Hazardous Air Pollutants
(HAPs)
also known as
Toxic Air Pollutants or Air Toxics
Bob Morgan
AK Dept. of Environmental Conservation
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What are HAPs?
Toxic air pollutants that can cause serious
health effects
Cancer
 Respiratory problems
 Neurological problems
 Reproductive problems
 Birth defects


Adverse environmental and ecological
effects
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What are HAPs? (cont.)
EPA required to control 188 hazardous air
pollutants
 Defined by Clean Air Act (CAA)
Amendments of 1990 (see list)
 5 important air pollutants not on
list, addressed separately as
"criteria pollutants”
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CAA - Title I NAAQS
Criteria Pollutants
•Particulate
matter (PM10, PM2.5)
•Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
•Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
•Ozone (O3)
•Carbon monoxide (CO)
•Lead (Pb) is both criteria pollutant and HAP
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Examples of HAPs - Mercury
Thermometers
Thermostats
Flame Sensor Float Switch
(gas range)
(sump pump)
Switches
Lighting (fluorescent, CFL, HID, Neon)
Batteries (button-cell, mercury-oxide)
Coal-burning power plants
Burning municipal or hazardous waste
Tilt Switch
(washing
machine)
(Hg fact sheets and info at www.newmoa.org)
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Examples of HAPs - Mercury
Mercury mines (none currently operating)
Extraction of gold in mining
Fish and marine
mammals
”State health officials are actively
monitoring Alaska residents and
have not found any cases of unsafe
mercury exposures resulting from
consumption of Alaska fish”
(www.epi.alaska.gov/eh/fish/)
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http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0072-94/
Examples of HAPs - Cadmium
Common in industrial workplaces
Tobacco smoke
Nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries (power
tools, cordless phones, professional
radios, airsoft guns)
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Examples of HAPs - Lead
 Lead
solder
 Batteries
 TV screens and computer monitors
 Ammunition
 Weights
 Building demolition with lead-based
paint
 Red Dog Mine
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Examples of HAPs - Dioxins
Group of chemical compounds that share
similar chemical structures
Herbicides - 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin (TCDD) “Agent Orange” & “Esteron”
Sources: byproduct of combustion and
production processes involving chlorine
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Examples of HAPs - Asbestos
 Natural
asbestos deposits
 Insulating material (building materials before
1975, heat-resistant fabrics)
 Asbestos Containing Material (ACM)



floor tile
Roofing material
Packing and gaskets
 (Removal
requires special equipment and
detailed training)
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More Examples of HAPs

Formaldehyde – particle board, new manufactured
homes (building materials and home furnishings),
smoking, incomplete fuel combustion

Beryllium – combustion of coal and fuel oil, incineration of
municipal waste

Benzene, Toluene – gasoline

Vinyl chloride – used to make plastics (PVC)

Radionuclides – naturally occurring radon, fallout from
nuclear tests
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Sources of HAPs - Major
Sources (large sources)
More than 10 tons/year of one
HAP or more than 25 tons/year
of combination of HAPs

Chemical plants

Coal-burning power plants

Coke ovens – steel plants

Mines (Red Dog) and
refineries
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Sources of HAPs - Area
Sources (small sources)
Vehicle exhausts
 Village fuel venting
tanks
 Gas stations
 Burning landfills
 Dry cleaners
 Print shops

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Long-Range Transport
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Grasshopper Effect
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Indoor Sources
Combustion
 Treated wood in wood stoves
 Exhaust from furnace
 Cigarettes
Building materials/furnishings
 Dioxins from bleached fabrics
 Formaldehyde from pressed wood
 Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Paints, new carpet, glues
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Indoor Sources (cont.)
Household cleaning/maintenance products
 Chlorine (Clorox)
 Glues (typically, strong-smelling substances
contain VOCs
 Glass cleaners can contain benzene,
ammonia, more
Storage / Arctic entries / Attached garages
 Paints and solvents
 Exhaust and fuels
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Effects of HAPs
Health Effects of HAPs
 Cancer
 Neurological problems
 Reproductive issues
 Birth defects
 Respiratory problems
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Effects of HAPs (cont.)
Environmental effects of HAPs
 Soils – spilled gasoline, leached into
dump
 Water – spilled gas, runoff from dump
 Air – venting tanks, burning waste
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Greatest Risk in Villages
Normally not a high risk
 Some risk

Running small boats frequently or rebuilding
carburetors
 Living downwind from a dump where trash is
burned
 Using commercial cleaning and building
materials


Natural sources in/near villages
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Regulation of HAPs
Emission controls
 Health-based in 1970 Clean Air Act
• Not implemented
• Disagreement about regulating
carcinogens
 Technology-based in 1990 Clean Air Act
• Pollution prevention
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Regulation of HAPs (cont.)
Regulations
 By source category
 Regulate major sources first
 Maximum Achievable Control Technology
(MACT)
• Pollution prevention
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Contact Information
Bob Morgan, ADEC
Phone: 907-269-3070
E-mail: bob.morgan@alaska.gov
Barbara Trost
ADEC / AQ
Monitoring and Quality Assurance
Phone: 907-269-6249
E-mail: barbara.trost@alaska.gov
Jennifer Williams
AK Solid and Hazardous Waste Program Coordinator
Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals
Phone: 907-349-2163
E-mail: jennifer.williams@nau.edu
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