9 VAC Chapter 40 Article 36 (RULE 4-36) Affecting Flexographic, Rotogravure, and Publication Rotogravure Printing Lines
A PERMIT MAY BE REQUIRED IF YOU ARE COVERED BY THIS REGULATION ---- CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL DEQ REGIONAL OFFICE.[See Appendix C]
Definitions of terms and phrases for all rules cited by this regulation can be found in Appendix A of this fact sheet.
Any flexographic, packaging rotogravure, or publication rotogravure printing line(s) in the Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Hampton Roads Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emission Control Areas [See Appendix B], which use a substrate other than textile and which is not exempt from this regulation. See Exemptions below.
The following is a list of definitions used in this rule which may be helpful.
"Batch" means a supply of fountain solution that is prepared and used without alteration until completely used or removed from the printing process.
"Best Available Control Technology (BACT)" means an emissions limitation (including a visible emissions standard) based on the maximum degree of reduction for each toxic pollutant which the Board, on a case-by-case basis, taking into account energy, environmental, and economic impacts and other costs, determines is achievable for such source or modification through application of production processes or available methods, systems, and techniques, including fuel cleaning or treatment or innovative fuel combustion techniques for control of such pollutant. If the Board determines that technological or economic limitations on the application of measurement methodology to a particular emissions unit would make the imposition of an emissions standard infeasible, a design, equipment, work practice, operational standard, or combination thereof, may be prescribed instead to satisfy the requirement for the application of best available control technology. Such standard shall, to the degree possible, set forth the emissions reduction achievable by implementation of such design, equipment, work practice or operation, and shall provide for compliance by means which achieve equivalent results.
"Carbon adsorption system" means a device containing activated carbon as the adsorbent material, an inlet and outlet for exhaust gases, and a system to regenerate the saturated adsorbent. The carbon adsorption system must provide for the proper disposal or reuse of all volatile organic compounds in the adsorbate.
"Cleaning solution" means any blanket or roller wash used to remove ink and debris from the operating surface of a printing press.
"Compliant ink or surface coating" means an ink or surface coating conforming to the definition of a high-solids, low-volatile organic compound or a waterborne ink or surface coating.
"Electrostatic duplication" means a process using a plate or takeoff sheet that is electrically charged to attract developer to the image area only.
"Flexographic printing" means the application of words, designs or pictures by a rubber or elastomeric image carrier in which the image area is raised above the non-image area.
"Fugitive dust" means particulate matter composed of soil and/or other materials of natural origin. Fugitive dust may include emissions from haul roads, wind erosion of exposed surfaces and storage piles and other activities in which the material is either removed, stored, transported or redistributed.
"Fugitive emissions" means emissions which are generated by industrial or other activities and which do not pass through a stack, chimney, vent or other functionally equivalent opening, but which may escape from openings (such as windows, doors, ill-fitting closures or poorly maintained equipment) or material handling equipment.
"High-solids ink or surface coating" means an ink or surface coating image transfer elements fixed upon a metal backing.
"Letterpress printing" means a printing process which uses raised image transfer elements fixed upon a metal backing.
"Lithographic printing" means a planographic printing process in which the image and non-image areas are chemically differentiated with the image area being oil-receptive and the non-image area being water-receptive.
"Low-solvent ink or surface coating" means an ink or surface coating which contains not more than 0.5 pounds of volatile organic compounds per pound of non-volatile compounds and is used on a packaging rotogravure printing or flexographic printing press.
"Non-compliant ink or surface coating" means an ink or surface coating which does not conform to the definition of a high-solids, low-volatile organic compound or waterborne ink or surface coating.
"Opacity" means the degree to which emissions reduce the transmission of light and obscure the view of an object in the background, expressed as a percentage.
"Packaging rotogravure printing" means an intaglio printing process in which the ink is transferred from minute etched wells on an image carrier, typically a cylinder, to paper, paper board, metal foil, plastic film and other substrates, which are, in subsequent operations, formed into containers and labels for articles to be sold.
