National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants; Final Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions From the Printing and Publishing Industry

This action promulgates national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) under section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), as amended in 1990 for the printing and publishing industry. The NESHAP requires existing and new major sources to control emissions using the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) to control hazardous air pollutants (HAP). The standards were proposed in the Federal Register on March 14, 1995 (60 FR 13664). This Federal Register action announces the EPA's final decisions on the rule. The final rule includes organic HAP emission limits for publication rotogravure, product and packaging rotogravure, and wide-web flexographic printing. A variety of organic HAP are used as solvents and components of inks and other materials used by printers. The HAP emitted by the facilities covered by this final rule include xylene, toluene, ethylbenzene, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, methanol, ethylene glycol, and certain glycol ethers. All of these pollutants can cause reversible or irreversible toxic effects following exposure. The potential toxic effects include eye, nose, throat, and skin irritation; and damage to the heart, liver, kidneys, and blood cells. The final rule is estimated to reduce baseline emissions of HAP by 31 percent or 6700 megagrams per year (Mg/yr) (7400 tons per year (tpy)). The emissions reductions achieved by these standards, combined with the emissions reductions achieved by similar standards, will achieve the primary goal of the CAA, which is to ``enhance the quality of the Nation's air resources so as to promote the public health and welfare and productive capacity of its population''. The intent of this final regulation is to protect the public health by requiring the maximum degree of reduction in emissions of organic HAP from new and existing sources, taking into consideration the cost of achieving such emission reduction, any nonair quality, health and environmental impacts, and energy requiremen