Recirculating Industrial Air: The Impact on Air Compliance and Workers; Safety Case Study: Hill Air Force Base C-130 Painting Operations

摘要

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment resulted in new environmental regulations called the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs). Industries such as painting facilities may have to treat large volumes of air, which drives the cost of an air control system. Recirculating a portion of the air back into the facility is an option to reduce the amount of air to be treated. A guided computer model written in Microsoft Excel 97% is developed to analyze worker safety and compliance costs with a focus on recirculation. The model has a chemical database containing over 1300 chemicals and requires inputs such as tasks performed, hazardous products used, and chemical make-up of the products. The model will predict indoor air concentrations in relation to occupational exposure limits (OELs). A case study is performed on a C-1 30 aircraft painting facility at Hill AFB, UT. The Aerospace NESHAP requires air pollution reductions in aircraft painting operations. The model predicts strontium chromate concentrations found in primer paints will reach 1000 times the OEL. Strontium chromate and other solid particulates &nearly unaffected by recirculation because the air is filtered prior to recirculation. The next highest chemical, hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), increases from 2.6 to 10.5 times the OEL at 0% and 75% recirculation, respectively. Due to the level of respiratory protection required for the strontium chromate, workers &well protected from the modest increases in concentrations caused by recirculating 75%. The initial cost of a VOC control system with no recirculation is $4.5 million and $1.8 million at 75% recirculation. To decide the best operating conditions for a facility, all options such as product substitution, operational changes or recirculation should be explored. The model is an excellent tool to evaluate these options.