KowaAmericanCorporation55East59THStreet,19THFloor,NewYork,NY10022TEL:(212)303-7800FAX:(212)310-0101http://chemical.kowa.comMr.PaulHensleighYolo-SolanoAirQualityManagementDistrict147GalileeCourt,Suite103Davis,California95618April9,2013RE:CommentsonproposedruleexemptingDimethylCarbonate(DMC)asaVOCinYolo-SolanoAQMDDearMr.HensleighKowaAmericanCorp.wouldliketosubmitthesecommentsinsupportoftheproposedruletoexemptthesolventDimethylCarbonateasaVOCintheYolo-SolanoAirQualityManagementDistrict.KowaAmericanfullyagreeswiththeproposedVOCexemptionruleaswrittenandstronglyurgesthattherulebeadoptedassoonaspossible.WefeelDMCbeingVOCexemptwillallowyourlocalbusinessesamuchgreaterdegreeofflexibilityinmeetingthemorestringentVOCrestrictionsmovingforward.WealsothinkthatwiththeincreasinglystrictVOCregulationsthathavingadditionalVOCexemptsolventsisaformofregulatoryreliefthatyourconstituentswillwelcome.KowaAmericanistheoriginalpetitionertothefederalgovernmentrequestingtheyexemptDimethylCarbonateasaVOC.TheexemptionrequestwassubmittedinJuly2004andapprovedinJanuary2009afteranumberofyearsofintensescrutinyonnotonlyitsOzonereducingvaluesbutonitsenvironmental,toxicityandsafetyprofiles.DimethylCarbonate(alongwithpossiblymethylacetate)isuniqueinthatithasperhapsthelowestMIRvalueofanyliquidorganicchemical,whichmeansitwillproducelessozoneintheairthananyothersolvent.KowaunderstandsthatyourAirManagementDistrictalsotakesintoaccountfactorsbeyondachemical'sphotoreactivity.Yourairdistrictandcitizensalsointerestedinachemical'stoxicity,workersafety,andenvironmentalfatewhenevaluatingexemptionpetitions.DMC'sprofileintheseendpointsishighlyfavorableandrepresentsanenvironmentallyfriendlycompound.EnvironmentalfatedatashowDMCtobereadilybiodegradable,havealowpotentialtobioaccumulate,andhavelowtoxicitytofish,daphnia,orbacteria(Environmentalmodelingsuggeststhatthatthematerialmaypossiblybeharmfultoalgae).AninternetsearchonDMCrevealsalargenumberofarticlesandpatentreferencesthatdescribethesubstanceasagreenchemicalwithveryfavorablesafetyhealth,andenvironmental

### properties.

These references characterize

DMC

as

a highly desirable replacement

for

a number

of chemicals including dimethyl sulphate, methyl chloride,
MEK, MIBK, n-butanol, xylene. DMC
has very low acute toxicity when tested

via oral, dermal, inhalation routes

of exposure.

In addition,

the compound

was not found

to be irritating

to the skin and only slightly irritating

to the eyes. DMC was also found

to be non-mutagenic

in 

### vitro testing. The Office

of Environmental

Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA}

in the California

EPA has come out
on December



### 8, 2009 with

a toxicity report

on Dimethyl Carbonate.

Their cover page

of this report indicates

that "environmental
exposure

to DMC

by the general public

by inhalation

at dose levels likely to be achieved,

the (Environmental

Health Hazard) concerns appear

to be relatively minor." Workers generally respond favorably

to working
with DMC, since the compound

is only

anonirritating

or only slightly irritating chemical.

A key concern

is that DMC does not have

an objectionable odor

to workers

or neighbors. Finding

a VOC exempt solvent
with

an agreeable

odor

is difficult since

a number

of the exempt

(or proposed

VOC exempt) compounds

have very pungent odors, which would

be especially bothersome

to neighbors

of factories

or shops using these VOC exempt solvents. DMC

is flammable

with

a flash point

of 63
"F (16 

## •q and has

a similar toxicity profile

as Methanol,

one

of DMC's primary metabolites

in the body.

For these reason DMC should

be used

in primarily

in industrial, automotive, outdoor

or shop settings.

