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Benzo(a)pyrene and Hexachlorobenzene

April 27, 1999
HCB/B(a)P Workgroup Meeting Highlights
Toronto, Canada

Co-Chairs: 
Tom Tseng, Environment Canada - Ontario Region
Steve Rosenthal, US EPA, Region 5

Note Taker:
Al Ermacora, Environment Canada - Ontario Region

T. Tseng noted that a consultant has been engaged to update the Ontario HCB emission inventory. The report is still in draft form and will be distributed to workgroup members for comments. A similar update of the B(a)P emission inventory is also underway and a first draft is expected for November, 1999.

S. Rosenthal provided a handout listing B(a)P/HCB sector status updates. Several HCB emission levels of various sectors were presented based on annual national emissions. Several of the industry representatives questioned the accuracy of these estimates and identified a need for more accurate estimates. Major sources of HCB emissions include pesticide and chlorinated solvent manufacturing, pesticide application, utility coal combustion, and rubber tire manufacturing.

It was noted that unlike HCB, B(a)P is more a result of local urban influence. Based on 1993 air emissions from EPA’s Toxics Inventory, residential wood combustion, petroleum refineries, and coke ovens emissions account for 95% of the inventoried B(a)P emissions from around the Great Lakes. S. Rosenthal noted that the U.S. would like to obtain more accurate data and information on coke oven emissions and the other industrial sectors.

J. Crouch, Hearth Products Association - mentioned the success of the Great Canadian Eastern Ontario Stove Change-out Program which may result in a similar U.S. program. He noted that consumers need discounts for exchanging their stoves and also that program staff need to ensure that old stoves are returned and disposed of properly.

D. Ailor, American Coke & Coal Chemicals Institute - representing most of the coke plants in the U.S. and one Canadian plant. The association has been active in the environmental area since 1990. He noted that a MACT standard was issued in October 1993 which deals with coke oven emissions. He noted that there will be an incremental tightening of standards in the U.S. and three additional MACT standards are currently being negotiated (for pushing, quenching and battery stacks although these are not significant B(a)P sources). He noted that U.S. facilities are experiencing economic pressures from Chinese coke producers because U.S. industry is spending millions of dollars on control technologies where China isn’t. He noted that U.S. plants are subject to some of the most stringent regulations and enforcement in the world, and therefore it would be very difficult to get any further emission reductions from this sector. It may be possible to get some reductions on a company case-by-case basis. It was also noted that the coke sector has already spent hundreds of millions to comply with MACT standards and questioned EPA’s estimate of coke of emissions of 9,248 pounds of B(a)P per year. Residual risk standards are also being developed for the sector around 2001. Generally the industry will be subject to tightening standards over the next 20 years. T. Tseng noted Ontario’s Municipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement (MISA) program has had successes in steel mill effluent abatement and that it would be a good idea to have a cross border workshop on steel mills.

B. Bailey, Consultant to CGLI - noted that approximately 30,000 tonnes of HCB was used only 30 years ago and that there has been a large reduction in use since then. He also noted a Frasher River, B.C. report which examined the concentration of DDT and other chemicals in area lakes. It might be useful for the workgroup to follow-up on some of the report’s findings. He reiterated the need for better inventories from all sectors. Graphs on HCB and OCS in Lake Ontario lake trout, and HCB concentrations in Lake Ontario and Lake Superior gull eggs were distributed. B. Baily noted that the graphs show that HCB concentrations have been decreasing approximately 12 percent/year since the late 1970s.

H. Walthert, Canadian Institute of Treated Wood - noted that a Strategic Options Report (SOP) is being finalized for Canadian wood preservers and is expected to be released in May 1999. The SOP provides a series of recommendations for the sector, primarily regarding the replacement of oil based preservatives with water-based alternatives.

T. Norberg, Rubber Manufacturers Association - The RMA believes that there are no HCB emissions associated with tire manufacturing, due to the nature of the manufacturing process (types of operations, temperature, time, etc.) and the types of chemicals used. The Association will be testing for HCB emissions for the industry in the next few months because the industry believes that the test data for HCB from the RMA Emission Factors Study is flawed, due to test or laboratory contamination. In addition, even using the flawed data point from the Emission Factors Study, RMA believes that the 869 estimate in the U.S. Clean Air Act 112 (c)(6) inventory calculations were not done properly. In particular, the estimate utilizes inappropriate emission factors and does not account for the percentage of rubber in tires or the percentage of the particular compound used in the industry. The rubber industry estimate for HCB emissions is approximately 19 pounds per year. The target testing date is June 1999 (now is scheduled for July 1999). The test will involve using common industry manufacturing equipment that will be applicable in Canada. T. Norberg noted that the degradation of resin used in the emission testing or chlorinated solvents are the likely sources of HCB contamination and not the actual manufacturing of rubber.

G. Saldanha, Lake Erie Steel - Noted that the steel sector has been subjected to an Strategic Options Process (SOP), and that recommendations are to be implemented by the industry. He noted that more stringent standards will effect the steel sector in the next few years and that the sector has been regulated for the past ten years. The SOP deals with air emission releases based on grams/tonnes per tonne of coke produced. An algorithm has been created by the steel sector to measure B(a)P emissions. The SOP includes a provision for third party consultation and also examines leaking doors, charge emissions, etc. The SOP report also noted that sintering is a major source of dioxins.

D. Meyer, U.S. EPA National Exposure Research Lab - noted that she is working on an emission inventory report on Persistent Toxic Substances (PTSs) in conjunction with J. McDonald of the IJC Air Quality Board . A questionnaire was distributed to the workgroup members for input.

The U.S. EPA is expecting to have a draft report completed by June. The final report is scheduled for release in September, in time for the next Binational Strategy Stakeholder meeting in Milwaukee.

J. Downes, Chlorobenzene Producers Association - noted that residues from chlorobenzene manufacture are incinerated. HCB was not detected in distillation residues, therefore it is not perceived as a problem in the lower-boiling commercial chlorobenzene products by the sector. He also noted that distillation residues are classified according to TRI as off-site transfers and not emissions. The current TRI threshold limit for production of HCB as an impurity is higher than the proposed 10 pounds per year. In the U.S. there are three manufacturers and one importer of chlorobenzene products.

T. Tseng noted the absence of the petroleum refining sector representatives from the workgroup and the need to engage this sector in developing improved emission estimates.

Attendees

David Ailor, American Coke & Coal Chemicals Inst.
Robert E. Bailey, Consultant to CGLI
John Crouch, Hearth Products Association
James E. Downes, Solutia Inc.
Hugh Eisler, Canadian Chlorine Coordinating Council
Robert Matheson, Environment Canada
Debra Meyer, US EPA, MD75 (NERL)
Tracy Norberg, Rubber Manufacturers Association
Jane Reyer, National Wildlife Federation
Steve Rosenthal, US EPA, Region 5
Geoff Saldanha, CSPA
Tom Tseng, Environment Canada
Henry Walthert, Canadian Institute of Treated Wood

 

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