"Pesticide" means the same as the definition given in 3.1-249.27 of the Virginia Pesticide Control Act.
"Potential To Emit (PTE)" means an emission rate based on the maximum capacity of a stationary source to emit a pollutant under its physical and operational design. Any physical, operational, or air permit limitation is considered part of its design only if the limitation or the effect of the limitation on emissions is a state or federally enforceable condition. For example, a limitation on the capacity of the source to emit a pollutant might be air pollution control equipment, a restriction on the hours of operation or on the type or amount of material combusted, stored, or processed. these conditions are recognized as state and federally enforceable.
"Press" means a printing production assembly composed of one or more units to produce a printed substrate (sheet or web).
"Printing" means a photomechanical process in which a transfer of text, designs, and images occurs through contact of an image carrier with a substrate.
"Printing line" means all of the equipment between a web feed input and the finished rolled or cut and stacked product wherein printing ink or a combination of printing inks and surface coatings are applied, dried, or cured and which is subject to the same emission standard. Such equipment may include decks, stations, press units, devices, ink stations, and any other equipment which applies, conveys, dries, or cures surface inks or surface coatings. Such equipment may include but is not limited to flow coaters, flashoff areas, air dryers, drying areas, and ovens. It is not necessary for a printing line to have an oven, flashoff area, or drying area to be included in this definition.
"Printing process" means any operation or system wherein printing ink or a combination of printing ink and surface coating is applied, dried or cured and which is subject to the same emission standard. May include any equipment which applies, conveys, dries or cures inks or surface coatings, including, but not limited to, flow coaters, flashoff areas, air dryers, drying areas and ovens. It is not necessary for a printing process to have an oven, flashoff area or drying area to be included in this definition.
"Publication rotogravure printing" means an intaglio printing process in which the ink is transferred from minute etched wells on an image carrier, typically a cylinder, to paper which is subsequently formed into books, magazines, catalogues, brochures, directories, newspaper supplements or any other types of printed materials not included under the definition or packaging rotogravure printing.
"Significant ambient air concentration" means the concentration of a toxic pollutant in the ambient air that if exceeded may have the potential to injure human health.
"Six-minute period" means any one of the 10 equal parts of one-hour or a one-hour period, as may be applicable.
"Surface coating" means all non-ink liquids and liquid-solid mixtures containing volatile organic compounds which are applied to the substrate by printing units.
"Threshold limit value (TLV)" means the maximum airborne concentration of a substance to which the ACGIH believes that nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed day after day without adverse effects and which is published in the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Handbook The TLV is divided into three categories: TLV-Time-Weighted Average (TLV-TWA), TLV-Short-Term Exposure Limit (TLV-STEL), and TLV-Ceiling (TLV-C).
"TLV-TWA" means the time-weighted average concentration for a normal 8-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek, to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed, day after day, without adverse effect (as defined in the ACGIH Handbook).
"TLV-STEL" means the concentration to which workers may be exposed continuously for a short period of time without suffering from irritation, chronic or irreversible tissue damage, or narcosis of sufficient degree to increase the likelihood of accidental injury, impair self-rescue or materially reduce work efficiency. The TLV-STEL supplements the TLV-TWA where there are recognized acute effects from a substance whose toxic effects are primarily of a chronic nature.
"TLV-C" means the concentration that should not be exceeded during any part of the working exposure.
"Toxic pollutant" means any air pollutant for which no ambient air quality standard has been established. Particulate matter and volatile organic compounds are not toxic pollutants as generic classes of substances but individual substances within these classes may be non-criteria toxic pollutants because of their toxic properties or because a TLV has been established.
"Unit" means the smallest complete printing component, composed of an inking and dampening system, of a printing press.
"Waterborne ink or surface coating" means an ink or surface coating whose volatile portion consists of 75 percent or more by volume of water and 25 percent or less by volume of volatile organic compounds.
"Web" means a continuous roll of printing substrate.
Emissions Control Areas are geographically defined below by locality for the pollutants indicated.