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Fiber Reinforced Plastics
The fiber reinforced plastics
(FRP) industry today is experiencing significant growth
as more products are made from reinforced plastic for
greater durability, strength and life. Thousands of
products are now manufactured from reinforced plastics
including building materials, sporting equipment, appliances,
automotive/aircraft parts, boat and canoe hulls, and
bodies for recreational vehicles.
Growth in the industry also poses
environmental and health concerns especially for shops
that are not willing or able to "change with the
times" and upgrade to new, more efficient technologies.
Environmental and health risks come from the styrene
in the resin that is released when the resin has contact
with air, resulting in employee exposure and VOC (styrene)
releases to the environment.
Employee exposure is now regulated
by an Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) workplace airborne threshold limit value (TLV)
of 50 parts per million (ppm) in many states including
Minnesota. Releases to air are regulated by the Clean
Air Act (CAA) National Emission Standards for Hazardous
Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for reinforced plastic composites
and boat manufacturing. Neither of these standards can
be met cost-effectively without implementing pollution
prevention methods and technologies that reduce styrene
emissions.
Styrene reduction strategies rely
on minimizing resin contact with air and can be achieved
in a number of different ways. These methods include
maximizing transfer of resin into the mold (operator
training and improved resin application techniques),
reducing styrene content in resins (low styrene resins),
and curing resins in a closed system (closed mold).
These Web pages offer ideas and resources for preventing pollution. They also
provide information on the environmental and safety
rules in Minnesota for the fiber reinforced plastics
industry.
If you have
environmental questions related to the fiber reinforced
plastics industry, contact MnTAP at 612.624.1300 or from greater Minnesota, call 800.247.0015.
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