-------

-------
                                            NOTICE
This report was prepared by the Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the management of Gregory G. Ondich (Director, Program
Development Staff).  Production of this document was facilitated under Contract No. 68-02-4297.  It has
been subjected to the Agency's peer and administrative review and it has been approved for publication as
a USEPA document.

Individuals and organizations throughout EPA contributed material that formed the basis for much of this
report. Without their contribution the production of this document would not have been possible.

-------
                                          Foreword
        The Office of Research and Development has been involved in minimization (a precursor to
pollution prevention) of hazardous waste since 1987. The program has achieved early success in
demonstrating the potential benefits of pollution prevention in solving environmental problems.

        Over the past several years the importance of pollution prevention as a cost effective
alternative to "end of pipe" pollution control has been recognized.  Pollution prevention as a valid
approach to environmental protection was promoted by the EPA Science Advisory Board in their
Report Future Risk:  Research Strategies for the 1990's.  It is also becoming clear that progress in
managing many of the newer environmental problems can be more readily achieved using a pollution
prevention  approach. As a result the Congress requested EPA to prepare and submit a multi-year,
multi-media pollution prevention research plan.

        This report was prepared in response to this request.  It should be noted that the plan is part
of a much  broader EPA effort to develop a comprehensive pollution prevention program that
addresses  all of the Agency's programs including media specific and cross-media issues.

        The plan builds  on the  current EPA pollution prevention efforts and the needs of the various
organizations that will be instrumental in implementing pollution prevention techniques and programs.
The six research program areas include:  product, process, recycling/reuse, socioeconomic and
institutional, anticipatory and technology transfer research.

        The research program goals are designed to meet the  identified organizational needs, and
the objectives within each program area are intended to facilitate achievement of these goals.
Example research projects under each research objective illustrate the types  of research that could
be conducted to achieve these objectives.  These example projects  do  not necessarily represent the
highest priority projects, but are included for illustrative purposes only.

        Additional copies of this report may be  obtained at no charge from EPA's Center for
Environmental Research Information, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio,  45268, using
the EPA document number found on the report's front cover. Once  this supply is exhausted, copies
can be purchased from the National Technical Information Service, Ravensworth Bldg., Springfield,
VA, 22161, (702) 487-4600.  Reference copies will be available at EPA libraries in their Pollution
Prevention Collection.  You can also call the Pollution Prevention Information  Clearinghouse  Technical
Assistance Line at 703-821-4800 in McLean, VA, to inquire about the availability of this and other
pollution prevention reports.
                             Alfretf W. Lindsey^Acting Director
                             Office of Environmental Engineering
                               and Technology Demonstration

-------
                             TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                       Page

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY	     i

CHAPTER 1:   INTRODUCTION	    1-1

    Need for Pollution Prevention	    1-2

    Benefits of Pollution Prevention	    1-6

    EPA's Pollution Prevention Initiative	    1-11

    EPA's Role in Pollution Prevention Research	    1-14

    Goals of the Pollution Prevention Research Plan	    1-18

CHAPTER 2:   RESEARCH PLAN	    2-1

    Product Research	    2-5

    Process Research	    2-7

    Recycling and Reuse  Research	    2-9

    Socioeconomic and Institutional Research	    2-11

    Anticipatory Research	    2-14

    Technology Transfer and Technical Assistance	    2-15

 CHAPTER 3:  RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND IMPLEMENTATION
                  MECHANISMS	    3-1

    Resource Requirements	    3-1

      Priorities Among Program Areas	    3-1
      Priorities Within Program Areas	    3-3

    Implementation Mechanisms	    3-7

      Intramural Research	    3-7
      Extramural Research	    3-8
        Business and Industry	    3-8
        University and Academia	    3-9
        State and Local Government	    3-9
        Other Agencies	    3-9
        Public Interest Groups	    3-10

APPENDIX: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

-------
                                LIST OF EXHIBITS


                                                                           Page

Exhibit 1-1     Priorities for Risk-Reduction Research	    1-3

Exhibit 1-2     Examples of Pollution Prevention Successes	    1-7

Exhibit 1-3     Waste Management Hierarchy	    1-12

Exhibit 1-4     Pollution Prevention Information Needs	    1-16

Exhibit 1-5     Framework  for the Pollution
                  Prevention Research Program	    1-20

Exhibit 2-1     Pollution Prevention Research  Program Areas	    2-2

Exhibit 2-2     Common Technological Research Objectives	    2-3

Exhibit 2-3     Product Research Program
                  Potential Research Topics and Specific
                  Project Examples	    2-18

Exhibit 2-4     Process Research Program
                  Potential Research Topics and Specific
                  Project Examples	    2-21

Exhibit 2-5     Recycling and Reuse Research Program
                  Potential Research Topics and Specific
                  Project Examples	    2-23

Exhibit 2-6     Socioeconomic and Institutional Research Program
                  Potential Research Topics and Specific
                  Project Examples	    2-25

Exhibit 2-7     Anticipatory Research Program
                  Potential Research Topics and Specific
                  Project Examples	    2-28

Exhibit 2-8     Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse	    2-30

Exhibit 2-9     Technology  Transfer and Technical Assistance Program
                  Potential Activities and Specific
                  Project Examples	    2-31

Exhibit 3-1     Initial Priorities  for Initiating Research in
                  Pollution Prevention Research Program Areas	    3-2

Exhibit 3-2     Resources Estimates for Pollution Prevention
                  Research Plan	    3-4

-------
                                    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  The Fiscal Year 1989 Appropriations Act for
the Environmental Protection Agency  (EPA)
required the Agency to submit  a  multi-year,
multi- media pollution prevention research plan
to Congress.  The research plan contained in this
report  was  prepared  in  response  to  this
requirement, and the plan is part of a broader
EPA   effort  to  develop  a comprehensive
pollution prevention initiative that concerns all
of the Agency's programs in air,  water, toxics,
and solid waste.

  In the past two decades, EPA's environmental
protection  efforts have primarily  focused on
media-specific pollution controls.  These "end-
of-pipe" approaches have achieved significant
reductions in discharge of pollutants, but further
gains in treatment and control will,  in most
cases,  be much more  costly  and difficult to
achieve. Furthermore, many of the pollution
problems  facing our  nation- -such as  global
warming, ozone depletion, and non-point source
pollution — are not totally amenable to traditional
pollution control regulation and  enforcement.
Further strides in protecting  the environment
will require  preventing environmental problems
by reducing or eliminating the generation of
pollutants.    The reduction or elimination of
pollution is  not a new concept for the EPA in
reducing  health  and   environmental  risks.
"PoUution prevention,"  as used in
r^
           jj]^
of
It does  not include  treatment  and  disposal
methods.  Pollution prevention holds the key to
future gains in environmental  protection, and
offers significant  benefits to many sectors of
society that are not available through traditional
pollution control approaches.  These benefits fall
into two major categories:

• Reduced health  and ecological risks

  - Avoiding the  shift of  pollutants  among
    environmental media

  - Reducing the need for transportation and
    disposal of wastes
  - Reducing  the  total  waste and  pollutant
    burden

  - Reducing  risks   of   exposure  to  toxic
    substances.

• Economic benefits

  - Reducing waste management, compliance,
    liability, and remediation costs

  - Increasing operating efficiencies

  - Creating  markets  for  sale  or  reuse of
    wastes.

  EPA recognizes that it  will take a concerted
effort by all sectors of our society to realize the
full potential of the benefits of pollution pre-
vention. Although these benefits are recognized
by many organizations, lack of information and
knowledge have been  a barrier to implementing
pollution prevention  programs.  Organizations
often lack  the capabilities, resources, or moti-
vation to conduct the research necessary to fill
these information gaps. Therefore, EPA  has a
crucial role to play,  as  a leader  in  pollution
prevention, in forging partnerships with  these
organizations to conduct research and dissemi-
nate the information.  As the  SAB  noted in
Research Strategies for the 1990s, EPA is the
only entity that is likely to exert leadership in
conducting the  basic environmental research
needed to address future  environmental issues
and cross-media problems.

  This  research  plan  is the  first  step in
developing the research component of EPA's
pollution prevention initiative. This plan builds
on the current EPA pollution prevention efforts,
and identifies six research goals that broaden the
scope of  the Agency's  pollution prevention
efforts.    The  six  fundamental  goals  of the
research program are  to:

(1)  Stimulate private sector development and
    use of products  that  result in  reduced
    pollution.

-------
 (2)  Stimulate private sector development and
     implementation  of technologies and pro-
     cesses that result in reduced pollution.

 (3)  Expand the reusability and recyclability of
     wastes and products and the demand  for
     recycled materials.

 (4)  Identify and promote  the implementation
     of effective socioeconomic  and  institu-
     tional approaches to pollution prevention.

 (5)  Establish a program of research that will
     anticipate and  address future  environ-
     mental problems and pollution prevention
     opportunities.

 (6)  Conduct  a  vigorous  technology  transfer
     assistance program that facilitates pollution
     prevention strategies and technologies.

   Achievement  of  these   goals  requires   a
 research program that covers six major program
 areas: (1) product research, (2) process research,
 (3) recycling and reuse  research,  (4) socioeco-
 nomic and institutional  research,  (5) anticipa-
 tory research, and (6) technology transfer and
 technical  assistance.  Each  of the six research
 goals corresponds to  a research program area,
 and each  program  area  has  a  number   of
 objectives  that support achievement of  the
 research goal.

 Product Research

   The product research program area is oriented
 toward studying the polluting characteristics and
 life-long pollution generating attributes of types
 of  products,  and  facilitating  private sector
 development  of  environmentally  preferable
 types of products.  The objectives of the product
 research program area are to:

 (1)  Establish  standardized   methods  for
     evaluating the environmental impacts  of
     specific types of products.

(2)  Identify   and   evaluate   the  pollution
     generation characteristics of both  existing
     and new types of products and of changing
     product-use patterns.
(3) Encourage private sector  development of
    environmentally preferable types of prod-
    ucts.

(4) Demonstrate  and  evaluate  uses  of  cost
    effective and  environmentally preferable
    types of products.


Process Research

   The process research program area focuses On
identifying  and  evaluating those aspects  of
production,  use,   maintenance,  repair,  and
disposal processes that  generate pollutants and
excessive  amounts of  waste,  and facilitating
private sector development of  environmentally
preferable  processes.   The objectives  of  the
process research program area are to:

(1) Develop  industry-specific   standardized
    methods for conducting process-oriented
    pollution prevention  opportunity  assess-
    ments.

(2) Conduct pollution  prevention opportunity
    assessments in  a variety of industries.

(3) Identify,  demonstrate,  and  evaluate  the
    effectiveness of pollution prevention tech-
    niques  associated with existing  and  new
    processes.

(4) Identify  and  stimulate   cross-industry
    applications  of cost effective  innovative
    production and processing technologies.


Recycling and Reuse Research
  The recycling and  reuse  research  program
area  focuses  on  evaluating  waste  streams,
production feedstocks, capacities  for inclusion
of reclaimed materials in production processes
and products, and  the effectiveness of recyc-
ling/reuse programs.   The recycling and reuse
research program area objectives are to:

(1)  Identify and evaluate new and innovative
    uses for materials that would otherwise be
    disposed of as waste.
                                                11

-------
(2)  Identify,   demonstrate,   and   evaluate
     strategies to increase the  use of recycled
     materials in products.

(3)  Stimulate the development and installation
     of additional capacity for utilizing recycled
     materials.

(4)  Evaluate  existing  recycling and  reuse
     programs and facilitate the development of
     cost effective model programs.


Socioeconomic and Institutional Research


   The socioeconomic and institutional research
program area focuses on identifying and evalu-
ating  non-technological factors   that  affect
pollution prevention opportunities. The objec-
tives of the socioeconomic and  institutional
research program area are to:

(1)  Understand consumer behavior and identify
     effective approaches to modifying it  in
     consumption decisions!

(2)  Identify and assess incentives  that  may
     increase and obstacles that  may  inhibit
     implementation  of  pollution prevention
     measures.

(3)  Identify and assess the effectiveness  of
     existing  and  new  pollution prevention
     approaches.

(4)  Identify and assess trends  in  consumption
     and use  patterns and pollution generation.

(5)  Quantify the potential of pollution preven-
     tion practices for maximizing  pollution
     reduction.

Anticipatory Research

  The  anticipatory  research   program  area
concentrates on emerging technologies  that could
be  utilized  to  prevent  or  address   future
environmental problems,  as well as changes  in
non-technological factors that could contribute
to or prevent future problems.   The objectives
of the anticipatory research program area are to:
(1)  Identify and explore emerging technologies
     and patterns in resource use and disposal
     that have  long-term implications  for the
     nation's programs in pollution prevention.

(2)  Evaluate the effectiveness of the Agency's
     research program in meeting changing user
     information needs.


Technology Transfer and Technical Assistance


   The technology transfer and technical assist-
ance program area supports each of the other
five research program  areas by  providing the
mechanism for rapid and broad dissemination of
information  to potential users.  This  program
area focuses on expanding the availability  of
information  from   the pollution  prevention
research initiative and other sources  to acceler-
ate the adoption of effective pollution preven-
tion programs throughout the public and private
sectors.  It compliments similar pollution  pre-
vention  outreach  programs   throughout   the
Agency.  The technology transfer and technical
assistance program area objectives are to:

(1)  Stimulate the use  of pollution  prevention
     opportunity  assessments in  all  pollution-
     generating activities.

(2)  Expand  the Pollution Prevention Informa-
     tion Clearinghouse to encompass additional,
     multi-media pollution prevention functions.

(3)  Provide technical assistance to other federal
     agencies,   states,   local   governments,
     industries, and  citizens in  implementing
     pollution prevention efforts.

(4)  Support   general   and  industry-specific
     information exchange via conferences and
     seminars  in international,  national,  and
     regional settings.

   The  information  needs  of   the   various
organizations  that  could be  instrumental  in
implementing pollution prevention  techniques
and  programs  are  the  driving force  for  the
research   program.    These   needs  lead  to
individual research  projects through  a linear
                                               111

-------
 path that is illustrated by the flowchart exhibit
 on the following page.  The flowchart depicts
 the logical design of the research plan by using
 an example  within a  particular program area.
 Information  needs are the  foundation  upon
 which all the research is based. The goals of the
 research plan  are designed  to  meet  these
 information needs, and the  objectives within
 each  program area are intended  to  facilitate
 achievement of these goals. The research topics
 under the objectives are the types of research
 that   could  be  conducted  to achieve  these
 objectives.   Finally, example research projects
 under each research topic illustrate the types of
 projects the Agency might undertake for each
 program area. This design applies to all six of
 the research program  areas  presented in  the
 research plan in Chapter 2. Seventeen example
 projects, several  for each of the program areas,
 illustrate the variety of  research  that can  be
 undertaken  as part of  this  program.   These
 example projects do not necessarily represent
 high priority research projects, but are included
 in  the research plan to illustrate  the  types  of
 studies envisioned by the Agency for each of the
 six program areas.


 Implementation of the Research Plan

   Over  the  past  five  years, the  Agency has
 progressively expanded its  efforts in source
 reduction  and   recycling.    Passage  of   the
 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984
 marked a significant milestone in refocusing the
 Agency's strategy  from traditional regulatory
 control approaches toward pollution prevention.
 In  1986, EPA's  Office of  Solid Waste (OSW)
 published the Report to Congress on the Mini-
 mization of Hazardous Waste, which promoted
 source reduction and recycling as  the nation's
 highest priorities over treatment and  disposal.
 In 1987,  EPA launched the Waste Minimization
 Research (WMR) program which  focused  on
 preventing  or  reducing  the  generation   of
 hazardous  wastes   as  regulated   under  the
 Resource Conservation and  Recovery  Act.
 Another  milestone for  the  Agency's pollution
 prevention initiative was publication in 1988  of
 the Science  Advisory Board's  report, Future
Risk:  Research Strategies for the 1990s. In this
same  year,   EPA  created  an  Agencywide
Pollution Prevention Office (PPO)  to promote
an  integrated  pollution  prevention approach
across all media.   In 1989, the PPO issued a
pollution  prevention  policy   statement  that
promotes pollution  prevention as the highest
priority to reduce health and environmental risk,
followed by recycling  and reuse of wastes to
reduce pollution. The PPO is also developing a
comprehensive Agencywide pollution prevention
strategy.  The strategy will attempt to integrate
program, research, and regional office activities
into a comprehensive pollution prevention plan
for the  Agency.  Also in 1989, OSW published
The Solid Waste  Dilemma:   An Agenda  for
Action which is a national strategy for managing
the nation's garbage problem.

  OSW's activities, the WMR program, and the
establishment of PPO signify EPA's commitment
to  achieving  significant   reductions  in  the
generation of pollution.  These Agency efforts
provide  the  framework for the multi-media,
multi-year pollution prevention research  plan
presented in this report. This research plan is an
adjunct  to the broader  Agencywide pollution
prevention strategy being prepared by the PPO.

  The pollution  prevention research program
outlined in this report will  support Agencywide
research efforts.  A number of EPA program,
research, and regional offices will be responsible
for implementing the proposed research plan.
During  the first year of the research plan,  the
Agency's highest  priorities  are  to  initiate
research in the product and socioeconomic and
institutional  program  areas.   Although  the
priorities for initiating research activities that
are  presented  in   this  plan  reflect   EPA's
commitment  to beginning effective research
activities, funding levels in each program area
may not be indicative of these priorities. This
is  due  to  the  need  to  continue support  for
ongoing projects and the disproportionate costs
of  planning,  initiating,  and  implementing
specific  projects in  different program  areas.
EPA  estimates  that  the  pollution  prevention
research program described in this plan would
cost approximately $14.5 million from Research
and  Development funds  in FY90 and  FY91.
During this  time, product  research is expected
                                               IV

-------
               PRODUCT  RESEARCH   PROGRAM   EXAMPLE
                                   INFORMATION  NEEDS
EPA
Product assessment methods
New products
Product substitutes
Trends in product-use patterns

INDUSTRY
Product substitutes
New products
Product applicability
OTHER AGENCIES
New products
Product assessment
methods

CONSUMERS
New products
Product substitutes
1 ) Stimulate the development and
    use of products that result in
    reduced pollution
2 ) Stimulate development and implementation of
   technologies and processes ...
3 ) Expand reusability, recydability, and demand ...
4 ) Identify and promote non-technological
   approaches...
5 ) Conduct technology transfer and technical
   assistance...
6 ) Identify and address future environmental
   problems...
                                       PRODUCT RESEARCH
                                             PROGRAM
RESEARCH  GOALS
                                              Objectives
                                  Establish standard methods
                                  Evaluate products
                                  Facilitate product development
                                  Demonstrate production and use
     RESEARCH
     TOPIC  AREA
Evaluate substitutes for
toxic materials in consumer I
products
                                                 SPECIFIC RESEARCH PROJECT
                                              Identification and Evaluation of Lead and
                                                   Cadmium Substitutes in Plastics
                                            1) Identify possible substitutes for Pb and Cd in plastics
                                                and pigments
                                            2) Determine if substitutes are environmentally preferable
                                            3) Evaluate the impact of substitutes on product
                                                performance and cost.

-------
 to cost around $3.9 million, socioeconomic and
 institutional research about $3.4 million, process
 research  $3.7 million,  recycling  and  reuse
 research $0.7 million, anticipatory research $0.4
 million,  and technology transfer  $2.4 million.
 Although all six of the research program areas
 are  of  critical  importance  to  the  nation's
 pollution prevention initiative, EPA recognizes
 that immediate implementation of all six areas
 may not be practical.  Therefore, the research
 plan  addresses both  the  Agency's  present
 priorities for initiating research activities and a
 mechanism for prioritizing future projects based
 on  the  effectiveness  of  the  program  and
 changing information needs.  The priorities for
 the research program areas  are  based on the
 following factors:

 • Overall impact on environmental results.

 • Potential cost  effectiveness  of  proposed
  activities.

 • Degree of need for the information.

 • Importance of EPA's contribution in this area.

 • Ability to achieve near-term results.

• Number of  organizations that could benefit
  from the information.

• Need  to  support  the pollution prevention
  efforts of EPA program and regional offices.
 •  Need to continue efforts in ongoing pollution
   prevention research programs.

   The  pollution  prevention  research  plan
 described  in this  report is  a comprehensive
 program that includes both technological and
 non-technological  research to address a broad
 range  of  pollution  prevention  issues.    The
 Agency's   efforts  could  be  directed  toward
 identifying pollution reduction and prevention
 potentials, meeting information  needs, estab-
 lishing  an  awareness  of opportunities, stimula-
 ting investigation of  alternatives, and adopting
 workable approaches  for pollution prevention in
 both the public  and private  sectors.   Because
 pollution prevention is not the responsibility of
 EPA alone,  the  pollution prevention research
 program requires the cooperation and partner-
 ship of government agencies, business, industry,
 academia,  and public interest groups  in  con-
 ducting  the  necessary   pollution  prevention
 research,  and transferring the results of  this
 research to those who need the information in
 order to implement pollution  prevention  pro-
 grams and  take advantage of pollution preven-
 tion opportunities.    The  development of  this
 research plan is  a  major step toward  imple-
 menting a comprehensive risk reduction research
 program that  has   as  its first  priority  the
prevention  of pollution.   Such a  research
program holds tremendous potential  for  fur-
thering  the progress EPA has achieved in  pro-
tecting human health and the environment from
the risks posed by pollution.
                                               VI

-------
                                        CHAPTER 1
                                     INTRODUCTION
  This document  is an Agencywide  pollution
prevention research plan submitted to Congress
in response to the Fiscal Year 1989 Housing and
Urban Development and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, Public Law 100-404, which
states:

  "...a multi-year plan addressing the critical
  research elements to support an Agencywide
  multi-media  pollution prevention initiative
  should be submitted by May 1, 1989."

The research plan contained  in this report was
prepared in response to this requirement, and
the plan is  part of a broader EPA  effort to
develop a comprehensive  pollution prevention
initiative  that  concerns all  of the  Agency's
programs in air, water, toxics, and solid waste.

  The reduction or elimination of pollution is
not a  new concept  for EPA in  reducing the
health and environmental  risks associated with
pollution.   Since the passage of the Hazardous
and Solid  Waste  Amendments  in  1984, the
Agency has been refocusing  its environmental
protection strategy from traditional regulatory
control approaches toward pollution prevention.
The term "pollution prevention," as used in this
report, refers to the reduction or elimination of
pollutant discharges  to the air, water, or  land.
Pollution prevention approaches to environmen-
tal protection include:

• Eliminating pollutants by  substituting  non-
  polluting chemicals or products (e.g., material
  substitution,   changes  in  product  speci-
  fications), or altering product use

• Reducing the  quantity  and/or toxicity  of
  pollutants generated by  production processes
  through source reduction, waste minimization,
  and process modifications

• Recycling  of waste  materials   (e.g.,  reuse,
  reclamation).
Pollution prevention approaches do not include
treatment and disposal methods.

