VOC/MIR Regulations
Introduction to VOC Regulations and Regulators
Regulators in North America, Europe, and other jurisdictions are continually tightening restrictions on the emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and the VOC content of many consumer products. Industrial solvents, such as Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK), Isopropyl Alcohol, Acetone, Xylene/Toluene, and Styrene, among many others, are a major source of VOC emissions. Companies which use these solvents in their manufacturing processes must keep current on a confusing and overlapping patchwork quilt of VOC regulations at the federal, state and local level.
Identifying the regulators, and then navigating their websites to find the applicable VOC regulations for a specific industrial solvent application, can be frustrating and time-consuming for solvent users. Often the regulations are buried in several different lengthy legislative documents posted on the sites, and it may require extensive site Searches to reveal all of them. This guide is designed to help solvent users more quickly identify the VOC regulations which apply to them. We have organized the regulations in two ways:
The regulations are organized by the nation, state, multi-state group, or prominent local regulator which adopted them.
The regulations are organized for each industrial solvent application (e.g. coatings, adhesives, aerosols, etc.) and the differences from one jurisdiction to the next are indicated. In addition, we have provided a summary overview of VOC Content and VOC Emission Rules and a list of recent and upcoming changes to VOC and MIR regulations. We have also provided background pages on Why VOCs are Regulated and the Regulatory Response to VOC Emissions. THE INFORMATION IN THIS GUIDE ON THE VOC REGULATIONS ISSUED BY EACH REGULATOR MAY BE INCOMPLETE AND OUT OF DATE. This guide may help you identify key regulators and regulations but the content of the sites change often and TBF may not be able to keep its content current. We will continue to update this guide with additional regulators and regulations and changes to existing regulations. Please advise us at info@tbfenvironmental.com if you spot an error or omission. For legal reasons, TBF Environmental Technology Inc. disclaims any liability of any kind for missing, incorrect and incomplete information. Users are cautioned that the information herein may not be appropriate for their purposes, and use the information at their own risk.