The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a rule to improve air quality standards for facilities that work with flexible polyurethane foam, as required by the Clean Air Act. This proposal focuses on reducing emissions of hazardous air pollutants by setting new standards for certain operations, like flame laminators and loop slitters, and updating reporting requirements to be fully electronic. These changes aim to provide better monitoring and compliance without significantly changing the current emission levels, ensuring both environmental protection and the continuation of existing industry practices. The proposal also eliminates exemptions during events such as startup and shutdown, meaning that emission standards will apply at all times.
Simple Explanation
The EPA wants to make sure factories working with a special kind of squishy material follow new air rules to keep the air clean. These rules say factories should watch their air pollution all the time and tell the EPA about it using computers, even when they're just starting up or stopping machines.