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SOURCE ASSESSMENT: PLASTICS PROCESSING, STATE-OF-THE-ART
Citation:
Hughes, T., R. Boland, AND G. Rinaldi. SOURCE ASSESSMENT: PLASTICS PROCESSING, STATE-OF-THE-ART. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-78/004C.
Description:
This document reviews the state of the art of air emissions from plants that manufacture marketable products via plastics processing. The composition, quantity, rate of emissions, and control technology are described. The plastics processing industry in the United States produced 1.19 x 10 to the 7th metric tons of finished goods in 1976 using a variety of types of plastics which are discussed in the document. To assess the severity of emissions from this industry, a representative plant was defined for each of the 16 plastic types based on the results of this study. Source severity was defined as the ratio of the maximum time-averaged ground level concentration of a pollutant to the primary ambient air quality standard for criteria pollutants. Hydrocarbon source severities ranged from 4.2 to 98 for polyacetal and polyurethane manufacture, respectively. Source severities for particulates are also calculated. Plastics processing contributes 2.8% of the national hydrocarbon emissions and 0.12% of the national particulate emissions.