United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Risk Reduction
Engineering Laboratory
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA/600/SR-95/061 April 1995
vvEPA Project Summary
Pollution Prevention Research
Within the Federal Community
N. T. Hoagland, J. S. Bridges, and TRC Environmental Corporation
This project summary describes the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Waste Reduction Evaluations at
Federal Sites (WREAFS) program to
support pollution prevention (P2) re-
search throughout the Federal commu-
nity, and the current status on all
projects as of September 1994 is given.
Under the WREAFS program, new tech-
niques and technologies for reducing
waste generation are identified through
joint research, development, and dem-
onstration (RD&D) projects. The
WREAFS program has cooperatively
supported pollution prevention projects
at facilities within 10 of the Federal
Government's major departments,
agencies, or offices. The full report de-
scribes each WREAFS project com-
pleted as of September 1994 and
provides brief synopses of projects on-
going or completed from September
1994 to March 1995.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Risk Reduction Engineering
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce
key findings of the research project
that is fully documented in a separate
report of the same title (see Project
Report ordering information at back).
Introduction
Since 1988, the EPA's Office of Re-
search and Development, Risk Reduction
Engineering Laboratory (RREL) in Cincin-
nati, OH, has conducted P2 opportunity
assessments (PPOAs) and technology
evaluations or demonstrations, or both at
Federal facilities through its WREAFS pro-
gram.
The WREAFS program identifies new
technologies and techniques for reducing
wastes from industrial and other processes
performed by Federal agencies and en-
hances the adoption of P2 through tech-
nology transfer. Under the WREAFS
Program, new techniques and technolo-
gies for reducing waste generation are
identified through RD&D projects.
The full report describes each project
conducted under the WREAFS program
with a brief description of the facility, the
processes addressed, P2 options identi-
fied, needed research, and the status of
implementation of the recommended op-
tions (as of September 1994).
Completed Pollution Prevention
Projects
From its inception to September 1994,
the WREAFS program completed 18 joint
efforts: Department of Defense (8); De-
partment of Veteran's Affairs (1); Depart-
ment of Transportation (2); Department of
Energy (1); Department of Agriculture (1);
Department of Interior (1); U.S. Postal Ser-
vice (1); White House Complex (1); De-
partment of Treasury (1) and a
multiple-project interagency effort involv-
ing the EPA, Air Force, Army, Navy, and
the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration. Many of the WREAFS
projects for the Departments of Defense
and Energy were funded under the Stra-
tegic Environmental Research and Devel-
opment Program (SERDP). Other projects
were funded by the Federal agency or
EPA or both.
These projects identified the processes
and waste streams and then identified re-
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search opportunities to implement P2 for
a range of military and industrial opera-
tions including metal cleaning, solvent
degreasing, spray painting, vehicle and
battery repair, ship bilge cleaning, torpedo
overhaul, buoy restoration, lens grinding,
hospital operations, laboratory analysis,
and mail processing.
Over 130 recommended P2 options
have been identified as a result of these
project, and these options can be readily
adapted to similar processes used by other
Federal facilities or by the private sector.
Table 1 illustrates some of the sites, pro-
cesses, and waste streams addressed in
the WREAFS program. Each project is
discussed in more detail in the full report.
In addition to the completed WREAFS
projects, several new projects are under-
way or have been completed since Sep-
tember 1994. These are summarized in
Table 2. Other pollution prevention re-
search projects involving Federal agen-
cies are shown in Table 3.
Conclusions
A number of WREAFS RD&D projects
are completed and a number of efforts
are ongoing. Perhaps the most important
impact, however, will come from any re-
sulting cultural change brought about by
conducing a PPOA or reading an RD&D
report. All Federal agencies must take an
active role in P2 and set examples for
others. The SERDP/WREAFS combina-
tion is an excellent illustration of the op-
portunities available for Federal agencies
to wisely use funding and manpower to
attain the goal of pollution prevention.
The full report was submitted in partial
fulfillment of contract number 68-D2-0181
by TRC Environmental, Inc. under the
sponsorship of the U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency.
