NORTHERN SONOMA COUNTY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT

RULE 4-100 - TITLE:

Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Emissions of Dioxins from Medical Waste Incinerators

RULE 4-110 - PURPOSE:
This regulation is adopted in accordance with the requirements of Health and Safety Code Section 39666(d) and of California Code of Regulations Section 93104.

In July, 1986, pursuant to Section 39662 of the Health and Safety Code, the Air Resources Board (ARB) identified dioxins as a toxic air contaminant. In so identifying dioxins, the Air Resources Board found that there is not sufficient available scientific evidence to support identification of a threshold exposure level below which no significant adverse health effects are anticipated (see Title 17, California Code of Regulations, Section 93000). On June 13, 1991, the Office of Administrative law approved the Airborne Toxic Control measure for dioxins from medical waste incinerators, which is embodied in this regulation. This airborne toxic control measure will reduce emissions of dioxins from medical waste incinerators to the lowest level achievable through application of best available control technology at operations subject to this measure.

RULE 4-120 - APPLICABILITY

1. This regulation shall apply to any person who builds, owns, or operates a medical waste incinerator.
   
   
2. This regulation shall not apply to persons operating incinerators which are used exclusively for the cremation of human or animal remains.

RULE 4-130 - DEFINITIONS

1. "ARB" means the State of California Air Resources Board.
   
   
2. "ARB Test Method 2" means the test method specified in Title 17 California Code of Regulations, Section 94102.
   
   
3. "ARB Test Method 428" means the test method specified in Title 17 California Code of Regulations, Section 94139.
   
   
4. "Category I medical waste incinerator" means any medical waste incinerator which burns 10 tons or less of medical wastes per year.
   
   
5. Category II medical waste incinerator" means any medical waste incinerator which burns more than 10 tons of medical wastes per year, but less than 25 tons per year.
   
   
6. "Category III medical waste incinerator" means any medical waste incinerator which burns 25 tons or more of medical wastes per year.
   
   
7. "Control equipment" means any device which reduces the emissions from medical waste incinerators.
   
   
8. "Dioxins" means dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans chlorinated in the 2,3,7 and 8 positions and containing 4,5,6 or 7 chlorine atoms. It is expressed as 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro- dibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents using current California Department of Health Services toxic equivalency factors.
   
   
9. "District" means the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District.
   
   
10. "Facility" means every building, structure, appurtenance, installation or improvement located on land which is under the same or common ownership or operation, and is on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties.
    
    
11. "May" means a provision is permissive.
    
    
12. "Medical facilities" means medical, dental and veterinary offices, clinics and hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, research facilities, research laboratories, clinical laboratories, all licensed and unlicensed medical facilities, clinics and hospitals, surgery centers, diagnostic laboratories and other providers of health care.
    
    
13. "Medical waste incinerator" means any furnace or other closed fire chamber located at a medical facility and used to dispose of waste generated at medical facilities by burning.
    
    
14. "Must" means a provision is mandatory.
    
    
15. "Shall" means a provision is binding upon anyone subject to this rule.
    
    
16. "Uncontrolled emissions" means the emission rate of the incinerator to the control equipment, measured from the flue at a location downstream of the last combustion chamber and before the control equipment.
    
    
17. "Waste" means all discarded putrescible and non-putrescible solid, semi-solid and liquid materials, including garbage, trash, refuse, paper, rubbish, food, ashes, plastics, industrial wastes, demolition and construction wastes, equipment, instruments, utensils, appliances, manure, human or animal tissues or blood, and human or animal solid and semi-solid wastes.

RULE 4-200 - PERMITS

1. The owner or operator of any new or existing medical waste incinerator shall file an application for an Authority to Construct with the District, as provided in Regulation 1, Rule 200.
   
   
2. The owner or operator of an existing medical waste incinerator shall file an application for authority to construct not later than January 20, 1993.

RULE 4-300 - FEES

1. Every applicant for an Authority to Construct or holder of a permit to operate a medical waste incinerator shall pay an initial fee or permit renewal fee or other fees as provided in Regulation 1, Rule 300, including the annual CPI fee adjustment factor, using as a basis the schedule of fees in Regulation 3, Rule 4-310.
   
   
2. The applicant for an Authority to Construct shall pay the initial fee at the time of filing of the application.
   
   
3. Permit renewal fees not payed in a timely fashion as provided in Regulation 1, Rule 300 are subject to the penalty provisions in Regulation 1, Rule 300(i).

