250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-120-05-33.7

Current through December 26, 2024

Section 250-RICR-120-05-33.7 - Emission Limitations

A. Except as provided in §§ 33.7(C), (D), and (I) of this Part, no person shall:

1. Sell, offer for sale, or supply within the State of Rhode Island;

2. Manufacture, blend or repackage for sale within the State or Rhode Island; or

3. Solicit for application or apply for compensation within the State of Rhode Island any architectural coating which has a VOC content, expressed in grams of VOC per liter of coating, when thinned to the manufacturer's maximum recommendation, minus water, exempt compounds and any colorant added to tint bases, in excess of the limits in § 33.7(B) of this Part.

B. VOC Content Limits for Architectural Coatings

Coating Category	VOC Content Limit (Grams VOC per liter) Effective until January 1, 2020	VOC Content Limit (Grams VOC per liter) Effective after January 1, 2020
Flat coatings	100	50
Non-flat coatings	150	100
Non-flat high gloss coatings	250	150
Specialty Coatings
* Aluminum Roof	n/a	450
* Antenna coatings	530	n/a
* Antifouling coatings	400	n/a
* Basement specialty coatings	n/a	400
* Bituminous roof coatings	300	270
* Bituminous roof primers	350	350
* Bond breakers	350	350
* Calcimine recoater	475	475
Clear wood coatings:
Clear brushing lacquers:	680	n/a
* Lacquers (including lacquer sanding sealers)	550	n/a
* Sanding sealers (other than lacquer sanding sealers)	350	n/a
* Varnishes	350	n/a
* Conversion Varnishes	725	n/a
Concrete curing compounds	350	350
Concrete/masonry sealer	n/a	100
Concrete surface retarders	780	780
Conjugated oil varnish	n/a	450
Conversion varnish	n/a	725
Driveway sealers	n/a	50
Dry fog coatings	400	150
Faux finishing coatings	350	350
Fire resistive coating	350	350
Fire-retardant coatings:
* Clear	650	n/a
* Opaque	350	n/a
Floor coatings	250	100
Flow coatings	420	n/a
Form-release compounds	250	250
Graphic arts coatings (sign paints)	500	500
High-temperature coatings	420	420
Impacted immersion coatings	780	780
Industrial maintenance coatings	340	250
Low-solids coatings	120	120
Magnesite cement coatings	450	450
Mastic texture coatings	300	100
Metallic pigmented coatings	500	500
Multi-color coatings	250	250
Nuclear coatings	450	450
Pre-treatment wash primers	420	420
Primers, sealers, and undercoaters	200	100
Quick-dry enamels	250	n/a
Quick-dry primers, sealers and undercoaters	200	n/a
Reactive penetrating sealer	n/a	350
Reactive penetrating carbonite stone sealer	n/a	500
Recycled coatings	250	250
Roof coatings	250	250
Rust preventative coatings	400	250
Shellacs:
* Clear	730	730
* Opaque	550	550
Specialty primers, sealers, and undercoaters	350	350
Stains	250	250
Stone consolidant	n/a	450
Swimming pool coatings	340	340
Swimming pool repair and maintenance coatings	340	n/a
Temperature-indicator safety coatings	550	n/a
Thermoplastic rubber coatings and mastics	550	550
Traffic marking coatings	150	100
Tub and tile refinish	n/a	420
Waterproofing membranes	n/a	250
Waterproofing sealers	250	n/a
Waterproofing concrete/masonry sealers	400	n/a
Wood coating	n/a	350
Wood preservative	350	350
Zinc-rich Primer	n/a	340

C. Sell-Through of Coatings

1. A coating manufactured prior to January 1, 2020, may be sold, supplied, offered for sale or applied after that date, so long as the coating complies with the standards in effect at the time the coating was manufactured and the coating displays the date or date code that meets the specifications in § 33.8(A)(1) of this Part.

