Part 234: Graphic Arts

(1) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, or flexographic printing process at any facility which was constructed on or before May 10, 1981 for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility equal or exceed 100 tons must have demonstrated compliance with this Part by July l, 1982.

(2) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, or flexographic printing process at any facility which was constructed after May 10, 1981 for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility equal or exceed 100 tons must have demonstrated compliance with this Part upon start-up.

(3) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, or flexographic printing process at any facility which was constructed on or before September 1, 1988 for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility are less than 100 tons must have demonstrated compliance with this Part by May 15, 1991. Any offset lithographic printing process which was constructed on or before September 1, 1988 regardless of annual potential to emit must have demonstrated compliance with this Part by May 15, 1991.

(4) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, flexographic or offset lithographic printing process which was constructed after September 1, 1988 must have demonstrated compliance with this Part upon start-up.

(5) Any owner or operator of a screen printing process must:

(1) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, or flexographic printing process at any facility which was constructed on or before May 10, 1981 and for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility equal or exceed 100 tons must have demonstrated compliance with this Part by July l, 1982.

(2) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, or flexographic printing process at any facility which was constructed after May 10, 1981 and for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility equal or exceed 100 tons must have demonstrated compliance with this Part upon start-up.

(3) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, flexographic, offset lithographic printing process or screen printing process at any facility for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility equal or exceed 25 tons must:

(4) Any owner or operator of a facility involving a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, flexographic, offset lithographic printing process or screen printing process which is constructed after March 1, 1993 and which meets the current applicability criteria in paragraph (3) of this subdivision, must demonstrate compliance with this Part upon start-up.

(1) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, or flexographic printing process which was installed on or before May 10, 1981 at any facility located in the counties of Albany, Cayuga, Columbia, Dutchess, Erie, Genesee, Greene, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange (outside the Lower Orange County metropolitan area) Orleans, Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga (limited to the towns of Clifton Park and Halfmoon, the city of Mechanicville, and the town and village of Waterford), Schenectady, Seneca, Ulster, Wayne, Wyoming, or Yates for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility equal or exceed 100 tons was to have demonstrated compliance with this Part by July l, 1982.

(2) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, or flexographic printing process which was installed after May 10, 1981 at any facility for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility equal or exceed 100 tons must have demonstrated compliance with this Part upon start-up.

(3) Any owner or operator of a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, flexographic, offset lithographic printing process, or screen printing process at any facility for which the annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds from all sources regardless of process type, but excluding combustion installations, at the facility equal or exceed 50 tons must:

(4) Any owner or operator of a facility involving a packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, flexographic, offset lithographic printing process or screen printing process which is constructed after March 1, 1993 and which meets the current applicability criteria in paragraph (3) of this subdivision, must demonstrate compliance with this Part upon start-up.

(1) submit a compliance plan to the Department of Environmental Conservation by November 15, 1993 which contains a schedule of the steps necessary for the facility to achieve compliance with this Part and the dates by which each step will be completed;

(2) be in compliance with this Part by June 1, 1995; and

(3) maintain the VOC control requirements and compliance schedule included in any permit, regulation, rule, administrative order, or any judicial order, until compliance with the provisions of this Part is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner.

(1) conductive inks which are applied at screen printing processes in the production of electronic circuits that permit electric current flow through the printed line or pattern;

(2) sterilization indicating inks which are applied at screen printing processes used to monitor the sterilization of medical instruments, autoclave efficiency, and the thermal processing of foods for the prevention of spoilage;

(3) inks which are applied by proof presses; or

(4) low-use specialty inks and/or coatings where the plantwide total annual usage is equal to or less than 55 gallons provided that:

(1) Annual. Refers to a period of time based upon a calendar year commencing January 1st and terminating midnight December 31st.

(2) Container. Any portable device in which a material is stored, transported, or otherwise handled.

(3) Capture system. All the equipment including, but not limited to, hoods, ducts, fans, booths, ovens, or dryers that contain, collect, and transport an air pollutant to a control device.

(4) Excluded VOC. Any of the compounds expressly excluded from the definition of volatile organic compound (VOC) in section 200.1 of this Title.

