Growing awareness of the effects of pollution upon people and the environment, and legislation being brought into curb pollution have rapidly promoted environmental considerations up the list of factors to be considered when planning any industrial process. This is particularly true for many processes using volatile organic compounds (VOC's) exhausting to atmosphere which will be subject to new regulations. Because automobile paintshops exhaust significant quantities of VOC's into the atmosphere, there are important environmental considerations in the planning of a new paintshop. A new automobile paintshop is a huge capital investment with a probable lifespan in excess of 15–20 years. Unplanned modfications can be difficult to implement and costly. Therefore when planning for environmental protection it is important to think ahead and look for trends in legislation and new technology for combating pollution.