
individuals are likely to move away from the facility. However, given
the large number of area source dry cleaners nation wide, and the
consequent ubiquity of PCE exposure, it is unlikely that the PCE
exposure of individuals moving out of the TRIM.Expo study area would
fall to zero.
For illustrative purposes, below we provide estimates of individual
inhalation cancer risk based on different assumptions regarding
exposure duration. In contrast to the TRIM.Expo estimates above, the
risk estimates below do not account for personal activity patterns and
assume that individuals receive continuous exposure for the duration
noted.
Table 4.--Estimates of Individual Inhalation Cancer Risk Based on Different Exposure Durations
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Assumed exposure duration \1\
Estimated lifetime cancer risk ------------------------------------------------------
70 50 30 20 10
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Risk per Million (CalEPA)................................ 2,400 1,700 1,030 700 340
Risk per Million (OPPTS)................................. 300 210 130 90 40
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\1\ Risk estimates derived using maximum exposure concentration.
D. What are the options for reducing risk, their costs, and risk
reduction impacts for major sources?
We evaluated several methods for reducing risks. These methods
include enhanced LDAR and three emission control technologies.
Enhanced LDAR. Enhanced LDAR would require the facility owner or
operator to use a portable PCE gas analyzer to perform leak checks on a
monthly basis. Two major sources and several State and local agencies
currently use a photoionization detector, one type of gas analyzer, for
leak inspections. The detection probe is moved slowly along the
equipment part, and if PCE is detected, the device gives a
concentration reading of the leak. The proposed leak definition is a
concentration of 25 ppm. Portable gas analyzers cost about $3,300 and
have a 10-year life expectancy. The facility would be required to
continue to perform the weekly perceptible leak checks as required by
the 1993 Dry Cleaning NESHAP. A nominal amount of additional labor
would be required as a result of the proposed requirement to use a gas
analyzer. We estimated 1 hour of labor per machine per month to perform
the leak inspection. The estimated total capital cost to the industry
to establish an enhanced LDAR program is $40,000, with a annual cost
savings of $390,000. The cost savings is due to reduced PCE
consumption.
Control Technologies. Three types of emission control technologies
can be used to reduce emissions from dry cleaning machines. The first
two are a refrigerated condenser and a secondary carbon adsorber. The
third technology is a PCE sensor and lockout. By using the first two
control technologies together, and by operating them properly, a
significant amount of PCE can be recovered.
Refrigerated condensers are the most effective method for reducing
PCE from the drying cycle. They are used to condense PCE vapor for
reuse. By operating at lower temperatures than water-cooled condensers,
refrigerated condensers recover more PCE from the drying air and reduce
emissions. By the end of the cool-down cycle, refrigerated condensers
can reduce PCE concentrations in the drum to between 2,000 and 8,600
ppm. Refrigerated condensers require relatively little maintenance,
needing only to have their refrigerant recharged and to have lint
removed from the coils (yearly or even less frequently).
A secondary carbon adsorber controls the PCE emissions during the
final stage of the dry cleaning cycle just prior to the drum door
opening. A carbon adsorber removes organic compounds from air by
adsorption onto a bed of activated carbon as the air passes over the
bed. Carbon adsorbers have a PCE removal efficiency of 95 percent or
greater. Properly designed and operated secondary adsorbers have been
shown to reduce the PCE concentration in the drum from several thousand
ppm to less
[[Page 75892]]
than 100 ppm, and in some cases, to less than 10 ppm. Most new dry
cleaning machines sold today are equipped with secondary carbon
adsorbers. Carbon adsorbers require periodic desorption to recover PCE
and maintain their peak PCE collection efficiency.
The technologies currently in use by major and area source dry
cleaners include vented dry-to-dry machines with water-cooled
condensers and carbon adsorbers, non-vented (closed-loop) dry-to-dry
machines with refrigerated condensers, non-vented dry-to-dry machines
with refrigerated condensers and secondary carbon adsorbers and
transfer machines. To meet a standard requiring a refrigerated
condenser and secondary carbon adsorber, existing dry cleaning machines
without this control could be retrofitted, or new replacement machines
could be purchased depending on the remaining useful life of each
existing machine. The costs to add control technologies range from
$13,000 to $40,000 per machine, depending on the size of the existing
machine and the level of control of the machine. Machine replacement
costs are approximately $900 to $1,000 per pound of capacity.
Additional analysis of costs can be found in the Background Information
Document in the public docket.
A PCE sensor is the third control technology used in machines with
a secondary carbon adsorber. The sensor controls the carbon adsorption
cycle to achieve a set PCE concentration in the drum. This device uses
a single-beam infrared photometer to measure the concentration of PCE
in the drum, and prolongs the carbon adsorption cycle until the
concentration set point is achieved. An interlock (lock-out) ensures
that the PCE set-point has been attained before the machine door can be
opened.
Regulatory Options. We considered three options for reducing risk
from major source dry cleaners. Option I would require all major
sources to use an enhanced LDAR program and have dry-to-dry machines
with a refrigerated condenser and a secondary carbon adsorber. Option
II would require a PCE sensor and lock-out in addition to the Option I
controls. Option III would require no PCE emissions from major sources
(a ban on the use of PCE).
Table 5 of this preamble shows the costs and risk estimates for
each regulatory option. The population risk estimates were extrapolated
from the sev