PNEAC Documents on the Proposed Federal Rule Regulating Solvent-Contaminated Towels and Wipes

Printer's National Environmental Assistance Center

Proposed Federal Rule Regulating Solvent-Contaminated Towels and Wipe

Proposed Federal Rule Regulating Solvent-Contaminated Towels and Wipes

The U.S. EPA is proposing to modify its hazardous waste management regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Shop Towel Rule Update for October 2005

On October 4, 2005, the Inspector General of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the Evaluation Report Rulemaking on Solvent-Contaminated Industrial Wipes, which was initiated in response to a Congressional request on a November 2003 proposed rule to regulate shop towels (see below).

From the Flexographic Technical Association's EHS newsletter: "The Inspector General was asked to examine if the U.S. EPA followed proper procedures in developing the proposed rule and to determine the degree of influence that the industrial laundry industry had on the outcome of the proposal. The Inspector General found that U.S. EPA met all legal and internal requirements for rulemaking and that there was no illegal or inconsistent interaction with the industrial launderers. The clearance by the Inspector General should now allow U.S. EPA to proceed on the rule. The printing industry associations have been actively involved in the rule, which will provide consistency and uniformity to handling and disposal of shop towels across the country. The associations would like to see some changes to the rule and have met on numerous occasions with U.S. EPA, submitted comments on the proposed rule, and gave public testimony in support of the rule."

Solvent being applied to wipe On November 10, 2003, the U.S. EPA released a draft rule that addresses the management of solvent-contaminated reusable towels and disposable wipes. Because the use of towels and wipes is pervasive in the printing industry, this rule affects virtually every printer. Towels, wipes and solvents are used for cleaning presses, ink cleanup, and a variety of other tasks.

The rule also affects many other types of businesses which use shop towels and wipes, including those that handle them, such as industrial laundries and waste handlers.

PNEAC has been helping printers and organizations that assist printers understand the proposed rule and participate in providing comments to EPA regarding this draft rule. On December 2 and 11, 2003, PNEAC hosted two Webinars (Web Seminars) to brief printers and other stakeholders on the rule and solicited questions and comments on the rule. Information from those Webinars, as well as supplemental information about the rule is listed below.

EPA Shop Towel Docket
Whenever EPA formally proposes a rule, they open a docket which serves as a collection point for all appropriate records associated with the rule. The docket is publicly accessible and the official docket generally consists of documents specifically referenced in the Federal Register, any public comments received, and other information used by decision-makers, or otherwise related to the agency action or activity.

Read a brief summary of the rule's key requirements on which EPA wants printers to provide feedback and comment
Read an EPA fact sheet on the proposed rule
Download draft rule
View the Windows Media videos of the PNEAC Webinar
- December 2, 2003 Session
- December 11, 2003 Session
  (Requires the Windows operating system with Media Player 9 installed. For the Media Player 9 see the Microsoft Web site)
View annotated slides
- December 2, 2003 Session
- December 11, 2003 Session
Download handouts used for PNEAC Webinar
- December 2, 2003 Session
- December 11, 2003 Session
Read questions and answers from the Webinars
See evaluation results from PNEAC’s Webinars on the proposed rule
- December 2, 2003 Session
- December 11, 2003 Session