Overview of some of the Regulations which restrict industry in the use of certain processes and some solvents.

• Decoration of metal with paint and powder coatings will always generate the need for the removal of the coating.
• Jigs, unless kept clean, lose conductivity and poor results are obtained.
• Reject components need to be reprocessed.
• Customers' work needs to be recoated with a different finish.
• For years these finishes have been removed with strippers based on Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane) but lately industry has come under pressure from COSHH, EH40 Maximum Exposure limits, Prescribed processes, Environmental Protection Act, VOC Emissions, IPPC Regs. etc.

Certain activities includes "Coating Activities" and "Surface Cleaning".

There is a limit of 1 tonne a year for

"Surface cleaning using substances or preparations which because of their content of volatile organic compounds classified as carcinogens, mutagens or toxic to reproduction under Directive 67/548/EEC are assigned or need to carry one or more of the risk phrases R45, R46, R49, R60 or R61, or halogenated VOCs which are assigned or need to carry the risk phase R40."

This limit applies to the use of highly volatile solvents like Methylene Chloride which has an R40 risk phrase. "Other surface cleaning" has a limit of 2 tonnes a year.

The Environmental Permitting Regulations (England & Wales) 2007 which superceded The Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 on 6th April 2008.

The Solvents Directive is implemented in the UK by these Regulations. If your company is involved in surface treatment of metals or plastic materials using electrolytic or chemical processes and the total volume of the tanks is greater than 30 cu.m then these Regulations apply to you.

Such a "Part A(1)"Process will require a permit from the Environment Agency. This permit covers discharge to air, water or land.

Guidance for the Surface Treatment of Metals and Plastics by Electrolytic and Chemical Processes gives comprehensive details of the IPPC requirements

If your company is involved in Coating Activities and if you are likely to use in excess of 20 tonnes of paint or coating material applied as a solid or 5 tonnes of volatile organic solvents or 1 tonne of halogenated vocs with an R40 Risk phrase in a year then these Regulations apply to you.

Secretary of State's Guidance for Coating of Metal and Plastic Processes gives a comprehensive guide to this sector.

If you are just involved in paint stripping or some other surface cleaning activities then the DEFRA Guide is Secretary of State's Guidance for Surface Cleaning

Further useful guidance can be obtained from the Netregs website or Environment Agency - Business section

In either case you will need to use "best available techniques".

Best Available Technique

Schedule 2 of the Regulations lists several ways of determining what is the "Best Available Technique". If you are using chemical strippers, many of the ways listed lead you straight to our processes. For example: -

• The use of low waste technology.

  When correctly filtered, WR-STRIP, BJ-STRIP and AL-STRIP W allow you to minimise the waste you need to dispose of in the form of a filter cake. Save money on waste disposal too.

• The use of a less hazardous substance.

  WR-STRIP and BJ-STRIP are based on solvents which do not have R40, R45, R46, R49, R60 or R61 risk phrases.

• Furthering of recovery and recycling.

  Our products help you to economically reprocess more reject components and scrap less.

• Use methods of operation which have been tried with success on an industrial scale.

  We have been successfully supplying these products since 1997 and these stripping baths are still in successful daily use.

• The nature, effects and volumes of the emissions concerned

  WR-STRIP and BJ-STRIP are much slower to evaporate than strippers containing Methylene Chloride and Methanol. So there is a lot less vapour to start with. The vapours themselves are considered less hazardous as they do not contain solvents with R40, R45, R46, R49, R60 or R61 Risk Phrases.

  Discharges to sewer of rinse water are generally likely to be acceptable whereas with Methylene Chloride products, they are not. You should obtain, from the company that receives your sewage, a consent limit to discharge your rinse and washing water. The impression we get is that the consent for discharge of methlyene chloride will be so low that it will be almost impossible to achieve.

• The length of time needed to introduce the best available technique

  Often existing plants can be modified quickly and easily but if you are planning a stripping installation now, we can help you arrive at a design which will be "best" from the outset.

• The consumption and nature of the raw materials (including water) used in the process

  Use less solvent than with Methylene Chloride.
  Use less hazardous materials than Methylene Chloride.
  More acceptable rinse water discharge.

• The need to prevent or reduce to a minimum, the overall impact of emissions

  With BJ-STRIP and WR-STRIP there will be a lot less emissions of less hazardous substances.

You could ignore it, carry on as you are now and hope it will all go away. Hopefully as you have arrived at our site you have already decided this is not an option.

You could think about subcontracting the work out but you are concerned about waiting times, loss of flexibility and there is not a viable subcontractor near you. The exception being alloy wheel refurbishment where individual owners and the motor trade are being increasingly catered for by specialist companies.

You could think about stripping by some sort of hot method but you may find your jigs will lose their temper and the work you can do will be restricted to steel. If your work has a complicated shape and you are thinking of trying a fluidised bed, then any hollow cavities will fill with sand. You will incur considerable expenditure and may still find yourself subject to the same amount of regulatory pressure. Any furnace based technique is a prescribed process, may require planning consent and uses lots of expensive energy subject to the climate change levy.

Or return to the TOP of the page and click on the link for your stripping process to find our "best available technique"