Environmental, Health and Safety Consulting

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation of fugitive volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions, or leaks, arose out of the research projects conducted between the 1950s and 1980s at several facilities throughout the United States. The research concluded the cumulative effect of all the leaking components may present environmental and health problems to the surrounding area. The research also concluded when most components leak, they do so at very low levels, thus a majority of fugitive emissions come from a very small percentage (not exceeding 10 percent) of high leaking components. The need for fugitive VOC emissions was also necessitated by the fact that approximately 70 percent of total VOC emissions from facilities engaging in processing of gases and light liquids arose from uncontrolled emissions.

To learn more about LDAR, click here to read an article written by one of the environmental compliance specialists at August Mack Environmental.