(5) Flexographic printing process. Application of words, designs, and pictures to a substrate by means of a printing technique in which the image to be applied is raised above the nonimage area and the image carrier is made of a rubber or other elastomeric materials.

(6) Fountain solution. A solution of water, volatile organic compounds, gum arabic, and surfactants used for wetting lithographic press plates.

(7) Graphic arts. Packaging rotogravure, publication rotogravure, flexographic, offset lithographic, and screen printing processes.

(8) Lower Orange County metropolitan area. The area including the towns of Blooming Grove, Chester, Highlands, Monroe, Tuxedo, Warwick and Woodbury.

(9) Maximum permitted pounds of volatile organic compounds (VOC) per gallon of ink/coating or adhesive, minus water and excluded VOC, at application. the permissible quantity volatile organic compounds per gallon of ink/coating or adhesive minus water and excluded VOC, at application as specified in subdivision 234.3(c), Table 1, of this Part. The actual VOC content of the as applied coating is calculated as follows:

where:

(VOC)a = VOC content of "as applied" coating, expressed as a mass of VOC, in pounds, per volume of coating, in gallons, minus water and excluded VOC

(Dc) a = coating density as applied, in pounds per gallon

(Wv) a = the weight fraction of total volatiles in the coating, as applied

(Ww) a = the weight fraction of water in the coating, as applied

(Vw) a = the volume fraction of water in the coating, as applied

(We) a = the weight fraction excluded VOC in the coating, as applied

(Ve) a = the volume fraction of excluded VOC in the coating, as applied.

(10) New York City metropolitan area. All of the city of New York, and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland Counties.

(11) Nonreactive volatiles. Any of the compounds expressly excluded from the definition of volatile organic compound (VOC) in section 200.1 of this Title.

(12) Nonvolatile material. The solid portion of ink as determined by an analytical method acceptable to the commissioner.

(13) Offset lithographic printing process. Application of words, designs and pictures to a substrate by means of planographic printing technique which involves the use of an lithographic plate, where the image and nonimage areas are chemically maintained from which the inked image is transferred to an intermediate surface called a blanket which in turn transfers the inked image to the substrate.

(14) Packaging rotogravure printing process. Rotogravure printing upon paper, paper board, metal foil, plastic film, and other substrates which are, in subsequent operations, formed into either wallpaper or packaging products and labels for articles to be sold.

(15) Potential to emit. The maximum capacity of an air contamination source to emit any air contaminant under its physical and operational design. Any physical or operational limitation on the capacity of the facility or air contamination source to emit any air contaminant, including air pollution control equipment and/or restriction on the hours of operation, or type of material combusted, stored, or processed, shall be treated as part of the design only if the limitation is contained in enforceable permit conditions. Fugitive emissions, to the extent that they are quantifiable, are included in determining the potential to emit.

(16) Printing process. The equipment used to apply words, pictures, or designs to either a continuous substrate (web), or a sheet. A continuous substrate consists of paper, plastic, or other material that is unwound from a roll, passed through ink or coating applicators and any associated drying areas. The press includes all ink and coating applicators and drying areas between unwind and rewind of the continuous substrate. A sheet consists of paper, plastic, or other material that is carried through the process on a moving belt. The press includes all ink and coating applicators and drying operations between the time that the sheet is put on the moving belt until it is taken off.

(17) Proof press. A printing press used only to check the quality of print color and editorial content.

(18) Publication rotogravure printing process. Rotogravure printing which is subsequently formed into books, magazines, catalogs, brochures, directories, newspaper supplements and other types of printed materials.

(19) Rotogravure printing process. Application of words, designs, and pictures to a substrate by means of an intaglio printing operation in the inked image is transferred from minute etched or engraved wells on a plate or cylinder to the substrate which is supported by an impression roller.

(20) Screen printing. Application of words, designs, and pictures to a substrate by delivering ink through a tightly stretched fabric to which a refined form of stencil has been applied. The stencil and mesh openings determine the form and dimensions of the imprint. Excluded from this definition are inks/coatings or adhesives which are applied by a hand held squeegee. A hand held squeegee is one which is not propelled through the use of any mechanical conveyance and is not an integral part of the screen printing process.

