2021 ACA Regulatory Update

The American Coatings Association (ACA) is a voluntary, nonprofit trade association working to advance the needs of the paint and coatings industry and the professionals who work in it. ACA represents paint and coatings manufacturers, raw materials suppliers, distributors, and technical professionals. ACA serves as an advocate and ally for members on legislative, regulatory, and judicial issues, and provides forums for the advancement and promotion of the industry through educational and professional development services.

The following provides some highlights of the regulatory issues in which ACA is engaged and advocating on behalf of its members.

Architectural and Industrial Maintenance (AIM) VOC Regulations

ACA, through its AIM VOC Committee, tracks advocates and provides compliance assistance on the various AIM VOC regulations.

California

On May 23, 2019, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted a new 2019 Suggested Control Measure (SCM) for Architectural and Industrial Maintenance (AIM) coatings. This SCM includes lower VOC limits for 13 categories including exterior/dual stains 100 g/l; nonflat coatings 50 g/l; floor coatings 50 g/l and colorants (50 g/l, 600 g/l solvent-based Industrial Maintenance and Wood Coatings colorants).

On May 28, 2020, CARB amended the 2019 AIM SCM by adding a new Photovoltaic Coating (600 g/l) that is applied to large solar panels to reduce dirt pickup and increase efficiency. The control measure is referred to as the “2020 CARB AIM SCM.”

Five California Air Districts recently adopted the 2019 or 2020 SCMs: San Joaquin, Monterey, Mojave, and San Diego with compliance dates of Jan. 1, 2022, Ventura has a compliance date of July 1, 2021. Several additional air districts are likely to adopt the new SCMs in 2021 or 2022.

New York & New Jersey

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation adopted a more stringent AIM VOC rule (OTC Phase II) with an original compliance date of Jan. 1, 2021; however, due to COVID-19, the compliance date was extended by enforcement discretion to Jan. 1, 2022.

New Jersey is expected to adopt the OTC Phase II in 2021 or 2022.

PCBTF Exemption

PCBTF — also known as Oxsol 100, Parachlorobenzotrifluoride and p-Chloro-a,a,a-trifluorotoluene — is the most widely used “exempt” solvent in the coatings and adhesives industry. The extensive use of PCBTF in industry products is largely because, in 1994, U.S. EPA exempted PCBTF from its VOC list. PCBTF is an exempt VOC throughout the United States, including California and its numerous air districts. PCBTF is used in field-applied AIM coatings; marine coatings; auto-refinish coatings; factory-applied metal, plastic, and wood coatings; and in adhesives and consumer products, including paint thinners.

In 2017, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) determined PCBTF to be a potential carcinogen. On June 28, 2019, the California Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) OEHHA added PCBTF to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in 2022 will likely begin the process of completing a risk assessment of Rule 1113 (Architectural and Industrial Maintenance) and Rule 1168 (Adhesives and Sealants) ultimately could remove the PCBTF VOC exemption, resulting in many coatings products that utilize PCBTF to meet the stringent SCAQMD VOC limits to no longer be compliant.

ACA has a developed a PCBTF Workgroup and Coalition to track the SCAQMD PCBTF developments.

Washington State “Safer Products for Washington” Program

In 2019, the Washington State Legislature directed the state Department of Ecology (DOE) to implement a regulatory program to reduce toxic chemicals in consumer products, known as the “Safer Products for Washington.”

The legislature identified five priority chemical classes: flame retardants; Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Phenolic compounds; and Phthalates. The law requires DOE to identify priority consumer products that are significant sources or uses of the chemical classes.

As it relates to the coatings industry, DOE identified food cans (bisphenols) and inadvertent PCBs in paints. Inadvertent PCBs (iPCBs) are PCBs that are not intentionally added to products but are instead produced as an unintended byproduct of the manufacturing process. Certain pigments/colorants may contain low concentrations of iPCBs.

On June 1, 2021, the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) hosted a webinar, during which it provided an update on its efforts to identify safer alternatives to potential inadvertent iPCBs found in paints. Additionally, Washington DOE provided information on testing completed on paints. Washington DOE suggested that approximately 90% of the coatings it tested for PCBs were below 25 parts per billion (ppb) and 80% below 10 ppb. The department also suggested that a possible future prohibition level could be based on either the 10 ppb or 25 ppb levels.

Washington DOE is scheduled to propose its decision on whether to prohibit PCB levels in paint in October 2021. The department will report back to the state legislature any proposed regulatory actions on June 1, 2022, and adopt any such regulations by June 1, 2023.

ACA’s Product Stewardship Committee and PCB Workgroup will continue to monitor this issue.

EPA Preservative Re-Evaluations

Preservatives in paints and coatings are used to prevent microbial growth and degradation of paint film after application, during production and storage. Increasingly, paint products have embraced waterborne technology to develop low-VOC emitting paints, requiring the use of “in-can” preservatives. Without these critical preservatives, paint can spoil and, in extreme cases, microbial decomposition can generate gases that rupture containers.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to conduct re-evaluations every 15 years and has published draft re-evaluations of several biocides common to paint and coatings, including isothiazolinones. Some of the evaluations have questioned the safety of these critical chemical preservatives.

The ACA Preservation Product Stewardship Working Group has been coordinating advocacy efforts with other trade associations and will continue to comment on the EPA draft re-evaluations as they are developed.

Importantly, ACA recently released published the results of a study conducted assess the environmental performance of 10 architectural coating preservation scenarios using a Cradle-to-Grave Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). This is a follow up to a study conducted in 2017 and was revised to incorporate improved manufacturing data and consider some additional preservation strategies.

This study showcases that preservatives play a tremendously important role in coating formulation and how overall product performance must be considered when making formulation changes, as substitutions without considering the impact on product efficacy can greatly increase the environmental burden of the product.

Preservatives are key for the low-VOC, water-based formulations that are used in the marketplace today. It is important for regulators to consider the impact on downstream users when reviewing preservatives. The decrease in shelf life and increase in spoilage rates not only creates a substantial environmental impact, but also would place a significant financial burden on the downstream user through product loss.