National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Pesticide Active Ingredient Production

Riepilogo

This action proposes national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for the pesticide active ingredient (PAI) production source category under section 112 of the Clean Air Act as amended (CAA). The intent of the proposed standard is to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from existing and new facilities that manufacture PAI used in herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. The proposed standards protect human health and the environment by reducing HAP emissions to the level corresponding to the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) through the use of pollution prevention measures and control strategies. The major HAP emitted by facilities covered by this proposed rule include toluene, methanol, methyl chloride, and hydrogen chloride (HCl). All of these pollutants can cause reversible or irreversible toxic effects following exposure. The proposed rule is estimated to reduce HAP emissions from existing facilities by 5,150 megagrams per year (Mg/yr) (5,680 tons per year (tons/yr)), a reduction of 76 percent from the baseline emission level. Because many of these pollutants are also volatile organic compounds (VOC), which are precursors to ambie