Comment Log Display

All, 
Recently, the California Air Resources Board proposed new
regulations regarding the use of chromium plating in the metal
finishing industry. In addition to their already strict
environmental ordinances, these new guidelines will phase out hard
chrome and chromic acid anodizing in the state of California.

According to the President of the Metal Finishing Associations of
Southern California, these regulations will likely cause a severe
decline in the California metal finishing industry. They will also
require industrial producers to seek chrome plating services out of
state. Aerospace and defense, the industrial, medical, automotive,
and many other essential industries rely on the chromium plating
process. We cant afford to lose industry in California and
necessary chrome plating processes cant be replaced. I ask CARB to
find the middle ground with the industry

In late April, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) proposed
the following deadlines for the implementation of new regulations
regarding hexavalent chromium plating:

Dec. 21, 2021 - A halt on the development of any new chromic acid
anodizing or hexavalent hard or decorative chromium electroplating
facilities
Jan. 1, 2023 - Final date for all existing decorative hexavalent
chromium electroplating to transition to trivalent chromium
Jan. 1, 2027 - Final date for all existing hard hexavalent chromium
to transition to trivalent chromium plating
Jan. 1, 2032 - Effective date for the ban of all existing chromic
acid anodizing
In order to better understand hexavalent chromium emission sources,
the CARB will be conducting site visits, facility-specific surveys,
emissions source testing, and ambient monitoring in and around
existing plating facilities. This data collection will then serve
to prioritize emissions reduction strategies.

While decorative applications will be the first affected by the new
regulations, functional applications are next. Many customers will
not be open to the use of alternative methods. As of now, there is
no indication that hard chrome and chromic acid anodizing are
replaceable processes.

Chrome plating is a process used in aerospace, defense, and many
other industries to improve metal parts. It offers many beneficial
properties that are valuable to these industries. For example,
aviation manufacturers use chrome plating to improve the
atmospheric corrosion resistance of metal parts and prevent
dangerous, mid-op failures of critical equipment. Chrome plating
also:
Reduces friction, Improves durability, Reduces seizing & Resists
oxidation and corrosion. In addition, chrome plating can be used as
bulking material to restore the original dimensions of metal
components without compromising their integrity. Please consider
this in your decisions. Thanks