[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74006-74010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29904]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2012-0902; FRL-9371-9]
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs); Recycling Plastics From
Shredder Residue
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: EPA is seeking comment on an interpretation of its regulations
currently under consideration that would generally allow for the
recycling of plastic separated from shredder residue under the
conditions described in the Voluntary Procedures for Recycling Plastics
from Shredder Residue, relying principally on the regulatory provisions
for excluded PCB products. The interpretation described in this notice
responds to questions EPA has received about the applicability of the
excluded PCB products regulations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 11, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2012-0902, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
Hand Delivery: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO), EPA
East Bldg., Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. ATTN:
Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2012-0902. The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone
number for the DCO is (202) 564-8930. Such deliveries are only accepted
during the DCO's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements
should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-
2012-0902. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or email. The
regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means
EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment
directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM
[[Page 74007]]
you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index
available at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly
available docket materials are available either in the electronic
docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard
copy, at the OPPT Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in the EPA Docket
Center (EPA/DC) at Rm. 3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301 Constitution Ave.
NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of operation
are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number of the EPA/DC Public Reading Room is
(202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is (202)
566-0280. Docket visitors are required to show photographic
identification, pass through a metal detector, and sign the EPA visitor
log. All visitor bags are processed through an X-ray machine and
subject to search. Visitors will be provided an EPA/DC badge that must
be visible at all times in the building and returned upon departure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Gimlin, National Program
Chemicals Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 566-0515; email
address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
This notice is directed to the public in general, and may be of
interest to a wide range of stakeholders, including private citizens,
federal, tribal, state and local governments, environmental consulting
firms, industry representatives, environmental organizations and other
public interest groups. Since others may also be interested, the Agency
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may have
interest in this notice. If you have any questions regarding the
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
EPA is considering an interpretation of its regulations that would
generally allow for recycling of plastic separated from shredder
residue under the conditions described in the Voluntary Procedures for
Recycling Plastics from Shredder Residue (Ref. 1), relying principally
on the regulatory provision for excluded PCB products at 40 CFR part
761. In the interest of transparency, EPA is inviting the public to
provide comments as part of this process. EPA has opened the docket for
public comment for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Details on how to provide comments to the docket are provided under
ADDRESSES.
II. Background
EPA was approached by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries,
Inc. (ISRI), regarding separation, recycling, use, and distribution of
recycled plastics from shredder residue recovered from metals recycling
facilities (referred to by ISRI as automobile shredder residue (ASR)
aggregate). In a February 24, 2011 letter, ISRI requested ``written
confirmation that separating plastics from ASR aggregate for use and
distribution in commerce, using processes that reduce any PCBs that may
be present to a level at or below which there is no unreasonable risk,
is authorized'' under regulations promulgated pursuant to the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA) (see 16 U.S.C. 2605(e)) (Ref. 2). ISRI
stated that:
* * * analysis shows that the separation, recycling,
distribution in commerce, and reuse of plastics from shredder
aggregate is consistent with existing authorizations that allow the
use and distribution in commerce of products that contain low levels
of PCBs, including provisions for ``excluded PCB products'' and
``excluded PCB manufacturing processes'' (as defined in 40 C.F.R.
Sec. 761.3).
ISRI also stated that resolving regulatory uncertainty could lead to
investments and further development in innovative methods to separate
plastics from ASR aggregate that would produce broad environmental
benefits and increase global competitiveness (Ref. 2).
ISRI developed a set of voluntary procedures designed to prevent
the introduction of PCBs that are regulated for disposal into recycled
plastics recovered from shredder residue generated by metal recycling
facilities. The Voluntary Procedures for Recycling Plastics from
Shredder Residue (Ref. 1) includes development and implementation of a
documented materials management system through: (1) Documented source
control programs aimed at preventing the introduction of PCBs regulated
for disposal into the shredder feedstock materials that contribute to
any shredder residue from which plastics will be recovered for
recycling; and (2) documented output control programs for facilities
processing/producing/recycling plastics from shredder residue. The
Voluntary Procedures for Recycling Plastics from Shredder Residue and
supporting materials are available at EPA-HQ-OPPT-2012-0902.