RULE 4-310 - FEE SCHEDULE -- MEDICAL WASTE INCINERATORS
The owner or operator of any medical waste incinerator, for which an Authority to Construct or Permit to Operate is required, shall be assessed a permit fee in accordance with Regulation 1, Rule 300, based on the capacity of the medical waste incinerator according to this schedule:

1. No person shall dispose of medical wastes by burning except in a medical waste incinerator which meets the requirements of this regulation, and which has been reviewed by the air pollution control officer and received a written permit to operate in accordance with this and other regulations of the District.
   
   
2. No person shall operate a category III medical waste incinerator unless either condition (1) or (2) is met:.
   
   
   1. Emissions of dioxins have been reduced to less than 1 percent of the uncontrolled emissions; or
      
      
   2. Emissions of dioxins are less than 10 nanograms per kilogram of waste burned.
      
      
3. No person shall operate a category III medical waste incinerator unless control equipment is installed and used in a manner which has been demonstrated to and approved by the Air Pollution Control Officer to meet all of the following conditions, (1) through (4):
   
   
   1. The temperature of the flue gas at the outlet of the control equipment shall not exceed 300 degrees Fahrenheit, unless it has been demonstrated to and approved in writing by the Air Pollution Control Officer and the ARB that lower emission rates are achieved at a higher outlet temperature; and
      
      
   2. The operating temperature of any single-chamber incinerator shall be maintained at not less than 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.
      
      
   3. The temperature of the primary combustion chamber of any multiple-chamber incinerator shall be maintained at not less than 1400 degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature of the secondary combustion chamber shall be maintained at not less than 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.
      
      
   4. The design of any incinerator shall provide that the residence time of the combustion gases in the combustion chamber of a single-chamber incinerator or in the secondary combustion chamber of a multiple-chamber incinerator shall be at least one second. Residence time shall be calculated using Equation 1.
      
      

      
      

      Residence Time	=	V	(Equation 1)
      		Qc

      
      where
      V is the volume, expressed in cubic feet, of that portion of the incinerator from the point where the maximum temperature has been reached to the point where the temperature has dropped to 1600 degrees Fahrenheit.

   
   Qc means the combustion gas flow through V expressed in actual cubic feet per second, which is measured according to ARB Method 2, after adjusting the measured flow rate to the maximum combustion chamber temperature (Tc) by using Tc instead of Tstd in the Method 2 calculation for Qc. The volumetric flow rate measured at the sampling points must be adjusted to chamber pressures. Alternative methods may be used if conditions for determining the combustion gas flow rate by Method 2 are unacceptable. The determination shall be within the quidelines of Method 2 and at the discretion of the Air Pollution Control Officer. One alternative method for calculating Qc is the following:
   
   

   Qc

   =

   {Qstoiwf

   X

   (1 +

   EAwf/100)

   X

   Qstoiaf

   X

   EAaf/100)}

   X

   (Tc +

   460)

   X

   1_minute

   528

   60 sec and where

   EAwf = The excess air ratio (lbs. excess air per lbs. theoretical air) for the waste feed expressed as a percentage.

EAaf = The excess air ratio (lbs. excess air per lbs. theoretical air) for the auxiliary fuel expressed as a percentage. Tc is the maximum temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, reached in the incinerator

Qstoi is the amount of air theoretically required for complete combustion, expressed in standard cubic feet per minute (SCF) and calculated as follows:

Qstoi	=	lb-mole O2	X	lb-waste	X	SCF O2	X	SCF air
		lb-waste		min		lb-mole O2		SCF O2

To estimate Qstoiwf and EAwf, a representative sample of the waste should be characterized by chemical analysis. If a chemical analysis is not performed, an empirical method must be approved by the Air Pollution Control Officer.

RULE 4-410 - RECORD KEEPING EQUIPMENT AT MEDICAL WASTE INCINERATORS

1. No person shall operate or cause to be operated a category I or II medical waste incinerator, unless the incinerator is provided with equipment for determining and recording the weight of waste charged to the incinerator.
   
   
2. No person shall operate or cause to be operated a category III medical waste incinerator which is not equipped with an automatic, continuous data recording system which provides and records, whenever the incinerator is operating, continuous recording of the temperatures of the primary and secondary combustion chambers and exhaust; carbon monoxide emissions; the key operating parameters of the air pollution control equipment, as specified by the air pollution control officer; the hourly waste charging rate; and the opacity of stack emissions or other indicator of emissions of particulate matter which is approved by the air pollution control officer.
   
