New limits on hazardous air pollution are on the way for one of the largest industrial polluters in our region - the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed revisions to the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) for Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities.
U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock is a major source of emissions of metallic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and is one of only nine facilities in the United States subject to the NESHAPs for Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities.
A little background on why this is all happening: Under section 112 of the Clean Air Act, EPA must determine the categories of sources whose emissions of HAPs endanger public health and set standards for those emissions (namely, the NESHAPs).
After EPA establishes a NESHAP for a particular source category, it is required to review the NESHAP every eight years and revise the NESHAP as necessary to protect public health, prevent an adverse environmental effect, or account for improvements in work practices or control technologies that affect HAP emissions.
The NESHAPs for Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing facilities were developed in 2003 and are codified as at 40 C.F.R. §§ 63.7780 - 7852. On July 31, EPA published proposed revisions to the NESHAPs for Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities which will cap off a 20-year-long (and yet ongoing) review that the Clean Air Act gives EPA eight years to complete.
The proposed revisions will impose new emission standards and limitations that are focused on reduced fugitive emissions of metallic HAPs from integrated iron and steel manufacturing facilities as follows:
New work practice requirements to prevent unplanned blast furnace bleeder valve openings and a limit of no more than five such openings per furnace per year;
New opacity limits on visible emissions from planned blast furnace bleeder valve openings;
New opacity limits on visible emissions from slag pits and slag handling, storage, and processing operations;
New opacity limits on visible emissions from blast furnace bell leaks, and new work practice requirements aimed at preventing such leaks;
New work practice requirements aimed at reducing fugitive emissions from “beaching” iron from blast furnaces; and
New opacity limits on visible fugitive emissions from basic oxygen process furnace shops and blast furnace casthouses, and new work practice requirements aimed at reducing such emissions.
Except for opacity limits on visible emissions from basic oxygen process furnace shops and blast furnace cast houses, the fugitive emissions addressed by the proposed revisions are not currently regulated by the NESHAPs for Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities.
EPA also proposes to require that each integrated iron and steel manufacturing facility install four fence line monitors to detect fugitive emissions of chromium (which will serve as a proxy for all fugitive emissions of all metallic HAPs) and to take action to reduce such emissions if monitored levels exceed a yet-to-be-established threshold that will not exceed one microgram of chromium per cubic meter (1 µg/m3).
EPA estimates that once implemented, the measures required by the proposed revisions will reduce emissions of HAPs from the integrated iron and steel manufacturing sector by 79 tons per year, at a total sector-wide cost of $2.8 million. Note: EPA did not break down expected emission reductions on a facility-by-facility basis.
EPA held a public hearing on the proposed revisions on Tuesday, but will accept written comments on them through Sept. 14.
“New limits on hazardous air pollution are on the way for U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Work, one of the largest polluters in our region,” GASP Senior Attorney John Baillie said. “By tightening emission limitations on large steel mills EPA continues to slowly make the air around big industrial facilities less dangerous to breathe.”
EPA is seeking comments on the technical aspects of the proposed revisions; comments may be submitted by mail or electronically:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. Include Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR– 2002–0083 in the subject line of the message.
Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2002– 0083, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
Comments should reference Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– OAR–2002–0083.