Maintaining Compliance with Air Pollution Requirements

Outdoor air pollution can cause a variety of short-term health effects and can contribute to or aggravate chronic health conditions. As a result of these problems, combined with the fact that air pollution knows no geographic boundaries, the United States has developed legislation and regulations to provide incentives and legal mandates for the private sector and for government agencies to eliminate, reduce, and manage air pollutants. The Battelle-managed Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) helps the United States Department of Energy (DOE) understand and comply with the federal regulations issued under the Clean Air Act.

At the request of DOE’s Office of Air, Water, and Radiation Protection, Policy, and Guidance (EH-41), PNNL helps DOE respond to proposed changes to the regulations implementing the Clean Air Act, and understand how the changes will be followed at DOE sites from South Carolina to Washington State.

When a change is proposed to the regulations implementing the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is responsible for the Act, seeks comments on proposed rules from the public and government agencies. PNNL then reviews, analyzes, and consolidates the comments from the DOE complex into one logical, consistent document. A comment package, ranging from 2-60 pages, is then sent by PNNL to DOE. In turn, DOE reviews the comments and provides them to EPA.

Because DOE operates a wide variety of sites, including research laboratories and incinerators, complying with new regulations can be complicated. “PNNL’s scientific and technical experience is invaluable on this project,” comments PNNL project manager Mr. Paul Hendrickson. “Our experience helps us understand the activities at each site, from nuclear waste cleanup at Savannah River to incinerators at Oak Ridge.”

The interrelated nature of the Clean Air Act makes it necessary to periodically make a broad assessment of the implementing regulations. For example, how do the Clean Air Act rules on vehicle fuels, a common source of air pollution, relate to each other? To answer this and similar questions, PNNL prepares guidance summaries on specific topics. These documents answer frequently asked questions about the topic, while connecting and summarizing the applicable regulations.

Sifting through regulations that are constantly updated can be expensive, confusing, and tedious. Overlooking a regulation or misinterpreting how it applies, however, can have far greater consequences to EPA, to the environment, and to those that inhabit it.