The Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair (CCAR) has announced Nationwide Auto Body of Schaumburg, Ill., as the 100th facility to receive the organization's GreenLink Shop recognition.

Michael Gleason, President of Nationwide Auto Body, states, "My 18-year-old daughter Colleen has pushed me to make Nationwide Auto Body eco-friendly since she was 12. My family is very outdoors-oriented, and we are trying to do our part."

"Repair facilities' strong interest in industry recognition of their shared commitment to workplace safety and environmental best practices has been at the heart of the GreenLink Shop program since its introduction in January 2010," says Daren Fristoe, CCAR President and Chief Operating Officer. "We are proud to honor Nationwide Auto Body and all of the first 100 shops to achieve GreenLink Shop status, and to commend them both to the industry and to consumers who want to know their local repair shop's environmental/safety awareness and stewardship."

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Do I need a state air permit for my collision repair shops? 

Simply stated the answer is, "YES." Every shop must ensure compliance with the state air quality division, although many states do NOT require small volume users to hold an actual air permit issued from the state. To maintain the permit exemption, the auto body shop must keep documentation on the volume of sprayables used each day.

Keep a daily log of the amount of paint, primer and clear coat atomized through the paint gun for each and every business day to ensure that your shop is making compliance decisions based on accurate data. In the states that allow an exemption for low volume usage (as much as 6 gallons per day on average in one state!), the data tracking is absolutely necessary to maintain the exempt status.

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Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles - also known as Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV) have become more readily available as manufacturers build new vehicles and existing gasoline-powered vehicles are converted to CNG. Employees and employers in the automotive repair industry need to understand the basic safety requirements before working on CNG vehicles.

CNG Basics

Technicians should be aware of the differences between gasoline-fueled and CNG vehicles:

• A CNG fuel tank is usually in the rear or trunk area of the vehicle, but on heavier vehicles the fuel tank may be in a sleep cabin, in the truck bed, on the roof or underneath bunks.
• The fuel tank typically holds three cylinders of natural gas, which is stored under pressure, usually 3,000-3,600 psi.
• CNG vehicles display a blue diamond CNG label on the vehicle's exterior front, rear bumper or tailgate. The gas storage cylinders are also labeled to identify the vehicle.

Inspection Requirements

The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS 304) requires regular visual inspection of CNG cylinders for damage or deterioration:

• After a motor vehicle accident or fire, and
• Every 36 months or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first

If your shop does not have a qualified CNG inspector on staff, contact the CNG vehicle manufacturer, local gas utilities or container manufacturers that offer inspection services. Visible registration tags are required after each inspection, stating the date of the last inspection and when the next inspection is due.

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The Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair (CCAR) has announced the eight shops that have received recognition as GreenLink Shops for the month of February.

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.

The new GreenLink Shops are:

• 112 Automotive Center, Patchogue, N.Y.
• Clean Fleet Auto Body, Metairie, La.
• Collision Professionals, Inc., Port St. Lucie, Fla.
• Gilson Autobody, Sparks, Nev.
• Hi-Tech CARSTAR, Spanaway, Wash.
• John Harris Body Shop, Columbia, S.C.
• John Harris Body Shop, Lexington, S.C.
• JPS Collision, Inc., Newark, N.J.

"The continuing interest in the GreenLink Shop program is an indicator of our industry's desire to not only repair today's complex vehicles properly but also to take extraordinary measures to ensure the safety and health of employees," says Rod Enlow, CCAR Vice President of Industry Relations. "It is gratifying to observe the collision industry as it has matured to today's modern shops, going far beyond just the minimum effort in the important areas of training, environmental compliance, and health and safety best practices."

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