United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Risk Reduction
Engineering Laboratory
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA/600/S2-90/062 Feb. 1991
Project Summary
Waste Minimization Opportunity
Assessment, U.S. Coast Guard
Support Center,
Governors Island, New York
The U.S. Coast Guard facility at Gover-
nors Island, New York, was chosen for a
waste reduction assessment under the
Waste Reduction Evaluations at Federal
Sites (WREAFS) Program. The Coast
Guard mission on the Island, which
serves as a support center for Coast
Guard activities in the New York area,
generates a substantial amount of haz-
ardous waste (e.g., lead-acid batteries,
lead-contaminated blast grit, paint, and
paint-related material).
Suggested initiatives for management
included expanded employee training/
awareness programs, modified storage
areas to prevent product freezing, and
central procurement to reduce duplicated
inventories. Opportunities to minimize
waste through technology included
substituting plastic for steel shot when
removing paint and rust from buoys and
using high volume/low pressure paint
guns to reduce overspray.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Risk Reduction Engineering
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce
key findings of the waste reduction as-
sessment that is fully documented in a
separate report of the same title (see
Project Report ordering information at
back).
Introduction
The WREAFS Program identifies new
technologies and techniques for reducing
wastes from industrial processes used by
federal agencies and facilities, and facili-
tates the adoption of pollution prevention/
waste minimization practices through tech-
nology transfer. New techniques and tech-
nologies for reducing waste generation are
identified through waste minimization op-
portunity assessments and may be further
evaluated through joint research, develop-
ment, and demonstration projects.
The purpose of this project was to de-
velop waste minimization initiatives for the
U.S. Coast Guard Support Center New York
at Governors Island using the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA's) Waste Mini-
mization Opportunity Assessment Manual
(EPA/625/7-88/003, July 1988). This manual
provides a systematic, planned procedure
for identifying ways to reduce or eliminate
waste.
Governors Island, 175 acres located off
the southern tip of Manhattan, is primarily
accessible by a Coast Guard operated ferry.
The Island serves as a support center for
Coast Guard activities conducted within the
New York area and for tenant commands
located on the Island. On the Island, home
port for a number of Coast Guard cutters,
live approximately 530 officers, 1,370 en-
listed personnel, 660 civilians, and 2,500
dependents.
It has been estimated by the Hazardous
Waste Office that actual disposal costs for
hazardous wastes total $150,000/yr, while
total costs for disposal including overhead
to handle these materials are approximately
$270,000/yr.
This project was conducted in coopera-
tion with the Hazardous Waste Office in the
Industrial Division of the Coast Guard facil-
ity at Governors Island. The Coast Guard
Printed on Recycled Paper
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has been active in implementing successful
waste minimization programs. This EPA
funded project provides additional ideas to
complement and augmentthe Coast Guard's
existing waste minimization efforts.
Waste Minimization
Assessment Procedure
WREAFS assessments consist of the
major phases as shown below:
(1) Planning and Organization: organi-
zation goal setting;
(2) Assessment, careful review of a
facility's operations and
wastestreams and the identification
and screening of potential options to
minimize waste;
(3) Feasibility Analysis: evaluation of the
technical and economic feasibility of
the options selected and subsequent
ranking of options; and
(4) Implementation: procurement, in-
stallation, implementation, and
evaluation (at the discretion of the
facility surveyed).
This project recommended both man-
agement initiatives and technical changes
that can be made at Governors Island to
minimize waste. The management initia-
tives can be applied at governmental and
industrial facilities throughout the country.
The technical waste minimization evalua-
tions focused on the following operations:
• Paint removal operations using blasting
grit
• Buoy painting
• On-site solvent recovery
Results
The Coast Guard has actively imple-
mented successful waste minimization ini-
tiatives. National waste minimization pro-
grams include the following: lead-free paint
is now being used; new paint with a lower
volatile organic compound (VOC) content is
being developed; recyclable solar batteries
are being installed for aids-to-navigation;
engine coolants containing dichrornate ad-
ditives have been eliminated; a waste mini-
mization policy has been established through
the Commandant; and instructions specifi-
cally citing waste minimization objectives
have been provided.
At the Support Center New York, the
following initiatives have been implemented:
a hazardous waste tracking system has
been established; a compactor for paint
cans has been purchased; blasting grit vol-
ume has been reduced by the installation of
a new baghouse and recycling system;
disposable brushes are used to reduce paint
thinner waste; a silver recovery unit has
been installed on the X-ray unit in the sickbay;
Safety-Kleen* products are used and re-
cycled; attempts are made to reuse certain
materials sent for disposal by others; and a
waste minimization policy has been estab-
lished.
Because governmental organizations lack
a profit motive, they function differently than
private institutions; therefore, waste minimi-
zation successes may trail programs in pri-
vate industry. One problem common to the
Coast Guard and other uniformed services
is the turnover experienced by military
personnel assigned to hazardous waste
duties. This turnover affects continuity of
services and the "learning curve" neces-
sary to become proficient in hazardous waste
management practices. Lack of employee
awareness has contributed to the genera-
tion of hazardous waste on the Island.
