vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Industrial Environmental Researc
Laboratory
Cincinnati OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA-600/S2-81-099 July 1981
Project Summary
Maintenance of the
Organic Chemical
Producers Data Base
Barbara B Lee
This report describes the mainte-
nance and operation of the Organic
Chemical Producers Data Base
(OCPDB) from March 1979 to De-
cember 1980. During this period the
OCPDB, an automated chemical in-
formation system developed for the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
was expanded and updated by Radian
Corporation. Concurrently, the data
base provided users with economic,
toxicity, use, and production informa-
tion about more than 600 industrial
organic chemical products.
During the 1979-1980 maintenance
task, the list of OCPDB chemical
products was expanded to more than
6OO from the 59O contained in the
previous version of the OCPDB. Fifteen
individual chemical, plastic, resin, and
fiber products replaced six less-specific
product groups.
A chemical-related file containing
emission factor data was included for
about 20 percent of the OCPDB
chemicals. Both qualitative and quan-
titative emissions data were incorpo-
rated into this file.
Data files previously developed for
the OCPDB were updated when more
information was available. The most
extensive update effort was directed
toward producer-related files contain-
ing producer names, locations, parent
companies, USGS river basins, and
product slates.
An extensive quality assurance plan
was developed for the OCPDB. It
included manual and automated quality
assurance procedures for data input,
data output, and report generation.
Several standard report formats
were designed to retrieve and display
OCPDB information. In these reports,
data were assessed by both chemical
and producer identification keys.
The mechanics of the OCPDB re-
main the same as those described in
The Revised Organic Chemical Pro-
ducers Data Base System. The data
base was implemented and maintained
through the System 2000® data base
management system offered by Boeing
Computer Services in Seattle, Wash-
ington.
This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Industrial Environmen-
tal Research Laboratory, Cincinnati.
OH, to announce key findings of the
research project that is fully docu-
mented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
Introduction
This report describes the activities
conducted during Radian's operation
and maintenance of the Organic Chemi-
cal Producers Data Base(OCPDB) under
EPA Contract 68-03-2776, Work Effort
2, which extended from March 1979 to
December 1980.
The OCPDB, an automated chemical
information system, was originally
developed by Radian in 1976 for the
®System 2000 is a registered trademark of Intel
Corporation
-------
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
Industrial Environmental Research
Laboratory in Cincinnati. By providing
easy access to organic chemical data in
a systematic manner, the OCPDB served
as a tool for understanding the organic
chemical industry and for guiding EPA
work.
In February 1979 Radian completed a
task to revise and update the original
OCPDB and increase the size and capa-
bilities of the system. In this effort,
which is described in The Revised
Organic Chemical Producers Data Base
System,'* the data base was expanded to
include almost 600 chemical entries.
New data describing chemicals were
added. Chemical Abstract Services
(CAS) registry numbers, process de-
scriptions, additional toxicity data, use
descriptions, sales, and synonyms.
Parent company and river basin identifi-
cation were added to the producer files.
Additionally, files from the 1976 version
of the OCPDB were updated where new
data had become available.
The OCPDB was implemented with
System 2000® m March 1979. This
data base management system gave the
OCPDB increased capabilities, flexibility,
and efficiency. System 2000® enables
data base users to access the OCPDB by
either interactive or batch mode and
allows direct retrieval of information.
In work conducted during EPA Con-
tract No. 68-03-2776, Work Effort 2, the
OCPDB was expanded, updated, and
maintained. Concurrently, report formats
were developed which utilize OCPDB
capabilities to best meet users' needs.
Summary and Discussion
In the 1979-1980 maintenance task,
the list of chemical products included in
the OCPDB was expanded to more than
600 from the 590 contained in the
previous version. As shown in Table 1,
fifteen individual chemical, plastic,
resin, and fiber products replaced six
less-specific product groups contained
in the previous version of the OCPDB.
Available chemical- and producer-re-
lated information was included for each
new chemical product entry.
Data files developed for the previous
OCPDB were updated when more recent
information was available. The most
extensive effort was directed toward
producer-related files which were up-
Table 1 . Deletions/Additions to the List of OCPDB Chemicals '
1979 OCPDB Chemical Replacement OCPDB Chemical
Chemical
ID No.
