California Air Resources Board

Background

Modern industrialized society is critically dependent on machines, devices, and products that are made from various metals and mixtures of metals called alloys. In producing the metals and alloys, and in many of the processes used to manufacture goods made of metal, metals are melted at high temperatures. Because of the high temperatures, some metals that are components of alloys, or that are present as contaminants in other metals, vaporize and are emitted as gases or fumes from the molten metal. As the vaporized metals cool, they become solid and take the form of particles, also known as particulate matter. Other metals may be emitted to the air from metal melting operations directly as particulate matter.

Some of the metals that may be emitted from metal melting operations have been designated as toxic air contaminants: arsenic, cadmium, nickel, lead, and hexavalent chromium. All these metals (or their compounds, or in some cases both) may cause cancer; some have other serious adverse effects on human health.

The Toxic Air Contaminant Identification and Control Act (AB 1807, Tanner 1983) created California's program to reduce exposure to air toxics.  AB 1807 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to identify substances that pose risk to Californians and to reduce exposures to their lowest possible level in consideration of cost and risk.

CARB evaluated non-ferrous metal from metal melting operations and subsequently adopted an airborne toxic control measure (ATCM) to reduce non-ferrous metal (lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, arsenic, and aluminum and their alloys) emissions from metal melting operations.  The ATCM includes control and compliance requires for facilities that melt certain non-ferrous metals.

Section 93107, Title 17, California Code of Regulations

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