The Hazardous Waste Office has limited
authority and influence over waste activities
Island-wide. Each of the over20 commands
on the Island has its own independent pur-
chasing officer and system, which can lead
to duplicate inventories and unnecessary
waste generation.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
A successful waste minimization program
at any facility depends primarily on man-
agement commitment to implement cultural
changes within the organization. This com-
mitment, which already exists within the
Coast Guard, needs to be expanded to
reach and influence all levels and person-
nel. Further improvement will require the
cooperation of both Coast Guard Head-
quarters in Washington and Support Center
New York. Technology transfer between
Coast Guard sites, research and develop-
ment efforts, and funding are Headquarters
functions. At Support Center New York,
recommendations for waste minimization
that require management initiative include:
• Storage areas should be modified to
minimize degradation of product due to
exposure to freezing winter tempera-
tures. Central warehousing should be
investigated.
• Centralized procurement practices
should be investigated. Centralization
would reduce duplicate inventories and
alleviate product loss due to shelf life
expiration. In addition, centralization
would allow purchasing officers to
practice product substitution measures
so that waste minimization methods
"Mention of trade names or commercial products, does
not constitute endorsement or recommendation for
use.
could start at the beginning of the life
cycle.
• Individual commands on the Island
need to be more aware of their waste
generating potential. Expanded
accountability and reporting protocols
may be useful in accomplishing this
goal.
In addition to the above recommenda-
tions, several process-oriented waste mini-
mization opportunities were identified as a
result of the qualitative audit of the wastes
generated at Governors Island. The EPA
Manual served as a guideline in evaluating
each of these options. A set of 19 worksheets
was used as a framework for economic and
waste volume assessment.
Three processes were selected for in-
depth analyses: spray painting of buoys,
using plastic shot instead of steel shot to
remove paint from buoys, and recovering
paint and thinner solvents by distillation.
The analyses are summarized in Table 1.
High Volume/Low Pressure
Spray Gun
Once buoys have been adequately blast-
cleaned to assure good adhesion of paint,
they are presently removed to a spray booth
for spray painting. Buoys are spray painted
with several different paints using a Sinks
Airless 1 spray gun and a high pressure air
system. Generally, the transfer efficiency of
paints using this equipment is only about
50%.
Replacement of the airless gun with a
highyolume/lowpressure (HVLP) gun would
significantly reduce overspray from an esti-
mated 50% to only 15%, reduce the amount
of paint used, and significantly decrease
emissions of VOCs to the atmosphere.
Considering that the cost of the new gun
system, with its compressor, is less than
$1,000 and retraining of operators is mini-
mal, this option is considered to be very
attractive.
Replacement of Steel Shot with
Plastic Media
Paint on buoys (and small boats) is pres-
ently removed by being bombarded with
steel shot blasted through a high-pressure
air gun. The unpulverized shot is recycled
approximately five cycles. Fragmented shot
and blasted products (steel and paint) be-
come dust-like and are collected through a
baghouse system. In 1988, approximately
120 drums (55 gal) weighing about 750 Ib
each were disposed of as hazardous waste
because of low levels of lead. The annual
cost of disposal, at $0.23/lb, is $20,700.
Magnetic separation and air classification
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Table 1. Waste Minimization Options for Governors Island
Cost Savings
Option $/yr
Payback
Period
Waste Reduction
tons T/yr
Comment
HVLP spray gun
22,600
0.5 mo
9 Toverspray,
4.4TVOCs
Save 2,260 gal
painttyr
Plastic shot
Reclaiming and
Solvents
24,120
4,240
3.4 mo
24 mo
45 T steel dust,
add 2 T plastic
2 T paint,
5.4 T thinner
Replace 24 T steel
shot waste with 1 T
plastic shot
waste/yr
Also eliminates
purchase of 1,500 gal
thinners
that the use of plastic shot will not eidversely
effect the paint application process and will
remove rust from the buoys.
Waste Paint and Solvent
Distillation
Waste paint and solvent (thinner) was
recognized as a major source of waste and
a significant contributor to disposal cost.
On-site reclamation of solvents now being
discarded as hazardous waste might have
cost and environmental benefits.
Reclamation by distillation was analyzed
assuming a single still with between 15 and
20 gal/day capacity. On this basis, this
option appeared to be marginally attractive.
In summary, the following recommenda-
tions are made:
• The changeover to the low pressure
spray gun system should be imple-
mented immediately, if only to reduce
VOC emissions. Estimated payout for
the conversion is only 0.5 mo.
• Prior to the decision to change over from
steel shot to plastic media, the techni-
cal impact should be examined in more
detail. The impacts should be discussed
with vendors and factors such as ex-
tent of rust removal from buoys and the
durability of the coating on a plastic-
media cleaned buoy must be evalu-
ated. The option is highly cost-effec-
tive, with payout in only 3.4 mo.
• Purchase of a still is not highly recom-
mended at this time, because of the
cost (2-yr payout), the anticipated
changes in paint and solvent manage-
ment, and the question of acceptability
(and safety) of any recovered solvent.
The full report was subm rtted in fulfillment
of Contract No. 68-C8-0061, WA 1-05, by
Science Applications International Corpo-
ration, under the sponsorship of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1991/548-028/20161
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Science Applications International Corporation, Paramus, NJ 07652.
James S. Bridges is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled 'Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment, U.S. Coast
Guard Support Center, Governors Island, New Yorks" (Order No. PB91-136 556/AS;
Cost: $23.00, cost subject to change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, OH 45268
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental
Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/S2-90/062
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