According to ISRI, 1 to 2 million tons of plastic are generated
annually in ASR aggregate, most of which could be separated and
recycled rather than disposed using novel technologies (Ref. 3). ISRI
further delineates that the most common automotive plastic categories
are polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyurethane (PU), and
polyvinyl chloride (PVC). ISRI also mentions acrylonitrile styrene
butadiene (ABS) and high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) as additional types
of automotive plastics found in ASR. By assuming that the 1 to 2
million tons of plastic generated from ASR annually, when characterized
by the percentage of total scrap plastics from a typical 2001 vehicle
(Ref. 4), this would imply the following total annual volumes: PP
(22.1%): 221,000-442,000 tons; PU (19.3%): 193,000-386,000 tons; nylon
(12.4%): 124,000-248,000 tons; PVC (7.9%): 79,000-158,000 tons; ABS
(7.4%): 74,000-148,000 tons; PE (4.4%): 44,000-88,000 tons;
polycarbonate (3.9%): 39,000-78,000 tons; other engineering resins,
including HIPS (10.9%): 109,000-218,000 tons; polyvinyl butyral (2.1%):
21,000-41,000 tons; other (9.8%): 98,000-196,000 tons. However, ISRI
notes that not all of these plastics are currently technically or
economically feasible for recovery. But, ISRI highlights several
plastics as likely candidates for recycling. These are PP, high-density
PE, ABS, HIPS, and PU foam. Recovery of these plastics would require
installation and operation of new or modified material separation
equipment.
To characterize the potential benefits of recovering and recycling
plastics in ASR aggregate, ISRI commissioned a report from Nathan
Associates, Inc. (Ref. 5). This report estimates economic benefits and
environmental improvements from separating, sorting, processing, and
recycling plastics found in ASR aggregate rather than disposing this
material. In brief, the report finds that allowing plastics in ASR
aggregate to be recycled would create demand for new capital equipment
to be manufactured, installed, and operated in material separation
facilities. This would lead to increased economic
[[Page 74008]]
activity both directly through purchase, installation, and operation of
this equipment, as well as indirectly through increased demand for
intermediate goods and services. The report also estimates positive
environmental impacts on energy consumption, greenhouse gases, water
use, and landfill space if virgin plastics were replaced with recycled
material.
EPA believes that recycling turns materials that would otherwise
become waste into valuable resources. Recycling includes collecting
recyclable materials that would otherwise be considered waste, sorting
and processing recyclables into raw materials such as fibers,
manufacturing raw materials into new products, and purchasing recycled
products. Collecting and processing secondary materials, manufacturing
recycled-content products, and then buying recycled products creates a
circle or loop that ensures the overall success and value of recycling.
Ultimately, recycling can generate a host of financial, environmental,
and social returns. Some of these benefits accrue locally as well as
globally. Examples of the general benefits of recycling include
protecting and expanding U.S. manufacturing jobs and increasing U.S.
competitiveness; reducing the need for landfilling and incineration;
preventing pollution caused by the manufacturing of products from
virgin materials; saving energy; decreasing emissions of greenhouse
gases that contribute to global climate change; conserving natural
resources such as timber, water, and minerals; and helping sustain the
environment for future generations.
With respect to recycling by the automotive industry overall,
research on improvements in automotive design and construction has been
conducted in order to facilitate the recycling of automotive materials/
components. The recycling of automotive steel has proven to be
economically advantageous, so that wholesale automotive recycling is
now widespread. Since a large volume of wastage is also generated,
industry is interested in reusing as much automotive plastic as may be
environmentally and economically feasible (Ref. 6).
Increases in the recycling of plastics from ASR aggregate may also
offer some benefits beyond that of other forms of plastics recycling.
For instance, because substantial automotive recycling systems are
already in place for the primary purpose of recovering steel, large
quantities of ASR aggregate are already being simultaneously collected.
Such available quantities of ASR aggregate may then be further
separated and processed as necessary for purposes of reuse. Also, any
potential expansion of ASR aggregate recycling capabilities could
potentially generate excess capacity and/or technological advancements
for use in the recycling of non-automotive products of a similar
nature, such as large appliances for example.
Such dynamics demonstrate the potential for creating a broad range
of direct and indirect benefits that may be directly attributed to
improved procedures and reduced regulatory barriers associated with the
recycling of plastics in ASR aggregate. Any stimulation of the market
for ASR aggregate may thereby help to not only protect and expand U.S.
manufacturing jobs, but also foster new technologies and products while
increasing U.S. competitiveness.
While EPA agrees that recycling plastics from ASR aggregate could
have net economic benefits and positive environmental impacts, EPA has
not conducted an independent estimate of the precise magnitude or
timing of these benefits and impacts. Therefore, EPA is not in a
position to assess the underlying assumptions, or the savings per ton
and multipliers, used in the benefit estimates from the Nathan
Associates, Inc. report commissioned by ISRI. EPA notes that the report
does not address the extent to which economic activity associated with
the recycling of plastics from ASR aggregate would displace current
economic activity associated with disposal of these plastics or the
manufacturing of virgin materials. Nor does it address the timing of
potential investments in new equipment. Additionally, the report relies
on assumptions supported by limited data on plastic volumes,
recoverability, environmental impacts, and market prices. EPA is
interested in the public views on factors that may affect the
direction, magnitude, and timing of benefits, costs, and environmental
impacts associated with recycling plastics found in ASR aggregate
rather than disposing of this material.
