Evaporator Policy Established

The electroplating and metal finishing industries generate large amounts of wastewater and find that evaporators are useful for concentrating process chemicals for material recovery/reuse and for reducing the volume of wastewater. However, regulatory requirements differ depending upon the type of evaporator used, the point of its application during the manufacturing process, and the materials to be processed. Hence, the evaporator policy was created, in a spirit of cooperation between government and industry, to clarify permit issues and to remove the ambiguity associated with use and misuse of evaporator technologies.

With this evaporator technology policy, DEM also seeks to encourage the use of P2 practices. According to DEM Director Jan H. Reitsma, "Some of the advantages of pollution prevention include savings in costs for input material, waste treatment and disposal. Other advantages can include reduced regulatory burdens, reduced permit fees, and improved environmental compliance."

An evaporator that has the potential to emit hazardous pollutants into the air or that is used for "end-of-pipe" treatment in reducing hazardous wastes will be subject to a different set of standards than one which receives nonhazardous wastewater for material recovery and reuse with a process. According to Reitsma, "because evaporator technologies can be used in a variety of applications, policy guidelines have been established, with valuable input from the electroplating and metal finishing industries, in order to determine their appropriate and lawful usage."