The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA) of 1990 established programs setting limits on how much of a pollutant can be in the air anywhere in the United States as well as identifying a list of 189 toxic air pollutants. In order to achieve the pollution limits, the CAA created an Emissions Control Permitting program for larger stationary sources. In Title 1, Section 111, Subsection 3 of the Clean Air Act the Unites States EPA defines a "stationary source" as "any building, structure, facility, or installation which emits or may emit any air pollutant."
Under the new program, Owners of sources are required to obtain an Emissions Control Permit from the state in which it resides. The permit includes information regarding which pollutants are being released, the quantity that may be released, and what steps are being taken to reduce the amount of pollution. The Emissions Control Permitting process forces Owners to monitor and measure the amount of pollutants being released from each source.
Thermal Oxidizers have played a vital role in Emissions Control Permitting since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Thermal Oxidizers allow the Owners of stationary sources to reduce the levels of pollutants that are released to the atmosphere as required by their permits. Thermal Oxidizers are effective in the destruction and removal of over 80% of the 189 specified Hazardous Air Pollutants under the CAA.
For additional information on Emissions Control Permitting visit the US EPA website at www.epa.gov.