(21) Serigraph. A term used by fine artists to denote the result of screen printing of original art. Also used to denote the fine arts reproduction phase of screen printing industry.

(22) Solvent. A substance that is liquid at standard conditions and is used to dissolve or dilute another substance; this term includes, but is not limited to, organic materials used as dissolvers, viscosity reducers, degreasing agents, or cleaning agents. Any excluded VOC is not a solvent.

(1) the volatile fraction of ink, as it is applied to the substrate, contains 25.0 percent by volume or less of volatile organic compounds and 75.0 percent by volume or more of nonreactive volatiles. Compliance is determined as follows:

(2) the ink as it is applied to the substrate, less nonreactive volatiles, contains 60.0 percent by volume or more nonvolatile material. Compliance is determined as follows:

(3) the capture system and the air cleaning device must provide for an overall reduction in volatile organic compound emissions of at least:

(1) the fountain solution contains 15 percent by weight or less of volatile organic compounds for sources in operation before September 1, 1988;

(2) the fountain solution contains 10 percent by weight or less of volatile organic compounds for sources in operation on or after September 1, 1988; or

(3) an air cleaning device shall provide for a reduction in VOC emissions from the dryer exhaust of at least 90 percent.

(2) Facilities with printing processes subject to this Part with annual potential to emit of less than 5 tons of volatile organic compounds will only be required to comply with (1)(i) and (1)(iv) of this subdivision in order to demonstrate that a lesser degree of control is RACT for these processes.

(3) The commissioner may allow sources which use natural gas fired afterburners as control devices for processes subject to this Part, to shut down these natural gas fired afterburners from November 1st through March 31st for the purposes of natural gas conservation, provided that the commissioner has determined that this action will not jeopardize air quality. Such evidence shall be submitted with the application for a permit to construct, a certificate, or renewal of a certificate to operate for an existing source under the provisions of Part 201 of this Title.

(1) This demonstration may be performed by directly measuring VOC/solvent recovery and VOC/solvent usage rates where VOC/solvent recovery is the only control technique. Methods described in Section 234.5(b)(1) and (b)(2) of this Part must be used.

(2) For control equipment other than VOC/solvent recovery, this demonstration must include provisions to determine both the efficiency of the capture system and of the subsequent destruction and/or removal of these air contaminants by control equipment prior to their release to the atmosphere.

(2) Acceptable analytical methods for determining the volatile content, water content, density, volume of solids and weight of solids of surface coatings and printing inks are presented in appendix A, methods 24 and 24A respectively, of 40 CFR 60. Alternate analytical methods for surface coating and printing ink analysis must be approved by the commissioner and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Instead of an ink solvent/volatile analysis, the commissioner may accept certification from the ink manufacturer of the composition of the ink solvent/volatiles, if supported by actual batch records.

(3) Purchase, usage and/or production records of inks, VOC, and solvents must be maintained in a format acceptable to the commissioner's representative, and upon request, these records must be submitted to the Department's representative. In addition, any other information required to determine compliance with this Part must be provided to the commissioner's representative in a format acceptable to him. Records must be maintained at the facility for a period of five years.

(4) The results of any analysis or other procedure used for establishing compliance with this Part must be provided to the commissioner's representative. Representatives of the Department of Environmental Conservation shall be permitted, during reasonable business hours, to obtain ink and/or fountain solution samples for the purpose of determining compliance with this Part.

(5) Any graphic arts facility which is not subject to the control requirements of this Part because its annual potential to emit volatile organic compounds are below the applicability criteria, must maintain records in a format acceptable to the commissioner's representative that verify the facility's annual potential to emit VOC. Upon request, these records must be submitted to the department.

(1) exhaust gas temperature of all incinerators;

(2) temperature rise across catalytic incinerator bed;

(3) breakthrough of volatile organic compounds on a carbon adsorption unit; and

(4) any other continuous monitoring or recording device required by the commissioner.

(1) coatings and/or inks utilized at printing processes where control equipment has been installed to demonstrate compliance with this Part; or

(2) coatings and/or inks utilized at printing processes that have been granted variances for reasons of technological and economic feasibility per section 234.3(f) of this Part.