Air Pollution Control Technologies Performance Verification―A Permit Tool

摘要

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has instituted the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program to verify the performance of innovative or improved technical solutions to problems that threaten human health or the environment. The goal of the ETV program is to accelerate the entrance of new or improved environmental technologies into the domestic and international marketplace. The ETV program is voluntary, so its success depends on obtaining and communicating information about its value to constituent groups. The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) is EPA's partner organization for the Air Pollution Control Technologies (APCT) ETV program, one of 12 pilot programs. The APCT ETV program will issue verification statements documenting the performance of air pollution control technologies. These statements will aid the permitting process by providing greater certainty in assuring compliance with emission limitations and estimating air pollutant emission levels. This greater certainty is particularly valuable when emissions from new technologies must be estimated. This paper describes how the verification statements and other aspects of the APCT ETV program will help expedite the air pennit process. Five technologies have been selected to begin the process of verification testing: (1) paint overspray arrestors (POA); (2) baghouse filtration products (BFP); (3) add-on nitrogen oxides (NO_x) controls; (4) controls for volatile organic hazardous air pollutants; and (5) wet electrostatic precipitators. A test protocol is available for POA, and testing will begin by early 1999. Testing for the other four technologies will follow POA testing.