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Table 1. Waste Reduction Evaluation At Federal Sites (WREAFS)
Site
Process
Summary of Completed Projects1
Waste Streams
Sample P2 Options
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Naval Undersea Warfare
Center Keyport Div
Tinker AFB
Scott AFB
AF Plant #6
Ft. Riley
Fitzsimmons Army
Medical Center
Painting, derusting
Design, test, maintain torpedoes
Repair, maintenance
Aircraft maintenance, printed
circuit board manufacture
Steel, aluminum parts
preparation
Battery repair, auto sub-
assembly rebuilding
Eyeglass lens manufacturing
Paint solids, citric acid, TEA
Waste Otto fuel II, oil, plating
baths, paint, solvents, acids,
pesticides, dye, detergent,
chromate and cyanide salts
CFCs, solvents, plating baths
Penetrant, emulsion, developer,
solvents, paint solids, VOCs,
reducing agents
TCE
Battery acid, chromium and
lead contaminated wastewater
Solvents, glass fines, lead-
bearing blocking compound,
rinse water
Training, dragout reduction,
2-stage rinsing
Disposable cuffs, automated fuel tank
draining, modify draining schedule,
spent solvents recover/reuse
Brush plating, MEK substitute,
MEK recovery/reuse
Alternate bath replacement, dry silica
developer, plastic blasting media, dry
paint booth, HVLP guns, substitute
reducing agents
Substitute water soluble emulsion
cleaner for TCE
Recycle battery acid, filter and
recirculate wastewater
Recycle glass fines in ceramics,
substitute non-lead blocking alloy,
filter wastewater
VA Cm-Fort Thomas
Medical Center
USCG Support
Center New York
USCG Base Ketchikan
DOE Sandia National
Laboratories
USDA Beltsville
Agricultural Research Center
DOI Bureau of Mines
Albany Research Center
Hospital operations
Buoy and vessel maintenance
and refurbishment
Aids to navigation and
vessel maintenance
Geotech analysis, printed
circuit boards made and
repaired
Agricultural research
Metals and minerals research
Disposable supplies
Paint, contaminated blasting
media, solvents
Blasting wastes, solvents,
waste paint, oil, bilge,
coolant/antifreeze
Solvent, lab trash, rinse water,
lead scraps, potting compound
wastes
Hazardous wastes, acid, base
wastes, solvents
Solvents, combustibles, lead
contaminated concrete,
lab wastes
Reuse disposables, substitute
nondisposables
HVLP paint guns, plastic blasting
media, solvent recovery/reuse
Nontoxic paint, floor collector, plastic
blasting media, HVLP guns, solvent
recycling, solvent substitution, filtration
Test rinse water, eliminate steps,
use both ends of swabs, eliminate
sample bags
Training, waste segregation,
equipment/process mods, auto
nitrogen analysis, less solvent in HPLC
Inventory control, mod research design,
distill and reuse solvents
USPS Buffalo GMFand VMF
White House Complex
TIPPP (Ft Eustis, LangleyAFB,
NASA Langley Research Ctr
Naval Base Norfolk)
NASA Langley Photo Labs
General mail facility and
vehicle maintenance
Paint shop, grounds main-
tenance, HVAC, office
operations.
All types of base and
community functions
Photoprocessing and X-ray
operations
Paper, plastic, oil, adhesives,
paints, cafeteria wastes,
cleaners, solvents
Solvents, paint, paper, water use
Chemical materials, land mgt,
depainting, solvents, metal
working, electroplating, solid
and painting wastes
Developers, fixers, bleaches,
silver-bearing wastes, scrap film,
photo paper
Reusable containers, inventory,
reusable food service materials,
low VOC paints, aqueous cleaners
Reduce/recycle solvents, exterior paint,
moisture sensor, HVAC water recycler,
use recycled paper
Inventory control and tracking, pesticide
mgt, product sub, waste segregation,
equip/process modification
One print per negative, electrolytic
silver recovery with recovery cartridges
' The Department of Treasury project is not included.
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Table 2. Summary of WREAFS Projects Ongoing or Completed after September 1994
Project
Description
Naval Ophthalmic Support
and Training Activity (NOSTRA)
Naval Station Mayport,
Jacksonville, FL
U.S. Air Force Center for
Environmental Excellence
(AFCEE)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USAGE)
Fort Eustis Army
Transportation Center
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
Air Training Center,
Mobile, AL
USCG Technology Assessments
DOE LCA Design Case Studies
DOE LCA Research and
Development Demonstration
Bureau of Indian Affairs
USPS Pollution Prevention
Opportunity Assessments
EPA, with technical support from NOSTRA, worked with the Optical Laboratories Association (OLA) and its member
companies to reduce or eliminate process wastes such as MEK, acetone, methanol, toluene, xylene, TCE, and TCA.
The technical evaluation was funded by the EPA's RREL. The results of the evaluation will be published in a journal
article.
Through the Naval Facilities Engineering Services Center (NFESC), implementation of fluid filtration, recovery, and
reuse technologies and rag-use reduction techniques were evaluated for application to the Public Works Operations.
Using the data from the PPOAs conducted at the OC-ALC, a lessons learned document has been developed for
aircraft repair P2 assessments and demonstrations. The project was funded under SERDP.
PPOAs were conducted at four USAGE facilities as models for future assessments at similar types of Corps facilities.
