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Greetings!
Thank you for taking a few moments out of your busy day to open our February newsletter.
Scrolling down, you'll find information on our partnership with GEICO to promote the new "GreenLink Shop" program; a new article from Sue Schauls, CCAR Technical Advisor, on compliance with the EPA's "Paint Rule"; a link to give you access to CCAR's new "Quick Card" on safety issues when dealing with CNG-powered vehicles; and much more.
We want you to make the most of your time, whether it's spent utilizing one of our e-learning programs, seeking compliance assistance information, or just checking out the latest news.
Regards,
DAREN FRISTOE
CCAR President & Chief Operating Officer |
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 CCAR and GEICO Team to Promote "GreenLink Shop" to ARX Facilities
The Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair (CCAR) is partnering with GEICO to promote the new "GreenLink Shop" designation for GEICO's Auto Repair Xpress (ARX) facilities across the United States.
The GreenLink Shop status, an extension of CCAR's CCAR-GreenLink Environmental Compliance Assistance Center and S/P2 (Safety and Pollution Prevention) E-learning Program, is designed to promote consumer confidence in local automotive repair facilities' environmental/safety awareness and stewardship.
"GEICO is proud to be partnering with CCAR on this important initiative," said William DeGrocco, GEICO assistant vice president. "We have always promoted environmental awareness, and I am pleased that we will now have the ability through the GreenLink Shop program to recognize our ARX repair shops that meet and maintain this high level of environmental and safety standards."
"GEICO has long demonstrated its commitment to the best environmental and safety practices in auto repair," said Daren Fristoe, CCAR president and chief operating officer. "We are proud to be working with GEICO in our GreenLink Shop initiative to recognize shops for their commitment to workplace safety and environmental stewardship. Companies in this program distinguish themselves both in the marketplace and in their community outreach." Read more... |
 For "Paint Rule" Compliance:
Step in the Right Direction - Gun Wash
by Sue Schauls
CCAR Technical Advisor
The EPA's new Paint Rule governing the collision repair industry is under way at this point. The purpose of this rule is to reduce emissions of lead, nickel, cadmium, chromium and manganese. These chemicals are designated hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) known or suspected to cause cancer and other adverse health effects and can be found in paint used in the automotive refinishing industry.
The first deadline was to notify the EPA that the shop is governed by the Paint Rule and sending in an Initial Notification form by January 11, 2010. If the facility has not yet filed the Initial Notification form, do it now. The form can be downloaded at http://www.epa.gov/collisionrepair/pdfs/initialnotification.pdf.
The Paint Rule requirements, include:
- Notification Form by January 2010
- Paint booth exhaust systems of 98% efficient booth filters
- Spray booths/prep stations must be used
- Spray guns must be efficient types, such as HVLP
- Spray gun cleaning does not allow for atomization of thinner through gun for cleaning and recommends an automated enclosed gun wash
- Painter training requires gun set-up and spray techniques training materials by presented along with hands-on requirement by January 2011
- Final Notification of full compliance by March 2011
- Five-year continuing education
Spray Gun Cleaning Operations
No atomization of solvent through spray gun for cleaning purposes. Implement healthy gun cleaning practices that minimize painter exposure to solvents. Atomization of cleaning solvent through the paint gun (even in the paint booth) is not allowed for cleaning purposes.
Invest in a fully enclosed automatic gun wash system as the best management practice to protect employee health.
Solvent (paint thinner) purchase and disposal fees constitute a major expense for automotive body shops. When considering pollution prevention options for the automotive painting industry, using an automatic gun wash unit in place of manual gun washing is one recommendation to decrease the frequency and the cost for product purchase and waste disposal.
There are several types of automatic gun wash units, ranging from one gun capacity to four, covered and uncovered versions, as well as units that are paired with solvent distillation units. All paint gun washers flush and clean paint guns within a closed system. Determining which type of unit is appropriate for a facility involves the size of the facility, amount of solvent used and the number of gun washings performed per day.
Read more...
Go to:
EPA Collision Repair Campaign web site
CCAR-GreenLink "Paint Rule" page
Visit the Design for the Environment website for more information at
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/auto/trainers/cleanguncheck.htm
Code Citation: 40CFR63 Subpart HHHHHH of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating Operations at Area Sources.
E-mail your questions to: paintrule@ccar-greenlink.org
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Free Safety "Quick Card" on CNG-Powered Vehicles is Latest CCAR-OSHA Alliance Product
Through its ongoing Alliance with the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), CCAR announces the publication of a free Quick Card dealing with safety issues for the automotive repair industry regarding vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).
The CCAR-OSHA Alliance provides information, guidance and access to training resources to the auto repair industry that will help protect employees' health and safety.
"Our Alliance with OSHA provides opportunities such as this to share important safety information with the automotive repair community," said Daren Fristoe, CCAR president and chief operating officer. "Feedback from the industry is an important part of the process, so we welcome comments and suggestions on future topics to be addressed through the CCAR-OSHA Alliance."