  Pollution prevention must be  an  essential
component of EPA's environmental protection
strategy if the Agency is to fulfill its mission of
protecting  human health and the  environment
from  the   risks  associated  with  pollution.
Pollution  prevention holds the key to future
gains  in  environmental  protection,  partially
because past pollution control approaches have
focused primarily on  reducing environmental
discharges in a particular medium or cleaning up
contaminated  sites by employing engineering
controls. These "end-of-pipe" approaches have
achieved significant reductions in environmental
discharge  of  pollutants, but further gains in
treatment and control will,  in most cases, be
much  more  costly  and  difficult to  achieve.
Furthermore,  many  of   the  environmental
pollution problems facing  our nation--such as
global  warming,  ozone  depletion,  and  non-
point source  pollution--are not amenable to
traditional   pollution  control  regulation  and
enforcement.  Pollution prevention offers EPA
a  means  of  attacking  these  environmental
problems from a multi-media perspective that
will  eliminate approaches that merely  transfer
pollutants from one  medium to another.   Most
important,  pollution prevention will  reduce the
risks to both human health and the environment
by reducing  or  eliminating  the generation of
pollutants  that  are  detrimental  to  biological
organisms,  ecosystems,  and global  physical
processes.

  In a recent report to   EPA,  Future  Risk:
Research Strategies  for the 1990s, the Science
Advisory  Board  (SAB) recommended that  a
primary long-term goal for the Agency should
be prevention or  reduction of environmental
risk. The report recommended that EPA shift
the  focus   of  its  environmental  protection
strategy from command and control measures to
preventing the generation of pollution.   The
                                            1-1

-------
SAB  defined a hierarchy for  risk reduction
research (see Exhibit 1-1)  to  help in setting
research priorities and in achieving the Agency's
overall goal of protecting human health and the
environment. The first priority of the research
hierarchy clearly emphasizes the importance of
pollution prevention:

•  Whenever possible  environmental protection
   efforts first should be aimed at  minimizing
   the amount of wastes or pollutants generated.
   Thus, waste  reduction  at  its source--for
   example, through  product design  changes,
   industrial   process   changes,  or   material
   substitution--should be a primary objective.

The second priority of the research hierarchy
focuses  on  the  prevention or  reduction  of
pollutants by recycling or reuse:

•  For  those  wastes   or  pollutants  that  are
   generated, every effort should then  be made
   to  recycle  or  reuse them in an  environ-
   mentally   sound  manner.    For  example,
   community recycling programs should be an
   important feature of the nation's solid waste
   disposal  efforts,  and  industry  should  be
   encouraged to reuse as much of its process
   wastes as possible.

   The SAB also recommended  that EPA plan,
implement,  and sustain a  long-term  research
program  to  support  the  new  strategy  of
preventing  the  generation  of  pollution.   In
addition, EPA should  expand its efforts to assist
all of the parts of society  that must act  to
prevent or reduce environmental risk.

   In response to the SAB recommendation and
the  request  for   a   research  plan  in  the
Appropriations Act, EPA's Office of Research
and Development (ORD) held  a workshop  on
November   9-10,   1988,  to  identify major
research  elements  that  would support   an
Agencywide  pollution prevention  initiative.
Workshop participants included representatives
from   industry,   academia,  state  and  local
governments,  public  interest groups,  various
offices within EPA, and other federal agencies.
(A  list  of  participants is  included  in  the
   Appendix.) The workshop participants identi-
   fied  six major pollution  prevention research
   goals and  six research program areas.  The
   results of this workshop and the efforts of an
   Agencywide work group form the basis of the
   research plan presented in this  report.  The
   Pollution Prevention Subcommittee of the SAB
   was invited to review and comment on the draft
   research plan.   The  subcommittee  met  on
   March 9 and  10, 1989 to discuss  the report and
   submit their comments to EPA.

      The remainder of Chapter 1 outlines the need
   for   pollution  prevention,  the  benefits  of
   pollution prevention,  the  Agency's pollution
   prevention  initiative,  EPA's role in pollution
   prevention  research,  and   the  pollution  pre-
   vention  research  goals.   Chapter  2 presents
   EPA's pollution prevention research plan, and
   Chapter  3 discusses the resource and implemen-
   tation requirements  for  the  research  plan,
   methods for   establishing  priorities  for  the
   research projects, and  mechanisms for imple-
   menting the research plan.


   NEED FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION


      When  EPA was established, Congress gave the
   Agency  specific responsibilities  based on the
   most  visible polluters and pollutants--soot and
   smoke from motor vehicles and smokestacks,
   and raw sewage and chemicals from municipal
   and industrial wastewater.   Over the next  10
   years Congress enacted a  dozen  major  laws
   affecting air quality, water quality, endangered
   species,  pesticides,   drinking   water,  toxic
   substances, hazardous  and  solid wastes, coastal
   zones, and ocean pollution.  EPA assumed its
   role  as   a  regulatory  agency  responsible for
   setting and  enforcing  environmental standards
   called for in  these statutes. Response to this
   legislation   set  in   motion  the  regulatory
   machinery  in  operation today.

      In the past two decades, EPA's environmental
   protection   efforts  have   been  successful  in
   improving the air quality in most cities, cleaning
   up thousands of miles of rivers and streams, and
   restoring thousands  of acres of lakes.    In
1-2

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 1-1
             PRIORITIES FOR RISK-REDUCTION RESEARCH
  Potential
 wastes and
contaminants
  generated
                 Prevent
                 Generation
                      Actual
                    wastes and
                   contaminants
                    generated
                                     Reuse/
                                     Recycle
                      _l^r
                                       Wastes and
                                      contaminants
                                         after
                                       recycling/
                                         reuse
Treat/
Control
                                                           Residual
                                                          wastes and
                                                         contaminants
                  Minimize
                  Exposure
                                      1-3

-------
addition, significant progress has been made in
improving the management of hazardous wastes,
toxic chemicals, and pesticides. Command and
control approaches have been effective tools in
the reduction of health and  environmental risk
since the inception of EPA. Numerous examples
of  the  successes of these approaches can  be
documented  in each of EPA's program  areas,
some of which are described below.

  All 50 states  have adopted  water quality
standards,  and all  publicly owned  municipal
sewage  treatment  systems  provide  at  least
secondary levels of treatment. Through use of
the  National Pollutant Discharge  Elimination
System (NPDES), industrial dischargers  have
been required to meet discharge standards, often
including pretreatment requirements that ensure
the  proper  operation  of  municipal  treatment
facilities receiving the  industrial discharge.

  Implementation  of  air  quality  standards
authorized by the Clean Air  Act has resulted in
steady improvement in air  quality.  Since the
Clean Air  Act  was  amended  in  1977,  the
ambient levels  of the six  criteria pollutants,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, lead, sulfur
dioxides, ozone, and particulates, have decreased
by amounts ranging from 13  to 87 percent from
the 1977 levels.

  Prior  to  the   enactment  of  the  Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976
and the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments
(HSWA) of 1984, most waste generators, trans-
porters, and treatment, storage, and disposal
facilities  were  not  covered  under  federal
regulations.   These  laws promoted "cradle-to-
grave" management of hazardous waste, from
point of generation  to final disposal location,
and required EPA to focus on permitting land
disposal facilities and  eventually phasing out
land disposal of some wastes.  Under RCRA and
HSWA, EPA has implemented a waste manage-
ment program  that includes  permitting and
inspection procedures to ensure that wastes are
managed properly.

  Before the Comprehensive  Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability  Act
(CERCLA) provided funding for cleanup of the
worst abandoned or inactive waste sites in the
U.S., no law addressed the cleanup of hazardous
waste releases on land, and only one-third of the
3,383 waste disposal sites used since 1950 by the
53 largest U.S. chemical companies were covered
by  federal regulations.   CERCLA,  along with
the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization
Act (SARA), has allowed EPA to begin cleaning
up  sites where  the  results  of  past  disposal
practices now threaten surrounding communities
and the environment.

  Controls on the production, use, and disposal
of toxic substances  such as persistent pesticides
have resulted in dramatic recoveries of numer-
ous species of  birds, especially birds  of prey,
that were nearly decimated by bioaccumulation
of pesticides  in the  years between World War II
and the mid-1970s.

  Although  these   past  regulatory  control
approaches have been successful, there are three
factors  which limit the  applicability  of these
approaches to  address  certain  environmental
problems.  First,  the  nation's legal, organiza-
tional,  and conceptual  approaches  have been
problem and medium specific,  with environ-
mental  controls oriented  toward  a  single
medium, often  with insufficient regard for the
impact  of the approach on  other media.  Ad-
ditionally,  the  interconnectedness of environ-
mental media (e.g., acid rain impacts on aquatic
life) and even the connection of all elements of
a single medium (e.g., surface and groundwater)
were  insufficiently  evaluated.    EPA  now
administers nine separate statutes  and parts of
four others.  Each  statute  has given rise to a
virtually independent regulatory program,  and
each   program   focuses   on  a   particular
environmental  problem.    The  "end-of-pipe"
controls used  to comply  to  the  regulatory
standards often result not in the eradication of
a waste  or pollutant, but in its transfer from.one
environmental medium to another.

  The  past lack of  attention to  cross-media
effects  of  pollution control is understandable
considering  the  media-specific   nature   of
environmental laws like the Clean Air Act  and
                                            1-4

-------
the Clean Water Act.  Even though EPA was
established explicitly to address the cross-media
effects of pollutants, their  sources, and their
control  technologies,  the  Agency's  media-
specific program structure, developed to imple-
ment  media-specific  legislation,  has  found it
difficult to integrate cross-media concerns.  A
1987 National Academy of Sciences report en-
titled  Multi-media Approach to Pollution Con-
trol, indicated that the transfer  of pollutants
from one medium to another is a major problem
and that it is  essential for EPA to take a multi-
media approach to managing pollution. Unlike
past approaches, pollution  prevention has  a
multi-media  focus which takes into consider-
ation its impact on all media.

   The second factor is that past approaches have
largely  focused  on  reducing  environmental
discharges  or cleaning up  contamination by
employing engineering controls such as waste-
water treatment plants, air pollution scrubbers,
and chemically secure landfills. Although these
"end-of-pipe" strategies  have been somewhat
successful in controlling  pollution once it is
generated, further gains through technological
treatment and control will be much more costly
and difficult to achieve.   Preventing pollution
before it is created is the most promising means
of eliminating the need for some "end-of-pipe"
treatment and control technologies.

   The third  limiting factor  is that EPA's past
environmental  protection efforts  have relied
almost exclusively on command  and control--
enforcing   regulatory   standards   through
inspection. Since it is virtually impossible  for
EPA to ensure compliance of every generator,
there  are inevitably  some  violators  that  are
discharging pollutants in excess of the Agency's
permissible  limits.    Enforcement is  further
complicated when there are numerous dispersed
sources  or non-point  sources, such as  farmers
and homeowners.  The only incentives for gen-
erators to comply with regulatory requirements
are good will  and the fear of an EPA inspection
and subsequent punishment for violations. Un-
like command-and-control approaches, pollution
prevention offers a number of health, environ-
mental,  and   economic benefits  that  would
encourage  voluntary action in the public and
private  sectors  to  reduce or  eliminate the
generation of pollutants.

  While "end-of-pipe" oriented command-and-
control  programs  have  been  successful  in
addressing a number of environmental problems,
significant environmental  problems still  exist
despite efforts to control them. These problems,
some of  which are described below,  span all
environmental media--air, water, and land.

  Ambient air quality standards for ozone have
been met in only one major U.S. city.  Despite
extensive air pollution control efforts, including
controls on refineries and cars, no  major urban
area in the United States, with the  exception of
Minneapolis,  is in attainment with the  national
health-based air quality standards for ozone. In
addition,  the standards for carbon monoxide
levels  are  still  exceeded  in  142 cities  and
counties in the U.S.

  EPA's drinking water standards for inorganic
substances  have been  exceeded over the past
decade for approximately  1,500 to 3,000 U.S.
public water supplies using groundwater. EPA's
1980 Groundwater  Supply  Survey  showed that
20 percent of all public water  supply wells and
29   percent  of  those  in  urban  areas   had
detectable levels of at least one volatile organic
chemical.  Additionally, a 1986 survey indicated
that 30 states had wells contaminated with one
or more of 60 different pesticides.

  Beyond   media-specific  environmental
problems, over the past 20 years there has been
an unprecedented  increase in  the  number and
volume of complex chemicals introduced into
the  environment, and  the volume  of pesticide
use  and municipal waste has grown substantially.
Since World  War  II, annual production  of
synthetic  chemicals in the United States has
risen from 6.7 million to  over  100  million tons.
Some 70,000 chemicals  are  in everyday use
worldwide  with 500 to  1,000 new chemicals
introduced each year.   Pesticide use in agri-
culture tripled  in  the  U.S. between 1965  and
1985. Currently,  about three billion pounds of
pesticides  are used each year in this country.
                                            1-5

-------
  Over  six  billion  tons  of   agricultural,
commercial, industrial, and domestic waste are
generated in the U.S. each year.  As a nation, we
currently produce  about 160 million  tons  of
municipal solid waste per  year (approximately
four  pounds  of  refuse  per person  per day
compared to 2.7 pounds  per  day in 1960) and
approximately  275  million  metric  tons  of
hazardous waste each year.  Complicating the
municipal and  hazardous waste problem is the
fact that nearly  70 percent  of the operating
landfills in the  U.S.  are  expected to  reach
capacity in 15 years and siting new facilities has
received strenuous public opposition.

  As evidenced by these  statistics, the enormity
of the increase  in the release of pollutants to all
media and the  difficulty in fully achieving air
and  water pollution standards emphasize  the
need  for pollution prevention.  Many of these
environmental problems cannot be alleviated by
more  stringent   regulatory  standards  and
technological controls.  Treatment and control
approaches have not been effective in achieving
compliance  and other  approaches are  needed.
For  some  problems, such as  hazardous and
municipal  wastes,  traditional approaches  are
becoming too costly or less readily available. As
the nation approaches the  last decade of the 20th
century, our strategy for reducing environmental
and health risks must evolve in response to these
changing circumstances.  We are facing a num-
ber of environmental problems—like municipal
and hazardous waste disposal, ocean pollution,
acid rain, global warming, stratospheric  ozone
depletion, and  radon infiltration--that are not
attributable to  individual sources  of pollution
and are  not totally amenable to  end-of-pipe,
command-and-control solutions alone. In some
cases, such as ground-level ozone, treatment and
control measures have already been applied, but
have not solved the problem.

  Clearly,  solutions used in  the  past  are not
likely to be as effective as they have been on the
challenges of the  future.  Our future environ-
mental protection strategies must recognize the
interconnectedness  of  the  environment and
emphasize   multi-media  and    cross-media
approaches  that   focus   first   on  pollution
prevention, second on recycling and reuse, and
then on treatment and control.  EPA must adopt
a more integrated  and systematic  approach to
environmental   protection  and  focus  on
preventing  environmental  problems  as  the
highest  priority  of  the  Agency's   strategy.
Realistically, pollution prevention approaches
will not  completely eliminate  the  need  for
pollution treatment and control, nor will they rid
the  environment  of  all  pollution  problems.
However,  pollution  prevention  does offer a
tremendous tool to  make further strides in
reducing  pollution burdens  and reducing the
health and environmental risks associated with
pollution.

BENEFITS OF POLLUTION PREVENTION

  Pollution prevention  not  only  offers  an
approach  to reducing the risks associated with
most  of the serious environmental  problems
facing this country, it also makes good economic
sense.  As stated in the Agency's 1986  Report to
Congress  on the Minimization of Hazardous
Waste:

  "Aggressive  action in  favor  of  waste
  minimization is clearly needed... Incentives
  for waste minimization are already strong,
  so EPA must capitalize on  them."

  There are benefits of pollution prevention, as
well as incentives for preventing pollution, that
affect many sectors of society.  The benefits of
pollution prevention can be significant, and can
serve  to   encourage  voluntary  action  to
implement pollution prevention  approaches in
both  the  public  and  private  sectors.   The
practical  examples presented  in Exhibit 1-2
illustrate how pollution prevention approaches
can be  utilized  to  reduce  pollution and  often
save  money,  and  how pollution prevention
approaches  can  protect human  health and the
environment by  eliminating or reducing the use
and  subsequent  disposal  of  pollutants.   In
addition  to  publicizing  successful  pollution
prevention applications, there is much  to  be
learned from those  applications which  have
proven  less than  fully  successful.   Pollution
prevention approaches sometimes create product
                                            1-6

-------
                                  EXHIBIT 1-2

           EXAMPLES OF POLLUTION PREVENTION SUCCESSES




                              Product Substitution

    The Department of Defense has developed a process in which small plastic beads are air
blasted at the surface of an airplane to remove paint. This eliminates the need for hazardous
solvents to remove the paint. The Department estimates that this process has decreased the
amount of hazardous waste from 10,000 pounds of wet sludge to 320 pounds of dry paint chips
and decomposed plastic material per aircraft. In addition, the amount of work required per
aircraft to remove the paint by air blasting is eight times less than by traditional methods.
                               Process Modification
    After analysis of the contribution of cleaning activities to its waste stream, a California
chemical plant changed the reactor rinse and cleaning procedures to segregate and recapture
phenol wastes from its sanitary wastes in its resin manufacturing operations. This allowed
the company to recover the water-phenol mixture for reuse and reduced the use of organics
by 93 percent.
                              Product Substitution

    Riker Laboratories in California replaced an organic solvent with a water-based solvent
for coating medicine tablets. As a result of this substitution, Riker realized a one-time savings
of $180,000 in pollution control equipment that was deemed unnecessary once the switch to
the water-based solvent dramatically reduced air pollution emissions.  In addition, Riker is
saving $15,000 each year by replacing the organic solvent.
                               Resource Recovery
    An assessment of a steel-making facility showed that calcium fluoride (fluorspar) in the
sludge generated during neutralization of the pickling line wastewater could be recovered. By
recycling the fluorspar, the company will save the substantial amount of money spent to buy
it, and also reduce by 30 percent the volume of sludge requiring disposal.
                                       1-7

-------
                             EXHIBIT 1-2 (continued)
                               Product Substitution

    EPA initiated an investigation of four ethylene glycol ethers because of the potentially
toxic effects of these substances. The Agency determined that the most likely substitutes were
propylene glycol ethers (much less toxic than ethylene glycol ethers). As a result of EPA's
investigation and fear of possible regulatory action, companies voluntarily reduced their use
of ethylene glycol ethers in coatings by 50 percent over a period of four years.
                               Process Substitution

    Control of cockroaches has become increasingly difficult, due to their increased resistence
to pesticides.  Integrated pest management (IPM) has been used successfully  to provide
acceptable levels of control for cockroaches by using a range of techniques, such as lowering
temperature, removing food, eliminating moisture, reducing clutter, and filling hiding places,
in addition to limited use of pesticides. IPM approaches are being demonstrated by EPA, in
cooperation with other federal and state agencies, pesticide user groups, universities, and the
agricultural chemical industry, for a variety of other  pests,  such as termites,  turf pests,
grasshoppers, and aquatic weeds. IPM is an effective alternative to the use of pesticides in
managing pests, resulting in reduced pesticide use, disposal, and runoff.
                              Refrigerant Recycling

    Automotive air conditioner refrigerant is the largest source of ozone depleting chloro-
fluorocarbons in the United States. EPA sampled and analyzed refrigerant from over 200
automobile air conditioners to develop a standard of purity for recycled refrigerant. In 1988,
a committee that included representatives of the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association
(MVMA), the Mobile Air Conditioner Society, and the Society of Automotive Engineers
reviewed and approved this standard and recommended it to the MVMA. A program for
certification of refrigerant recovery devices has subsequently been initiated. When fully
implemented, this research could represent an important milestone in reducing the effects of
automotive air conditioner refrigerant in depleting the earth's stratospheric ozone layer.
                                       1-f

-------
quality or productivity problems or are simply
not cost effective. For example, in one case, a
paper mill attempted to use recycled fiber in the
manufacture  of high quality specialty paper.
After trying several  grades of waste paper, the
project  was abandoned when it became  clear
that the recycled  fiber  interfered  with the
parchmentizing process practiced in  that mill.
Examples such as this should be  made available
to others so that past mistakes are not repeated
and alternative approaches can be considered.

   Industry, state and local governments, and the
public are  recognizing the  need for pollution
prevention and the potential benefits that can
result from such approaches. These benefits fall
into two major categories:  (1) reduced health
and ecological risks,  and (2) economic benefits.

   The health and ecological risks  associated with
exposure will be reduced as  a  result of pre-
venting or  reducing the generation of pollution
or the use  of toxic substances, especially when
the impacts cannot be managed by treatment and
control  approaches.   A  pollution prevention
approach can reduce risk in a number of ways.
Pollution prevention can reduce  the total waste
and pollution burden, reduce the amount  of
waste requiring disposal, and prevent the need
for remediating improperly  managed disposal
sites.  Regulatory controls have often resulted in
removing  a  waste  from  one  environmental
medium by introducing it into  another.  Pol-
lution prevention will decrease this media shift
problem by reducing the generation of pollut-
ants.   Reduced use of  toxic substances and
generation  of less waste  also will  reduce the
need  to handle and transport these substances,
resulting in decreased risk of accidental releases
and the risk of human and  environmental ex-
posure.   Furthermore, generation of less waste
will reduce demand for additional waste storage
and disposal  facilities.   Thus,  pollution  pre-
vention is  expected  to reduce the health and
environmental risks of exposures resulting from
manufacturing, use, transportation, storage, and
disposal.

  Economic benefits of  pollution prevention
apply to federal, state, and local government, all
sectors  of commerce and  industry,  and  the
public.   Preventing pollution allows the gov-
ernment to avoid some of the costs of enforcing
regulations  and  ensuring  compliance.   For
example, new federal requirements issued since
1970 under the Clean Air Act are projected to
cost federal,  state,  and   local  government,
industry, and the public about $256 billion from
1981 to  1990.  Pollution prevention  would also
relieve  the tremendous costs  of remediating
contaminated  sites, such as Superfund  sites,
from  federal and  state agencies,  potentially
responsible parties, as  well as  the  taxpayers.
The average  uncontrolled hazardous waste site
on the U.S. National Priority List of 1,175 sites
will cost between $21 and $30 million to clean
up and  take approximately six to eight years to
complete.  Pollution prevention could also save
the government  indemnification costs.   For
instance, the  indemnification costs incurred by
the federal  government  to purchase  three
pesticides whose uses had been banned exceeded
$63 million, excluding the costs of treatment and
disposal.