The facilities included in the assessment were: a hydropower plant, a repair station, an operational lock and dam
(with ongoing major maintenance occurring within the lock chamber), and a flood control project. The project was
funded under SERDP.
Under the TIPPP program, Fort Eustis has completed a base-wide P2 program plan, which identified a need to
evaluate and upgrade painting, depainting, and corrosion control operations. Several improvements have been
implemented. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of painting and depainting operations is being conducted, beginning
with an inventory analysis of improved chemical agent resistant coating (CARC) painting and depainting operations
to determine the resources used and environmental releases. An impact analysis will determine the environmental
consequences associated with CARC operations, including corrosion control techniques. By evaluating the
environmental consequences, the improvement analysis will identify opportunities which will be implemented and
evaluated on-site. The project is being funded under SERDP.
Joint assessments were conducted for P2 options in aircraft maintenance, aircraft fueling, flight simulators, and
aircraft cleaning. This project was funded by EPA-RREL.
A study was conducted to provide guidance for the USCG in choosing cost-effective parts cleaning chemicals that
have minimum environmental and safety impacts. The three bases chosen for this study were: Aviation Training
Center (ATC) Mobile, AL; Air Station Cape Cod (ASCC), Falmouth, MA; and Support Center NY (SCNY), Governors
Island, NY. The project was jointly funded by USCG and EPA-RREL.
As a follow-on to the joint Life Cycle Assessment Research and Development (LCA RD&D), cross-cutting pollution
prevention technologies and methodologies at DOE laboratories are being developed and demonstrated. The
project is jointly funded by SERDP and DOE.
This will build on current DOE/EPA LCA work, which is developing a technical framework, Life Cycle Cost Assess-
ment (LCCA) to be included within a life cycle assessment. This project will take the framework to the next phase of
demonstration allowing for further development and refinement of DOE products and processes. The project will be
jointly funded by SERDP and EPA-RREL.
Based in part on the work being done by tribal pueblos, a Pollution Prevention Resource Guide and workshop will be
developed to provide technical assistance on source reduction to Indian tribes and businesses operating on Indian
lands. The project will be funded by RREL.
PPOAs are being conducted at six types of postal facilities, including an engineering and research development
center; a stamp distribution center; a bulk mail facility; an area supply depot; a forensics laboratory; and customer
service centers (small, medium, and large post offices). The recommendations should have applicability to other
similar postal facilities throughout the United States. Also, an evaluation was conducted for recycling opportunities
between the USPS and Federal Prison Industries. The project is jointly funded by USPS and EPA-RREL. Tech-
nology transfer will be in the form of project reports and an implementation workshop.
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Table 2. (continued)
Project Description
Office of Federal Facility To assist Federal managers in reducing waste generation and emission rates in order to meet compliance objectives
Enforcement (OFFE) - F2P2 by using P2 tools, a manual was produced by the WREAFS program titled, "Federal Facilities Pollution Prevention—
Manual Tools for Compliance." The project was jointly funded by EPA-RREL and EPA-FFEO.
Office of Federal Facility In a project jointly funded by FFEO and RREL, RREL is providing support to EPA Regions in developing Pollution
Enforcement (OFFE) - Prevention Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPS) under the Federal Facilities Multi-Media Enforcement/
FMECI Support Compliance Initiative (FMECI). As requested, RREL will provide P2 solutions for violations and other identified areas
of noncompliance at Federal sites. The first P2 SEP developed under this program was at Eielson Air Force Base.
NASA Langley Research In performing its mission, LaRC develops composite materials for use in subsonic and supersonic aircraft applica
Center - Dry Powder Towpreg tions. LaRC developed a new dry powder towpreg process to manufacture these composite materials. The process
is a less hazardous way to impregnate carbon fibers with dry powder resin (towpreg) by using powdered polymers to
coat fibers. The TIPPP project is demonstrating this innovative P2 technology and conducting a life-cycle analysis of
its energy and environmental impacts. Final products are being compared with commercially produced products to
determine comparable performance characteristics. The project is jointly funded by EPA and NASA.
NASA Langley Research Under TIPPP, a base-wide assessment of NASA-LaRC operations was conducted and a Pollution Prevention
Center - Pollution Prevention Program Plan for the facility was developed under the WREAFS program. WREAFS continues to support the
Program Implementation implementation of selected projects from the Pollution Prevention Program Plan.
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This Summary was authored by N. T. Hoagland, and J. S. Bridges with the
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH 45268, and staff of
TRC Environmental Corporation, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.
N. T. Hoagland is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "Pollution Prevention Research Within the
Federal Community," (OrderNo. PB95-209623; Cost: $27.00, subject to
change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA22161
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
Official Business
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EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
EPA/600/SR-95/061
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