Pamasol meets all aerosol and spray
system needs. Thanks to our personal
service, our solutions are always
tailor-made. We understand,
develop, produce, install and
support – from single stations to
complete production systems.
October 2020 SPRAY 23
Modernization and harmonization
of aerosol design, testing and
transportation regulations are needed to
remove barriers to innovation and global
distribution and enhance operating
efficiencies while at the same time
delivering superior products to the
marketplace and continuing to enhance
their safety in transportation and use…
and more recently,
the Special Permits
authorizations and
reporting requirements,
and again
have demonstrated an
excellent safety record.
COSTHA petitioned
PHMSA in 2012 to
harmonize with the
international definition of aerosols, but the petition was denied
citing a lack of evidence of equivalent safety for gas-only products.
COSTHA joined several other industry associations to repetition
PHMSA in 2017 with additional safety data. PHMSA
responded by initiating a research project in 2019 to
evaluate safety of gas-only aerosols containing flammable
gas. Cambridge Systematics was contracted to
perform the study and a report was recently submitted.
Initial indications from PHMSA are that it still
wants to see more testing data before accepting the
final report.
Aerosols as Universal Waste
On the environmental side, after years of industry working with
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a new rule
was published in December 2019 designating waste aerosol cans
as “Universal Waste.” Previously, waste aerosol containers were
regulated as hazardous waste, which added significantly to disposal
costs and limited options to recycle these containers. This new
rule will ease regulatory burdens on retail stores and others that
discard aerosol cans, promote the collection and recycling of
aerosol cans and encourage the development of municipal and
commercial programs to reduce the quantity of this waste going to
municipal solid waste landfills or combustors.
In a nutshell
Past industry efforts have been proven effective to drive changes
to regulations, reflecting changes in technology and the global
marketplace, and more effectively align regulation with risk.
However, some challenges remain and others are sure to develop
as new technologies emerge and the overall market for aerosols
continues to evolve. We will need to continue to work together as
an industry to engage with the regulators and effectively address
those challenges.
Please feel free to contact me at don@costha.com if you would
like more information on any of these regulatory changes or are
interested in learning more about COSTHA and its Aerosol
Working Group. Spray
Our expertise.
Your aerosol solution.
Pamasol Willi Mäder AG
8808 Pfäffikon SZ – Switzerland
Phone +41 55 417 40 40
www.pamasol.com – info@pamasol.com