Ohio Air Pollution Control Regulations

Screen and digital printing facilities in Ohio are currently covered under a general air emissions regulation. The state does not have any specific air pollution control regulations for the screen-printing industry. Facilities that emit either 8 pounds of volatile organic compounds per hour (roughly equivalent to one gallon of solvent based ink) or 40 pounds of VOCs per day are affected. Rule 3745-21-23, Control of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Industrial Solvent Cleaning Operations, impacts screen and digital facilities.

Cleaning operations associated with digital operations are exempt from this rule's requirements. Screen facilities located in Ashtabulat, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage or Summit counties with emissions greater than 15 pounds of VOC per day must use solvents that either contain no more than 4.2 pounds of VOC per gallon or those that have a VOC composite partial vapor pressure of less than or equal to 8 mmHg at 20 degrees C. There are also record keeping requirements for facilities that are subject to this rule.