  Pollution   prevention    approaches   can
economically benefit companies  by  increasing
operating efficiency which reduces demand for
feedstocks and energy; lowering costs associated
with the treatment, storage,  transportation, and
disposal of wastes; and reducing compliance
costs   including   permits,   monitoring,   and
enforcement.    EPA  estimates   that  capital
investment by industry for air pollution control
equipment necessary to meet the requirements of
the Clean Air  Act will  be  about $102 billion
from 1981 to 1990.  Other economic  benefits of
pollution prevention for  companies   include
reducing  effluent  and  assessments for  local
wastewater  plants,  and  generating   income
derived through the sale or reuse of  waste.

  Probably  foremost in motivating pollution
prevention are  cost  incentives,  especially  as
traditional forms   of  waste management are
becoming increasingly  more expensive.  U.S.
industry  currently  spends  $70-80  billion
annually on pollution control.   Costs of land
disposal, while still the  least expensive  method
of disposing of waste, have skyrocketed in some
                                            1-9

-------
urban areas from as little as $10 per ton of waste
in 1978  to  well over $250  per ton in 1988.
Budgets   for   some  municipal solid  waste
management agencies have quadrupled during
the 1980s. Prices for alternative waste treatment
are expected to rise as generators compete for
scarce  treatment capacity (such as incineration
or chemical detoxification).  Currently, incin-
eration costs can be as high as $1,500 per  ton.
Moreover, these escalating disposal costs are
only part of the bill that generators^ waste are
incurring.  They must also pay for administra-
tive and reporting  procedures imposed  by
stringent regulatory controls and for insurance
coverage against a host of liabilities  that are
associated with accidents and/or the mismanage-
ment  of wastes.    These  increasing  waste
management costs, combined  with the  cost
savings associated with improved management of
raw    materials  and  pollution   prevention
production processes, are significant economic
incentives.

  Federal and  state regulations have been the
primary  cause  of increased costs in  treatment,
storage,  and disposal of  wastes, especially in
relation to landfills, surface impoundments, and
storage and accumulation tanks. The current
series of  land disposal restrictions under HSWA
will  limit the number of untreated  hazardous
wastes that can be disposed of on land and thus,
are  likely to  increase  the  cost of disposal.
HSWA also imposes more stringent standards on
surface   impoundments   and   storage   and
accumulation tanks.  The recently promulgated
underground storage tank rules will also increase
waste management  costs.  Some of these rising
costs can be avoided by reducing or eliminating
the wastes.

  Waste  managers are seeking new  treatment,
storage,  and disposal sites  and planning to
expand existing ones, but in the process they are
encountering the familiar problem of  "not in my
backyard."   While there are  some instances
where  states have been successful in  helping to
site  new waste management  facilities, local
resistance  tends to  be  extremely hard  to
overcome. This local resistance is not limited to
hazardous  waste  facilities,   but extends  to
municipal  solid  waste  landfills, incinerators,
sewage treatment plants, and even to recycling
facilities. This intense public opposition to the
siting  of many  types of  waste management
facilities causes shortages to persist even when
market demand  is  strong.   The number  of
municipal solid waste  landfills in operation has
declined drastically from about 30,000 in 1976
to 6,584 in 1987. In many cases, therefore, the
only alternative generators may have is reliance
on source reduction and on recycling to reduce
the amount of waste they would otherwise send
to offsite management and disposal facilities.
Additionally, even though the demand for new
treatment and  disposal capacity will be high,
permitting procedures will  tend to  delay the
availability of  that new capacity, temporarily
driving up the costs of all  forms of treatment
and disposal even further.

   The liability  of waste generators using offsite
treatment,  storage,   or  disposal  is  another
incentive for  pollution prevention.   These
generators  face  liability  for  two  reasons:
(1) there is a potential for mismanagement  of
wastes by facility operators, and (2) there is the
possibility  of improper  design of the  disposal
facility itself. Even careful facility management
cannot reduce these risks to zero. A generator
risks incurring  liability when the facility owner
or operator cannot or will not pay for remedial
or  corrective  actions  made   necessary  by
migration  of  wastes.    In  these   situations,
generators  can  be   held  liable  under  the
Comprehensive  Environmental   Response,
Compensation,  and Liability Act for absolute,
strict,   joint,   and  several  liability.    The
traditional  means for  obtaining  coverage  for
potential hazardous waste management liability
is  through insurance, but, for many generators
and  facility  owners   or  operators,  liability
insurance is no longer available or is available
only at extremely high cost.   In recent years,
premiums have  increased 50  to  300 percent,
policies have been cancelled even  where loss
ratios have been excellent, and many companies
have difficulty obtaining coverage at any price.
When less waste is generated, it reduces potential
liability  for  future  disposal, and thus,  is  an
incentive for pollution prevention.
                                            1-10

-------
  The American public, in general, has become
increasingly   aware  -of   risks  posed   by
environmental  pollution.    The  information
reporting  requirements  of  Title III  of  the
Superfund Amendments  and Reauthorization
Act of 1986 have made the  public more aware
of the risks associated with pollutants in their
communities. Citizens have organized to combat
water and air pollution,  and more recently, to
protest the use of styrofoam packaging by  fast
food  outlets  and overpackaging  of fruits  and
vegetables by grocery stores.  Citizen groups
have  also been instrumental  in establishing
community recycling programs.  While some of
the  strongest  incentives   for   implementing
pollution  prevention  techniques  are  probably
economic, many companies  are establishing
pollution prevention programs out of sensitivity
to public concern.  This type of corporate good
citizenship is felt  to  produce good  relations
between industry and the public.

EPA'S POLLUTION PREVENTION
  INITIATIVE

  Over the past five years, EPA has attempted
to redirect the nation's pollution control strategy
toward pollution prevention by adopting a waste
management  hierarchy that  placed priority on
pollution prevention.  The first two elements in
the hierarchy, depicted in Exhibit 1-3, focus on
source reduction and recycling. A milestone in
the evolution of EPA's pollution prevention
strategy was the passage  of HSWA in  1984.  In
addition to authorizing very stringent treatment
and disposal regulations,  HSWA also contained
as the nation's highest waste management pri-
ority a redirection towards "waste minimization"
as a preferential strategy for protecting human
health and improving environmental quality.

  In 1986, EPA's Office  of  Solid Waste (OSW)
published   its  Report  to  Congress   on  the
Minimization of Hazardous Waste. This report
reiterated  the Agency's promotion of the waste
management hierarchy, with source reduction as
the highest priority, followed  by recycling,
treatment, and  disposal.    The  report  also
committed EPA to  collecting better data and
other information for measuring EPA's progress
in hazardous waste minimization.  Furthermore,
it  emphasized a waste  minimization technical
information  transfer  program.   The  report
concluded   that   mandatory   standards   of
performance and required waste minimization
management practices  were  not feasible or
desirable at the present time.  The term "waste
minimization" has  been used by the  Agency to
refer to reducing  the generation of hazardous
waste at the source  or  recycling of hazardous
waste to reduce pollution.  In 1990, an update on
national progress in waste minimization and the
need for further incentives  and disincentives
will  be provided to Congress. Also published in
1986, the Office of Technology Assessment's
Report on Serious Reduction of Hazardous Waste
indicated  that  technology  was not  the only
limiting factor in reducing the generation of
hazardous pollutants.   The report  cited non-
technological  factors,  such  as  sociological,
economical,  and  institutional,  as  important
contributors to reducing hazardous wastes.

   In  1987,  the  Office  of  Research  and
Development (ORD) initiated a waste  minimi-
zation research effort that was coordinated with
OSW's efforts on the reduction and elimination
of hazardous waste. This research effort, called
the  Waste  Minimization  Research   (WMR)
program,  was   designed  to  encourage  the
identification, development, and demonstration
of processes and  techniques that result in  a
reduction or prevention of pollution or in the
recycling of hazardous wastes. This program has
not  yet been expanded  to  address  pollution
prevention  issues  for non-hazardous wastes or
on a multi-media basis.

   In an effort to  facilitate  the  task of redir-
ecting the  Agency's  environmental  protection
strategy to  pollution prevention,  the  Pollution
Prevention   Office  (PPO),  in  the  Office  of
Policy, Planning,  and Evaluation, was  created
in  1988.    The PPO  is charged with promoting
an integrated environmental ethic stressing the
prevention of pollution. This new office is the
focal point for the Agency's pollution preven-
tion  activities and a  major impetus behind an
integrated,  cross-media approach to  pollution
prevention.
                                           1-11

-------
                                         EXHIBIT 1-3

                          WASTE MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY
Source Reduction. The reduction or elimination of waste at the source.
Source reduction measures include product and process modifications,
feedstock substitution, improvements in feedstock purity, housekeeping
and management  practice  changes,  increases in the efficiency of
equipment, and recycling within a process.
              Recycling.  The use or reuse of waste as an effective substitute for a
              commercial product or as an ingredient or feedstock in an industrial
              process.  It includes the reclamation of useful constituent fractions within
              a waste material or the removal of contaminants from a waste to allow it
              to be reused.
                        • Treatment.  Any method, technique or process which changes the
                          physical, chemical,  or biological character of any waste so  as  to
                          neutralize it, recover energy or material resources from it, or render it
                          non-hazardous,  less hazardous, safer to manage, amenable for
                          recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume.
                                         Disposal. The discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking,
                                         or placing of waste into or on any land, water or the air.

-------
  Another milestone for the pollution preven-
tion  initiative  was publication of the  SAB's
report, Future Risk: Research Strategies for the
1990s, in 1988. This report clearly emphasized
the importance of pollution prevention, making
it EPA's highest research priority.

  On  January 26, 1989,  the PPO  issued  a
Pollution Prevention Policy Statement for public
comment.  This policy  statement encouraged
organizations, facilities, and individuals to fully
utilize source reduction techniques in order to
reduce risk to public health, safety, welfare, and
the environment, and as a second preference to
use environmentally sound recycling to achieve
these  same  goals.   The  PPO will   examine
existing  legislation to  eliminate  obstacles to
pollution prevention, as well as future legislation
to incorporate pollution prevention.   The PPO
has begun working with each of EPA's program,
research,  and  regional offices to develop  a
comprehensive Agency wide pollution prevention
strategy.   The strategy will  form the  basis for
identifying the specific  ongoing and planned
activities for each  of the EPA  programs.   The
pollution prevention research plan described in
this  report  is an adjunct to  this  broader
Agencywide pollution prevention strategy under
development  by the PPO.

  In February 1989, OSW published The Solid
Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Action which is
a national  strategy for managing  the nation's
garbage problem.  The Agenda for Action em-
phasizes the importance of pollution prevention
and recycling above treatment and disposal. It
recommends  a  number of  voluntary  activities
that  can  be undertaken by  federal, state,  and
local  governments, as  well as industry  and
private citizens to  reduce the amount of waste
generated and increase the amount of municipal
solid  waste recycling.  OSW has also  recently
completed several hazardous waste minimization
initiatives including initiation  of a  technical
assistance clearinghouse.

  OSW's  activities, the  WMR  program,  and
establishment  of   the   PPO  signify  EPA's
commitment to achieving significant reductions
in the generation  of  harmful pollutants  and
wastes.   It acknowledges the Agency's under-
standing that pollution prevention is a major
avenue for achieving reduction in the pollutant
loadings  that pose threats to  human health and
the quality of the environment. The Agency has
established seven specific goals for its pollution
prevention initiative. They are:

(1)  Promote   a   cross-media,   preventive
     approach  across   all   EPA   activities.
     Examine  existing legislative authorities
     and current and planned regulations and
     policies  to  determine  when  pollution
     prevention can be incorporated.

(2)  Support the initiation and development of
     state  and local  multi-media  pollution
     prevention  programs.   Encourage  and
     strengthen  the states'  ability  to  work
     directly with companies and municipalities
     to prevent pollution. Help make pollution
     prevention integral to the implementation
     of all state environmental programs.

(3)  Supply  industry and the public with the
     tools  they need  to  implement  pollution
     prevention measures, including information
     and  technical  assistance   on   specific
     pollution prevention techniques, training in
     auditing facilities to determine  potential
     preventive  measures,  and   guidance  in
     implementing  pollution    prevention
     approaches.

(4)  Identify and  implement  incentives for
     pollution prevention, eliminate barriers to
     pollution prevention, and target opportun-
     ities for future progress, while  acknow-
     ledging  the importance of maintaining  a
     stable regulatory environment.

(5)  Make America aware  of the  need for
     pollution prevention and achieve  a cultural
     and behavioral change at all  levels of
     government, industry, and the public.

(6)  Develop  reliable  indicators  of  pollution
     prevention, and implement a data collec-
     tion and evaluation strategy to measure
     and evaluate progress.
                                            1-13

-------
(7)  Identify,   prioritize,   and   coordinate
     research designed  to  increase pollution
     prevention and implement a cooperative
     program to conduct this research.

   The  pollution  prevention  research  plan
presented in this report is designed to achieve
the  seventh goal of the  Agency's pollution
prevention initiative, and support the other six
goals.  EPA envisions an extensive extramural
pollution   prevention   research   program
supplemented by a small intramural program to
achieve this goal.  EPA recognizes the impor-
tance of working with industry on technological
research  (products, processes, recycling/reuse),
and  the  significant  contribution  of industry,
academia, and public interest groups in con-
ducting  non-technological   research  (socio-
economic and institutional).

EPA'S ROLE IN POLLUTION PREVENTION
  RESEARCH

   Our ability to protect human health and the
quality of the environment in the future will
depend directly on our understanding of and
ability to  manage  activities  that affect  the
environment.  Research is the primary vehicle
for enhancing our knowledge base in these areas.

   Past investments in research and development
efforts have provided excellent returns.  EPA
research  into air pollution controls, wastewater
treatment systems,  and  the safe disposal  of
hazardous wastes has made  significant contri-
butions to cutting the  cost and increasing  the
efficiency   of  controlling  pollution.    The
"capacity to do research" was included  in  the
Presidential  directive that established the EPA
in 1970,  and still remains a fundamental func-
tion  in a  comprehensive environmental protec-
tion  strategy.  Without a substantial investment
in R&D,  we would not understand the processes
and practices that cause pollution, the means by
which  it  is  transported, the mechanisms  of
human exposure, the risks posed by pollution, or
ways to potentially reduce those risks. If we are
to continue  to  enjoy the  enormous  health,
environmental,  and  economic  benefits   of
environmental  research,  then  our  research
investments must be guided by a comprehensive
strategy that focuses on the most efficient and
cost   effective   approaches   to   reducing
environmental risk in the  future.

  Over  time  EPA's  research  program  has
become primarily a support for the Agency's
near-term  regulatory  responsibilities.   While
there are some incentives  for  pollution pre-
vention (e.g., cost of waste management, lack of
disposal  capacity,  liability,  risk reduction) a
fundamental change in the mindset of indi-
viduals  and   institutions   is  necessary  to
implement   effective   pollution    prevention
measures.   Furthermore,  regulatory programs
often  encourage  the  use  of  off-the-shelf
technology instead of  fundamental  changes in
products or processes  which lead to pollution
prevention.   A rigorous  pollution  prevention
research  program is required  to  bring about
these changes,  and research focused on near-
term regulatory needs  will not be adequate for
protecting environmental  quality in  the future.
Program, research, and  regional offices will have
to work  together to identify specific research
needs, and  future research efforts must  be
targeted at environmental problems  posing the
greatest  risk  to  human   health   and  the
environment,   with  emphasis  on   pollution
prevention.

  Although the benefits of pollution  prevention
are  recognized  by many organizations,  lack of
information and knowledge have been a barrier
to implementing pollution  prevention programs.
Designing pollution prevention techniques  and
identifying opportunities can require resources,
R&D,  and specialized engineering  knowledge
that many small- or medium-sized companies do
not have and may not be able  to obtain inde-
pendently.   In addition, information is  needed
by other organizations, such as  state and local
governments, EPA and other federal agencies,
large  businesses,  regional and local agencies,
consumers, and public interest  groups in order
to  facilitate  wide-scale   implementation  of
pollution prevention techniques and approaches.
Some of the pollution prevention information
needs of these various groups responsible for
implementing and contributing to pollution
prevention   programs   are   identified   in
                                           1-14

-------
Exhibit 1-4.     Awareness of  such needs  is
fundamental  to  the design  of  a  successful
research program, since the goals,  objectives,
topic  areas  for  investigation,  and  specific
projects all must address the basic needs of the
potential users of the information.

  The  pollution  prevention   research  plan
presented in Chapter 2 is intended to meet these
information  needs   and   to   promote  the
identification, development, and implementation
of successful pollution  prevention approaches.
Closing  the  information  gaps  identified in
Exhibit 1-4, will require research in five major
program areas—product, process, recycling and
reuse,  socioeconomic  and institutional,  and
anticipatory research. A sixth major component
of the research program is technology transfer
and  technical  assistance  to  ensure that the
information produced by the research efforts in
each of the five program areas is disseminated in
the most effective manner to those groups that
require the information. It is  essential that the
research program also  include  an  evaluation
component that assesses  the effectiveness of past
and  ongoing research projects,  as well  as the
changing  needs of  the information users in
society.  These evaluations will  enable EPA to
refocus its research  efforts and  will assist the
Agency in prioritizing future research projects.

  In  many  cases,   potential  users  of  the
information indicated in Exhibit 1-4 may lack
the  capabilities,  resources, or  motivation to
conduct the research necessary to produce it. In
these cases, EPA has a crucial role to play as a
leader  in  pollution  prevention, in  forging
partnerships with these users to conduct research
and disseminate the information. For example,
large industries can be expected to perform the
process and product research needed to modify
their own systems, and several large corporations
have  initiated  pollution prevention  programs
which are already showing results.  However,
industry management and investors  will target
research to those areas  that will  improve their
profits and enhance  their company's competi-
tiveness.  As industry  and academic  repre-
sentatives to the Science Advisory Board noted,
no one company or industry is likely to generate
broadly applicable research findings that will
address future environmental issues and cross-
media problems.  EPA, often in collaboration
with academia and industry, is the only entity
that is likely to exert leadership in conducting
the basic environmental research needed in these
areas.

   While large private companies will invest in
finding ways  to minimize or recycle the waste
generated by  their production processes to the
extent that it  makes economic  sense,  smaller
firms may not have the resources or technical
capability to conduct such research.  For those
industries  composed of numerous,  dispersed
small facilities, EPA can play a valuable role in
conducting  research into processes,  products,
and recycling/reuse and then  transferring the
new technology  widely within  the  industry.
EPA can also play a useful role  in discovering
and promoting linkages between industries, since
one industry's  waste   could  become  another
industry's feedstock.

   Local and  state governments and  regional
agencies—important users of pollution preven-
tion research—traditionally have not invested in
such research since most of their resources are
devoted to  providing  local  services, such  as
health, transportation, solid waste management,
sanitation, and drinking water supply. EPA re-
search on recycling technologies, for example,
could have  an enormous beneficial impact on
municipalities and other local entities  nation-
wide, since these organizations  need ways  to
reduce their rising costs of solid waste disposal.

   EPA  research and technology transfer efforts
could also assist states and local governments in
developing and implementing consumer aware-
ness campaigns, creating local incentives, and
promoting  pollution prevention  to all  sectors.
States and  localities are anxious  to learn  from
one another and  share information on  what
techniques  have been effective, how much such
programs cost, and what steps must be taken to
implement  these programs.  EPA can facilitate
these exchanges by conducting research on the
costs and benefits  of the programs,  and  then
disseminating the  results of this research.   In
addition to coordinating and conducting techno-
logical research, EPA has a critical role to  play
                                            1-15

-------
             Exhibit 1-4
Pollution Prevention Information Needs
Information
Users
EPA Program
and
Regional Offices
Other Federal
Agencies
States
Regional and
Local Agencies
All Government
Agencies as
Consumers
Industry:
Large Business
Industry:
Small Business
Individual
Consumers and
Public Interest
Groups
Types of Information Needed by Various Users
Product
Ufe cycle analysis methods
Trends In use patterns
New products
Product life-span data
Slate program strategies
Ufe cycle analysis methods
New products
Product life-span data
State program strategies
Product substitution
Ufe cycle analysis methods
Product life-span data
New products
Neighboring state strategies
New products
Product substitution
Ufe cycle analysis methods
Product life-span data
State program strategies
New products
Product applicability
Safe handling, storage, and
disposal
Product substitution
Product substitution
Ute cycle assessment
methods
Product substitution
New products
Product applicability
Safe handling, storage, and
disposal
New products
Product applicability
Safe handling, storage, and
disposal
Process
Feedstock substitution
Waste minimization assessment
procedures
Basic unit process data
Waste minimization assessment
procedures
State program strategies
Feedstock substitution
Basic unit process data
Waste minimization assessment
procedures
Neighboring state strategies
Feedstock substitution
Basic unit process data
Waste minimization assessment
procedures
State program strategies
Basic unit process data
Cleaning, maintenance, and repair
Feedstock substitution
Unit process waste generation
assessment methods
Feedstock substitution
Optimization methods
Unit process waste generation
assessment methods
Feedstock substitution
Process change options
Cleaning, maintenance, and repair
Materials handling
Unit process waste generation
assessment methods
Cleaning, maintenance and repair
Product substitution
Recycling
and Reuse
National and regional market availability
National and regional Infrastructure
capabilities
Stale program strategies
New process and product technologies
National and regional market availability
National and regional Infrastructure
capabilities
State program strategies
Regional and local market capacity
Regional and local infrastructure
capabilities
Automated equipment and process
Neighboring state strategies
Distribution and marketing
Management strategies
Automation
State program strategies
Distribution and marketing
Waste stream segregation
Recycling and reusability of waste
stream components
Automation
Automation
By-product recovery methods
Closed loop methods
Waste stream segregation
On-site and off-site reuse opportunities
Waste exchange opportunities
Closed loop methods
Waste stream segregation
Waste recapture and reuse
On-sfte and off-she reuse opportunities
Automation
By-product recovery methods
Waste exchange opportunities
Collection and distribution
Waste stream segregation
Readability and reusability of products
On-site (in-home) and off-site reuse
opportunities
Socioeconomic
and Institutional
Incentives and disincentives
Environmental effects
Economic costs and benefits
Consumer behavior trends
Management strategies
Incentives and disincentives
Environmental effects
Economic costs and benefits
Management strategies
Incentives and disincentives
Environmental effects
Economic costs and benefits
Consumer behavior trends
Management strategies
Incentives and disincentives
Environmental effects
Economic costs and benefits
Consumer behavior trends
Management strategies
Incentives and disincentives
Economic costs and benefits
Management practices
Incentives and disincentives
Economic costs and benefits
Management practices
Incentives and disincentives
Economic costs and benefits
Management practices
Incentives and disincentives
Environmental effects
Economic costs and benefits
Future
Environmental
Problems
Environmental trends
Emerging technologies
Life style change trends
Emerging environmental problems
Effectiveness of prevention strategies
Emerging environmental problems
Emerging technologies
Environmental trends
Effectiveness of prevention strategies
Environmental trends
Emerging environmental problems
Emerging technologies
Effectiveness of prevention strategies
Environmental trends
Emerging environmental problems
Emerging technologies
Environmental trends
Emerging technologies
Environmental trends
Emerging environmental problems
Emerging technologies
Emerging environmental trends

-------
in  coordinating  and conducting  non-techno-
logical research.  This research would be useful
to EPA, other federal agencies, state and local
agencies, industry, and public interest groups in
identifying and overcoming barriers to pollution
prevention.  Research  could be conducted to
help understand behavior modification and the
link  between  incentives   and  the   desired
behavioral change.  Socioeconomic and institu-
tional  research could  be useful  in assessing
existing and new pollution prevention strategies
and ways to improve them.  Most importantly,
socioeconomic  and  institutional  research  is
essential to  bringing about  the  fundamental
change  in  the  mindset  of individuals  and
institutions that is  necessary to  achieve  the
benefits  of pollution prevention.