As expressed in the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.
13101 et seq., and the Agency's pollution prevention policies, EPA
generally prefers recycling to disposal of materials within the waste
management hierarchy. This general preference is a factor EPA has
considered here. Plastics recovered from ASR aggregate could be
incorporated into a wide variety of consumer products such as
appliances, house wares, office goods, electronics, and carpeting.
Plastics from ASR aggregate could also be returned in a closed loop to
the automotive market. Although some of the same categories of plastics
recovered from ASR aggregate are also used in certain food contact and
medical applications, these recycled plastics are not expected to make
large inroads into demand for virgin materials for these applications
due to the voluntary procedures described in this notice. These
procedures require plastic recyclers to include contractual provisions
in sales contracts expressly stating that plastics containing recycled
material separated from ASR aggregate may contain PCBs, and therefore
the recycled plastics may be unsuitable for many products that
currently use virgin plastic, such as products that involve oral
contact.
III. Summary of Approach
The interpretation under consideration would generally allow for
the recycling of plastic separated from shredder residue under the
conditions described in the Voluntary Procedures for Recycling Plastics
from Shredder Residue (Ref. 1), relying principally on the regulatory
provisions for excluded PCB products.
TSCA section 6(e) generally prohibits the manufacture, processing,
distribution in commerce and use of PCBs. However, EPA has by
regulation excluded certain materials, including excluded PCB products,
from these prohibitions. Excluded PCB products are defined as follows:
Excluded PCB products means PCB materials which appear at
concentrations less than 50 ppm, including but not limited to:
(1) Non-Aroclor inadvertently generated PCBs as a byproduct or
impurity resulting from a chemical manufacturing process.
(2) Products contaminated with Aroclor or other PCB materials
from historic PCB uses (investment casting waxes are one example).
(3) Recycled fluids and/or equipment contaminated during use
involving the products described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
definition (heat transfer and hydraulic fluids and equipment and
other electrical equipment components and fluids are examples).
(4) Used oils, provided that in the cases of paragraphs (1)
through (4) of this definition:
(i) The products or source of the products containing < 50 ppm
concentration PCBs were legally manufactured, processed, distributed
in commerce, or used before October 1, 1984.
(ii) The products or source of the products containing < 50 ppm
concentrations PCBs were legally manufactured, processed,
distributed in commerce, or used, i.e., pursuant to authority
granted by EPA regulation, by exemption petition, by settlement
agreement, or pursuant to other Agency-approved programs;
(iii) The resulting PCB concentration (i.e. below 50 ppm) is not
a result of dilution, or leaks and spills of PCBs in concentrations
over 50 ppm. 40 CFR 761.3.
[[Page 74009]]
EPA regulations allow the use, processing, and distribution in
commerce of excluded PCB products. 40 CFR 761.20(a) and (c). Except as
otherwise specifically provided, the regulations do not restrict the
forms of use, processing and distribution that are allowed. EPA
specifically identified, as one likely source of PCBs in excluded PCB
products, ``contamination during recycling activities involving''
historic PCBs. 52 FR 25838, 25844 (July 8, 1987). EPA believes that it
is reasonable to interpret the regulations as generally allowing the
recycling of excluded PCB products. Accordingly, under the
interpretation discussed in this notice, to the extent that the
feedstock (scrap materials) to a shredder consists of these kinds of
materials, the plastics separated from the resulting residue could be
recycled (and the resulting recycled product would also be an excluded
PCB product that could be processed, used and distributed in commerce,
including being further recycled), provided the PCB concentration in
any resulting product is below 50 ppm.
Typically, the burden of demonstrating that a regulatory exclusion
applies rests with the party seeking that exclusion. EPA believes that,
for shredders and their suppliers that follow the Voluntary Procedures
document, it is appropriate to generally treat the feedstock as
consisting of excluded PCB products unless there is information
specifically indicating that the feedstock does not qualify. If
shredders and suppliers do not follow the voluntary procedures, they
will need to be able to otherwise demonstrate that the feedstock and
residue meet the exclusion. Clearly if the feedstock materials or
residue contain PCBs at concentrations = 50 ppm, the
materials cannot qualify as excluded PCB products.
