Proposed regulations from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regarding the use of hexavalent chromium in the state have California metal finishers bracing themselves for a dire situation.
CARB held its fourth Technical Working Group Meeting in late April regarding the rules for a widespread transition from hexavalent chromium plating to trivalent chromium. The group is now proposing the following deadlines for the transition.
A halt on the development of any new hexavalent hard or decorative chromium electroplating facility or a new chromic acid anodizing facility effective December 31, 2021.
Transition of existing decorative hexavalent chromium electroplating to trivalent chromium by January 1, 2023
SB: We grew up about two blocks away from where our current shop is now, and I remember vividly in the summers when my sister and I needed a few dollars to go get ice cream, we would ride our bikes down to the shop and hang out with dad for a little bit. When we were about 12 years old, we started cleaning offices and that kind of thing. We grew up here. We knew all the employees. Our family worked here. So it’s the home away from home. I worked in just about every position, made my way up to the front office and kept going from there.
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The National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF) and its California chapters held a chromium plating symposium for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on Wednesday March 3. As part of CARB’s consideration on possible regulatory options to address hexavalent chromium, state officials agreed to NASF’s suggestion to convene a slate of industry experts to discuss the status of trivalent chromium plating technology and the current barriers and timelines for a broad application of trivalent chromium processes.
The symposium highlighted the surface finishing industry’s proactive approach to promoting innovative technologies and implementing risk management options for hexavalent chromium and included subject matter expert panels in four areas: (1) decorative chromium plating; (2) functional or hard chromium plating; (3) implications for aerospace and defense applications; and (4) perspectives from job shops in California.