10
160
2825
3006
3008
3048
Chemical Name
ABS/SAN
Acrylic acid and
acrylate esters
Nylon
Polyester resin/
fiber
Polyethylene and
copolymers
Polyvmyl chloride
and copolymers
Chemical
ID No.
5
3235
162
164
2821
2822
2823
2824
2825
2826
3005
3007
3009
3047
3049
Chemical Name
ABS
SAN
Acrylic acid
Acrylate esters
Nylon 6
Nylon 66
Nylon 69
Nylon 1 1
Nylon 12
Nylon 612
Polyethylene
terephthalate
High density
polyethylene
Low density
polyethylene
Polyvinyl chloride
PVC copolymers
'Wilkins, et al , The Revised Organic Chemical
Producers Data Base System, Final Interim Report,
PB 199 805, National Technical Information
Service, Springfield, Virginia, 1980
dated during the 1979-1980 mainte-
nance task to reflect mid-1979 informa-
tion. This list of OCPDB producing
plants was expanded from less than
1200 to more than 1300 as a result of
the update.
Emission factor data were added to
the OCPDB in May 1979. The data,
which apply to approximately 20 per-
cent of the OCPDB chemicals, were
obtained from the Source Assessment
Program conducted for EPA-OAQPS by
Monsanto Research Corporation.
The emission factor file consists of
three parts. The first is a list of chemical
species emitted during a particular
process. In the second part, amounts of
pollutants emitted are given m pounds
per ton of product.
In the third part, the level of uncer-
tainty associated with each source type
is expressed by an emission factor
rating. Monsanto defined these ratings
as follows'
• A - Adequate data of reasonable
accuracy
• B - Partly estimated data of inde-
terminate accuracy
• C - Totally estimated data of inde-
terminate accuracy
• D - Missing data on known emis-
sions of toxic substances
The OCPDB QA program utilizes both
manual and automated quality assur-
ance techniques. A statistically-reliable
sampling plan is included which may be
implemented manually as a routine
check for error propagation. Software
has been developed to automatically
verify the accuracy of standard report
formats
The QA program employs several
automated techniques which are in-
herent in System 2000® definition of
minimum and maximum field size,
tabulation of unique data items in each
data file, use of "strings" or user-
defined commands to input large quan-
tities of data, and implementation of
backup measures to preserve the in-
tegrity of the OCPDB while loaded on
System 2000®
The capabilities of the OCPDB system
are such that the types of reports which
may be generated are virtually unlimited
However, a number of frequently-re-
quested reports became "standard"
during the 1 979-1 980 maintenance
task. Designed to relay a maximum
amount of information m a way most
useful to potential users, these reports
formed the backbone of the OCPDB
report system Modifications were often
made to the standard reports to even
more closely respond to particular
users' needs.
An example of a frequently-requested
OCPDB standard report, the Nationwide
Chemicals and Production Sites Report,
is shown in Figure 1. In this report, data
-------
Latest Update 80/05/21
Organic Chemical Producers Data Base
Chemicals and Production Sites—Nationwide
30 Acetaldehyde
51 Oxidation of Ethylene (Wacker)
Ippeu 83
Errvss/on Factors
Description
Ethane
Ethylene
Acetaldehyde
Methane
Methyl Chloride
Producing PJants_
Rating Amount (Ibs/ton)