DMC
has

a much safer toxicity profile

and much higher recommended

PEL than p-Chlorobenzotrifluoride

or PCBTF (PEL=

20 ppm) that

is used extensively

as

a VOC exempt solvent

in California

and the rest ofthe USA. Even with DMC's flammable

liquid flash point

of 63"F, DMC still represents

a safer alternative

to two existing
VOC exempt solvents widely used

in the U.S., acetone

and methyl acetate,

both with flash points

of 15"

F. We believe customers
would prefer and, therefore,
adopt DMC immediately

as

a replacement

for acetone

and methyl acetate.
Such

a change would result

in less flammable products and/or safer working environments. We think the exemption

of Dimethyl Carbonate

as

a VOC

by your
Air Management

District would

be

a step forward

in air pollution control, especially allowing
your constituents

and businesses regulatory

relief with the opportunity

to use additional

VOC exempt solvents

in order

to meet their

air pollution obligations.

Sincerely, Mark

K. Smith Sales Manager

# • •• ••• • •• American Coatings f

.. 

## S S 0 C

l .t\ T

I ( )'

i 

### April

10, 2013 Mr. Paul Hensleigh Yolo-Solano

Air Quality Management
District 147

G alileo Court, Suite
103 Davis, California 95618 

## RE: Rule

1.1 Proposed Amendments;

ACA Comments Dear Mr. Fiesler: The American Coatings Association
(ACA)

1 

### Architectural

and Industrial Maintenance

(AIM) VOC Committee support

the proposed amendments

to Rule
1.1, specifically

the exemption

of Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC)

and Propylene Carbonate

as Volatile Organic Compounds. The coatings industry

is under constant pressure

to reformulate products

that have

a lower VOC content.

As

a result, there

is

a critical

and urgent need
for safe, effective

and affordable exempt solvents

and coating formulators

need

all available
tools

to formulate

both lower VOC and lower reactivity coatings. Dimethyl Carbonate

and Propylene Carbonat

e are useful

for coatings formulations since they: - have low ozone reactivity potentials - have favorable characteristics

- including

a relatively

high flashpoint, unobjectionable

odor, and

a relatively moderate evaporation

rate - have been exempted

by nearly

all states - are relatively inexpensive compared

to other exempt compounds If these amendments

are adopted,
there may

be an incentive

for industry

to use these negligibly reactive compounds

in place

of more highly reactive compounds

that are regulated

as VOCs

. As such, ACA supports

the proposed amendments

to Rules

1.1. 1 The American Coatings Association
(ACA)

is

a voluntary, nonprofit
trade association working

to advance

th

e needs

of the paint and coatings industry

and the professionals

who work

in it. The organization 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,

a.'td provides forums

for the advancement

and promotion

of the industry through educational

and professional development

services. 1500 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE

N.W.

o WASHINGTON,

DC 20005

o T 202.462.6272

o

F 202.462.8549

o 

### www.paint.orgThankyouforyourconsiderationofourcomments.Pleasefeelfreetocontactusat(202)462-6272ifyouhaveanyquestions.Sincerely,Is/Is/DavidDarling,P.E.TimSerie,Esq.SeniorDirector,EnvironmentalAffairsCounsel,GovernmentAffairs* *Sentviaemail* *2Paul Hensleigh From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: March

26, 2013

Steckel, Andrew <Steckei.Andrew@epa.gov> Tuesday, March

26, 2013 12:58

PM Paul Hensleigh;

Mike Guzzetta Borgia, Adrianne;
Drake, Kerry EPA comment

on Yolo-Soiano

Rules

1.1 and 2.31 United States Environmental Protection Agency Region

IX 75 Hawthorne

Street San Francisco,

CA 94105-3901 Transmittal

of EPA Rule Review Comments To:
Paul Hensleigh, Yolo-Solano

Air Quality Management

D

i strict phensleig h@ysaqmd

. org Mike Guzzetta, Caiifornia

Air Resource

s Board mguzzett@arb.ca.gov From: Andrew Steckel, Rulemaking

Office Chief steckel.andrew@epa

. gov Re: Rule

1 .1 and

2

. 31 drafts dated 3-15-2013 We are prov

i ding comments
based

on our preliminary
review

of the 3-15-2013

draft rules identified above.