D. Most restrictive VOC limit

1. For products manufactured before January 1, 2020, if, anywhere on the container of any architectural coating, or on any label or sticker affixed thereto, or in any sales, advertising, or technical literature supplied by a manufacturer or anyone acting on the manufacturer's behalf, including retailers who sell under a private label, representation is made that the coating is consistent with the definition of or is recommended for use or may be used for more than one (1) category listed in § 33.7(B) of this Part, then the lower emission limitation shall apply. This provision does not apply to the following coating categories:

a. Antenna coatings;

b. Antifouling coatings;

c. Bituminous roof primers;

d. Calcimine recoaters;

e. Fire-retardant coatings;

f. Flow coatings;

g. High temperature coatings;

h. Impacted immersion coatings;

i. Industrial maintenance coatings;

j. Lacquer coatings, including lacquer sanding sealers;

k. Low-solids coatings;

l. Metallic pigmented coatings;

m. Nuclear coatings;

n. Pretreatment wash primers;

o. Shellacs;

p. Specialty primers, sealers, and undercoaters;

q. Temperature-indicator safety coatings;

r. Thermoplastic rubber coatings and mastics; and

s. Wood preservatives.

2. For products manufactured on or after January 1, 2020, if, anywhere on the container of any architectural coating, or on any label or sticker affixed thereto, or in any sales, advertising, or technical literature supplied by a manufacturer or anyone acting on the manufacturer's behalf, including retailers who sell under a private label, representation is made that the coating is consistent with the definition of or is recommended for use or may be used for more than one (1) category listed in § 33.7(B) of this Part, then the lower emission limitation shall apply. This provision does not apply to the following coating categories:

a. Aluminum roof coatings;

b. Bituminous roof primers;

c. High temperature coatings;

d. Industrial maintenance coatings;

e. Low-solids coatings;

f. Metallic pigmented coatings;

g. Pretreatment wash primers;

h. Shellacs;

i. Specialty primers, sealers, and undercoaters;

j. Wood coatings;

k. Wood preservatives;

l. Zinc-rich primers;

m. Calcimine recoaters;

n. Impacted immersion coatings;

o. Nuclear coatings;

p. Thermoplastic rubber coatings and mastic; and

q. Concrete Surface Retarders.

E. Painting practices

1. Any person who applies architectural coatings shall ensure that all containers used to apply the contents therein to a surface directly from the container by pouring, siphoning brushing or rolling, padding, ragging or other means, shall be closed when not in use. These architectural coatings containers include, but are not limited to, drums, buckets, cans, pails, trays, or other application containers. Containers of any VOC-containing materials used for thinning and cleanup shall also be closed when not in use.

F. Thinning

1. No person shall apply or solicit the application of any architectural coating that is thinned such that the coating, as applied, exceeds the applicable VOC limitation in § 33.7(B) of this Part.

G. Rust preventive coatings

1. No person shall apply or solicit the application of any rust preventive coating for industrial use, unless such a rust preventive coating complies with the industrial maintenance coating VOC limit specified in § 33.7(B) of this Part.

H. Coatings not listed in § 33.7(B) of this Part

1. For any coating that does not meet any of the definitions for the specialty coatings categories listed in § 33.7(B) of this Part, the VOC content limit shall be determined by classifying the coating as a flat coating, non-flat coating, or non-flat high-gloss coating as those terms are defined in § 33.5 of this Part and the corresponding coating limit in § 33.7(B) of this Part shall apply.

I. Lacquers

1. Notwithstanding the VOC content limits in § 33.7(B) of this Part, a person or facility may add up to ten percent (10%) by volume of VOC to a lacquer to avoid blushing of the finish when the relative humidity is greater than seventy percent (70%) and the temperature is below sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit (65° F), at the time of application, provided that the coating contains acetone and contains no more than five hundred fifty (550) grams of VOC per liter of coating, less water and exempt compounds, prior to the addition of VOC.

250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-120-05-33.7

Adopted effective 1/10/2019
Amended effective 1/16/2020
Amended effective 7/21/2020