Spray Paint Booths and The Clean Air Act. In 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act and established the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (or NESHAP) in the hopes of reducing the amount of HAPs (or hazardous air pollutants) produced by factories and businesses. With additions made to the act in 1990, the act stands today as a regulation and standard for the paint booths that we at Marathon Finishing make. Together with protecting the worker inside, our clean air booths filter potential pollutants that might make their way through the air vents and outside. Here’s what you’ll need to know before purchasing your next spray booth.
The Clean Air Act
Since 1970, the Clean Air Act has demonstrated the way to advance technology and progress while maintaining public health and safeguarding the environment. According the peer-reviewed EPA studies on the success of the Clean Air Act, large health benefits have been seen and will be seen for years to come by focusing on reducing the highest six pollutants industry and automobiles create: heavy metal particles, ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Paint stripping formulas frequently produce harmful methylene chloride, and many spray application coatings contain chromium, lead, manganese, nickel, and cadmium. Fortunately, our filters capture virtually all the fine particulate that comes through the vents, making them very environmentally friendly.
What You Should Know
Here are some of the guidelines the NESHAP requires of companies that rely on spray booths, and that our clean spray booths follow:
• Automotive refinishing paint booths/stations complete motor vehicles or mobile equipment must be fully enclosed and ventilated at negative pressure or up to 0.05 inches water gauge positive pressure for clean air booths that have seals on all doors and other openings and an automatic pressure balancing system.
• Install/operate filter technology on all spray booths/stations/enclosures to achieve at least 98% capture efficiency.
• Spray booths/stations used to coat miscellaneous parts or products or vehicle subassemblies must have a full roof, at least three complete walls or side curtains, and ventilated so that air is drawn into the booth.
As for businesses themselves, all employees who will be working with spray materials must be trained and certified on spray gun equipment selection, spray techniques, maintenance, and environmental compliance no later than 180 days after hiring.
Marathon Finishing is dedicated to providing the most up-to-date spray booth technology to our clients. Check out our selection of clean air booths and stations or contact us for more information on shipping and installation. We have the best quality and pricing on the market, guaranteed.