B 4.400000
B 54.700000
B .002000
B 00 WOO
B 17 300000
1960 Celanese Corp
Bay City
River Basin. 12090402
1980 Celanese Corp.
Clear Lake
River Basin: 12040204
Texas
East Matagorda Bay
Texas
West G a/vest on Bay
300 000 mmlbs/yr
600.000 mmlbs/yr
Figure 1. Example nationwide chemicals and production sites report
are accessed by a chemical identifica-
tion number. In other standard reports,
data may be accessed by either chemical
or producer identification
The OCPDB's capability to generate
special analytical reports, whose pro-
duction involved high-level programming
or OCPDB interface with data base
management systems other than Sys-
tem 2000®, was also utilized during the
1979-1980 maintenance task. One
analytical report, in which the OCPDB
was linked with the Statistical Analysis
System (SAS), contained a statistical
analysis of OCPDB quantitative produc-
tion data. In another analytical report, a
minimum site search identified the
smallest group of OCPDB plants produc-
ing a list of OCPDB chemicals
OCPDB report recipients used the
information provided by the data base in
a number of ways Most frequent uses
included development of emissions
inventories, studies of water quality,
evaluation of economic impacts of
regulation, assessment of risk, and
characterization of waste streams from
organic chemical product production. A
list of 1979-1980 OCPDB users is
shown in Table 2.
The mechanics of the OCPDB remain
the same as those described in The
Revised Organic Chemical Producers
Data Base System. The data base was
implemented and maintained through
the System 2000® data base manage-
ment system offered by Boeing Compu-
ter Services in Seattle, Washington.
The OCPDB, as implemented under
System 2000®, is brganized into two
types of entries with a link between
them. The two types of entries are those
relating to chemical products and those
relating to producing plants. Figures 2
Table 2. Requestors of OCPDB Information, 1979-1980
Requestor
Number of Requests
1980
1979
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:
Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances*
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards*
Office of Water and Wastewater Management*
Regional Offices
Office of Research and Development
Office of Enforcement
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare*
State/Local Environmental Agencies
14
6
4
3
2
7
2
8
9
6
3
2
5
—
/
/
^Includes requests from contractors of these agencies.
-------
Entry
Level 0
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
'Name
*CAS=
*WLN
Tox/city Data .
Process Routes
Economic! Data
'Process ID
'Process
Description
'Emission
Factors
*End Use
Description
End Use IPPEUti
Amount
%Domestic
Plant
ID=
Capacity
Product
IPPEUtt
Figure 2. Hierarchical structure of OCPDB chemical product entries.
'Indicates key (searchable) data elements.
and 3 illustrate the hierarchical struc-
tures of these two types of entries.
Within these entries, data are organized
into a logical hierarchy. Hierarchical
levels are numbers from zero (the level
of the entry), increasing as shown in the
figures.
Any data element defined in System
2000® as a key data element can be
used in the basis for retrieving informa-
tion from the OCPDB. Key data elements
in the OCPDB are listed in Table 3.
Three types of direct retrieval are
possible with the OCPDB: (1) informa-
tion about chemical products, (2) infor-
mation about producers, and (3) rela-
tionships between producers and prod-
ucts Using any of the key data elements
for retrieval, any other data value asso-
ciated with a logical entry can be ex-
tracted from the data base.
Information about accessing the sys-
tem may be obtained by contacting the
project officer.
-------
Entry
Level 0
Entry Type - 2
*Entry /D#
Plant
Description
Level 1
*Name of Company
*City
*Parent Company
*State
''River Basin
*EPA Region
*lndicates Key Data Element
Figure 3. Hierarchical structure of
the producing plant en-
tries in the OCPDB
Table 3. OCPDB Key Data Elements
Chemical Product Entries
Name
OCPDB Number
CAS Number
W/swesser Line Notation
New Chemical Indicator
Priority Pollutant Indicator
Toxicity Mode. Species, Units
Production Year
Synonyms
End Use Description
End Use IPPEU Number
Emission Factors.
Emission Factor Rating
Process OCPDB Number
Process IPPEU Number
Producer OCPDB Number
Producer Capacity
Producer Entries
OCPDB Number
Parent Company Name
Producing Company Name
City
State
River Basin
EPA Region
Barbara B. Lee is with^Radian Corporation, Austin, TX 78766
•HtHt^^MttfKBatfiJsthe EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "Maintenance of the Organic Chemical Producers
Data Base," (Order No PB81-213340, Cost. $12.50, subject to change) will
be available only from'
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Spring field, VA 22161
Telephone 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at
Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory
U S Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, OH 45268
1 US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1961 -757-012/7257
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Postage and
Fees Paid
Environmental
Protection
Agency
EPA 335
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED
Third-Class
Bulk Rate
Ij 8
------- |