By Healthcare Facilities Today

The final changes to Clean Air Act standards for major and area source boilers and commercial/industrial solid waste incinerators were issued by  The Environmental Protection Agency in late 2012. These changes are expected to significantly reduce toxic air pollution, but many are unclear about how or if these regulations will affect healthcare facilities, according to an article on the Medical Construction & Design website.

The good news, the article said, is healthcare organizations have three years to comply and may also have the option to apply for a one-year extension.  

The most recent version of the EPA standard affects boilers and process heaters at both major and area sources of hazardous air pollutants emissions. A major source is a facility that has the potential to emit 10 tons per year (tpy) or more of any single hazardous air pollutant and/or 25 tpy or more of total HAPs. An area source has the potential to emit less than 10 tpy/25 tpy.

By that definition, the article said, most healthcare facilities qualify as an area source where the rules apply to boilers that fire coal, oil, biomass or other solid or liquid non-waste material. Natural gas-fired boilers located at area sources are not subject to these regulations. If the boiler periodically fires a liquid fuel for less than 48 hours per year, it is still considered a natural-gas-fired boiler.

Facilities with boilers that combust solid waste, will want to determine if they are subject to the Commercial Industrial Solid Waste Incinerator emission standards. Other exceptions from the regulations include temporary boilers, waste heat boilers, electric boilers and hot water heaters with a capacity of less than 120 gallons or a heat input of less than 1.6 MMBTU/hr.

Read the article.