Reducing air toxics and VOCs

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 require the regulation of many more pollutants and in much smaller quantities than previously required. For many facilities, compliance will require installation of expensive pollution control equipment. However, there is much that can be done to reduce emissions short of installing equipment. This article describes an economical strategy for reducing emissions and illustrates the benefits that can be gained from simple improvements in work practices. Surface coating operations are cited because of their prevalence in manufacturing processes.