   EPA also has a significant role  in educating
and training  the public  and  private sectors
concerning the importance and the "how to" of
pollution prevention.  An additional role for the
Agency  is to  provide  technical assistance  to
small- and medium-sized companies, state and
local governments,  other federal agencies, and
public interest groups in overcoming barriers to
pollution prevention  and  promoting it in all
sectors of society.

   EPA has a  leadership  role  among  federal
agencies for promoting pollution  prevention.
EPA cooperates with other agencies to shoulder
a portion of the total  U.S.  pollution prevention
effort.   For  example, the  Departments  of
Energy,   Agriculture,   Interior,  Commerce,
Defense, and Transportation, among others, all
engage in activities  and have responsibilities in
this arena.   Federal  agencies are  also major
consumers  in our society, and therefore, have a
responsibility to incorporate pollution prevention
into their procurement specifications and waste
management procedures. In addition, a number
of federal, civilian, and defense agencies also
control lands and facilities on which are located
wastes  that pose potentially  serious  environ-
mental and health  risks.  EPA,  as  the  only
federal agency with a clear mandate to conduct
research  on pollution  prevention, as  well as to
implement  pollution prevention methods, needs
to  work  closely with these other  agencies to
ensure   that   adequate,  effective  pollution
 prevention  methods  are . employed  for  all
 available opportunities.  The Science Advisory
 Board  summarized EPA's  role  in pollution
 prevention research as follows:

   EPA is the only entity that has  a  clear
   mandate  to conduct  research  to gather
   information on effective approaches and to
   transfer that information to all who  could
   use it nationwide. This information collec-
   tion,  evaluation, and dissemination role is a
   key component of the research function and
   one that EPA is uniquely suited to serve.  In
   short, no individual local  government  or
   private business  is likely to fund research
   needed by many local governments and pri-
   vate  businesses to help reduce their  waste
   streams. Yet, as more and more elements  of
   our society  become directly involved in the
   business of risk  reduction,  such  research
   clearly is needed.

   EPA  has   already  initiated  a  number of
pollution prevention research projects under the
WMR program.  These  projects are primarily
extramural research efforts which have  focused
on the minimization of hazardous wastes.  EPA
intends to expand these projects to include not
only non-hazardous wastes, but a multi-media
focus as  well.  The research projects of the
WMR,  OSW's Agenda  for  Action,  and PPO's
Pollution  Prevention Policy Statement form the
cornerstone  of the  Agency's future pollution
prevention research efforts. The WMR projects,
outlined below, will provide much needed  data
on   pollution   prevention  technologies   and
techniques to  federal agencies, state and local
governments, industry, academia, public  interest
groups, and communities.

• The Waste Reduction Innovative Technology
  Evaluation (WRITE) Program --  a program
  to identify, evaluate, and/or demonstrate  new
  ideas and  technologies  that  lead to waste
  reduction.   WRITE is a program that unites
  EPA  with private industry and other  organi-
  zations  to encourage the development and/or
  demonstration  of effective  techniques  and
  technologies for  hazardous waste minimi-
  zation.  Usually EPA conducts an evaluation
  and   industry   builds   and  operates  the
                                            1-17

-------
   equipment.  Concept or equipment develop-
   ment costs may be shared for some businesses.

 •  The Waste Reduction Assessments Program
   (WRAP) --a program to demonstrate EPA's
   Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment
   Procedure and encourage the  use  of  waste
   minimization assessments. WRAP is designed
   to encourage the use of waste minimization
   assessment as a tool for identifying options
   for reducing waste. It supports activities to
   demonstrate the procedure in various indus-
   trial and manufacturing settings. Individual
   subprograms will be developed for each of the
   major hazardous waste generating sectors.

 •  The Waste Reduction Evaluations at Federal
   Sites (WREAFS) --a program to  develop
   cooperative  waste  minimization technology
   demonstration  projects  with other federal
   agencies.  WREAFS provides a structure for
   involving EPA in a wide  variety of  projects
   already  being  funded  by  other  federal
   agencies,   including   the  Department   of
   Defense and Department of State. EPA's role
   is to conduct the  initial evaluation and  to
   provide technology transfer.

 •  The Waste Reduction  Institute for Senior
   Executives (WRISE)  — a joint University/
   EPA-sponsored institute composed of senior
   individuals  knowledgeable in the principles
   and  practices of waste minimization. These
   individuals  counsel EPA  with respect  to  its
   waste  minimization activities and  serve  as
   liaisons to private industry generators that the
   Agency wishes  to  encourage to adopt and
   demonstrate waste reduction techniques.

 GOALS OF THE POLLUTION PREVENTION
 RESEARCH PLAN

   EPA   is  the  agency  charged with   the
 responsibility  of protecting  human health and
 the environment.  Its basic mission is to reduce
 the level of  risk  to  human  health  and  the
 environment posed  by  pollution.   EPA  is
 expected to  be, and needs to be, the leader in
 the  area of  environmental  risk reduction.
 Therefore, it  is essential that  EPA  plan and
implement a  risk  reduction  research effort
whose  first  priority  is  the  prevention  of
pollution.   The  health,  environmental,  and
economic benefits of risk reduction research can
be  substantial.  As the SAB noted  in  Future
Risk: Research  Strategies for the 1990s,  suc-
cessful  risk reduction  technologies developed
through  EPA research have  saved  the  nation
from $30  to  over $1,000 for  every research
dollar spent on these projects.

  In response to pollution prevention research
needs and EPA's  role in  meeting these  needs,
ORD has defined six fundamental goals for the
proposed pollution prevention research program.
These goals build  upon existing Agency  pollu-
tion  prevention  efforts, and  broaden  the
research scope to enable the Agency to identify,
develop, demonstrate,  and transfer  effective
pollution prevention   technologies and  tech-
niques.  These goals are to:

(1)  Stimulate  the development  and use of
     products that result in reduced pollution.

     This  goal   focuses  on  the   pollution
     prevention problems related to the use and
     disposal of specific  products.   Although
     products are  often considered to include
     only manufactured items, as used here, the
     term  also  includes  chemicals  used in
     manufacturing processes and service indus-
     tries;  packaging for  parts, commodities,
     and manufactured items; and fluids  and
     gases  used as solvents,  carriers, refrig-
     erants,  coatings,  and   lubricants,  and
     additional  items  of  commerce.   These
     materials often are not viewed as wastes or
     industrial discharges, but do in fact impact
     the environment and pose a risk  to health.

(2)   Stimulate the development and implemen-
     tation of technologies and processes  that
     result in reduced pollution.

     Numerous pollution prevention opportun-
     ities  exist  in  manufacturing,  mining,
     agricultural,  and  service processes.   This
     goal addresses the need to focus research
     activities  on  these  processes  to  enable
     broad-scale reduction in pollution gener-
     ation.
                                           1-18

-------
(3)  Expand the reusability and recyclability
     of wastes and products and  the demand
     for recycled materials.

     Research  is  needed  to  improve  the
     reusability and recyclability of wastes and
     products, and to increase the capacity and
     demand for recycled materials in produc-
     tion processes.  Such improvements will
     prolong the useful life of materials and
     reduce  the   environmental  impacts  of
     wastes  and pollutants  from  all  waste
     streams.

(4)  Identify and promote the implementation
     of effective non-technological approaches
     to pollution prevention.

     This   research   area  should   include
     socioeconomic and institutional factors that
     motivate behavior and foster changes in
     behavior as  they relate to  incentives for
     adopting pollution prevention techniques.
     Research is needed to understand the roles
     of  non-technological factors in imple-
     menting pollution prevention approaches
     and their  impact on the  effectiveness  of
     pollution prevention programs.

(5)  Establish a program of research that will
     anticipate   and   address   future
     environmental  problems  and   pollution
     prevention opportunities.

     Research  is  needed to  assist  EPA  in
     anticipating  and responding to emerging
     environmental issues and to evaluate new
     technologies that may significantly alter
     the status of pollution prevention programs
     in  the  future.   A  flexible  program  is
     needed for conducting research  that may
     impact  long-term  pollution  prevention
     program directions  and objectives.  This
     research  program  will enable  EPA  to
     anticipate  and potentially prevent future
     environmental problems. In addition, this
     program provides the  Agency with the
     ability to address emerging issues  which
     will shorten the time between detection of
     a new environmental problem  and  EPA's
     ability  to   respond  with  an  effective
     program.

(6)  Conduct a  vigorous technology  transfer
     and technical  assistance  program that
     facilitates pollution  prevention strategies
     and technologies.

     It is imperative that the results of research
     investigations conducted under this pro-
     gram or by industry and academic research
     programs are communicated to appropriate
     audiences.  This goal addresses the need to
     ensure  that new  information  can  be
     evaluated and incorporated into pollution
     prevention programs rapidly.

  The research plan presented in Chapter 2 of
this  report  is designed to  address these six
pollution prevention goals and to build on the
foundation  established  by program, research,
and regional office activities. It identifies six
research  program areas and objectives  for each
program   area,   lists  numerous  topic  areas
of potential   research,    and   provides
selected examples of specific potential  research
projects.  The information needs of the various
organizations  that  could be instrumental  in
implementing pollution prevention  techniques
and programs, identified in Exhibit 1-4, are the
foundation for the framework of the  research
plan presented in Exhibit 1-5. The goals  of the
research  plan  are  designed to  meet  these
information needs, and the objectives of the six
research  program areas are intended to facilitate
achievement of these goals. The  research  topics
within each  program area and  the  individual
research  projects conducted  within  each topic
are required to accomplish the program objec-
tives.
                                           1-19

-------
                  EXHIBIT 1-5

FRAMEWORK FOR THE POLLUTION PREVENTION
             RESEARCH PROGRAM
                    Specific
                   Research
                    Projects
                Potential Research
               Topic Areas Within
               Each Program Area
                  Objectives of
             Research Program Areas
           Goals of the Research Program
         Information Needs of Various Users
                     1-20

-------
                                        CHAPTER 2
                                     RESEARCH PLAN
  To achieve  the  research  goals  stated in
Chapter  1, EPA will assume  a  leadership and
coordinating  role in both research and imple-
mentation of pollution prevention.  Ongoing and
future pollution prevention research conducted
or  sponsored  by  EPA will be  focused  on
achieving these goals. The development of this
research  plan is a major step  toward imple-
menting a comprehensive risk reduction research
program  that  has  as  its  first  priority the
prevention or reduction of pollution.

  In recent years, research activities in both the
private and public sectors have begun to address
pollution prevention issues. As a result, progress
has been made  in identifying opportunities and
developing technologies for limiting pollution
generation.   These efforts must be  expanded.
Some of  the research activities described in the
following  sections are  logical  extensions of
programs  that were  initiated  under  several
Agency  programs,  such   as  ORD's  WMR
program, OSW's Agenda for Action,  and PPO's
grant program.  For  example, ORD's  Waste
Reduction  Innovative  Technology Evaluation
(WRITE) program was initiated  to demonstrate
and evaluate  new technologies and schemes for
reducing hazardous  wastes.   This program  is
being implemented via cooperative agreements
with   six    states--California,    Washington,
Connecticut,   Minnesota,  New  Jersey,  and
Illinois.   In each of these states, five industrial
projects  are  targeted  for waste minimization
opportunity  assessments  over  a three  year
period.   Four  primary industries  that will be
evaluated include chemicals, fabricated metals,
electroplating,  and printed circuit boards.  As
part of  the  process  research  program area
discussed in  this  research  plan,  the  WRITE
program  will be  expanded to  a  multi-media
focus and to include non-hazardous wastes and
pollutants.

  This research plan is intended  to build on the
existing knowledge and program, research, and
regional office  efforts, by providing  structured
research programs for gathering and evaluating
data on major topics of concern, and stimulating
progress  in  adopting  pollution  prevention
technologies and strategies. Research to identify
the current  impact  of  pollution prevention
practices  and  opportunities  and  to  identify
impediments to progress  will play a principal
role in helping to shape the nation's efforts to
reduce pollution.

  The research plan  identifies six major pro-
gram  areas  of pollution  prevention  research.
These are:

• Product Research

• Process Research

• Recycling and Reuse Research

• Socioeconomic and Institutional Research

• Anticipatory Research

• Technology   Transfer   and  Technical
  Assistance.

  These program areas organize the  pollution
prevention  research   program   into  discrete
subject areas of related activities.  Exhibit 2-1
depicts  the six program areas of the  pollution
prevention research plan and  their associated
goals.

  As  depicted  in  Exhibit  2-2, the research
efforts in the first three research program areas
(product,  process,  and recycling/reuse)  will
focus on the following three types of activi-
ties:

• Assessing current  conditions and  pollution
  prevention opportunities

• Identifying and evaluating existing and new
  technologies with regard  to  their effects on
  pollution generation
                                            2-1

-------
                                                                                EXHIBIT 2-1

                                                POLLUTION PREVENTION RESEARCH PROGRAM AREAS
                   PRODUCT RESEARCH
                 GOAL: Stimulate private sector
                 development and use of products
                 that result in reduced pollution.
ro
I
                                                 PROCESS RESEARCH
GOAL:  Stimulate private
sector development and
implementation of technologies
and processes that result in
reduced pollution.
 RECYCLING AND REUSE
       RESEARCH

GOAL: Expand the reusability
and recyclability of wastes and
products and the demand for
recycled materials.
   SOCIOECONOMIC
  AND INSTITUTIONAL
      RESEARCH

GOAL: Identify and promote
the implementation of effective
non-technological approaches
to pollution prevention.
     ANTICIPATORY
        RESEARCH

GOAL:  Establish a program of
research that will anticipate and
address future environmental
problems and pollution prevention
opportunities.
                                                                             TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
                                                                                       AND
                                                                             TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

                                                                            GOAL: Conduct a vigorous
                                                                            technology transfer and technical
                                                                            assistance program that facilitates
                                                                            pollution prevention strategies
                                                                            and technologies.

-------
                                  EXHIBIT 2-2
                     COMMON TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
               OBJECTIVES
            Opportunity assessments
I
OJ
Technology demonstration

Technology evaluation
PRODUCT
RESEARCH
                                                       PROCESS
                                                      RESEARCH
                                                           RECYCLE
                                                          AND REUSE
                                                          RESEARCH

-------
 •  Stimulating private sector development and
   demonstration  of model technologies and
   programs designed to prevent pollution.

   Product   research  is   oriented   toward
 understanding the polluting characteristics and
 life-long  pollution  generating  attributes  of
 products.  The  product research program will
 focus on establishing standardized methods for
 assessing products and their use patterns, using
 these standard methods to identify and evaluate
 the  pollution burdens that are represented by
 various products,  and stimulating private sector
 development  and  use  of   environmentally
 preferable products.  Products  addressed under
 this program may range  from  simple chemical
 compounds to  complex  manufactured  items
 comprising  numerous   potential  sources   of
 pollution.

   The process research program area is oriented
 toward identifying and evaluating those aspects
 of production, use, maintenance and repair, and
 disposal  processes that generate pollutants and
 waste, and to facilitating and evaluating alter-
 native,  environmentally  preferable processes.
 Process  research  will  focus  on  establishing
 standardized methods for  evaluating all types of
 processes  using   these standard  methods  to
 identify  and assess pollution and waste gener-
 ation,  associated  with   these   processes,  and
 encouraging   private  sector   innovation   in
 adopting environmentally preferable processes
 and  technologies.  By supporting such efforts,
 EPA fosters  the  development of  industry-
 specific data and the establishment of state level
 oversight and expertise in pollution prevention,
 as  well  as  affirms  its  leadership  role  in
 promoting pollution prevention on a nationwide
 basis.

   Research is needed to identify high-potential
 opportunities for  further recycling and  reuse
 and  to  identify  the most effective  existing
 recycling approaches.  Research efforts  in  the
recycling and reuse  research program area will
focus on evaluating waste streams, production
feedstocks, capacities for inclusion of reclaimed
materials in production processes and products,
and the effectiveness of recycling programs.
   Most of the technological research efforts in
the areas of product, process and recycling/reuse
will be carried out by private industry.  This
technological  research  should  focus  on  the
development  of  environmentally  preferable
products and processes, as well as recycling and
reuse  techniques  that  reduce  wastes  and
pollutants.  EPA will  work with the private
sector to eliminate technological bottlenecks and
barriers,  and  identify pollution  prevention
approaches  that  are  not only affordable, but
improve the operating efficiency.

   Socioeconomic and institutional research is an
essential component of an effective, comprehen-
sive research program  that  can  identify the
barriers  to  and  incentives  for an integrated
program of  efficient production, reuse, and
recycling.    Efforts  in  socioeconomic  and
institutional research will focus on identifying
and evaluating non-technological factors that
affect   pollution  prevention  implementation
opportunities.  The socioeconomic  and  insti-
tutional research program area involves non-
technological  research  to   understand  and
overcome institutional,  social,  and  economic
obstacles  to pollution  prevention,  and  will
include research  in sociology, economics, and
human behavior, as well as  studies  of  institu-
tional conditions that favor or inhibit imple-
mentation  of effective pollution  prevention
programs. Much of the research in this program
area will be  conducted in cooperation with
academia, industry, and public interest groups.

   Anticipatory research is  necessary  to  allow
the Agency to be able to detect and respond  to
changing  environmental, industrial, and con-
sumer  conditions.  The anticipatory  research
program is  intended  to  provide the ability  to
pursue long-term research on emerging technol-
ogies or topics of concern,  to enable  EPA  to
prevent future pollution problems.  The antici-
patory  research program area will include both
technological and non-technological research in
order to address all aspects of future environ-
mental problems,  and will  focus  on emerging
technologies that could be utilized  to prevent or
address future environmental problems, as well
as  changes  in  non-technological factors that
                                             2-4

-------
could contribute to or prevent future problems.
Projects in this area will focus on anticipating
and  responding  to  emerging  environmental
issues  and  evaluating  the  effectiveness  of
emerging  technologies  and  various  pollution
prevention  strategies  for reducing  pollution
related problems.

  The technology  transfer program  area will
support each of the five research program areas
by providing the mechanism for rapid dissemi-
nation of information to  potential users.  It will
focus on expanding the availability of product,
process, technological, socioeconomic, institu-
tional, and environmental problem information
that can be used to accelerate the adoption of
pollution  prevention  programs throughout all
sectors of society. This program will also ensure
that users have  a mechanism to communicate
their needs to the Agency.

  Although significant achievements in pollu-
tion prevention can be attained in any one of the
six areas, progress must be made in each area to
achieve all of  the pollution prevention research
goals.  As research and implementation efforts
progress, new questions  and opportunities for
research  will  arise   that  cannot  now  be
anticipated.   This research plan  has  been
designed to allow EPA to incorporate these new
research topics into  the overall research program
and  to conduct long-term research focused on
approaches to anticipate, prevent, and manage
future environmental problems.

  Included  in the  description of each of the
research program areas is a brief listing of some
potential  research  topics  and some  specific
examples  of research  projects that could  be
supported by the program. These examples are
illustrative of  research that could be conducted
in each research  program area.   They  do not
necessarily represent high-priority topics, nor
are  they scheduled for immediate initiation.

PRODUCT RESEARCH

  The focus of research efforts in this program
area  is  specifically  on  products and  their
pollution burdens, as opposed  to the processes
by  which  products  are manufactured.  This
research will provide  the  methods  for con-
ducting assessments,  identifying opportunities
for  reducing the  content  of substances  of
concern  in   all  classes  of  products,  and
facilitating   the   development  and  use  of
preferable  products.    These  efforts will  be
directed both at identifying  the   pollutants
generated  in the  course  of  manufacturing
products and at evaluating the manner in which
products may become pollutants in the course of
their life-span.

  Many environmental  problems are caused by
agricultural,  industrial, or consumer products
that are either misplaced in use or are discarded
without proper concern for their environmental
impacts. Because of the harmful effects ensuing
from the use, exposure to, or disposal of some
products, they have received special regulatory
attention (e.g.,  the  handling and disposal  of
pesticides,  carcinogens, asbestos,  and  poly-
chlorinated biphenyls,  and  the use  of ozone-
depleting   chlorofluorocarbons   as   aerosol
propellants).   Several laws empower EPA to
control  the  manufacture, use, and  release  of
certain  toxic compounds   (Toxic  Substances
Control Act;  Federal  Insectide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide  Act), solid and hazardous wastes
(Resource  Conservation and  Recovery  Act;
Comprehensive    Environmental  Response,
Compensation,  and  Liability  Act),  aquatic
nutrients and toxicants  (Clean Water  Act), and
atmospheric   pollutants  (Clean   Air   Act).
However, not all products  that can become
pollutants  are   regulated   effectively   (e.g.,
hazardous  compounds  in   municipal  wastes,
biomedical and infectious wastes, and nonpoint
sources). Still other products are not regulated
at the federal level (e.g., plastic wrappings, bags,
and  containers;  most  paper  products; and
household garbage). Essentially all products are
potential  pollutants,  and  it  is desirable  to
develop  methods that reduce the  pollution
impacts associated with products by ensuring
that:

• Unnecessary releases  and disposal of toxic or
  otherwise hazardous products are eliminated
                                            2-5

-------
• Products are not used or discarded unneces-
  sarily or in inappropriate ways

• Product designs that result in the release or
  disposal  of hazardous or toxic materials are
  eliminated, whenever possible

• Toxic or otherwise harmful components are
  eliminated from product formulations, when-
  ever possible

• Product designs that result in the generation,
  release, or disposal of excessive quantities of
  aquatic  or   atmospheric   pollutants  or  of
  excessive  amounts  of   solid   waste  are
  discouraged in favor of less polluting designs.


