Repair yards face
emissions challenge
Just as soon as the marine coatings business meets one challenge,
it faces yet another. In this instance, it is the European Union’s
Solvent Emissions Directive (SED) which comes into force on 30
October 2005 and will require existing installations including ship
yards and repair facilities to comply with new regulations regarding
the emission of harmful substances within a transition period from
entry into force until 31 October 2007. Companies will have to notify
environmental regulators of their plans for a volatile organic
compound (VOC) emission reduction plans and then meet certain
compliance targets over the next two years. VOCs are widely used
across industry generally but the new rules state that users must
meet the conditions of the SED within the shortest possible time.
Unfortunately for the coatings business, solvents are a vital part of
their industrial process and organic solvents are widely used in
coatings, inks and adhesives. However the directive, which is aimed
at preventing or limiting the direct and indirect effects of damaging
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), will have broad
repercussions for the formulation of next generation coatings. All of
the major marine coatings companies, including International,
Hempel, SigmaKalon, Jotun and Ameron are being affected by the
new regulations and are already introducing a range of new
products with lower or no solvent content.
Solvents are significant contributors to the formation of ozone in the
lower areas of the atmosphere and scientists claim that they are partly
responsible for the occurrence of health-damaging summer smog,
particularly in hot weather. The substances undergo chemical reactions
in the atmosphere which generate ozone which, in large amounts, can
damage plant life and vegetation as well as adversely affecting
humans, particularly those with breathing disorders. Total emissions
limits will be set for sectors that use coatings as a matter of course and
will, in effect, limit the volume of solvent that can be emitted per area of
coated surface or indeed of manufactured product.
In the short run, there are serious implications for the ship repair
industry where large areas of plate are routinely painted with
sophisticated coatings. Yards will in future be forced to meet strict
new emission limits which could have an impact on working
practices as well as affecting the actual coating products in use.
Coatings manufacturers, meanwhile, will have to examine new
product formulations aimed at reducing solvent levels without
impairing the simplicity of application which is a vital property of any
successful marine paint.
Yards face a number of headaches. One is how they are
supposed to measure the level of solvent emitted from a site,
particularly where there are no covered facilities. Another concern is
that the SED is being interpreted differently in different countries. It is
understood, for example, that the Scottish Environmental Protection
Agency is taking a quite different line to the authorities elsewhere in
the UK. Linked to this is whether or not the directive will be enforced
unilaterally across the EU and how it will be policed.
Safinah, a UK-based coatings consultancy company, has designed
a new software programme, VOC manager, to help companies
comply with the SED and the corresponding legislation in the US, the
National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP).
The software is designed to assist in the monitoring and reporting of
existing emissions whilst also assisting in plans for further reductions.
Repair yards will thus be able to generate documents on their
compliancy as well as compiling plans on reducing future emissions.
A handheld scanner is used to obtain the necessary emissions data
and reports are then produced in the form required.
So that the software can work in a broad range of settings, a
significant degree of flexibility was required in its design. The main
objective was to overcome data collection problems in a shipyard
environment whilst also allowing the implementation of a coatings
management system in all the areas of a yard facility. The software
uses bar code data capture technology to record the type of coating
being used, the date, the project, location, paint consumption and
other relevant data.
Safinah claims the new system is easy to use. All aspects of a
painting activity are assigned a bar code. At the outset, the
designated person uses the hand-held scanner to input all relevant
information. Next, he will scan the bar codes on the paint containers,
thus allowing paint consumption to be monitored and assigned to
the relevant project. Thinners and cleaners are monitored in the
same way. Then the data is downloaded onto the computer holding
the software and is ready for monitoring and processing.
The product information from the paint companies, which is
already held in the database, together with the rate of consumption
enables a simple calculation to be made on VOC emissions.
Subsequently, the VOC Manager enables the generation of any one
of a series of reports detailing specific parameters. Examples
include the emissions associated with a particular product, the total
over a period of time, or for example, emissions relating to the re-
coating of a tank or cargo hold.
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www.shiprepairjournal.com
Emmissions/Coatings
The VOC Manager.