Vermont Air Pollution Control Regulations

Vermont regulates the specialty graphic imaging industry under its general provisions section of its regulations. Under this section, facilities with the potential to emit 50 tons of VOCs or more on an annual basis need to adopt best available control technologies to control VOC emissions. Vermont also has regulations to control the emissions of toxic air pollutants. All facilities need to compare their emission rates to the threshold trigger levels of the state's air toxic list. If the emission rates do not exceed the specified level, then no further review is required. The state's list includes the following air toxics commonly found in screen printing operations: chromium, cumene, dibutyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate, formaldehyde, silver, methylene chloride, methyl ethyl ketone, naphthalene, perchloroethylene, 1,1,1 trichloroethane, xylene.

Rule 5-253-17, Industrial Cleaning Solvents, applies to any facility that purchases for use at least 855 gallons of cleaning solvents, in aggregate, per rolling 12-month period.  There is an exemption to this rule for screen printing operations.  Cleaning of screen printing equipment is exempt as long as the cleaning solvent used has an as-applied VOC content that does not exceed 500 grams per liter or 4.2 pounds per gallon.

Cleaning activities associated with offset lithographic and letterpress printing are also exempt from the provisions of this rule.

If your facility must comply, then products containing no more than 50 grams per liter (0.42 lbs/gal), as applied or those with a vapor pressure no greater than 8 mmHg at 20°C can be used.