ANNEX Risk Assessment Report for Tetrachloroethylene
ECSA's response to the UK Environment Agency regarding the reduction in tetrachloroethylene dissipation following the solvent emissions regulation (1999/13/EC).
The European Union Risk Assessment Centre estimates that in 1994, the total amount of tetrachloroethylene used in the three main sectors, plus exports from Europe to other countries and some other small users, was 164,000 tons. In Europe, tetrachloroethylene volatilization was high in dry cleaning and metal cleaning, with total sales of 78,000 tons, of which 63,745 tons volatilized into the atmosphere.
Based on this situation, the 1999 solvent emissions regulation adopted this issue and emphasized industrial equipment related to volatile solvents. In particular, dry cleaning equipment using tetrachloroethylene must comply with the following regulations by 2001:
New equipment must immediately comply with this regulation, while existing equipment may delay compliance until October 31, 2007.
Dry cleaning: All equipment must ensure that the amount of tetrachloroethylene volatilized into the atmosphere per kilogram of clothes washed does not exceed 20 grams. Compliance with this regulation will have a significant effect on the following dry cleaning equipment:
The 1994 Risk Assessment Committee confirmed that the dry cleaning industry was the largest user of tetrachloroethylene in Europe, so it is very likely that the dry cleaning industry significantly reduced tetrachloroethylene emissions after this regulation was introduced. Only the most modern dry cleaning machines can meet the SED standards, so many users must replace existing dry cleaning machines. By surveying dry cleaning associations across Europe about the number and technology of dry cleaning machines and understanding the number of tetrachloroethylene dry cleaning machines used in various European countries, combined with published technical indicators, we assessed the situation in 2000 and planned for 2007.
The dry cleaning industry has not only recently begun to consider environmental protection issues, because obtaining accurate and detailed information on dry cleaning machine usage is very difficult. Various data sources were used, including general data, old data such as that from the European Commission, and data from the risk assessment report, which is continuously updated and changed based on information from trade associations, washing equipment manufacturers, detergent producers, and agents, making it unsuitable for use.
Our assessment is based on the following data:
240 working days/year
Washing equipment with a capacity of 18 kilograms
7 cycles/working day
Equipment capable of independently processing 5 kilograms of residual washing liquid
Dry cleaning technology
Evaluation of various technical indicators in the dry cleaning industry
Category I: Equipment using cold water but without activated carbon filters;
Category II: Equipment cooled by refrigeration units and equipped with activated carbon filters;
Category III: Fully enclosed dry cleaning machines cooled by refrigeration units without air exhaust devices;
Category IV: Fully enclosed dry cleaning machines with refrigeration units and activated carbon filters.
The classification of applied technologies was estimated with the help of trade associations, washing equipment manufacturers, detergent producers, and agents regarding the composition (quantity) of various models from Type I to Type IV equipment. The estimated results are shown in the table below.
|
Equipment Technology Classification
|
Europe 2000
|
|
|
Country
|
Total Equipment
|
Type I
|
Type II
|
Type III
|
Type IV
|
Source
|
|
Austria
|
500
|
|
|
|
500
|
Market Data Dow 6
|
|
Belgium
|
610
|
10
|
100
|
400
|
100
|
Market Data Dow 6
|
|
Denmark
|
270
|
|
270
|
|
|
Danish Association 4
|
|
France
|
8910
|
0
|
450
|
8280
|
180
|
French Association 12
|
|
Greece
|
2000
|
800
|
|
1200
|
|
Greek Association 11
|
|
Ireland
|
570
|
315
|
|
180
|
75
|
Dowling 8
|
|
Italy
|
24000
|
0
|
3600
|
20200
|
200
|
Union 9
|
|
Luxembourg
|
20
|
|
|
|
20
|
Market Data Dow 6
|
|
Netherlands
|
900
|
|
30
|
500
|
370
|
Market Data Dow 6
|
|
Spain/Portugal
|
5700
|
2900
|
200
|
1500
|
1100
|
CINET 1
|
|
Sweden/Finland
|
890
|
|
|
|
890
|
Market Data Dow 6
|
|
United Kingdom
|
7500
|
0
|
2000
|
2000
|
3500
|
Market Data Dow 6
|
|
West Germany
|
4700
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
4700
|
Dowling8
|
|
Total
|
56570
|
4025
|
6650
|
34260
|
11635
|
DTV7
|
| |
100%
|
7%
|
12%
|
61%
|
21%
|
|
Dry Cleaning Conclusion
From the estimated usage and emission data of various dry cleaning machines in 2000, we can calculate the total consumption and emissions of tetrachloroethylene.
The figure for 2000 is 44,734 tons/year of tetrachloroethylene.
Due to restrictions from detergent regulations, the dry cleaning industry will be forced to invest in Category IV dry cleaning machines, and we can expect that by October 31, 2007, the dry cleaning industry will exclusively use Category IV dry cleaning machines.
We analyzed that after the implementation of the solvent emissions regulation, by the end of 2007, the dry cleaning industry will reduce tetrachloroethylene usage by 8,553 tons annually, and the amount of tetrachloroethylene used per kilogram of clothes washed must be limited to below 20 grams.
Pressure in other aspects can be predicted as follows: Adjusting the pressure on the use of perchloroethylene (environmental aspect) can encourage dry cleaning owners to use other detergents and invest in new equipment. It is estimated that the above assumptions will not change the number of perchloroethylene dry cleaning machines.
According to the Hazard Assessment Center, the total amount of solvent volatilized during the laundry process in the dry cleaning industry in 1994 was 50,805 tons. We expect that after the solvent volatilization regulations are introduced and until we use modern low-volatility dry cleaning machines, we will be able to control the annual volatilization of perchloroethylene to a maximum of 8,550 tons, which is an 83% reduction compared to the current annual volatilization of detergents in the dry cleaning industry.