Objectives


  The product research program area has the
following four objectives:


Objective 1: To establish standardized methods
  for evaluating the environmental impacts of
  specific products.


  Identification  of   pollution  generation
  characteristics  and  the opportunities  for
  pollution  prevention  associated  with  a
  product will  require analysis of the entire
  life cycle of the product. (A product's life
  cycle includes its design, manufacture, use,
  maintenance  and repair, and final disposi-
  tion, including potential reuse or  recycling
  options.) Although such analyses have been
  conducted in both government and indus-
  trial settings,  no standardized methods or
  guidelines for conducting  these  analyses
  exist. Standardized methods for conducting
  such analyses will ensure that management
  decisions  based on  product-specific  data
  can be made considering all relevant factors
  on  a consistent basis.   This effort will
  include the development and use of criteria
  for evaluating the  generation of pollutants
  associated with the life cycle of individual
  products.  Such criteria must have general
  applicability to a broad array of products,
  and they must identify the pathways by
  which pollutants associated with products
  may enter the environment and the envi-
  ronmental effects associated with specific
  levels of the pollutants.  They will be vital
  in conducting waste reduction or pollution
  prevention assessments, evaluating specific
  products  to  determine  the  total load of
  pollutants associated with them,  developing
  priorities for promoting pollution preven-
  tion programs related  to  products, and
  stimulating state and industry programs to
  reduce   the   environmental  impacts of
  products.


Objective  2:  To identify and evaluate the pol-
  lution   generation  characteristics  of  both
  existing and new  products  and  of  changing
  product-use patterns.


  Little data currently exist on the pollution
  impacts  associated with the manufacture,
  use, maintenance, repair, and disposal of
  both existing and new products and shifting
  product-use  patterns.   Product-specific
  information  of this  type  is   needed to
  identify opportunities  for  pollution  pre-
  vention and  to compare impacts between
  products that can  be utilized for the same
  function or application. However, data also
  are needed  to allow comparison  of the
  effects  of product changes on total  pollu-
  tion loads (e.g.,  a direct  reduction  in  a
  pollutant associated with a  single product
  is desirable,  unless  it  should  cause an
  increase in the net pollution impacts; for
  example,  by altering  a   manufacturing
  process  in which it  is used   or  if its
  substitute would be a pollutant of greater
  concern).    This  information  will  be
  especially  helpful in  stimulating product
  substitutions  that  would   reduce   total
  pollution loads.  Data could be  gathered
  from a number  of  sources  within the
  Agency (SARA Title III, RCRA, FIFRA,
  TSCA,  etc.) and  outside  the  Agency to
  assist in these evaluations.
                                            2-6

-------
Objective 3:  To encourage private sector devel-
  opment of environmentally preferable products.

  Evaluation of the life cycle pollution gen-
  eration characteristics of  individual pro-
  ducts and comparison of these character-
  istics among products is expected to reveal
  opportunities   for   modifying   existing
  products and for developing new, environ-
  mentally preferable  products.   EPA  will
  encourage   these  product   development
  efforts, and cooperate with other govern-
  ment and  industry  research  activities,  as
  appropriate. In  particular, EPA will seek
  to build upon existing relationships with
  the Departments of Agriculture, Defense,
  and  Energy to ensure that their research
  efforts  support  pollution   prevention
  objectives.


Objective 4:   To demonstrate and evaluate uses
  of cost  effective and environmentally  pre-
  ferable products.


  Demonstration   and  evaluation  of  the
  production  and  use  of  newly developed
  products,   especially  as   they  involve
  industries dominated by small businesses,
  are  required  to  ensure   that  products
  developed  on an experimental  basis  can
  actually  be produced  in  an economical
  manner  while retaining  their beneficial
  characteristics  in pollution   prevention.
  EPA could  encourage demonstration pro-
  jects  and   evaluate  their results  using
  standard methods.

  The  product-oriented research program will
allow basic investigations into the characteristics
of chemicals that are used or may be used as
substitutes  for other manufactured and consu-
mer products.  This research will be used to
identify  products  that are  environmentally
preferable  and will also consider their impacts
on energy consumption and exposure of workers
and  consumers.   A listing of  some potential
research topics  and  specific   projects   are
presented  in  Exhibit  2-3  (see  page  2-18).
Information generated in this program will be
made available  for  use  by EPA  program  and
regional  offices, other federal agencies, states,
industries, public interest  groups, and citizens
through   activities   conducted  under   the
technology  transfer  and  technical  assistance
research  program.

PROCESS RESEARCH

  Pollution prevention  efforts in  this program
area will focus on identifying opportunities for
preventing pollution in industrial processes,  and
on stimulating industries to develop and imple-
ment new processes that generate less pollution.

  Numerous processes can generate pollutants.
These  processes  include many of the  day-to-
day  operations  associated  with  agriculture,
mining, construction, manufacturing, transpor-
tation, wholesale and retail trade, and service
industries. Almost any activity associated with
the production of a product or the delivery of a
service represents a process that could contribute
to environmental pollution. However, to ensure
progress  in risk reduction, it  is important that
research  efforts  are focused upon processes that
are  associated  with the  use  or release   of
substances  of  concern,  excessive   resource
consumption,  or the production  of  excessive
amounts  of waste.  Process-oriented pollution
prevention research  efforts are needed in  the
following areas:

• Prevention  of unnecessary releases  of pol-
  lution

• Substitution  of environmentally  preferable
  feedstocks that yield less pollution when used
  in production processes, while maintaining the
  desired quality of  the products produced

• Development  of process design alternatives to
  eliminate inherently polluting processes.

Objectives

  Five  objectives  have  been  developed   in
support of the process research program:
                                             2-7

-------
Objective 1:  To develop industry-specific stan-
  dardized methods for conducting  process-
  oriented   pollution  prevention  opportunity
  assessments.

  Existing  waste  minimization  assessment
  procedures  do  not address  the  specific
  characteristics  of  different  industries.
  Further, they are one-dimensional, and do
  not  address the  multi-media  effects of
  wastes  and  pollutants.   Within  specific
  industries, methods must be developed to
  identify  the kinds of pollutants  and the
  degree  of risk associated with different
  processes,    including   those   processes
  associated  with  production,  use,  repair,
  maintenance, recycling, reuse, and disposal
  of products of all types. EPA will identify,
  evaluate, and modify  existing pollution
  prevention and waste minimization oppor-
  tunity assessment procedures to address the
  unique  characteristics  of non-hazardous
  and hazardous wastes  and pollutants in
  various industries  identified  by Standard
  Industrial  Classification   division  codes
  (agriculture, forestry, and fishing; mining;
  construction;  manufacturing;  transporta-
  tion,  communications,  electric, gas,  and
  sanitary  services;  wholesale  trade; retail
  trade; finance, insurance, and real  estate;
  services; and public administration)  and
  will  produce  guidelines  for  conducting
  industry-specific   pollution    prevention
  assessments.

Objective  2:   To conduct pollution prevention
  opportunity  assessments  in  a variety  of
  industries.

  Research is needed to identify the current
  nature   of   both  hazardous    and   non-
  hazardous waste  streams.   (Data currently
  available to EPA concerning the volume of
  wastes and the specific  content of these
  wastes are  from the 1981  and 1983 hazar-
  dous waste surveys. These hazardous waste
  data are outdated and of inconsistent qual-
  ity  due  to  differences in collection  and
  reporting methods.  Useful data  are  also
  contained  in the  SARA Toxic  Release
  Inventory.)    Comprehensive  data  are
  needed to assess the cumulative impacts of
  pollution-generating processes on all media.
  Pollution prevention assessments in a vari-
  ety of  industries will be used  to update
  data on major pollutants of  concern,  and
  identify points in processes  where these
  pollutants are released or discharged,  and
  opportunities for reducing the loss of these
  substances  to  the  environment.    These
  assessments will  be conducted in  cooper-
  ation with the industries assessed.  After
  assessment of several examples  within an
  industry, general rules for identifying the
  primary pollution prevention  opportunities
  will be developed  and made available to
  businesses  within the  affected industry to
  streamline    and   accelerate   assessment
  procedures.

Objective  3: To identify, demonstrate, and eval-
  uate the effectiveness  of pollution  prevention
  techniques  associated  with existing and new
  processes.

  Numerous businesses,  industries, and gov-
  ernment agencies have begun to utilize pro-
  cesses designed to  reduce pollution.  Few
  data exist to indicate  the effectiveness of
  these processes or  their applicability to
  other organizations. A comparative review
  of alternative processes is needed to iden-
  tify the least pollution generating of alter-
  native  processes  that  can  be  used  to
  produce,  use,  and maintain or  manage
  specific  manufactured   and  chemical
  products. In addition,  as new processes for
  reducing pollution are developed, it will be
  necessary to demonstrate them and evaluate
  their  effectiveness.   Promising pollution
  prevention  process alternatives  will  be
  identified in various industries.  Examples
  could  include:    process modernization,
  upgraded maintenance, feedstock  product
  substitution, spill  and  avoidable release
  prevention, recycling and  reuse  options,
  and waste stream concentration techniques.
  In cooperation with participating states and
  industries,  these   alternatives   will   be
  demonstrated at plant-scale and the results
                                             2-8

-------
   of  the  demonstrations will be evaluated.
   EPA also  will  cooperate  with  selected
   industries to demonstrate and evaluate the
   effectiveness   of   pilot-scale   pollution
   prevention  processes  or processes  which
   minimize pollution production to  ensure
   that they can be scaled up and still achieve
   their pollution prevention objectives while
   meeting requirements for product quality,
   worker   training,  workplace   safety,
   production  schedules,  and costs.    The
   effectiveness  of these processes  and  the
   detailed methodologies  employed will be
   made available  to interested  industries,
   government agencies, and the public.

Objective 4:  To identify  and stimulate cross-
   industry applications of cost effective inno-
   vative production and processing technologies.

   A technology that is developed and utilized
   effectively  in  one  industry   may  have
   potential pollution  prevention applications
   in  another  industry or  in  different sized
   facilities within  the same  basic industry.
   Retrofitting such   technologies  requires
   identifying similarities among technologies,
   modifying the technology as needed, and
   implementing the transferred technology in
   the recipient industry.  EPA will facilitate
   these activities through research to identify
   cross-industry similarities  and required
   process modifications.

   This research program will provide informa-
tion that will help identify existing low pollution
processes   and will encourage private  sector
development of  improved  pollution prevention
processes in the future. The majority of EPA's
efforts in this program will focus on identifying
process-related pollution prevention opportun-
ities,   and  demonstrating   and   evaluating
processes  for  reducing  pollution generation.
Some potential research topics  and projects  are
presented  in Exhibit 2-4 (see page 2-21).

RECYCLING  AND REUSE RESEARCH

  This  program's  major  thrust  will  be  in
stimulating the development of new recycling
and reuse opportunities when: (1) environmental
and health risks of toxic,  hazardous, or other-
wise excessively polluting substances of concern
can be reduced,  or (2) energy  and  material
conservation are possible.

   Recovery, reuse, and recycling are important
options within the overall integrated pollution
prevention approach for reducing the volume of
wastes  generated  by communities, industries,
and governments,  and for reducing demands on
non-renewable resources. Community recycling
programs usually involve segregation of recycl-
able municipal waste products  for delivery to
regional or local recycling centers or curbside
pickup by contracted recyclers. Within industry,
recycling programs involve numerous methods
for reclaiming feedstock and waste materials for
direct reuse within production processes, recyc-
ling on-site, recycling for  off-site  resale or for
contribution to off-site recyclers, and exchange
of wastes as input stocks among different pro-
cesses or  industries.   Government recycling
opportunities include those of both communities
and of industries, in  that  large  amounts  of
recyclable paper can  be  made available to off-
site recycling centers, and internal reprocessing
and recycling of solvents, lubricants, and excess
feedstocks are important options for numerous
government installations.

  This program will rely heavily on the results
of  both the products and processes  research
programs.    Opportunities for  capturing and
reusing or recycling waste stream materials that
are identified  in  the products and processes
programs  will stimulate the testing  and demon-
stration of new recycling and reuse technologies,
and identification  of viable markets.

  An integral part of the  success of recycling
and reuse efforts is the availability  of sustained
internal and external  markets for the materials.
One of the most widespread recycling programs
in the nation, newsprint recycling, is currently
experiencing excess  newsprint over the indus-
try's reprocessing capacity.  Pollution prevention
research  programs   must  therefore   include
stimulation of both the supply and demand for
recycled materials.
                                             2-9

-------
Objectives

  Four objectives have been identified for the
recycling and reuse research program:

Objective  1:  To identify and evaluate new and
  innovative  uses  for  materials that  would
  otherwise be disposed of as waste.

  Product and process research program eval-
  uations  will  identify numerous chemical
  and manufactured  substances that  are
  candidates for recycling or reuse. Environ-
  mental  and health risk analyses  will be
  conducted  to  determine the potential for
  recycling or  reuse of these substances in
  light of product characteristics  and process
  requirements. It is expected that numerous
  substances will be identified as candidates
  for recycling or reuse.  The recycling and
  reuse research  program will stimulate and
  coordinate research into new and innova-
  tive uses for  these  candidate  substances.
  This  effort will  have  a  multi-industry,
  multi-product,  multi-process  focus,  and
  will not be limited  to the industries  that
  generate the original substances of concern.
  For example, options may  include reusing
  acid wastes from silicon  processing  opera-
  tions as feedstocks for cleaning operations
  in  metal plating industries.   This  cross-
  industry stimulation of recycling and reuse
  will be intended  to discover as  many
  alternative  uses for waste products as
  possible.

Objective  2:   To  identify,  demonstrate,  and
  evaluate strategies to increase the  use  of
  recycled materials in products.

  Efforts  will be focused upon  identifying
  feedstock type and quality requirements for
  both existing and new products and manu-
  facturing processes.  This information will
  be  coupled  with knowledge of materials
  found in industrial  and municipal  waste
  streams  to identify possibilities for reusing
  known  waste  stream substances as  feed-
  stocks.  This program will  include evalua-
  ting the feedstock requirements of existing
  products, stimulating the development of
  new industrial or consumer products that
  incorporate   recycled   materials,   and
  ensuring  that  newly  developed  products
  have longer lives and enhanced recyclabil-
  ity.  A further emphasis of this program
  will be the preparation of guidelines  for
  using  recycled  materials  in  production
  processes.

Objective 3:  To stimulate the development and
  installation of additional capacity for utilizing
  recycled materials.

  Adequate market opportunities must exist
  for recycled and previously used materials
  if recycling and  reuse are to thrive.  This
  program will include a major effort aimed
  at  stimulating market  opportunities for
  previously used materials, either for their
  original purpose  or  as new products after
  reprocessing and recycling.   Mechanisms
  for stimulating these market opportunities
  will include  support  of  research  and
  development of new product and process
  designs and design  modifications, use of
  government/industry  partnerships to test
  potential products and processes, and use of
  financial and technical assistance to develop
  industrial  processes  and capacities for
  manufacturing  operations   that   employ
  reused or recycled materials. Emphasis will
  be placed on developing methods to over-
  come  barriers  to expansion  of existing
  recycling  industries  (e.g., newsprint) and
  developing opportunities for recycling in
  industries where products are not currently
  recycled (e.g., appliances).

Objective 4:  To evaluate existing recycling and
  reuse programs and facilitate the development
  of cost effective model programs.

  Community   and  industrial   recycling
  programs are vital links to increasing the
  number   of  opportunities  for  use  of
  previously used materials in products and
  processes. Such programs require planning,
  coordination, and management of logistic
  and financial activities  to  be successful.
  EPA  will  stimulate the development of
  model programs  that demonstrate  good
                                            2-10

-------
  environmental and business practices in the
  collection, handling, storage, and marketing
  of reusable and recyclable products.  The
  success of these model  programs will  be
  evaluated and guidelines will be prepared
  to assist other communities and industries
  in establishing environmentally effective,
  economically  viable  recycling  and reuse
  programs-

  Recovery, reclamation, and reuse techniques
have been utilized for many years, and added
emphasis should be placed on these techniques
for pollution prevention. Exhibit 2-5 (see page
2-23) presents some  potential research topics
and projects that  could  be investigated under
this program.


SOCIOECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL
  RESEARCH


  This research includes sociology, economics,
human behavior, and the institutional conditions
that may  act as incentives for or  obstacles to
establishing  pollution  prevention  programs.
Understanding in  these areas is critical to the
effective nationwide implementation  of pollu-
tion prevention programs.

  Investigations in these  areas are  necessary
because waste generation and waste management
decisions are driven by numerous  non-techno-
logical forces,  including legal  mandates,  atti-
tudes, habits, incentives, and benefits.  Beha-
viors represent complex patterns of activity that
are the result of  numerous factors,  including
habits, beliefs, knowledge, and economic pres-
sures. Behaviors may be altered when sufficient
incentive exists to change  habits,  abandon be-
liefs, investigate new ideas, or pursue improved
economic conditions.   Perceived  benefits to
individuals, groups, corporations,  or industries
can  motivate altered  behavior in ways  that
reduce waste generation or discharge.  There-
fore, information  about how attitudes, incen-
tives, and benefits affect behavior is a key tool
to be used  in directing the  development  and
implementation of mechanisms for reducing the
generation of  pollutants  and  improving  the
management of waste.
  The most prominent and common incentives
and    disincentives   affecting   management
decisions are economics  and regulations.  The
relative  economic  costs  and   benefits  of
competing options strongly influence decisions.
However, legislation or regulation may alter the
economics of decision making  to promote dif-
ferent choices.  For example, potential liability
for the results of waste management decisions is
a recent but powerful incentive that has fostered
pollution prevention to reduce future liability
risks.

  In addition to economic costs and benefits, a
sense of public responsibility may be a factor
considered in corporate decision making, partic-
ularly as a force affecting decisions about waste
generation  and  management.    To  facilitate
socially responsible behavior, additional infor-
mation is needed to develop an understanding
of the effectiveness and potential for widespread
use of pollution prevention programs and the
public's acceptance of and expectations for these
programs. There is a need for research to sup-
port pollution prevention efforts by identifying
trends in industry, consumer behavior, market
characteristics, new product and process intro-
ductions, and changes in  pollution management
conditions (e.g., landfill and recycling capacities,
air quality non-attainment, water pollution, and
disposal of  hazardous wastes).   Additionally,
there is a need to  develop standardized tools
that  allow comparative risk assessments in dif-
fering applications,  quantification of  all eco-
nomic costs and benefits of pollution prevention
efforts, and standardized assessments of envi-
ronmental costs and benefits of potential actions.


Objectives

  Five  objectives  of the  non-technological
research program area are presented below:

Objective 1:  To understand consumer  behavior
  and identify effective approaches to modifying
  it  in consumption decisions.

  Consumers (including  individuals,  busi-
  nesses, industry, and  government)  make
  choices about consumption and use  based
                                            2-11

-------
  on a multitude of different inputs--infor-
  mation, beliefs,  and desires.  Ultimately,
  success of  pollution  prevention efforts
  depends upon  consumers  altering  their
  behavior to select environmentally prefer-
  able services and products that have been
  manufactured in pollution prevention ori-
  ented processes, using recycled or reused
  materials  wherever possible.    In  some
  instances, lack of consumer information or
  fear of inadequate quality  may  prevent
  acceptance of products manufactured by
  pollution prevention processes.  Research
  efforts  are needed  to ensure the applica-
  bility and quality of pollution preventing
  products and to  stimulate  their acceptance
  by all  types of consumers.  This program
  will support efforts to develop markets for
  products  through  research  directed  at
  information  needs, consumer  attitudes,
  quality   requirements,    and   market
  acceptance.

Objective 2:  To identify and assess incentives
  that  may increase  and obstacles that may
  inhibit implementation of pollution prevention
  measures.

  Under this program, EPA  will sponsor and
  conduct research to investigate the costs of
  pollution prevention and identify the levels
  of environmental and economic benefit that
  can result from effective programs.  Since
  the economics of pollution prevention are
  only beginning to be elucidated, the results
  of this  program will provide a means for
  waste generators to make  more informed,
  voluntary choices about the kinds of pol-
  lution prevention programs that are of the
  greatest benefit for their specific situations.
  EPA will analyze several industries of dif-
  ferent  sizes  to  determine  the  effect  of
  incentives on  pollution prevention efforts.
  As part of this effort, EPA  could develop
  model  pollution prevention programs  for
  application  in  different  industries  and
  different levels of government.

  The costs of waste  treatment and disposal
  are well documented.  However, with the
  exception  of  some  data  from narrowly
  focused  programs, surprisingly  few  data
  exist about the economic or environmental
  costs  or  benefits  of  pollution prevention
  and waste minimization as alternatives  to
  treatment  and disposal.   Few  extensive
  programs are in operation and few data are
  available about actual gains that have been
  achieved  when  pollution  prevention  is
  practiced.  In addition, little documenta-
  tion   exists as  to the effectiveness of
  existing regulations in promoting pollution
  prevention. Although some pollution pre-
  vention programs  do  exist, it has not been
  determined what incentives have stimulated
  the establishment of these programs or
  which regulations have  had  significant
  impacts on the design and success of estab-
  lished programs.  These  issues  must be
  understood  if  future  efforts  are to be
  successful  in    establishing    effective
  pollution   prevention  activities  in  the
  consumer, manufacturing, and government
  sectors.

Objective 3:  To identify  and assess the effec-
  tiveness   of  existing  and  new  pollution
  prevention approaches.