   
3. The equipment required by subsections (a) and (b) shall be operated whenever the incinerator is operated or charged for operation.

RULE 4-450 - HANDLING OF ASH FROM MEDICAL WASTE INCINERATORS
No person shall operate or cause to be operated a medical waste incinerator unless bottom ash, fly ash and scrubber residuals are handled and stored in a manner that prevents entrainment in to ambient air.

RULE 4-460 - OPERATOR TRAINING REQUIREMENTS:
No person shall operate or cause to be operated a medical waste incinerator unless each person who operates or maintains the incinerator obtains either a certificate of training in medical waste incineration issued by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers within nine months of the commencement of the training program, or equivalent training as determined by the Air Pollution Control Officer. Copies of training certificates for the operators and maintenance engineers shall be submitted to the District and the original certificates shall be available for inspection at the facility with the permit to operate.

RULE 4-500 - DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE AND TEST METHOD

1. For purposes of demonstrating compliance with Rule 4-400(b), the owner or operator of a category III medical waste incinerator shall conduct not less than two source tests in each calendar year for emissions of dioxins. After two consecutive source tests demonstrate compliance, the Air Pollution Control Officer may reduce the frequency of source testing to once per calendar year, at his discretion.
   
   
2. To demonstrate compliance with Rule 4-400(b)(1), emissions shall be sampled simultaneously from the stack and from the flue at a location downstream of the last combustion chamber and before the control equipment.
   
   
3. To demonstrate compliance with Rule 4-400(b)(2), source testing shall be conducted at the stack.
   
   
4. The owner or operator of a category II medical waste incinerator shall conduct at least one source test to determine emissions of dioxins from the incinerator, and report the results to the District not later than October 20, 1993.
   
   
5. Emissions of dioxins shall be determined using ARB Test Method 428, with high resolution mass spectrometry.
   
   
6. In addition to emissions rates of dioxins and dibenzofurans, reports of source test results shall include the following information: total waste charged (by weight); moisture content; paper content; plastic content; total amounts of waste that are infectious, pathological, hazardous or radioactive; supplemental fuel charged during the test; and such other information as the air pollution control officer may require.
   
   
7. Source testing shall be conducted at a firing rate within five percent of the maximum waste firing capacity allowed by the permit to operate.
   
   
8. The owner or operator shall provide the District with at least two (2) copies of each source test report, and shall provide proof of delivery of at least one copy of each source test report to the Air Resources Board.

RULE 4-520 - MAINTENANCE OF AND ACCESS TO REQUIRED RECORDS

1. Every person who operates or causes to be operated a medical waste incinerator shall maintain the following records of operation:
   
   
   1. Complete operating records from the equipment required by Rule 4-410(a) or (b), above.
      
      
   2. Complete records of maintenance performed on the incinerator, air pollution control equipment, and monitoring equipment.
      
      
   3. Complete records of calibration of the monitoring equipment.
      
      
   4. Training records of the personnel operating or maintaining the incinerator or associated equipment.
      
      
2. On request from the Air Pollution Control Officer or his representative, the owner or operator of a medical waste incinerator shall make required records available for inspection.

RULE 4-540 - BREAKDOWN AND VIOLATION REPORTING

In accordance with the requirements of Regulation 1, Rule 540, the owner or operator of any medical waste incinerator shall report to the District within one hour of occurrence any violation of this rule or of any other applicable rule of the District, malfunction, or upset condition in the incinerator, the air pollution control equipment, or the continuous data recording system, or no later than 9:00 am on the next business day, if the incident occurs outside the normal hours. A message left on the District's answering machine will not suffice to satisfy this requirement. Any such incident reported to the District must be followed by a written report within 10 days, as required by Regulation 1, Rule 540.

RULE 4-600 - COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE

1. Not later than January 18, 1993, the owner or operator of any category II or III medical waste incinerator shall apply to the District for an authority to construct the equipment necessary to meet the requirements of Rule 4-400, 4-410 and 4- 450, or shall notify the Air Pollution Control Officer and the Executive Officer of the Air Resources Board in writing of the date by which he intends to cease operation of the medical waste incinerator.
   
   
2. No later than October 20, 1993, the owner or operator of any class II or III medical waste incinerator shall demonstrate compliance with the provisions of this rule as specified in Rule 4-500.
   
   
3. Not later than April 20, 1993, anyone subject to the provisions of this rule who chooses not to continue operation of the incinerator shall cease operation, return to the District any existing permit to operate, and remove, dismantle or otherwise disable the medical waste incinerator.