To access the Quick Card, go to:
http://www.ccar-greenlink.org/AllianceOSHA/CNG Quick Card-Final 1001.pdf
For more information on the CCAR-OSHA Alliance, go to:
http://www.ccar-greenlink.org/AllianceOSHA/index.html
For more information on OSHA's Alliance Program, go to:
http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/alliances/index.html |
 CCAR-GreenLink Updates State-by-State Information, Links
CCAR-GreenLink, the National Environmental Compliance Assistance Center for Auto Repair operated by CCAR in cooperation with the U.S. EPA, has recently completed an update of its "State Contacts" information. For all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, CCAR has identified and posted links to environmental regulatory agencies and their key sub-groups, as well as direct links to automotive-specific information created and posted by these agencies.
In addition, each state's OSHA contacts are listed, including those in which "State Plans" take precedence, along with links to free onsite safety consultation services.
New to the site are links from the states' pages to an independent data base of "Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TSD) & Recycling Facilities." To learn more, visit http://www.ccar-greenlink.org/contacts/index.html.
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 OSHA Releases Workplace Injury and Illness Information in Searchable Format
Every year since 1996, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has collected work-related injury and illness data from more than 80,000 employers. For the first time, the Agency has made the data from 1996 to 2007 available in a searchable online database, allowing the public to look at establishment or industry-specific injury and illness data. The workplace injury and illness data is available at http://www.osha.gov/pls/odi/establishment_search.html as well as Data.gov.
OSHA uses the data to calculate injury and illness incidence rates to guide its strategic management plan and to focus its Site Specific Targeting (SST) Program, which the agency uses to target its inspections. "Making injury and illness information available to the public is part of OSHA's response to the administration's commitment to make government more transparent to the American people," said David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. "This effort will improve the public's accessibility to workplace safety and health data and ensure the Agency can function more effectively for American workers." Information available at the Data.gov and www.osha.gov Websites includes an establishment's name, address, industry, associated Total Case Rate (TCR), Days Away, Restricted, Transfer (DART) case rate, and the Days Away From Work (DAFWII) case rate. The data is specific to the establishments that provided OSHA with valid data through the 2008 data collection (collection of CY 2007 data). This database does not contain rates calculated by OSHA for establishments that submitted suspect or unreliable data. More information about the Department of Labor's Open Government Web site is available at http://www.dol.gov/open/ where there are links to the latest data sets, ways to connect with Department staff, and information about providing public input that will make the Department's site and its work more useful and engaging.
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 Collision Repair Campaign Posters: Get Yours Now - Free!
A full-color, 15-inch by 20-inch poster featuring NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon has been produced to promote the U.S. EPA's "Collision Repair Campaign." 
To order a free copy of the poster, contact the CCAR Office at 1-888-476-5465. |
 U.S. EPA Increases Transparency of Proposed Regulations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new Web site giving the public additional opportunity to participate in the agency's rulemaking process, demonstrating President Obama's commitment to more transparent and open government. The online "Rulemaking Gateway" serves as a portal to EPA's priority rules, providing citizens with earlier and more concise information about agency regulations. It also allows users to search for EPA rules that relate to specific interests, including impacts on small business; children's health; environmental justice; and state, local and tribal government. Rulemaking Gateway provides information as soon as work begins and provides updates on a monthly basis as new information becomes available. Time-sensitive information, such as notice of public meetings, is updated on a daily basis. Rulemaking Gateway complements Regulations.gov, the federal government's main portal for tracking rules from all federal agencies, by providing brief overviews of specific EPA rules and additional ways to search rules based on the phases they are in (e.g., pre-proposal, proposal), the topics they relate to (e.g., air, water), and the impacts they might have (e.g., impacts on small businesses or environmental justice). The new Web site offers a distilled "snapshot" of a rule, with just enough information for a citizen to determine his or her interest in the rule. The individual then can use Rulemaking Gateway links to Regulations.gov and to other EPA sources where comprehensive information is available. In addition, EPA has established a Rulemaking Gateway discussion forum to allow the public to suggest enhancements to the site. The forum will be open through July 16, 2010, after which EPA plans to make enhancements based on ideas received. More information on Rulemaking Gateway and the discussion forum: http://www.epa.gov/rulemaking/
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Follow CCAR-GreenLink on Twitter
The
Coordinating
Committee For Automotive Repair is utilizing the "Twitter" online
social networking service to notify interested individuals as new or
updated information is posted on the CCAR-GreenLink web site, or as environmental news
items of interest to the automotive industry, including compliance and
enforcement actions, are posted.
To receive updates via Twitter, users
may click on the following link:
http://twitter.com/CCARGreenLink
Users may also
receive RSS feeds of the CCAR-GreenLink
updates at:
http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/26807262.rss
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