  A key to  focusing EPA pollution preven-
  tion  efforts is  understanding where  pol-
  lution prevention  efforts  have  had  an
  impact and where they have failed. Analy-
  ses of alternative  pollution  prevention
  strategies have not been conducted  in a
  concerted, organized  manner.  There is a
  need to identify and assess the effectiveness
  of existing pollution  prevention  programs
  and the characteristics  of  the  institutions
  where they are established.  Research on
  pollution prevention strategies is needed to
  ensure that existing  and  newly  planned
  programs  use   financial   and   human
  resources  wisely in implementing success-
  ful, momentum-building pollution preven-
  tion programs.  A need exists to establish
  baseline  criteria  for  effective  pollution
  prevention programs, identify character-
  istics   of  effective  programs,   identify
  unique characteristics of specific industrial,
  legislative, and regulatory environments
  that  alter  the  effectiveness of  pollution
                                           2-12

-------
  prevention programs, identify methods that
  have been used to alter institutional inertia,
  and document the overall effectiveness of
  specific  programs in  achieving  pollution
  prevention objectives.   The information
  developed  in these analyses will  be useful
  in planning new pollution prevention strat-
  egies and improving existing pollution pre-
  vention programs. In addition, research is
  needed to  determine the effectiveness of
  various information and education  pro-
  grams conducted by state and local organi-
  zations,  industries,  and public  interest
  groups to alter consumption and use pat-
  terns.   Some of  this research  could  be
  focused on determining the conditions that
  favor  successful  outreach and  education
  programs and that develop  positive com-
  munity involvement in pollution prevention
  activities.

Objective 4:  To  identify and  assess trends in
  consumption  and use patterns and pollution
  generation.

  New analytical tools and supplemental data
  are needed to identify trends in consump-
  tion  and  use  patterns.    This  research
  program will support the development of
  these tools and data, and attempt to identify
  significant changes in economic conditions
  and pollutant generation. These  tools and
  data will be developed in cooperation with
  state and local governments and industries.

  Consumption of industrial feedstocks, busi-
  ness materials and supplies,  and consumer
  products and service materials respond to
  changing availability of specific products
  and evolving  tastes and desires of the users.
  For  pollution  prevention   programs  to
  remain effective, a knowledge of national,
  regional, and local trends in consumption
  and usage  of materials  that may become
  pollutants will  be required.   Changes  in
  regional  economics and social conditions
  (such   as  have  occurred in the Silicon
  Valley, or population growth and urbani-
  zation that are occurring on both coasts) are
  accompanied  by changes in  the  need for
  and availability of numerous technologies
  and infrastructural  capabilities  for sup-
  plying, handling, and using materials that
  can become pollutants. However, existing
  data are not readily  useful in identifying
  trends, due to lack of uniformity resulting
  from the manner of their collection and the
  purpose for which   they  were collected.
  These  data were  collected under media-
  specific programs and  covered limited
  substances of concern, which varied from
  medium to medium.

Objective 5:  To quantify the potential of pollu-
  tion prevention practices for  maximizing
  pollution reduction.

  To enable  planners and managers to place
  the evaluative information developed in
  this program area in  context and  to assist
  them further in targeting pollution preven-
  tion efforts, EPA will conduct research to
  quantify the potential for pollution preven-
  tion in various sectors, including  agricul-
  tural,  commercial, industrial,  residential,
  and governmental.  These data are needed
  to support efforts to manage and prioritize
  research efforts, to  determine the infor-
  mation needs of  potential users, and to
  assess  the  effectiveness of pollution pre-
  vention programs  at  meeting  these needs.
  Collection  of these data will rely upon the
  industry-specific procedures for assessing
  pollution prevention opportunities that will
  be  developed in the  product  and process
  research program areas. Additional meth-
  ods  will   be  designed to estimate  the
  potential impact of various technological,
  operational,  and  regulatory  approaches.
  EPA's   1986 Report  to Congress on the
  Minimization   of   Hazardous   Wastes
  estimated  that  RCRA wastes  could be
  reduced by 33  percent.   To  refine  this
  estimate and develop estimates for other
  areas,  it  will  be  necessary  to  compile
  information on the best available practices
  for use in various   pollution  prevention
  applications.  Additional  research will be
  needed to conduct detailed evaluations of
  various industrial sectors to refine  and
  validate data collection and evaluation tools
  prior to their release for widespread use.
                                            2-13

-------
  Socioeconomic  and  institutional  research
program activities are essential elements of the
overall  research program.    They  allow  the
evaluation of  information about  social and
economic conditions that impact the effective-
ness  of  technological  pollution  prevention
programs.  In addition, they will provide data
that can be used in planning and implementing
industry-specific pollution prevention programs
and to stimulate effective outreach and educa-
tion programs.   Exhibit  2-6  (see  page 2-25)
presents some potential research topics and some
example projects in socioeconomic and institu-
tional research.


ANTICIPATORY RESEARCH

  Three major areas of long-term research that
are  essential to  a  comprehensive  pollution
prevention research program are:

• Anticipating  and  responding  to  emerging
  environmental issues  and  using  pollution
  prevention approaches to mitigate these issues.

• Evaluating emerging technologies  for their
  potential contribution to pollution prevention
  and  stimulating those that are  preferable to
  existing  technologies.

• Evaluating the effectiveness of the Agency's
  pollution  prevention  research  in meeting
  changing user information needs.

  The  ability to anticipate  emerging environ-
mental issues and respond quickly in an  appro-
priate   manner  requires   a   well-developed
environmental  research  program  that  tracks
changes in major environmental conditions and
economic activity. This research program area
could represent a sustained commitment to  a
small number of research efforts and groups that
are a vital  infrastructure needed to respond to
emerging pollution prevention issues. Activities
in this area may include monitoring and evalua-
ting technologies, environmental conditions, and
business conditions to detect trends of impor-
tance in pollution prevention, and  stimulating
research that has direct or indirect prevention
potential.   Analysis  of  the  implications  of
emerging innovative technologies and investiga-
tions to enhance the benefits or broaden the use
of existing technologies promise substantial pol-
lution  prevention  benefits.   For example, the
accelerated  application of computers,  process
control technology, and automation can greatly
reduce the overuse of chemicals, the production
of unwanted.toxic byproducts, and the genera-
tion of wastes.  In textile  dying, automated
systems to rapidly change textile patterns  may
greatly reduce excess batch make-up dye wastes
that are associated with conventional manufac-
turing.  Another example is represented by the
sustained research commitment that was success-
ful in developing a dry powder coating technol-
ogy that may  reduce  volatile emissions  from
conventional paint  operations.  However, this
technology is  beginning  to emerge as a viable
alternative only after  a many  year  effort to
develop this new technology for paint applica-
tion and curing. Such a long-term commitment
to pursuing wholely new approaches to  pro-
viding specific products and services is essential
to a comprehensive pollution prevention  pro-
gram.

Objectives

  The  innovative research for future environ-
mental problems program area has two objec-
tives:

Objective 1: To identify and explore  emerging
  technologies and patterns in resource use and
  disposal that have long-term implications for
  the nation's programs in pollution prevention.

  EPA  will establish  a program that  will
  monitor major categories of resource con-
  sumption, waste disposal, recycling expan-
  sion, manufacturing technology innovation,
  and emerging environmental issues. Exam-
  ples of topics that may be included in this
  program are: monitoring trends in consu-
  mer behavior, evaluating the effects photo-
  voltaic  and  fusion  power  generation
  impacts may have on  global and national
  pollution  loadings,  developing integrated
  systems of advanced pollution prevention
  techniques that incorporate source reduc-
  tion,  recycling, and treatment processes
                                           2-14

-------
   into  comprehensive  pollution prevention
   strategies  for  selected  industries,  and
   developing methods  to reduce the gener-
   ation of biomedical and infectious wastes.
   Included in this research program could
   also  be workshops  that  bring  together
   visionary researchers in  appropriate  dis-
   ciplines to identify emerging trends in
   resource consumption, use, and  disposal
   and to discuss  the implications  of these
   trends for  pollution prevention efforts.

Objective 2:  To evaluate the effectiveness of the
   Agency's research program in meeting chang-
   ing user information needs.

   To  ensure that  the  Agency's  research
   program is meeting  the needs of various
   users, a long-term research area will be
   created to identify and assess, on a con-
   tinuing basis, user information needs and
   the efficiency of EPA's research programs
   in meeting these needs.  This  activity  is
   essential to  ensure that  research efforts
   focus on important issues that may not be
   addressed by other sectors of society.  The
   Agency will develop standard methods to
   assess the effectiveness of current  research
   programs in meeting the information needs
   they were  intended to fulfill.  The results
   of these evaluations could be documented
   to allow their use  as educational  or tech-
   nology transfer source material.  Addition-
   ally,  research  activities  could  identify
   changing  needs  of  various  users  and
   develop new  strategies or  approaches to
   address these  changing needs.  Also, eval-
   uations could be conducted on a continuing
   basis to identify  current  and emerging
   environmental problems and promising pol-
   lution prevention  research  opportunities
   that could ameliorate these problems.

   This  research program area  provides  for
investigation  of emerging issues to ensure  that
EPA's  pollution prevention research program
remains comprehensive and capable  of addres-
sing future pollution  prevention challenges.  It
gives  EPA  the  opportunity  to  respond   to
emerging  topics of concern  or  to  ideas  that
promise   to   beneficially  impact   pollution
prevention programs, by enabling discretionary
investigation of topics that promise long-term
benefits.  This  research  program also  enables
EPA to determine the effectiveness of its pol-
lution  prevention research efforts in meeting
user information  needs,  identifying changing
needs, and  redirecting the Agency's  research
efforts to better meet old needs and address new
needs.  Exhibit 2-7 (see  page  2-28)  presents
some potential research  topic areas, and some
example research projects  for  the  innovative
research program area.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND
  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

  Technology transfer and technical assistance
are essential  components  of EPA's  research
efforts  in pollution prevention.   To a  great
extent,  the  success  of  a national  program  to
encourage the  development and adoption  of
new, more environmentally acceptable produc-
tion processes  and  products  depends  on the
quality  and effectiveness of  the information
dissemination  programs   utilized. Information
obtained as a result of the product, process, and
recycling and  reuse  research programs  will be
assembled, summarized, and distributed in for-
mats designed to meet the specific needs of the
intended users as part of the technology transfer
and technical assistance program.  An efficient
approach for collecting, organizing, and distrib-
uting data on substances of concern, production
processes, and pollution prevention programs is
needed.   To do  this job  effectively  requires
identification of the  types of data needed about
specific industries, processes, and products, and
of the audiences that need the information.

Objectives

  The  technology   transfer   and   technical
assistance  program  has  the  following  four
objectives:

Objective 1:  To  stimulate the use of pollution
  prevention  opportunity  assessments  in  all
  pollution-generating activities.

  An active outreach and technology transfer
  program is needed to stimulate widespread
                                            2-15

-------
  use  of pollution  prevention opportunity
  assessments of the production, release, or
  disposal of potential pollutants and wastes.
  Widespread use of these assessments  will
  foster development of new pollution pre-
  vention  activities  in diverse industrial,
  agricultural,   and   consumer-oriented
  operation. This program will consist of two
  major components:

  •  Developing and disseminating "how to"
     guidelines  for  conducting  pollution
     prevention assessments.

  •  Providing training and technical assis-
     tance in conducting pollution preven-
     tion opportunity  assessments  and in
     using  the  information  generated to
     develop pollution prevention programs.

Objective 2: To expand the Pollution Prevention
  Information  Clearinghouse  to   encompass
  additional, multi-media  pollution prevention
  functions.

  EPA is developing the Pollution Prevention
  Information Clearinghouse (described in
  greater detail in Exhibit 2-8 on page 2-30)
  to   collect  and   disseminate  technical,
  legislative,  programmatic,  and   statistical
  information on source reduction and recyc-
  ling  to various groups. In addition to the
  Pollution Prevention Information Clearing-
  house  (PPIC),  EPA is assessing the use of
  other clearinghouse  networks for specific
  environmental  problems.   The  PPIC  was
  originally intended to focus primarily on
  hazardous materials, but it will be expand-
  ed and broadened as part of this program
  to include pollution prevention information
  applicable  to  air pollutants, water  pol-
  lutants,  and   additional   non-hazardous
  substances of  concern.  Included  will be
  technical  data, information sources, case
  studies, program  descriptions, guidelines
  and  procedures for conducting  pollution
  prevention opportunity assessments, trend
  data, directories  of personnel working in
  pollution prevention, and waste  exchange
  and  recycling  information.  Access to the
  clearinghouse  will be  available to  federal
  and state agencies, as well as to industries
  and trade associations, universities, public
  interest groups, and community or citizen
  organizations.

Objective 3:  To provide technical assistance to
  other federal agencies, states, local govern-
  ments, industries, and citizens in implementing
  pollution prevention efforts.

  Technical  assistance  is needed  by  many
  agencies, organizations, and individuals to
  implement effective  pollution prevention
  programs.  EPA will provide this assistance
  by conducting training sessions in pollution
  prevention strategies  and approaches  for
  government, industry, and citizen group
  representatives.  These sessions will include
  guidance in evaluating pollution generation,
  identifying recycling markets for recovered
  materials, and improving maintenance and
  repair programs and operating efficiencies.
  Information  generated  in each  of  the
  research program areas will be made avail-
  able to potential users, as appropriate, and
  technical personnel will be made available
  to assist in training programs and in evalu-
  ating especially complex situations  and
  opportunities for  cross-industry coopera-
  tion in  pollution prevention.   Included in
  this effort could be a program designed to
  contact top-level  managers from govern-
  ment and industry to facilitate  establishing
  pollution prevention programs throughout
  their organizations.

Objective 4:  To support general and industry-
  specific information exchange via conferences
  and seminars in international, national, and
  regional settings.

  EPA will sponsor information exchange via
  technical conferences, seminars, and work-
  shops  on  pollution  prevention.   These
  activities will range from supporting com-
  munity-based workshops intended to stim-
  ulate pollution  prevention program devel-
  lopment,   to  international colloquia  on
  detailed   technical  issues  that  address
  advances   in scientific and   engineering
  knowledge about pollution prevention.
                                            2-16

-------
  Technology transfer and technical assistance    dissemination of these results  to all sectors of
represent the most visible  non-regulatory con-    society.     Several  potential   activities  will
tact between EPA  and most organizations that    comprise  this program.  Some potential topic
can become involved in pollution prevention.    areas and some example projects in technology
This program activity is vital to  the effective    transfer and technical assistance are presented
utilization of  research   results,  in  that  it    in Exhibit 2-9 (see page 2-31).
will form the primary pathway for broad-scale
                                            2-17

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-3

                      PRODUCT RESEARCH PROGRAM

    POTENTIAL RESEARCH TOPICS AND SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLES


Establish standard methods for evaluating the pollution impacts of products

-   develop criteria for product-related pollution assessments
    develop a multi-industry model for conducting product-specific life cycle analyses
-   develop methods  for assessing  the   pollution  loadings  associated  with  complex
    manufactured products (e.g., automobiles, appliances, computers)
    develop criteria for evaluating the fundamental characteristics of chemical products to
    predict pollution loads
    develop methods for incorporating energy conservation, worker safety, and consumer
    safety aspects of products into standard evaluation methods.

Identify and evaluate pollution impacts of existing and new products and of changing  use
patterns

-   assess specific products to determine their total pollution burdens and the means by which
    these burdens are generated
-   classify products, functions, and pollution management options (see Rating the Transfer
    Efficiency of Paint Application Equipment example, following page)
    evaluate alternative fuels for specific applications
    evaluate the indoor air pollution impacts of various household products
    evaluate the uncertainties of the use of biodegradable polymers for consumer products
    evaluate substitutes for toxic materials  in consumer products  (see Identification and
    Evaluation of Lead and Cadmium Substitutes in Plastics example, following page).

Encourage private sector development of environmentally preferable products

-  .evaluate methods for eliminating polluting residuals from products prior to distribution
    analyze methods to alter or substitute products to reduce their content of substances of
    concern, such as: volatile organics, toxics, and aquatic nutrients (see Aerosol Evaluation
    example, following page)
    analyze fundamental  properties of chemicals that may serve as desirable substitutes  for
    polluting chemicals
    evaluate the use of bulk storage facilities to reduce the  number of pesticide containers
    requiring disposal
    evaluate composite materials as substitutes for metals in products
-   evaluate methods to overcome technological barriers to substitutes
-   encourage  the development  of pesticide formulations  that  facilitate the removal of
    pesticide residues from containers.

Demonstrate and evaluate uses of cost effective and environmentally preferable products

-   demonstrate specific applications of biodegradable polymers
-   demonstrate expanded uses for dry powder coatings
    evaluate expanded use of low-CFC residual foam products as replacements for  less
    desirable insulation products.
                                      2-18

-------
                                EXHIBIT 2-3 (continued)

                            SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
               Rating the Transfer Efficiency of Paint Application Equipment

     EPA has conducted research that permits the accurate measurement of the transfer efficiency
of painting systems.  Transfer efficiency is defined as the ratio of the quantity of paint sprayed
from a paint gun to the amount adhering to the product surface. As transfer efficiency increases,
the quantity of VOC pollution decreases due to a decrease in paint overspray.  The development
of this accurate measurement method for defining the painting efficiency of different systems has
created incentives to improve the efficiency of these systems.  Based on these initial studies, EPA
could work cooperatively with industry to develop uniform criteria for rating paint application
equipment and in developing more efficient paint application products.
                            SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                    Identification and Evaluation of Lead and Cadmium
                                  Substitutes in Plastics

     Minimizing the amount of toxic materials, such as lead and cadmium, in the municipal solid
waste (MSW) stream enhances the safety of recycling and reduces the risk of exposure to these
chemicals.  Both lead and cadmium are present in variable quantities in many  common products
and have been found in high concentrations in municipal waste combustor ash  and leachate from
municipal solid waste landfills. Lead and cadmium are added to plastics as stabilizers and pigments
in resins. In 1986, the MSW stream contained approximately 213,000 tons of lead and  1,800 tons
of cadmium.  Of the combustibles in the MSW stream, 71 percent of the lead comes from plastics
and 24 percent from pigments;  while 88 percent of the  cadmium comes from plastics and 11
percent from pigments.

     Research is needed to: (1) identify possible substitutes for lead and cadmium in plastics and
pigments, (2) determine if these substitutes are environmentally preferable to lead and  cadmium,
and (3) evaluate the impact of these substitutes on product performance and cost. This research
project could contribute significantly to the  reduction of lead and  cadmium in the MSW stream,
thus reducing the concentrations of these toxic metals released into the environment.
                                          2-19

-------
                                EXHIBIT 2-3 (continued)

                            SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                                   Aerosol Evaluation

     A need exists to evaluate the continued contribution of aerosol products to stratospheric ozone
protection and ozone nonattainment problems.  Integrated research could be conducted to identify
the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and volatile organic compound (VOC) content of various aerosol
products.  (CFCs contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion.  They are found in certain aerosol
products that were exempted from a 1978 EPA ban, and are still used to a large extent in aerosols
made in other countries.   VOCs, found in numerous  aerosol products, contribute  to ozone
formation in the troposphere.) Initial research activities could gather available information on the
present-day contents of various  aerosol products.  Follow-on work could investigate alternatives
to aerosol formulations and dispensing systems which may reduce the consumption and emissions
of both VOCs and CFCs. Exempted uses of CFC aerosol propellants could be reviewed to evaluate
whether or not they should remain exempt from the EPA ban.  Successful completion of this effort
should generate information needed to reduce or eliminate problem CFC and VOC emissions to the
environment  by replacing them in aerosol products and by providing information  for use by
program offices, federal and state agencies, and other countries in reducing emissions of these
compounds.  This can  significantly contribute  to alleviating two major environmental problems:
stratospheric ozone depletion and ozone nonattainment.
                                          2-20

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-4

                       PROCESS RESEARCH PROGRAM

    POTENTIAL RESEARCH TOPICS AND SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLES


Develop standardized pollution prevention opportunity assessment procedures

    identify and evaluate waste minimization assessment procedures for specific industries
    evaluate various industries to identify similar pollution prevention opportunities
    identify feedstock quality requirements for various processes
-   develop guidelines for conducting pollution prevention assessments
    expand  the  existing WRITE program's  pollution prevention  opportunity assessment
    procedures to address non-hazardous waste and pollution generation processes
    develop analytical and computerized analysis tools to identify a wide array of pollutants
    in waste streams
    investigate packaging alternatives and their impacts on pollution loading.

Conduct pollution prevention opportunity assessments in a variety of industries

    inventory input streams to processes and streams where pollutants are generated
-   identify fundamental characteristics of alternative feedstock products and their effects on
    processes
    inventory waste stream components and identify where each enters the waste stream
-   evaluate leaks, drips, spills, and excess usage in liquid and gas streams
    characterize  biomedical  wastes and  identify opportunities to reduce the quantities of
    contaminated and infectious waste requiring treatment and disposal.

Assess the effectiveness of pollution prevention methods associated with existing and new
processes

    review patent literature to identify the least polluting of alternative production processes
    for specific chemicals or manufactured products
    evaluate in-process  methods for  collection and recovery of pollutants (see Technology
    Research for Small Businesses in Metal Finishing example, following page)
    evaluate methods for eliminating polluting residuals created during the manufacture of
    products (see Still Bottoms Reprocessing example, following page)
    evaluate models and control systems for cooling towers
    evaluate alternatives to solvents for paint stripping and solids transport
    evaluate microchip cleaning methods
    evaluate increased automation of  small scale processes, such as plating lines
    evaluate low maintenance items such as gasketless  magnetic pumps
    investigate technologies to enhance emergency spill prevention methods and equipment
    evaluate the  use of soft abrasives (e.g., plastic beads, sodium bicarbonate) in paint  and
    coatings removal  processes
    evaluate processes for minimizing the use of volatile organic compounds in production of
    insulating foam
-   evaluate pilot-scale continuous feed processes for dying fabrics  to reduce dye lot wastes
    associated with batch processes.
                                      2-21

-------
                                EXHIBIT 2-4 (continued)

     Stimulate cross-industry applications of cost effective innovative technologies

        assess  the potential of  pharmaceutical separation processes for applications  in  the
        electroplating industry
     -  stimulate the use of unit operations analysis and management approaches in appropriate
        industries
     -  evaluate  precious  metals  cleaning  processes  for use  in  semiprecious  metals and
        semiconductor cleaning processes.
                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                Technology Research for Small Businesses in Metal Finishing

     The  metal fabrication industry produces  a  significant  percentage of hazardous  wastes
generated by small manufacturers in this  country,  through such operations as metal cutting,
grinding,  cleaning and degreasing, and painting.  This research program would be designed to
encourage the industry to develop pollution prevention options in this sector.  This would include
such areas as filtration to improve the life of cutting oils, material substitution of lime or borax
soaps for polluting lubricating oils, development of water based or greaseless binders, development
of water based rather than chlorinated solvents, substitution of high solids or dry powder coatings
for solvent based coating processes, and non-liquid technologies such as soft abrasives for paint
and  enamel stripping.  These process changes could substantially decrease  the generation  of
deleterious gaseous and liquid wastes.