EPA acknowledges uncertainty as to the source of the PCBs in
shredder residue. However, EPA believes the procedures, as explained in
the Voluntary Procedures document, can prevent the introduction of PCBs
at levels = 50 ppm. EPA may periodically evaluate the
processes and procedures involved in recycling plastics recovered from
shredder residue. In addition, EPA believes it is likely that the
number of potential sources of PCBs at levels = 50 ppm has
declined since the TSCA section 6(e) prohibitions went into effect. If
PCBs in the feedstock material are < 50 ppm, it is plausible that the
sources of PCBs in the residue are excluded PCB products. The
information available to EPA indicates that the PCBs found associated
with plastics separated from residue are Aroclor PCBs. Aroclors were
intentionally manufactured PCB mixtures, not inadvertently generated
PCBs. Since PCBs in general and Aroclors more specifically have not
been intentionally produced in the U.S. since the prohibitions in TSCA
section 6(e) became effective, the Aroclor identity of the PCBs found
associated with plastics separated from shredder residue suggests that
they were manufactured prior to 1984.
In promulgating the excluded PCB product rule, EPA described the
provision as follows:
EPA is adopting the generic 50 ppm exclusion for the processing,
distribution in commerce, and use, based on the Agency's
determination that the use, processing, and distribution in commerce
of products with less than 50 ppm PCB concentration will not
generally present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the
environment. EPA could not possibly identify and assess the
potential exposures from all the products which may be contaminated
with PCBs at less than 50 ppm. * * * EPA has concluded that the
costs associated with the strict prohibition on PCB activities are
large and outweigh the risks posed by these activities. 53 FR 24210
(June 27, 1988).
EPA has further stated, with respect to the excluded PCB products
rule: ``These amendments have excluded the majority of low-level PCB
activities (less than 50 ppm) from regulation'' (Ref. 7). Given the
difficulty of determining the precise source of PCBs, EPA believes the
purpose of excluding ``old'' PCBs under the excluded products rule is
best effectuated in these circumstances by treating < 50 ppm materials
entering a shredder as excluded PCB products unless there is
information specifically indicating that the materials do not qualify.
EPA's regulations provide another potentially relevant exclusion
from regulation for PCBs that result from an excluded manufacturing
process. 40 CFR 761.3. EPA believes that this interpretation would also
support recycling plastics if PCBs produced by an excluded
manufacturing process are present in shredder feedstock. However, based
on examination of data provided by ISRI in a ``Summary of Analysis Done
on Plastics Recovered from Shredder Aggregate'' (Ref. 8), for four
types of plastic recovered from shredder residue (i.e., ABS, HIPS, PP,
HDPE (high density polyethylene)), EPA believes it is less likely that
the PCBs that have been found associated with these plastics separated
from shredder residue resulted from excluded manufacturing processes,
because, among other things, EPA has not received notification from
manufacturers required for these processes under 40 CFR 761.185.
EPA requests comment on the regulatory interpretation described
above. EPA will accept comments for 30 days after date of publication
in the Federal Register. If adopted, the interpretation would not be a
legislative rule because it would not impose any binding requirements
on either EPA or the regulated community. EPA is requesting comment on
the approach because EPA is interested in the views of stakeholders on
the approach, not because EPA intends to establish binding
requirements.
IV. References
As indicated under ADDRESSES, a docket has been established for
this notice under docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2012-0902. The following
is a listing of the documents that are specifically referenced in this
action. The docket includes these documents and other information
considered by EPA, including documents that are referenced within the
documents that are included in the docket, even if the referenced
document is not physically located in the docket. For assistance in
locating these other documents, please consult the person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
1. ISRI. Voluntary Procedures for Recycling Plastics from
Shredder Residue, October 24, 2012.
2. ISRI. Letter from Robin K. Weiner to Steve Owens, February
24, 2011.
3. ISRI. Letter Re: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0757--Advance
Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs);
Reassessment of Use Authorizations, August 20, 2010.
4. American Chemistry Council. Chemistry and Light Vehicles,
August 2012, available at http://www.plastics-car.com/lightvehiclereport.
5. Nathan Associates, Inc. Economic Impacts and Environmental
Benefits of Separating, Sorting, Processing, and Recycling Plastics
in the Automobile and Appliance Shredder Aggregate, December 21,
2010.
6. Argonne National Laboratory. Recycling End-of-Life Vehicles
of the Future, December 1, 2009, available at http://www.ipd.anl.gov/anlpubs/2010/01/65969.pdf.
7. EPA. PCB Q & A Manual: An EPA TSCA assistance document
designed to provide the regulated community with Agency
interpretations to frequently posed questions, 1994, available at
http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/tsd/pcbs/pubs/manual.pdf.
8. ISRI. Summary of Analysis Done on Plastics Recovered from
Shredder Aggregate, Late 2010/Early 2011.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Hazardous substance, PCBs, Plastic,
Polychlorinated biphenyls, Recycling, Shredder residue.
[[Page 74010]]
Dated: November 29, 2012.
Louise P. Wise,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2012-29904 Filed 12-11-12; 8:45 am]
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