[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 40, Volume 8]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 40CFR61.61]



[Page 53-54]

 

                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT

 

         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)

 

PART 61_NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS--Table 

of Contents

 

         Subpart F_National Emission Standard for Vinyl Chloride

 

Sec.  61.61  Definitions.



    Terms used in this subpart are defined in the Act, in subpart A of 

this part, or in this section as follows:

    (a) Ethylene dichloride plant includes any plant which produces 

ethylene dichloride by reaction of oxygen and hydrogen chloride with 

ethylene.

    (b) Vinyl chloride plant includes any plant which produces vinyl 

chloride by any process.

    (c) Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant includes any plant where vinyl 

chloride alone or in combination with other materials is polymerized.

    (d) Slip gauge means a gauge which has a probe that moves through 

the gas/liquid interface in a storage or transfer vessel and indicates 

the level of vinyl chloride in the vessel by the physical state of the 

material the gauge discharges.

    (e) Type of resin means the broad classification of resin referring 

to the basic manufacturing process for producing that resin, including, 

but not limited to, the suspension, dispersion, latex, bulk, and 

solution processes.

    (f) Grade of resin means the subdivision of resin classification 

which describes it as a unique resin, i.e., the most exact description 

of a resin with no further subdivision.

    (g) Dispersion resin means a resin manufactured in such a way as to 

form fluid dispersions when dispersed in a plasticizer or plasticizer/

diluent mixtures.

    (h) Latex resin means a resin which is produced by a polymerization 

process which initiates from free radical catalyst sites and is sold 

undried.

    (i) Bulk resin means a resin which is produced by a polymerization 

process in which no water is used.

    (j) Inprocess wastewater means any water which, during manufacturing 

or processing, comes into direct contact with vinyl chloride or 

polyvinyl chloride or results from the production or use of any raw 

material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product, or waste 

product containing vinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride but which has 

not been discharged to a wastewater treatment process or discharged 

untreated as wastewater. Gasholder seal water is not inprocess 

wastewater until it is removed from the gasholder.

    (k) Wastewater treatment process includes any process which modifies 

characteristics such as BOD, COD, TSS, and pH, usually for the purpose 

of meeting effluent guidelines and standards; it does not include any 

process the purpose of which is to remove vinyl chloride from water to 

meet requirements of this subpart.

    (l) In vinyl chloride service means that a piece of equipment either 

contains or contacts a liquid that is at least 10 percent vinyl chloride 

by weight or a gas that is at least 10 percent by volume vinyl chloride 

as determined according to the provisions of Sec.  61.67(h). The 

provisions of Sec.  61.67(h) also specify how to determine that a piece 

of equipment is not in vinyl chloride service. For the purposes of this 

subpart, this definition must be used in place of the definition of ``in 

VHAP service'' in subpart V of this part.

    (m) Standard operating procedure means a formal written procedure 

officially adopted by the plant owner or operator and available on a 

routine



[[Page 54]]



basis to those persons responsible for carrying out the procedure.

    (n) Run means the net period of time during which an emission sample 

is collected.

    (o) Ethylene dichloride purification includes any part of the 

process of ethylene dichloride purification following ethylene 

dichloride formation, but excludes crude, intermediate, and final 

ethylene dichloride storage tanks.

    (p) Vinyl chloride purification incudes any part of the process of 

vinyl chloride production which follows vinyl chloride formation.

    (q) Reactor includes any vessel in which vinyl chloride is partially 

or totally polymerized into polyvinyl chloride.

    (r) Reactor opening loss means the emissions of vinyl chloride 

occurring when a reactor is vented to the atmosphere for any purpose 

other than an emergency relief discharge as defined in Sec.  61.65(a).

    (s) Stripper includes any vessel in which residual vinyl chloride is 

removed from polyvinyl chloride resin, except bulk resin, in the slurry 

form by the use of heat and/or vacuum. In the case of bulk resin, 

stripper includes any vessel which is used to remove residual vinyl 

chloride from polyvinyl chloride resin immediately following the 

polymerization step in the plant process flow.

    (t) Standard temperature means a temperature of 20 [deg]C (69 

[deg]F).

    (u) Standard pressure means a pressure of 760 mm of Hg (29.92 in. of 

Hg).

    (v) Relief valve means each pressure relief device including 

pressure relief valves, rupture disks and other pressure relief systems 

used to protect process components from overpressure conditions. 

``Relief valve'' does not include polymerization shortstop systems, 

referigerated water systems or control valves or other devices used to 

control flow to an incinerator or other air pollution control device.

    (w) Leak means any of several events that indicate interruption of 

confinement of vinyl chloride within process equipment. Leaks include 

events regulated under subpart V of this part such as:

    (1) An instrument reading of 10,000 ppm or greater measured 

according to Method 21 (see appendix A of 40 CFR part 60);

    (2) A sensor detection of failure of a seal system, failure of a 

barrier fluid system, or both;

    (3) Detectable emissions as indicated by an instrument reading of 

greater than 500 ppm above background for equipment designated for no 

detectable emissions measured according to Method 21 (see appendix A of 

40 CFR part 60); and

    (4) In the case of pump seals regulated under Sec.  61.242-2, 

indications of liquid dripping constituting a leak under Sec.  61.242-2.



Leaks also include events regulated under Sec.  61.65(b)(8)(i) for 

detection of ambient concentrations in excess of background 

concentrations. A relief valve discharge is not a leak.

    (x) Exhaust gas means any offgas (the constituents of which may 

consist of any fluids, either as a liquid and/or gas) discharged 

directly or ultimately to the atmosphere that was initially contained in 

or was in direct contact with the equipment for which gas limits are 

prescribed in Sec. Sec.  61.62(a) and (b); 61.63(a); 61.64 (a)(1), (b), 

(c), and (d); 61.65 (b)(1)(ii), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(5), (b)(6)(ii), 

(b)(7), and (b)(9)(ii); and 61.65(d). A leak as defined in paragraph (w) 

of this section is not an exhaust gas. Equipment which contains exhaust 

gas is subject to Sec.  61.65(b)(8), whether or not that equipment 

contains 10 percent by volume vinyl chloride.

    (y) Relief valve discharge means any nonleak discharge through a 

relief valve.

    (z) 3-hour period means any three consecutive 1-hour periods (each 

commencing on the hour), provided that the number of 3-hour periods 

during which the vinyl chloride concentration exceeds 10 ppm does not 

exceed the number of 1-hour periods during which the vinyl chloride 

concentration exceeds 10 ppm.



[41 FR 46564, Oct. 21, 1976, as amended at 42 FR 29006, June 7, 1977; 51 

FR 34908, Sept. 30, 1986; 55 FR 28348, July 10, 1990; 65 FR 62151, Oct. 

17, 2000]