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                                Still Bottoms Reprocessing

     "Still bottoms" from the manufacture of industrial chemicals is one of the major contributors
to contamination  in  the soil  and  water around existing and  abandoned  small and large
manufacturing facilities. Still bottoms are the complex tarry residues that remain in the reactors
in the manufacture of a wide variety of chemical  products. A specific example would be still
bottoms  waste  from  the  manufacturing  processes  for  vinyl  chloride,  chlorophenols,  and
chlorobenzenes.

     Rather than treating and discharging still bottoms, changes in the manufacturing process for
some chemicals could be modified to alter and use the waste within a closed-loop system. This
program would encourage private sector research on methods such as:

     •  Chlorolysis, in which hyperchlorination of the still bottoms could be used to generate
        products such as carbonyl chloride and hydrogen chloride.

     •  Developing high efficiency resource recovery systems designed to recover heat and
        hydrochloric acid from still bottoms.

     Research results from this  proposed project would develop basic data which small as well as
large manufacturers could employ to design and retrofit their manufacturing operations.
                                           2-22

-------
                                      EXHIBIT 2-5

                    RECYCLING AND REUSE RESEARCH PROGRAM

         POTENTIAL RESEARCH TOPICS AND SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLES
•    Identify and evaluate new and innovative uses for materials that would otherwise be disposed
     of as waste

        identify opportunities  to use waste acids and bases and volatile organic compounds as
        feedstocks in products and processes
     -  identify opportunities to create new products or new processes for making existing
        products using wastes from multiple sources (e.g., ammonia sulfate fertilizer from off-
        gassing ammonia and sulfuric acid wastes)
        evaluate mechanisms for  recovering usable  components of  complex products  (e.g.,
        appliances, automobiles, computers, batteries)
        evaluate the development of re-polymerized plastics for use in the  manufacture  of
        insulating foams (see Chemical Recycling of Plastics example,  following page)
        evaluate new uses for incinerator ash, air pollution control device residues, and "bottoms"
        from manufacturing and waste processing technologies.

•    Develop strategies to increase the use of recycled materials in products

        compare materials in  waste streams against feedstock needs and  feedstock quality
        requirements for product manufacturing  operations
        evaluate altering government procurement specifications to give preference to recycled
        materials
        investigate the effects of  paper  coatings and  coating  removal technologies on  the
        recyclability of paper products.

•    Stimulate the development of additional capacity for using recycled materials

        evaluate improved waste stream segregation technologies in  residential, corporate, and
        industrial settings (e.g., compartmentalized bins, trucks, and  storage facilities)
     -  investigate options to increase capacity for use of recyclable materials (see New Newsprint
        Manufacturing Technologies example, following page)
        investigate options to increase market opportunities for products containing  recycled
        materials
        evaluate improved storage and supply stream  management methods to provide constant,
        reliable sources of recycled materials or feedstocks
        evaluate new markets for waste streams currently considered to be too contaminated  for
        recycling (e.g., glossy paper, enameled steel)
        evaluate new production technologies that use high percentages of recycled material as
        feedstocks
        examine options for returning and refilling pesticide containers for reuse.
                                           2-23

-------
                                EXHIBIT 2-5 (continued)

•    Evaluate existing recycling and reuse programs and facilitate development of cost effective
     model programs

     -  improve and demonstrate in-house waste segregation methods for domestic, office, and
        industrial applications
        establish broad-scale pilot programs to use waste materials in construction materials
        evaluate alternative methods for applying municipal sludges as fertilizer, using adequate
        monitoring to identify total impacts of sludge disposal
     -  evaluate risks associated with different recycling processes and programs
     -  demonstrate new and innovative equipment and techniques for separating recyclable
        materials.

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                              Chemical Recycling of Plastics

     Seven and one-half percent of the volume of all municipal solid waste is now composed of
plastic material.  In 1987, the U.S. public discarded over 22 billion pounds of plastics and  the
figures are expected to rise to 38 billion pounds by the year 2000.  The trend in industry to cope
with this problem is to emphasize the expansion of reclamation based on mechanical methods of
reusing plastics, such as molding and extrusion. Because the technology in mechanical recycling
of plastics is  already well understood, there is no need for EPA research in this area.  However,
research could be well warranted in the chemical recycling of plastic materials.

     The concept of chemical recycling entails the use of chemical means to break plastics down
to their original components which are  then re-polymerized to form new  polymer compositions.
Recent scientific studies have indicated that through a catalytic reaction with diethylene glycol,
polyester resins are broken down into short-chain polyols.  When  these polyols are reacted with
polyisocyanates and other material, they can be converted  into rigid polyurethane  foam.  This
example is just one indication of the range of possibilities for chemical recycling of the wide range
of plastics.  There are many opportunities for EPA to encourage private sector research that would
significantly  contribute  to pollution prevention and material conservation.

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                        New Newsprint Manufacturing Technologies

     In The Solid Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Action, EPA indicated the need for improving
the nation's ability to recycle paper and paperboard to meet national solid waste reduction targets.
A perceived barrier to increasing the recycling rate for recovered paper is that new paper products
are made almost exclusively in very large mills that  were designed to accommodate virgin pulp.
At the current time, the  supply of newsprint and paperboard for recycling exceeds the capacity of
these paper mills to use  recycled materials, resulting in a glut of recyclable paper on the market.
Additionally, very little construction of new paper making facilities  is being undertaken, due to
numerous factors, including the difficulty of obtaining adequate water supplies, environmental
controls on  emissions  and  water quality, and the massive  scale of  current paper  making
technologies.  Research could evaluate clean, small-scale paper making processes that are designed
to utilize recycled paper as the primary feedstock. Such paper making technologies could have a
significant effect on increasing the recycling rate for recovered newsprint by reducing problems
currently besetting the  newsprint recycling industry: limited capacity for utilizing  reclaimed
newsprint, and lack of construction of increased capacity.
                                           2-24

-------
                                  EXHIBIT 2-6

       SOCIOECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM

    POTENTIAL RESEARCH TOPICS AND SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLES
Understand consumer behavior  and  identify effective  approaches to  modifying it in
consumption decisions

    establish a system for ranking the qualities (e.g., life span, life cycle pollution load) of
    alternative products
    evaluate marketing approaches for products produced through  pollution prevention
    processes
    identify consumer attitudes,  beliefs, and  needs  related to environmentally preferable
    products and services.
    identify current market forces that effect pollution related decisions
    assess methods to develop public support for pollution  prevention.

Identify and assess incentives that may increase and obstacles that may inhibit implementation
of pollution prevention measures

    investigate resource management strategies and  their  impacts on pollution generating
    activities
    analyze incentives associated with state agency directed pollution prevention programs
    develop industry-specific environmental and economic cost benefit analysis procedures
    and guidelines
    evaluate model corporate pollution prevention  programs that utilize comprehensive
    pollution and waste accounting procedures, training, and internal publicity
    analyze incentives that have stimulated specific pollution prevention programs in selected
    industries
    identify and evaluate economic, legal, regulatory, and institutional conditions that restrict
    the development of new or innovative products, processes, or recycling technologies  and
    programs (see Identification  of Institutional and Regulatory Barriers  to Increasing
    Recycling  and  Reuse of  Materials,  and Identification and Resolution  of Military
    Specifications to Reduce Pollution Generation examples, following pages)
    investigate methods to increase the willingness of consumers to  use recycled products  and
    products that require less disposal of packaging materials
    investigate methods to increase the  willingness of industry, government, and consumers
    to participate in source separation and recycling programs
    evaluate the effect of "cradle-to-grave" liability on the implementation of effective waste
    exchange programs.

Assess the effectiveness of pollution prevention approaches

    develop a consensus based agency-wide standardized risk assessment methodology for use
    in comparative risk evaluations in all industrial, government, and consumer applications
    evaluate the  effectiveness of  state-wide pollution  prevention  programs  (e.g.,  the
    Minnesota Technical Assistance Program, North  Carolina's Pollution Prevention Pays
    program)
-   evaluate corporate management and infrastructure characteristics in industries where
    effective pollution programs exist
-   evaluate the effectiveness of EPA's pollution prevention programs
                                      2-25

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-6 (continued)

     -   evaluate the effectiveness of pollution prevention programs in other countries to identify
         successful practices and approaches
     -   develop industry-specific  standardized criteria  for  evaluating  pollution  prevention
         effectiveness
         evaluate  the  effectiveness  of corporate  pollution  prevention  programs (e.g.,  3M
         Corporation's Pollution Prevention Pays program)
     -   identify and evaluate consumer-oriented pollution prevention programs
     -   identify and assess pollution prevention programs that are designed to reduce non-point
         sources of pollution (e.g., watershed and aquifier management programs, agricultural non-
         point runoff control programs).

     Assess trends in consumption/use patterns and pollution generation

     -   identify and evaluate trends in water use and energy consumption
     -   develop statistical  trend detection tools to  be used  with EPA data and data from the
         Departments of Commerce, Interior, Labor, and Agriculture, and the Occupational Safety
         and Health Administration, and from industrial, state, and local sources
         assess data collected under RCRA, CERCLA,  TSCA,  FIFRA, CWA, and  CAA  to
         determine trends in use of specific substances
         consolidate and assess existing data on pollution generation to determine the effectiveness
         of pollution prevention approaches.

     Quantify the potential of pollution prevention practices for maximizing pollution reduction

     -   evaluate current levels of pollution generation
         design methodologies to assess pollution prevention by the industrial sector
         quantify the potential for effective pollution prevention practices (see Quantifying the
         Potential of Pollution Prevention example, following page).
                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                    Identification of Institutional and Regulatory Barriers
                       to Increasing Recycling and Reuse of Materials

     Awareness of recycling and reuse opportunities for many commonly used products (e.g.,
newspaper,  glass, scrap metal)  has existed for several decades.   However, the  industrial
infrastructures have not been developed to support large-scale, high-volume recycling.  Although
some studies  were conducted  in the 1970s to  evaluate the role of  incentives in  recycling,
contemporary research is needed to determine the  degree to  which economic factors (e.g., tax
inequities that favor virgin materials), regulatory constraints (e.g., unfavorable permitting or safety
standards), and economic conditions (e.g., market uncertainty) continue to limit growth in this
field.  Successful identification of  these barriers may lead  to changes  that will attract venture
capital and stimulate growth in this industry.  Specific investigations in this project could include
evaluations  of the effects  of barriers and incentives at both micro-  and macro-scales.  For
example, a micro-scale analysis of  the effectiveness of user charges  and "bottle bills" could  be
conducted for definable geographic areas (e.g., cities, states).  Macro-scale analysis could include
evaluations  of the approaches  taken in other  countries  to identify  and  overcome barriers to
effective recycling and reuse.  This project could significantly increase recycling  and reuse of
materials by both the public and private sectors.
                                           2-26

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-6 (continued)

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                          Identification and Resolution of Military
                       Specifications to Reduce Pollution Generation

     Military specifications often become defacto world standards. This is due to the enormity of
usage by the military, the regard of U.S. military procedures as state-of-the-art, and the use by
foreign agencies of military specifications for civilian applications. This influence can be utilized
to improve environmental conditions by rewriting military specifications to allow development and
use of environmentally superior alternatives. For example, CFC-113 is widely used by the military
and some industries as a cleaning solvent. The Department of Defense has agreed to change from
prescriptive specifications to specifications based on performance, which will allow the use of any
cleaning process that provides acceptable cleaning  effectiveness.  As a result, expanded use of
ozone-safe  aqueous cleaners  and  other  no-clean  solutions  are  allowed.   Other  military
specifications that also need to be changed include the  use of virgin solvents, specifications for
corrosion-proofing agents, paint type and  quality for specific applications, and numerous  other
specifications related to cleaning products, processes, and  machinery maintenance.  EPA could
work with the DOD to identify and alter military specifications that unnecessarily require the use
of toxic, hazardous, or high volume wastes.  Military specifications that take into account pollution
prevention could significantly reduce the amount of solid and  hazardous wastes generated.
                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                      Quantifying the Potential of Pollution Prevention

     In the process of setting industry-specific environmental standards, EPA has developed a
substantial body of procedures for assessing waste generating processes and setting discharge limits
for them.  This same  type of expertise  can be used to  evaluate the current level of pollution
generation both within industry and elsewhere, and quantify the potential impact of "best available
pollution reduction practices"  under a variety of scenarios that would take into account resource
availability, standard industry operating procedures, regulatory settings, the degree of hazard posed
by particular waste streams, and state-of-the-art of current technologies.  This  research could
benefit EPA and other entities  concerned with preventing pollution by identifying those industries
and other sectors of the economy with the greatest potential for achieving significant reductions
in pollution generation.
                                           2-27

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-7

                    ANTICIPATORY RESEARCH PROGRAM

    POTENTIAL RESEARCH TOPICS AND SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLES


Identify and explore emerging technologies and patterns in resource use and disposal

    investigate implications of increasing computerization on waste production
-   conduct a top-down analysis of the technical feasibility of fuel reallocation options (see
    Hydrogen-Rich Volatile Shift example, following page)
-   evaluate the pollution prevention implications of alternative energy sources, such as solar
    space heating, solar photovoltaics, and fusion
-   evaluate new strategies for integrated pollution prevention and advanced treatment (e.g.,
    incineration) for municipal waste management
    evaluate alternative strategies  for reducing the generation of medical and  infectious
    wastes
-   evaluate the use of robotic manufacturing as a potential new technology and understand
    its pollution generation implications
    evaluate on a multi-industry basis the overall or net pollution reduction  which occurs
    with individual plant changes
    monitor the development of new  composites as structural materials for products  (e.g.,
    carbon filters) to instill pollution  prevention alternatives
    examine biotechnology alternatives for chemical synthesis  as an alternative to existing
    chemical manufacturing processes
    assess waste reduction in new specialty steel and other mature industries as they find areas
    in which future growth can be internationally competitive
    evaluate diamond surfaces as  an  alternative for lubrication and as a new electronics
    material in which wastes might be low
    sponsor workshops among researchers in specific disciplines to  explore  the  pollution
    prevention implications of identified trends in industrial, economic, and environmental
    issues.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the research program in meeting changing user information
needs

-   consolidate existing data on pollution generation and pollution prevention to document
    progress to date as fully as possible
    identify gaps in existing data that must be filled to achieve a comprehensive picture of
    progress in pollution prevention
    determine the effectiveness of current research in meeting user information needs (see
    Survey Protocol for Industrial Waste Generators example, following page)
    identify changes in user information needs
    identify information gaps that  are not addressed by  existing research projects
    modify research strategies  to address new user information needs
    evaluate current and emerging  environmental problem areas with the aim of identifying
    promising pollution prevention research opportunities.
                                      2-28

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-7 (continued)

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                               Hydrogen-Rich Volatile Shift
             A Top-Down Pollution Prevention Strategy Using Alternative Fuels

     A very large portion of atmospheric volatile organic emissions result  from the storage,
transportation, marketing, and use of gasoline in motor vehicles and small engines. Additionally,
NOX, SOX, and PM 10 emissions result from combustion of dirty fuels in stationary sources (e.g.,
industrial boilers), which requires application of control measures to reduce these emissions. An
emission prevention strategy that involves shifting hydrogen-rich volatile fuels to non-emitting
uses has the potential to reduce several major local and global air pollution problems. This top-
down strategy is aimed at optimizing emission prevention by shifting hydrogen-rich volatiles from
gasoline to high-efficiency stationary combustion sources that need clean fuels to reduce emissions.
This hydrogen-rich volatile shift (HRVS) will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions where heavier
carbonaceous fuels are displaced.  The HRVS prevention strategy includes reducing volatiles and
incorporating oxygenate extenders (such as methyl tertiary butyl ether) in gasoline,  using methanol
in heavy duty vehicles, and using non-polluting hydrocarbons and/or oxygenates (such as natural
gas and methanol) in stationary combustion  sources.  The use of low-volatile gasoline to power
automobiles, buses, trucks, and small mobile and stationary engines will help  prevent numerous
area source  problems.  The use of oxygenates in gasoline ensures improved combustion, which
reduces emissions of carbon monoxide from area combustion sources.  Prevention research is
needed to review and assess integrated, top-down strategies that may employ numerous technical
options.   This  research could  help  establish how  multiple benefits  can  be  achieved  and
implementation  problems resolved. For example, implementation problems might exist in the
following areas:

         control of volatiles from the storage, transportation and marketing of the  modified fuels

     •   infrastructural  requirements needed to facilitate shifts of displaced fuel fractions

     •   control systems for containment and recycling of volatiles

     •   minimizing aldehyde emissions.
                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                      Survey Protocol for Industrial Waste Generators

     Many companies have  initiated pollution prevention programs, some of which have  been
highly publicized.  It is clear from available information that these programs aim at very different
targets and achieve very different results -- some focus only on RCRA wastes while others are
multi-media, some use EPA's definition of pollution prevention while others include treatment and
disposal. EPA could examine these programs to document, in a consistent and comparable fashion,
the impact these programs have had on waste generation at individual companies. Data will come
from many existing sources (e.g., permits, regulatory documents, industrial databases, published
information on industry pollution prevention efforts), as well as new data gleaned through industry
surveys, and actual site visits to facilities that have implemented pollution prevention practices.
The results would clarify where pollution prevention programs are currently having an impact, and
the success  of these programs in reducing multi-media waste generation.
                                           2-29


                                             AWBERC LIBRARY U.S.  EPA

-------
                                      EXHIBIT 2-8

             POLLUTION PREVENTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE
     A program plan has been developed for a Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse,
co-sponsored by the Office of Research and Development and the Pollution Prevention Office.
This clearinghouse is intended to fulfill three purposes:  collecting and disseminating technical,
legislative, programmatic, and statistical information on source reduction and recycling; providing
guidance and information transfer services to Regional Offices, states, local governments, industry,
academia, and public interest groups; and fulfilling commitments made by EPA and requirements
of Congress.  The clearinghouse will include a staff, telephone hotline, electronic information
exchange network, repository of documents, and system for providing copies of information on
request.  Currently, this clearinghouse focuses primarily on hazardous wastes.  However, it will be
expanded and broadened to include  pollution  prevention  information  related to industrial,
municipal, agricultural, and bio-medical wastes.  To enhance the clearinghouse  in this way will
require work in five  areas:

     •   Obtaining much additional technical  and program  information  for the clearinghouse
         database

         Procuring references and  creating a  repository, including establishing a method for
         disseminating information on request

         Publishing and distributing summaries, fact sheets, bulletins, reports, and bibliographies
         of information in the database, both to market the availability of the service and respond
         to requests

     •   Establishing and supporting  a telephone hotline  to  handle  requests for  published
         information and access technical staff

         Developing  and pilot  testing an electronic bulletin  board system and maintaining,
         monitoring, updating, expanding, and assuring the quality of its information files.
                                           2-30

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-9

    TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

        POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES AND SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLES

Stimulate the use of pollution prevention opportunity assessments

    promote the use of industry-specific assessments (see Training of Waste Minimization
    Trainers example, following page)
    publish pollution prevention assessment guidelines
    provide technical assistance in conducting assessments in industries dominated by small
    businesses.

Expand the Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse

    incorporate multi-media pollution prevention assessment guidelines
    include pollution prevention success  stories and case studies
    provide access to other  federal agencies, states, industries, trade associations,  public
    interest groups, communities, and citizen organizations
    conduct a thorough search of pollution prevention information sources and include them
    in the clearinghouse
    develop  a national network  for waste information exchange  (see Development of a
    National Recycling and Waste Exchange Network example, following page)
    provide fact sheets and summaries for specific industries
    establish a link to the National Technical Information Service to share data and increase
    information dissemination.

Provide technical assistance

-   assist other federal agencies, states, and trade associations in developing integrated
    programs that prevent pollution from non-point sources (see Integrated Pest Management
    example, following page)
    distribute guidelines for  conducting pollution prevention assessments
    assist federal agencies, states, and industries in delivering pollution prevention training
    programs
    contact top-level managers in industry and government to foster adoption of pollution
    prevention programs
    develop  spill prevention guidelines for industry (see  Accidental Release  Prevention
    Reference Manuals example, following page)
    identify opportunities for cross-industry cooperation in pollution prevention
    expand the educational aspects of pollution prevention into technical and professional
    degree programs
    sponsor technical experts to assist in  developing  local and regional pollution prevention
    programs
    ensure all levels of industry are receiving some level of assistance
    improve expectations of  acceptable performance in pollution prevention programs
    encourage every state to  adopt a pollution prevention program
    develop retraining programs  for  continuing education of industrial and governmental
    environmental personnel
    work with state agencies to incorporate pollution prevention concepts into elementary,
    intermediate, and secondary education curricula (see Curriculum Development example,
    following page).
                                      2-31

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-9 (continued)

•    Support information exchange via conferences and seminars

         sponsor  seminars,  workshops,  and technical briefings  for  communities  and  small
         industries needing technical assistance in developing pollution  prevention programs
     -   sponsor international, national, state, and regional seminars and workshops addressing
         scientific and technical advances in pollution prevention
         sponsor  policy  and program development  working  groups to evaluate  and develop
         pollution prevention programs
     -   develop catalog of existing seminar offerings on pollution prevention.

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                         Training of Waste Minimization Trainers

     Training programs are needed to increase the ability of government and industrial personnel
to recognize pollution prevention opportunities and implement prevention practices. EPA  could
target training programs at specific audiences, and develop industry-specific pollution prevention
opportunity assessment software  packages  that are  designed  for  small business owners and
corporate environmental managers, by building on  the experience  the Agency has  gained  in
conducting waste minimization seminars at the regional  level.  These training programs and
software packages would ensure the  assessment of  true costs  of current  hazardous  and  non-
hazardous materials management practices, and provide methods for calculating changes in costs
resulting from specific waste reduction alternatives. EPA's intention would be to employ a "train-
the-trainer" approach by  providing materials and  expertise  to  train state and local solid  waste
management  officials  to assist small businessmen,  commercial, and  industrial  operators  in
conducting pollution prevention opportunity assessments.  Materials would be developed first for
the seven industries that have already been targeted at the regional level:  chemical manufacturing,
electronics manufacturing, petroleum refining, plastics, metal finishing, wood preserving, and
textiles finishing and  carpet  manufacturing.   Packages would  then  be  developed  for  other
industries in which waste minimization opportunities  appear promising.  This project could  make
a significant contribution to  assisting public and private sector  organizations in recognizing
opportunities for implementing pollution  prevention approaches.

