Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-25-.06 - PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS

(1) Temperature and Residence Time Requirements

(a) The incinerator secondary chamber shall be maintained at a minimum temperature of 1600°F, except as specified in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph.

(b) The minimum secondary chamber residence time for those incinerators not in existence on November 6, 1988 shall be 1.0 second. The minimum secondary chamber residence time for incinerators in existence on November 6, 1988 shall be sufficient to prevent excess visible emissions as specified in subparagraph 1200-3-25-.05(3)(a).

(c) Owners or operators which have an incinerator in existence on November 6, 1988 without a secondary chamber and equipped with an afterburner operated at a minimum temperature of 1600°F may choose to meet a more restrictive visible emission standard of zero percent opacity in lieu of meeting the secondary chamber requirements. The opacity shall be evaluated using Tennessee Visible Emission Evaluation (TVEE) Method 3 approved by the Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board on December 12, 1984 and amended on May 30, 1985 and included in the State Implementation Plan. TVEE Method 3 was approved by EPA on March 19, 1986 and published in the Federal Register, Vol. 51, No. 53, Page 9445, May 19, 1986.

(d) An infectious waste incinerator used to combust anti-neoplastic agents must be operated with the secondary chamber at a minimum exit temperature of 1800°F with a secondary chamber design residence time of not less than 1.5 seconds.

(2) The firing of the incinerator burners shall be controlled automatically to maintain the specified minimum secondary chamber or afterburner temperature.

(3) Charging Systems

(a) Incinerators shall be equipped with an automatic mechanical loading device, and an interlock system shall be provided to prevent charging until the secondary chamber exit temperature of 1600°F is established except as provided for below.

(b) The owner or operator of an incinerator, except a batch incinerator, in existence on November 6, 1988 which is manually fed may submit a written request to the Technical Secretary that manual feeding be allowed. The request must include a plan detailing the methods and operating procedure to be employed in manually charging the incinerator. The Technical Secretary shall determine if the plan provided is acceptable. The plan must be submitted to the Technical Secretary within 180 days of November 6, 1988 and the operation of the incinerator by this plan shall become a condition of the operating permit.

1. The owner or operator of the incinerator must post or file on the operating premises a copy of the approved plan.

2. The approval of the plan shall not relieve the owner or operator of the duty to comply with all other applicable emission requirements.

3. Any violation of the permit conditions or other requirements of this chapter may result in the Technical Secretary requiring that an automatic mechanical loading device by installed.

(c) Batch incinerators shall incorporate a lockout system which will prevent ignition of the waste until the exit temperature of the secondary chamber or the afterburner reaches 1600°F and prevent recharging until the combustion and burndown cycles are complete.

(4) Startup and Shutdown Requirements

(a) No waste shall be charged to an incinerators other than a batch incinerator until the secondary chamber or afterburner has achieved a minimum temperature of 1600°F, except as specified in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph. The secondary chamber or afterburner must achieve and maintain the required minimum temperature for 15 minutes before charging begins.

(b) No waste shall be charged to an incinerator used to combust anti-neoplastic agents until the secondary chamber has achieved a minimum temperature of 1800°F. The secondary chamber must achieve and maintain the required minimum temperature for 15 minutes before charging begins.

(c) During incinerator shutdowns the secondary chamber or afterburner minimum temperature of 1600°F is to be maintained using auxiliary burners until the wastes are completely combusted and the burndown cycle is complete. For incinerators used to combust anti-neoplastic agents, the secondary chamber must be maintained at a minimum temperature of 1800°F during a shutdown until all wastes are completely combusted and the burndown cycle is complete.

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-25-.06

Original rule filed September 21, 1988; effective November 6, 1988.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 68-25-105 and 4-5-202.