We have noted that several

of our previous comments

on these rules have been incorporated

and appreciate

your efforts. Unless otherwise indicated, paragraph numbers

refer

to the draft rule referenced
above. Please direct any questions
about
our comments

to me
at (415) 947-41

1 5 or to Adrianne Borgia

at (415) 972-3576. Rule 1.1: Section

202 Consider
using
the definition

of

u Air Contaminant

" in SCAQMD's

rule 102 which

is
a broader definition

that includes similar substances

but states that the term

is not limited

to those substances. Section

211 Consider
using
the definition of"Combustion Contaminant"

in SCAQMD's

rule 102 which uses the term "particulate matter" (which

is defined

in this rule)

in lieu

of "air contaminant". Section 219.17 While

we do not believe

this would

be

a basis

for EPA disapproval,

we recommend

that T-butyl acetate be exempt except

for recordkeeping consistent

with
40 CFR 51.100. Section 219.19 Please remove

the compound

, Trans1-chloro-3

, 3,3-trifluoroprop-1-ene

(So!sticem 1233zd(E))

from this list of exempt

i ons

. Because

of an adverse comment,

EPA withdrew

the direct final action that would have exempted

this compound

. Section 219.24.1 Please correct

the spelling

of

E thylfluoride

. 1Section219.27.dPleaseaddtheword"only"tothestatement:"Sulfur-contaminatingperfluorocarbonswithnounsaturationsandwithsulfurbonds.2.nh:tocarbonandfluorine."Section222Sincetheacronymhasbeendefined,considerusingASTMinthelastsentence.Section224.2(b)ConsideraddingexamplestoclarifythisdefinitionsuchasfoundinSJVUAPCDrule4103.Rule2.31:Section111.8SCAQMDRule1171exempts"cleaningofcoatingandadhesiveapplicationprocessesutilizedtomanufacturetrans-dermaldrugdeliveryproductusinglessthan3gallonsperdayofethylacetateaveragedovera30calendardayperiod."Aswepreviouslycommented,pleaseaddasimilarlimitof3gallonsorlesstoavoidallowinguncontrolleduseofethylacetate.Section219WhilewedonotbelievethiswouldbeabasisforEPAdisapproval,werecommendthatT-butylacetatebeexemptexcept forrecordkeepingconsistentwith40CFR51.100.Section221Werecommendaddingadefinitionof"Formulationdata"referencedinSection602.4,usinglanguagesimilartothedefinitioninSCAQMDrule1143.Section240"Pharmaceutical"shouldberevisedto"PharmaceuticalManufacturingPlant"sincethedefinitionparaphrasesthedefinitionofPharmaceuticalManufacturingPlantinYSAQMDrule2.35.Forconsistency,considerusingthesamedefinitionlanguageusedinrule2.35.Section247Werecommendrevisingthedefinitionof"Solvent"tomentionitspropertiesasadiluent,thinner,dissolverandviscosityreducersuchasdefinedinYSAQMDrule2.29.Section301Table1-SCAQMDRule1171limitsVOCforLithographic&LetterpressandforUltraviolet(exceptscreenprinting)to100grams/liter.Pleaseconsiderloweringthelimitsforthesetwocategoriesto100grams/liter.Section301.2SincetheDistricthasrepealedRule2.24,SolventCleaningOperations,pleaseaddarequirementfor"apermanent,conspicuouslabelwhichliststheappropriateoperatingrequirements,"(Rule2.24.d.4)tosection301.2.Sections303.2and303.3Pleasecorrectthetyposfrom"0E"to"°F".Section304.2ThedefinitioninSCAQMDrule1122includesdirectingthesolventspraydownwards.Consideraddingsimilarlanguagetothissection.Section304.12ConsideraddinglanguagesimilartoSCAQMDrule1122torequireavaporlevelswitchasanopen-topvapordegreasercontrol.Itisnotclearthatthe"manualresetvaporlevelthermostat"willprovidethissametypeofcontrol.Section306.6Revisethesectionnumberingfrom306.1to306.6Section307.1,307.2,501.3,602.4,606,607Apostrophe'sseemtobeincorrectlyprintingas"="inthesesections.Section602.3PleaserefertoSCAMQDMethod304-91(DeterminationofVolatileOrganicCompoundsinVariousMaterials)and,forconsistency,removetheFebruary1996dateoraddApril1996tothereferencetoSCAQMDMethod304-91.Section603CorrectSCAQMDMethod303to303-91andincludethetitle,ExemptHalogenatedVOCinLiquids,forCARBMethod432.Section604and605Severalofthesymbolsinthecalculationsseemtohavedroppedout.2