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Re: X10

To: Lawrence R Zink <zink@pdq.net>
Subject: Re: X10
From: "Michael D. Porter" <mporter@zianet.com>
Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 22:32:29 -0600


Lawrence R Zink wrote:
> 
> Assuming that you are in the U.S. you must comply with E.P.A. standards and
> your state and local Air Boards standards as well.  Or risk having
> everything shut down and heavy fines levied.  The government has really
> started cracking down on Polluters and the neighbors can find a shyster to
> sue for anything anymore.  just be certain that what you install is legal
> and that the air filtration is adequate.

The laws are little weird on this, and state regulations vary. In some
places, manufacturers in certain places, such as industrial parks or
free enterprise zones, aren't required to filter exiting air. And, it's
just as screwy with residential use. The people who have had to comply
most rigidly are commercial concerns, such as paint and body shops. For
example, my cousin ran, for many years, a Corvette restoration shop in
Texas. He closed it down because of the cost of upgrading to new
environmental standards--and yet, because he declared the shop to be a
residential building for hobby use only, he could keep the equipment he
had and continue to operate as before, but only non-commercially.

The point about personal lawsuits, however, is very much to the point.
Anyone in the neighborhood who develops a twitch and smells solvents
coming from a residential garage may put two and two together, and find
cause for a lawsuit, and even if the answer is five, it only takes one
lawyer to convince a jury that the real answer is four.

As for specifics of such filtration, have a look on the web for paint
and body shop equipment suppliers, as a start. My guess, to be fully
compliant with most local, state and Federal laws, exiting air will
require a fairly expensive paint solids trap and an activated charcoal
filter. One might be able to avoid some difficulties regarding carrying
solvent vapors into the air by creating an air-tight paint booth and an
air recirculation and filtration system. Nevertheless, activated
charcoal filters are still required and are not inexpensive and are a
high-maintenance item.

The first step in determining if it's worth the trouble to install a
home paint booth would be to check local, state and Federal regulations
to determine what would be required to meet the existing standards, and
which standards apply. Some local regulations have bounce clauses that
state, generally, "this standard applies, unless a regulation of a
higher authority is more stringent, in which case the more stringent
regulation applies," or words to that effect.

Cheers.

-- 

Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM
[mailto: mporter@zianet.com]

`70 GT6+ (being refurbished, slowly)
`71 GT6 Mk. III (organ donor)
`72 GT6 Mk. III (daily driver)
`64 TR4 (awaiting intensive care)
`80 TR7 (3.8 liter Buick-powered)

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