Coast Guard considers alternative pollution testing standards

Coast Guard considers alternative pollution testing standards    The U.S. Coast Guard it is considering alternative testing standards for pollution prevention equipment such as oil-water separators, bilge and cargo monitors, and bilge alarms.
   Options include but are not limited to standards promulgated in the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee resolutions MEPC.107(49) and MEPC.108(49).
   The standards in those resolutions will come into force internationally in 2005 and will replace existing standards for pollution prevention equipment (PPE) reflected in current Coast Guard regulations.
   The Coast Guard said it will also consider alternative standards for the designation of laboratories as approved facilities to conduct tests on such equipment.
   “The Coast Guard is aware of advances in PPE technology more capable of effectively processing emulsified oils, surfactants and contaminants. It is also aware that current Coast Guard PPE regulations require the use of solvents, specifically carbon tetrachloride and Freon 113, that are Class I ozone-depleting substances under the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990. Under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the production of these solvents is being phased out,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
   Although the United States has phased out the import and production of Class I ozone-depleting substances, beginning in 1996, a provision known as a ‘de minimis’ exception covering the use of such solvents in laboratories does not include the oil-in-water tests required by current Coast Guard PPE regulations (46 CFR 162.050-39).
   “This situation leaves domestic and foreign manufacturers and testing laboratories looking for other options to measure oil content in water samples taken from pollution prevention equipment,” the Coast Guard said.
   “The Coast Guard expects to publish in the Federal Register a proposal to revise 46 CFR subpart 162.050 to reflect the new standards called for in the IMO resolutions. In the interim, PPE manufacturers seeking Coast Guard approval and laboratories applying for designation as an authorized facility may consider using alternative testing standards … that the Coast Guard may, in its discretion, determine ensure equivalent performance characteristics,” the Coast Guard said.
   Public comments on this policy are due on or before March 30. Comments should bear the docket number USCG-2003-16696 and may be sent by e-mail to https://dms.dot.gov
   For more information, call Lieutenant George Grills, (202) 267-6640.