With regard to small facilities, as mentioned above, the capital costs are estimated to be $68,000 and annualized costs of $14,000 per baghouse. Furthermore, the Agency is proposing revised Pb emission standards for grid casting and lead reclamation facilities. grid casting). Mandatory (40 CFR part 60, subpart KKa and 40 CFR part 63, subpart PPPPPP). Start Printed Page 10154 While these facilities will be newly required to perform the recordkeeping and reporting required by the rule, the EPA is proposing that 180 days is sufficient time to review the recordkeeping and reporting requirements, develop systems, and perform training for gathering, submitting, and maintaining the required information. Furthermore, we have not identified any non-air environmental impacts and energy requirements. Specifically, the Court vacated the SSM EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0619) and include a redline version of the regulation for the NESHAP and new proposed regulatory language for the new NSPS subpart. Instructions. However, we determined such additional controls are not cost effective for lead reclamation activities. Similarly, in a poorly ventilated area, connecting or disconnecting a closed circuit (such as a load or a charger) to the battery terminals can also cause sparks and an explosion, if any gas was vented from the cells. Instructions Emissions for a small and large model facility with a fabric filter plus a secondary HEPA filter are estimated to be 8E-06 tpy, and 3E-05 tpy, respectively. EPA's Final Plan for Periodic Retrospective Reviews, has no substantive legal effect. In addition to the proposed actions described above, we are proposing additional revisions to the NESHAP. documents in the last year, 39 This stacking, connecting, and assembly of the plates into battery cases is generally Frequency of response: 7411(a)(1)) provides that performance standards are to reflect the degree of emission limitation achievable through the application of the best system of emission reduction which (taking into account the cost of achieving such reduction and any non-air quality health and environmental impact and energy requirements) the Administrator determines has been adequately demonstrated. 42 U.S.C. Details of this analysis are presented in During the digital camera opacity technique (DCOT) certification procedure outlined in section 9.2 of ASTM D7520-16, you or the DCOT vendor must present the plumes in front of various backgrounds of color and contrast representing conditions anticipated during field use such as blue sky, trees, and mixed backgrounds (clouds and/or a sparse tree stand). Section 63.10(b)(2)(ii) describes the recordkeeping requirements during a malfunction. electronic version on GPOs govinfo.gov. https://www.epa.gov/dockets. For the other two facilities, we expect that their scrubbing systems already include the capability to measure liquid flow rate since it is a standard requirement to ensure a scrubbing system is operating properly; therefore, we estimate these facilities will not have any capital costs to comply with this requirement but may have small unquantified increase in annual costs due to recordkeeping requirements. 06 th March 2023 Lead-acid batteries are among the world's safest and most reliable energy storage devices. numbers 1072.14 for the NSPS KKa and 2256.07 for the NESHAP. The lead-acid battery recycling industry generates the bulk of secondary antimony and consumes nearly all of the antimony generated (USGS, 2020). v. Emissions and Ambient Monitoring Data Used for the Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing Rule Reviews In the case where pressure drop is outside the normal range, you must also submit a monitoring system performance report; and in the case of detected VEs, you must also conduct an opacity measurement (Method 9), and if it exceeds the applicable opacity standard then you must also submit an excess emissions report. Repeated deep discharges will result in capacity loss and ultimately in premature failure, as the electrodes disintegrate due to mechanical stresses that arise from cycling. During the search, if the title or abstract (if provided) of the VCS described technical sampling and analytical procedures that are similar to the EPA's reference method, the EPA considered it as a potential equivalent method. The cells of VRLA batteries typically swell when the internal pressure rises, so giving a warning to users and mechanics. The data, analyses and decisions for each of these two processes at existing area source facilities is discussed in this section below. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. The documentation for this decision is contained in section V.C and V.E of this preamble. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK Shenzhen). Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. The EPA evaluates whether available information from the implementation and enforcement of current requirements indicate that emission limitations and percent reductions beyond those required by the standards are achieved in practice. With a reduction efficiency of 99 percent, compared to the 90 percent reduction efficiency for the emissions control technology available when the 1982 NSPS KK was developed, fabric filters represent an improvement in emissions reduction technology capable of reducing Pb emissions further than that of the current emission limits based on scrubbers. available docket materials are available electronically in https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. The ICRs are specific to information collection associated with the Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing source category, through the new 40 CFR part 60, subpart KKa and amendments to 40 CFR part 63, subpart PPPPPP. km With reduction efficiency of 99.97 percent, we estimate Pb emissions reductions from baseline facility compared to model facility with secondary HEPA filter would be 0.026 and 0.1 tpy for small and large facilities, respectively. We are proposing to add a row to the General Provisions table (Table 3) for 40 CFR 63.10(c)(15) and including a no for this entry in column 3. If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you However, we are not proposing a requirement for small facilities because it would impose significant economic impacts on some small businesses. The source category definition is broad enough that the EPA determined it can encompass these facilities. Periods of startup, normal operations, and shutdown are all predictable and routine aspects of a source's operations. https://www.epa.gov/naaqs In this case the battery voltage might rise to a value near that of the charger voltage; this causes the charging current to decrease significantly. Nature Sustain. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0619. Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. 06/02/2023, 244 2008). documents in the last year, 829 Wet cell stand-by (stationary) batteries designed for deep discharge are commonly used in large backup power supplies for telephone and computer centres, grid energy storage, and off-grid household electric power systems. d We propose to add a requirement to measure and record the liquid flow rate across each scrubbing system (that is not followed by a fabric filter) at least once every 15 minutes in the NESHAP in addition to monitoring pressure drop across each scrubbing system. The proposed requirements, for any emissions point controlled by a fabric filter, include the following: Through the review of regulations developed since the promulgation of the lead acid battery manufacturing NSPS KK, it was found that the NESHAP for Primary Lead Processing (40 CFR part 63, subpart TTT) and Secondary Lead Smelters (40 CFR part 63, subpart X) require fabric filters ( The plates are cured, stacked, and connected into groups that form the individual elements of a lead acid battery. As described above, the proposed amendments would result in some reductions in emissions of Pb. Grid casting is the process of making a grid, which is the carrier of the active material and also the conductive current collector. 1.00 mg/dscm for three-process operations and 5.0 mg/kg feed for lead oxide manufacturing) for facilities that commence construction, reconstruction, or modification after February 23, 2022. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. : NO.1916-1917 HUAGANG COMMERCIAL BUILDING,NO.140,WEST ZHONGSHAN AVE, TIANHE DISTRICT.GUANGZHOU. These proposed requirements are consistent with the monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements for lead acid battery manufacturing sources that use fabric filters to comply with the current area source GACT requirements in 40 CFR part 63, subpart PPPPPP along with three proposed amendments for subpart PPPPPP in this action, as follows: Increased frequency of fabric filter inspections from semi-annually to monthly for fabric filters without secondary filters ( This subset of facilities was chosen because they had an ambient monitor nearby (7 facilities; including 6 area source and one major source) or their total estimated Pb emissions were greater than 0.05 tons per year (tpy) (10 additional facilities). 804(2), so the effective date of the final rule will be the promulgation date as specified in CAA section 111(b)(1)(B)). This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211 because it is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. While the EPA expects the hearing to go forward as set forth above, please monitor our website or contact the public hearing team at (888) 372-8699 or by email at If you submit an electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any digital storage media you submit. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Recent maintenance procedures have been developed allowing "rehydration", often restoring significant amounts of lost capacity. Following publication in the We consider the use of bag leak detection systems a development in operational procedures that will assure compliance with the area source NESHAP by identifying and correcting fabric filter failures earlier than would be indicated by the daily pressure drop monitoring or daily VE monitoring. In proposing the standards in this rule, the EPA has taken into account startup and shutdown periods and, for the reasons explained below, has not proposed alternate standards for those periods. According to a 2003 report entitled "Getting the Lead Out", by Environmental Defense and the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, the batteries of vehicles on the road contained an estimated 2,600,000 metric tons (2,600,000 long tons; 2,900,000 short tons) of lead. For this reason, both designs can be called maintenance free, sealed and VRLA. Approximately 86% of the total global consumption of lead is for the production of lead-acid batteries mainly used in motorized vehicles, storage of energy generated by photovoltaic cells and wind turbines, and for back-up power supplies (ILA, 2019). Through the review of permits for lead acid battery manufacturing facilities, we found that some permits include fugitive dust minimization programs. (based on a 3-month rolling average), at all times in the past 3 years (2018-2020). fabric filters) combined with a secondary HEPA filter represents an improvement in emissions reduction technology. The annual recordkeeping and reporting burden for responding facilities to comply with all of the requirements in the new NSPS KKa and the NESHAP, averaged over the 3 years of this ICR, is estimated to be 2,580 hours (per year). The stratification also promotes corrosion on the upper half of the plates and sulfation at the bottom.[33]. In addition, performance tests are also frequently used to establish operating parameters that can be monitored to show ongoing compliance with the relevant standard(s). section of this document. Similarly, we are proposing to add a row to the General Provisions table (Table 3) for 40 CFR 63.6(h)(1) and including a no for this entry in column 3. These pasted plates are cured in ovens under certain conditions of temperature near 32 degree centigrade for about 48 hours, with humidity nearing about 90 percent and are finally allowed to dry condition at ambient temperatures. Earlier this year, the US automobile giant General Motors announced that it aims to stop selling petrol-powered and diesel models by 2035. This technology has been clearly demonstrated to be feasible for a number of facilities. Lead-acid batteries are still the single-most recycled product in the world. This action's assessments of potential impacts to human health are contained in section IV.A of this preamble. submission@omb.eop.gov, National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) and 1 CFR Part 51, J. This prototype edition of the Compared with most other Chinese battery manufacturers, VELA Power can really supply customers with reliable batteries for various applications. 830 F.3d 579, 606-610 (D.C. Cir. They are used in back-up power supplies for alarm and smaller computer systems (particularly in uninterruptible power supplies; UPS) and for electric scooters, electric wheelchairs, electrified bicycles, marine applications, battery electric vehicles or micro hybrid vehicles, and motorcycles. Africa, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia are among the regions blighted by informal recycling but not all operations there are informal or of poor standard, International Lead Association Regulatory Affairs Director Dr. Steve Binks said.