Plastic processing companies may be able to show by using good engineering calculations that they are below certain regulatory minimums as defined by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA). Good engineering calculations require emission factors that have been carefully measured on dynamic processes. Prior to 1992, most of the data in the literature were based on static experiments and were not applicable to actual manufacturing processes. In response to industry needs, members of The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) organized a series of studies to measure air emissions of various plastics during processing; i.e., ABS, polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate and ethylene methyl acrylate copolymers, polypropylene, polyamides, polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene. The studies were funded by resin producers and the experiments were (or are being) conducted at independent laboratories. Upon completion of the studies, technical papers are prepared and published in the peer-reviewed literature. Concurrent with the SPI studies, several companies were independently developing emission factors for their own operations. This paper compares the results of these stack tests to some of the various SPI sponsored studies and draws conclusions as to the acceptable emission factors for different plastic processing operations. Used with proper professional judgment, these emission factors will provide high quality estimates and can potentially avoid expensive and needless testing.
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