Controlling emissions of extremely hazardous air pollutants

No EPA regulations specifically require a facility to take into consideration potentially life-threatening scenarios when designing and operating a control system. The burden is thus on the facility operator to identify streams containing concentrations of extremely hazardous air pollutants and to devise a control strategy to manage that risk.
 
This article considers the control of extremely hazardous air pollutants using oxidation technologies. Although in special cases the use of other types of control technologies, such as carbon absorption or fabric filtration, may be indicated, oxidation is the most commonly used and appropriate end of pipe control in the vast majority of these cases.
 
The challenges of controlling extremely hazardous air pollutant gas streams require extra care and attention in the design phase of the control system. While there are no direct regulatory drivers that force an operator to consider anything but the pollution control aspects of such a system, other issues—such as worker and public safety, liability concerns and the potential to generate ill will in the public—should provide all the motivation needed to design the best and safest system possible.
 
It is critical to engage the facility staff and a well-experienced air pollution control supplier in a well-orchestrated hazard planning and process review. There are several templates and methodologies available to follow, but the main purpose is to bring all facility disciplines together to review cause-and-effect scenarios. These planning sessions can be very time- consuming, but safety flaws are easier to resolve before a project actually begins than after an event.

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As featured in Air Pollution Control magazine, June 2011