Regulatory Significance of Plastic Manufacturing Air Pollution Discharged into Terrestrial Environments and Real-Time Sensing Challenges

Yoorae Noh; Li Xia; Nadezhda N Zyaykina; Brandon E Boor; Jonathan H Shannahan; Andrew J Whelton

doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00710

Regulatory Significance of Plastic Manufacturing Air Pollution Discharged into Terrestrial Environments and Real-Time Sensing Challenges

Environ Sci Technol Lett. 2023 Jan 20;10(2):152-158. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00710. eCollection 2023 Feb 14.

Authors

Yoorae Noh¹, Li Xia², Nadezhda N Zyaykina³, Brandon E Boor¹, Jonathan H Shannahan², Andrew J Whelton⁴

Affiliations

¹ Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
² School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
³ Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Purdue University, 500 Central Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
⁴ Lyles School of Civil Engineering and Division of Ecological and Environmental Engineering, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2051, United States.

Abstract

Cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) is an onsite plastic manufacturing technology used in the U.S. and has not been evaluated for regulatory compliance with federal air pollution laws. The practice involves the discharge of manufacturing waste into the environment. The study goal was to estimate the magnitude of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) discharged into the atmosphere for styrene and nonstyrene composite manufacture and examine low-cost air monitoring sensor reliability. Time-resolved emission analysis revealed that VOC emission was not only isolated to the thermal curing period but also occurred before and after curing. In addition to the styrene monomer, other gas-phase hazardous air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act were also emitted. Based on typical CIPP installations, 0.9 to 16.6 U.S. tons of emitted VOCs were estimated for styrene CIPPs, and 0.09 to 1.6 U.S. tons of emitted VOCs were estimated for nonstyrene CIPPs. Because the number and size of CIPPs manufactured in a single community can vary, the total air pollution burden will significantly differ across communities. Low-cost VOC sensors commonly utilized near CIPP manufacturing activities did not accurately quantify styrene and should not be relied upon for that purpose. Up to several thousand-fold detection differences were observed. Regulatory evaluation of CIPP air pollution and PID sensor reliability assessments are recommended.