Page 38 - CFCM May-June 2021_Neat

PAINT & COATINGS MANUFACTURING: VOCS

NEW DATES!

POWDER

COATING ronmental footprint. Imposing realistic VOC limits, without impact-

WEEK ing the performance of the product, will thus lead to more environ-
mental benefits because the substrates that are being coated with a
slightly higher VOC product will not have to be recoated or touched
202 1 up as often. In the long run this is more sustainable than a lower per-
forming coating developed solely to meet strict VOC limits requiring
recoating more often.
CARB 2019 limits have an effective enforcement date of January
1, 2022 in the United States (three years later). The federal govern-
Custom ment should provide the AIM sector of the Canadian coatings
industry – and especially SMEs – with several years to comply with
Coater California rules. Better yet, wait for the OTC states to develop
FORUM these lower limits.
their OTC Phase III rules (based on 2019 SCM) before adopting
CPCA member companies, and the entire industry, are deeply
®
PRESENTED BY concerned that by fully endorsing CARB limits now, the perform-
ance of many niche product categories in Canada will be negatively
POWDER COATING 101 affected while bringing insignificant emissions reduction, overall
Powder Coating Done Right: The Basics lower productivity and higher economic losses. The federal govern-
ment must recognize that the 22 product categories highlighted in
the CPCA questionnaire would offer minimal VOC emission reduc-
tion benefits but come at high development costs for all CPCA
members, including SMEs. The recent VOC study report on new
Technical Conference limits largely under-estimated the related costs, and over-estimated
®
the emissions reduction, based on California data.
CPCA remains hopeful that industry’s efforts to meet and exceed
VOC limits, imposed over the last decade, will not go unrecognized.
In a period of just over five years (2014-2019), the Canadian archi-
tectural sector achieved VOC reductions in the order of 4.3 Kt or
nearly 30 percent, under the current AIM regulation. Those
numbers are based on an Environment Canada’s own study. Industry
is puzzled as to why the stricter CARB 2019 limits are now being
considered when industry has continued to make excellent progress.
In addition to the current AIM VOC regulation, member com-
panies have taken it upon themselves to reduce VOC emissions in
many products independently from heavy regulatory efforts, and in
response to consumer expectations of waterborne formulations.
These expectations are here to stay and will lead to lower VOC
consumer products in future as new technologies are developed and
applied. This must be recognized and factored into government
decision-making when considering the imposition of further VOC
limits in Canada.
Regulations need to be based on evidenced-based decision
July 13 - 16, 2021 making, not political imperatives to show that every sector is
contributing to the larger emissions reduction pot, however
insignificantly, especially when they are more harmful than helpful
to the environment. The Canadian coatings industry believes in
Renaissance Orlando sustainability and has proven that over time with more than 94
percent of architectural coatings moving from solvent to water-
at SeaWorld® based formulations over the past 15 years. n

Gary LeRoux is President and CEO of the Canadian Paint and
conference.powdercoating.org Coatings Association. www.canpaint.com

38 CANADIAN FINISHING & COATINGS MANUFACTURING MAY/JUNE 2021