The Pollution Prevention and Compliance Opportunities Checklist, which can be found in the Auto Body and Paint Shops Project section at the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) website, lists a series of equipment ranging from paint mixing to vehicle washing with brief questionnaires asking whether or not these tools meet regulation standards. The intent of the checklist is to help shops evaluate to what level they comply with the low-VOC standards and what they could do to improve.

However, before you decide to just grab the checklist and use it to officially assess your own shop’s compliance, you must remember that it is not meant for that purpose. Regulation differences between California and Canada makes the auditing process unique from location to location. Shops should always leave the auditing to experienced professionals. Paint companies often provide this service. Contact your rep for more information.

The checklist provides an idea of some things that shops can expect when they are preparing to convert, so give it a look and make sure that if you haven’t already started then to get cracking.