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
             Development of  a National  Recycling and Waste Exchange Network

     As part of its expansion of the Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse, EPA  could
create an interactive network of databases, organizations, and contacts to provide an industrial user
an array of options for redirection of waste materials.  Information  provided by the network  could
include sources of non-virgin materials usable as raw materials, market assessments, case studies
in viability for specific materials, sources for research grants  or other funding, and technical
evaluation  and pilot study information.   This  network could  also  provide links,  program
descriptions and contacts with trade associations and industrial committees allowing networking of
databases and  information flow among municipal recovery facilities and industrial markets.  In
addition, this network could be developed into an international waste exchange information center
that provides case studies, source listings, and broker dictionaries through bulletin board functions.
This network would facilitate  the exchange of  waste materials among  generators and potential
consumers, resulting in reduced pollution discharge.
                                           2-32

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-9 (continued)

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
             Integrated Pest Management and Low Input Sustainable Agriculture

     Integrated pest management (IPM) uses all suitable pest control techniques and methods
(including biological control agents, irrigation and tillage practices, crop rotation, timing of control
efforts, pesticides, etc.) to keep pest populations below economically injurious levels. Widespread
use of IPM approaches could result in reduction of the amount of pesticides used for agriculture,
landscaping, and  pest  control in residences and other buildings.  Reduced use of pesticides is
desirable since pesticide use often results in loss of beneficial organisms and  other non-target
organisms, as  well as  target pest organisms.  EPA's Office  of  Pesticide  Programs (OPP) has
provided  technology  transfer and  technical assistance in IPM to the U.S.  Department  of
Agriculture (USDA), the lead agency for agricultural IPM research.  OPP efforts have included:

     •  development of a cockroach IPM demonstration project

     •  technical assistance on a grasshopper project for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
        Service

     •  technical assistance on a gypsy moth IPM program for the U.S. Forest Service

     •  comparative studies of IPM for turfgrass applications in cooperation with the Golf Course
        Superintendents Association.

     Additional research is needed to expand IPM projects into other agricultural and domestic
applications and to develop and  transfer ecologically sound IPM programs to user groups.  Also,
there is a need to pursue cooperative  research with the USDA in low input sustainable agriculture
(LISA), which promises to reduce agricultural use of fertilizers,  water, and high impact tillage
practices,  as well as reducing the use of pesticides through IPM practices.  Increased use of IPM
and LISA  should reduce the use  of pesticides and chemical fertilizers thus decreasing the runoff
of these chemicals.

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                      Accidental Release Prevention Reference Manuals

     Currently,  many small  non-chemical  industrial  facilities handle  extremely hazardous
substances and do not have procedures in place for reducing the likelihood of accidental releases.
A need exists  to conduct research on spill prevention and use the  results to develop industry-
specific manuals that identify opportunities for reducing the risk of spills and describe procedures
for implementing accidental release prevention programs. The purpose of this research and the
resultant manuals would be  to provide specific industrial sectors with an understanding of the
potential hazards  of the chemicals they handle and  the causes  of accidental releases, and to
document  the availability of prevention measures. These manuals would provide a summary of
available information and references to more detailed engineering information. This project could
provide the information needed by facilities to reduce the possibility of and risks associated with
accidental releases.
                                           2-33

-------
                                 EXHIBIT 2-9 (continued)

                             SPECIFIC PROJECT EXAMPLE:
                                 Curriculum Development

     Pollution prevention will be an increasingly important component of all ways of life in the
future, and trained professionals that have a pollution prevention perspective will be needed in all
communities,  businesses, and  industries.   EPA could  work  closely and cooperatively with
universities and colleges to include pollution prevention concepts in curriculum plans for all levels
of education, from elementary school to universities, and especially in curricula for professional
degrees in engineering, science, economics,  business, government, and law.  Implementing this
effort  would  involve  identifying cooperating  institutions,  providing  technical  assistance in
developing course materials and  program  contents, and  co-sponsoring pilot testing efforts.
Incorporating pollution prevention concepts in training and education programs at all levels should
help bring about the cultural change necessary to institutionalize  pollution prevention in all sectors
of society.
                                           2-34

-------
                                        CHAPTER 3
           RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS
RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

  Research activities in two of the six research
program areas identified in Chapter 2 began
under the waste minimization research (WMR)
program initiated  in  1987.   The total  ORD
budget  for these research projects  was  $2.4
million from Research and Development (R&D)
funds  in  FY 1989.   These  research efforts
focused  on:   (1) the evaluation of  new pro-
duction  and recycling process technologies  to
prevent or reduce the generation of  hazardous
wastes, and (2) a technology transfer program to
disseminate this  information.   The  pollution
prevention research plan presented in this report
will build  upon the foundation established by
Agency program, research, and regional office
efforts  to  develop an integrated  program  of
pollution prevention research that has a multi-
media focus  and  addresses both hazardous and
non-hazardous pollutants.

  The   costs  outlined in this  research plan
represent estimates for implementing a compre-
hensive,  Agencywide   pollution  prevention
research program. During FY90, resources will
be focused to develop program-specific short-
and long-term research plans, prioritize research
projects, and initiate  the research efforts.  The
approximate total estimated R&D  cost of the
pollution prevention research program outlined
in this report is $5.4 million for FY90 and $9.1
million  for FY91.   The  proration  of funds
among the six research program areas will be
based on priorities for initiation of activities  in
each particular program area, as well  as upon a
need to continue funding for certain research
projects within the  areas.

Priorities Among Program Areas

  A key question for EPA's research  efforts  in
pollution prevention is where and how resources
should   be  directed  to  provide  the greatest
support  to EPA's pollution prevention  initiative.
The  obstacles  currently  inhibiting  pollution
prevention are  by no  means  identical  in  the
many sectors of society generating wastes.  The
most effective  means for achieving pollution
prevention  in  the  chemical  industry,   for
instance, may be very different than for metal
fabricators, and neither set of inducements may
be very appropriate for reducing the generation
of agricultural or residential wastes.  In some
cases, technology  may be a  significant bottle-
neck;  in  others,  institutional  and  economic
factors  may present serious  obstacles.  Identi-
fying the impact of pollution prevention prac-
tices and impediments  to progress will  play a
principal  role in  helping to set the Agency's
research priorities.

  The four new research program areas will be
phased-in according to the priorities established
in Exhibit 3-1.  All of the six research program
areas are of critical importance to the nation's
pollution  prevention initiative,  and will  be
pursued. However, recognizing that immediate
implementation  of all  six  areas  may  not  be
practical, EPA  has established  priorities for
initiating  efforts  among  the  areas.   These
priorities  are  based  on the expected  overall
impact on environmental results, potential cost
effectiveness of proposed activities,  the degree
of need for the information, the importance of
EPA's contribution in this area,  the  ability to
achieve  near-term  results, the  number  of
organizations  that  could   benefit  from  the
information, the need to support EPA program
and  regional offices, and  finally the need to
continue  building on  Agencywide  pollution
prevention efforts that began through the source
reduction and recycling programs of OSW, the
Waste Minimization Research program of ORD,
and the establishment of the Pollution Preven-
tion  Office.

  Exhibit  3-1  indicates  the  priorities  for
initiating  activities in  each of the  four new
research program areas  and continuing the two
ongoing program  areas.  In  FY90, the  highest
priority of  the  research  program will  be to
                                            3-1

-------
                                      EXHIBIT 3-1
                    INITIAL PRIORITIES AMONG RESEARCH PROGRAM AREAS
OO
I
PRODUCT RESEARCH


PROCESS RESEARCH


RECYCLING AND REUSE
RESEARCH

SOCIOECONOMIC AND
INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH

ANTICIPATORY RESEARCH


TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER/
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
                                 YRO
                                       YR1
             YR2
YR3
                              Very High
                              Priority
High
Priority
                                                          Medium
                                                          Priority

-------
initiate efforts in the product and socioeconomic
and institutional research program areas. These
two  program areas rank very high in priority
because little research has been done by EPA,
other agencies,  or  industry  in  either of these
areas.    In  addition,  EPA  recognizes  the
importance  of launching research projects in
these areas  to  address both technological  and
non-technological issues and to complement the
pollution prevention  activities the Agency has
already started.  EPA can rapidly build on the
process  research  and  technology   transfer
activities started under the WMR program  and
quickly implement  additional research projects
designed  to  achieve  the  objectives  of these
research program areas. The technology transfer
program is expected to increase in importance as
results  are  produced  by  the  other research
program areas.   Initiation  of  recycling/reuse
research  and  anticipatory   research  are  of
medium priority.  Once a program is initiated
and  determined to  be effective (including the
existing process and technology transfer  pro-
grams) there is high  priority for maintaining
continuity of the research efforts within the
program.

  The  program area  priorities   depicted  in
Exhibit 3-1 represent the priorities for initiating
research activities in each of the  six research
program areas on  an annual basis,  beginning
with new activities in FY90.  As  the research
program progresses and matures,  priorities for
initiating  new  research  activities will change,
and  new research programs and  projects may
become more critical to the overall  pollution
prevention  research  program.   Furthermore,
research in a number of the program areas may
be coordinated  to  address a significant envi-
ronmental problem from several fronts. These
factors will be considered when setting priorities
for future research projects.  EPA plans to use
both external and internal representatives to help
the Agency determine new  directions for the
research program, as well as prioritize specific
research projects. This guidance can be solicited
during  workshops  sponsored by  the Agency.
These  workshops could  address topics such as
pollution  prevention opportunities for speci-
fic   industries  or  homeowners,  or   pollution
prevention approaches for specific pollutants or
media.

  In addition to workshops, guidance concern-
ing prioritizing research projects can be solicited
from   EPA's   Pollution  Prevention  Program
Advisory Committee.  This committee includes
representatives from all EPA program offices
(director  level) and  several regions,  and is
currently co-chaired by the directors of OPPE
and OSW.  The committee meets monthly  and
could contribute to the identification of research
needs  as  well  as   prioritization of research
projects.

  EPA could  also  utilize the  Pollution Pre-
vention Subcommittee of the SAB to identify
future research needs and establish priorities
among research projects. The SAB,  which in-
cludes representatives from industry, academ-
ia,  state and local  organizations, and  public
interest  groups,  currently  provides  similar
support to  the Agency.

  Financial resource expenditures for FY89  and
estimates  for  FY90  and  FY91,   identified
by research program area and topic, are pre-
sented in Exhibit 3-2.   Priorities identified in
Exhibit  3-1  may not be directly  related to
funding  levels  identified in Exhibit 3-2 in  any
single  year, due to  costs of  ongoing programs
and disproportionate costs of  planning,  initi-
ating,  and implementing specific projects in
different program areas.  In Exhibit 3-2,  the
estimates represent  the  Agency's current best
approximation of   the  resources needed  to
conduct  the  research efforts described in  this
plan.   In these two  years, total  estimated costs
for process research is expected  to be approx-
imately $3.7  million,  technology transfer  and
technical  assistance  $2.4   million,  product
research $3.9  million,  recycling and  reuse
research $0.7 million, socioeconomic  and  insti-
tutional research $3.4 million, and anticipatory
research $0.4 million.

Priorities Within Program Areas

  Establishing priorities for  research  topics
within research program areas is essential to
                                             3-3

-------
u>
I
            Program Area
                                       EXHIBIT 3-2

                                 RESOURCES ESTIMATES
                         POLLUTION PREVENTION RESEARCH PLAN
 Approximate R&D Funding
      ($ thousand)

Product Research
Process Research
Recycling and Reuse Research
Socioeconomic and Institutional Research
Anticipatory Research
Technology Transfer and Technical Assistance
FY89
0
1700
0
0
0
700
FY90
1400
1600
300
1000
200
900
FY91
2500
2100
400
2400
200
1500
            Total Research Program Resources
2400
5400
9100

-------
marshal the Agency's resources toward research
that offers the  greatest impact  on reducing
health and environmental  risk.    There  are
different approaches to setting priorities for the
technological research program  areas (product,
process, and recycling/reuse), socioeconomic and
institutional  research  program  area,  and  the
anticipatory research program area.  Priorities
within the  technological research program areas
can  be  established   by  taking   a practical
problem-solving  approach.  The first step is to
identify "pollution problem areas"--those areas
not amenable to pollution controls or for which
controls are ineffective.  These environmental
problems can be ranked in order of importance.
The next  step  is  to  inventory  factors  that
contribute  to each problem.  The third step is to
conduct  research that  attacks  these problems
through the contributing factors. For example,
a major  contributor  to  the  problem of ozone
depletion   is  the  release  of  CFCs  in  the
environment.  Therefore, research to reduce the
use and release of CFCs is one research topic
that will help  EPA address the ozone depletion
problem.    Another   method  of  identifying
priority areas for research is to look at pollution
problems   by   various  sectors--agriculture,
transportation, households,  energy extraction
and use, metals extraction and use, and chemical
and industrial production--to identify pollution
prevention opportunities and  develop a generic
methodology as well  as specific strategies for
preventing pollution in these sectors.

  Although some socioeconomic  and  institu-
tional  research  projects   can  be  similarly
prioritized  by focusing on the  severity of the
environmental   problem  and  the  potential
contribution of the research project to pollution
prevention and to eliminating the problem, other
non-technological projects are  not driven by
specific pollution problems.  These types of
projects focus on factors that affect pollution
prevention practices, such as consumer behavior
and motivation.  Other projects,  particularly
those   concerned with  future  environmental
problems, focus on determining pollution effects
before a specific pollution problem exists or
poses  a significant risk.  Unlike  the  factors
addressed in the technological  research areas,
these socioeconomic and institutional  factors
have only an indirect effect on achieving the
desired result. Therefore, these projects must be
prioritized  according  to their  potential  for
achieving a significant impact on pollution pre-
vention.   It is also essential that the socio-
economic and institutional research projects be
coordinated  with  research  projects  in other
program areas  in order to fully address certain
pollution problems.

   Since some of the research topics will con-
tribute  data to  other topics within a program or
must be conducted concurrently with research
projects in other program areas, it may not be
feasible  to  initiate  all  important  research
projects at the  outset  of the  program.   In
addition, Agency decisions on resource alloca-
tion may limit  the  number of research projects
that can be conducted simultaneously.  There-
fore, considerable planning is required early in
the program followed by continual evaluation,
reprioritization,  and  refocusing  of  research
efforts  to  ensure that the research program is
meeting its objectives.

   Early in the program,  efforts in  product
research are expected to focus on establishing
standardized methods for evaluating  product-
related  pollution generation,  utilizing  existing
information to  evaluate the impacts of specific
types of products and product use patterns, and
demonstrating  and evaluating production and
use of low-impact products. Efforts to establish
standardized evaluation methods and to demon-
strate  and  evaluate production  and  use  of
environmentally preferable types of products are
expected to decrease as this research program
area matures, while efforts in the evaluation of
new and existing types of products are expected
to  increase, and  research  to  stimulate  the
development  of   low-impact   products   are
expected to be initiated.   Ultimately,  the
program is  expected to shift  toward increased
utilization of standardized methods to evaluate
larger numbers of  products, demonstrate  the
production and use of improved products and
stimulate production of these low-impact pro-
ducts.  During  the  early years of the program,
approximately  40  percent of  the  effort  in
                                             3-5

-------
product  research  is expected  to  be used  for
demonstrating  and  evaluating products  and
about  30  percent is  expected to  focus  on
evaluating both existing and new products.  The
remainder of the efforts in product research are
expected to be  divided approximately equally
between  establishing  standardized  product
evaluation methods  and  encouraging product
development.  Much of the research is expected
to be conducted in  cooperation with industry
and   will  focus  on  products  produced  or
processed  by industries  dominated  by small
businesses.

   Early efforts in process research have focused
on  developing   standardized  methods   for
evaluating  manufacturing   processes  on  an
industry-specific  basis,   evaluating  specific
processes to identify  problems and pollution
prevention opportunities, assessing both existing
and  new  pollution  prevention methods   for
improving  these  processes,  and  stimulating
cross-industry  applications  of  pollution pre-
vention approaches.  Once standardized assess-
ment methodologies have been completed, prob-
ably during the second year of the  program,  the
remaining efforts of the program are expected to
receive  approximately  equal   emphasis  and
resources.   Early in  the  program,  about  35
percent  of  the  effort  in  process research is
expected to focus  on conducting  pollution
prevention opportunity assessments,  about 30
percent on evaluating existing and new pollution
prevention methods,  and about 25 percent on
stimulating   cross-industry  applications   of
pollution prevention methods and  technologies.
The  remaining  effort is expected to  be used to
develop   standardized   process    assessment
methods.   Much  of the  process  research  is
expected to be conducted  in cooperation with
industry  and will focus  on processes utilized by
industries dominated by small businesses.
  Early
research
potential
evaluate
recycling
materials,
stimulate
efforts  in the  recycling  and  reuse
 program  are  expected  to  evaluate
new uses for wastes and pollutants and
 alternative strategies  for increasing
  activities  and  uses  for  recycled
  As these efforts continue, efforts to
the development of additional capacity
for using  recycled  materials and to evaluate
existing programs to develop model recycling
and reuse programs could be initiated and then
increased, as information and expertise increase.
Over the first three years of the program, about
60 percent of the effort in recycling and reuse
research is expected to be divided approximately
equally between stimulating the development of
new capacity to recycle materials and evaluating
existing recycling programs, and the remaining
effort is expected to be  divided evenly between
evaluating new uses for materials and developing
strategies   to  increase  the  use  of  recycled
materials.  Recycling and reuse research will
probably  be conducted  in  cooperation  with
industry,  academia,  states, and public  interest
groups.

  In   the   socioeconomic   and   institutional
research   program  area,  initial  efforts  will
probably  emphasize assessing   methods  for
modifying consumer behavior and identifying
and assessing  incentives  for and obstacles  to
pollution  prevention.   Assessing  the  effec-
tiveness of existing and new pollution  pre-
vention approaches, assessing  trends in con-
sumption and use patterns, and quantifying the
potential for pollution prevention could initially
receive somewhat less emphasis.  As research in
this program area matures, efforts in these topic
areas  could increase as greater expertise and
knowledge become available.  Over the  first
three years of the program, about 75 percent of
the research is  expected  to  focus somewhat
equally on assessing methods to modify consu-
mer behavior, assessing incentives and obstacles,
and  assessing  the  effectiveness  of  different
pollution prevention approaches, about  15 per-
cent could focus on assessing trends, and the
remainder could be used to quantify the poten-
tial for pollution  prevention.   Much of  the
socioeconomic and institutional research prob-
ably will  be conducted  in cooperation  with
academia, public interest  groups, and state and
local organizations.

  Anticipatory research is expected to initially
focus equally on identifying emerging technolo-
gies and patterns in resource use, and evaluating
the effectiveness of current research program
                                             3-6

-------
efforts  in  meeting  current  and  changing
information needs.  Slightly more emphasis is
expected to be needed in subsequent years to
evaluate the  effectiveness  of  the  research
program in meeting information needs.  Over
the first three years of the program, the research
effort in anticipatory research is expected to be
divided approximately equally between identi-
fying emerging technologies and patterns, and
evaluating  the  effectiveness  of  research  in
meeting changing information needs.

  The  technology  transfer  and  technical
assistance program should emphasize all four of
its topic areas equally.  Over the first three years
of the program, the efforts in this program area
are expected to be approximately evenly divided
among stimulating the  use of pollution preven-
tion assessments,  expanding  the pollution  pre-
vention information clearinghouse, providing
technical assistance, and supporting conferences
and workshops for information exchange.


IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS


  EPA  will serve as the leader  in conducting
and coordinating  research  and demonstrating
pollution prevention techniques, and promoting
research, development, and implementation of
successful  techniques   within EPA and  the
following five sectors of society:

• Business and industry

• Universities and academia

• State  and local governments

• Other agencies

• Public interest groups and the general public.

EPA's  efforts will be directed toward  estab-
lishing  an  awareness of opportunities, stimu-
lating investigation of alternatives, and adopting
workable approaches for pollution prevention in
these five sectors of society. Implementation of
the  pollution  prevention  research program
described in Chapter 2 will require expansion of
EPA's  intramural  and  extramural  research
activities,  including  contracts,  grants,  and
cooperative agreements.

   Because  pollution  prevention  is  not  the
responsibility of EPA alone, implementation of
the  pollution  prevention research  plan  will
require various strategies.  For example, EPA's
role in stimulating product and process related
research in industries that are dominated by
large companies may be  limited to evaluating
pollution  prevention technologies, facilitating
information  exchange,  evaluating  regulatory
constraints to innovation,  and providing tech-
nology transfer services.  However, for indus-
tries that are predominantly composed of small
businesses  (e.g., electroplating,  air conditioner
servicing, auto repair), EPA may provide tech-
nical assistance and research support to identify
and address pollution prevention opportunities,
as well as information exchange and technology
transfer.

Intramural Research

   In keeping with its leadership  role in con-
ducting  environmental  research,  EPA's  in-
house research efforts will include activities in
each of the six research program areas identified
in the  research plan.  These efforts will be in
support of EPA's responsibility to develop and
prioritize   the  nation's  pollution prevention
agenda. This especially pertains to research that
involves  either generic   studies   to  identify
problems   that  are  amenable  to  pollution
prevention   solutions   or  mechanisms   that
influence effective pollution decision making in
other sectors.

   The intramural pollution prevention research
efforts will build on the current waste minimi-
zation  research  program  being conducted by
EPA, and  will support ongoing and  new  pol-
lution  prevention   efforts in  program  and
regional offices.   An important aspect of this
research plan is expanding of the capability of
EPA to carry out in-house research and manage
extramural research activities in each of the
research program areas. Currently, most of the
Agency's  activities  in the areas  of pollution
                                            3-7

-------
prevention research are extramural; however,
EPA needs to develop expertise to interface with
industry  and   other   groups   on  pollution
prevention efforts and manage  the  extramural
research program.

  The most important element in a plan for an
intramural research program is  the personnel
involved.  In carrying out the plan  outlined in
this report, the Agency would need  to enhance
its  in-house capabilities  by hiring technical
personnel with experience and  education that
build EPA's expertise in areas that are extremely
important in pollution prevention research and
that are applicable to a number  of the research
program areas.  One option would be  to establish
a program to allow up to  six individuals from
universities, research institutes, laboratories, and
industry to work  with  the Agency under temp-
orary appointments of from one to two years. In
addition, facilities of the federal laboratories in
which the  in-house programs are to be carried
out could be made available to  industries with
cooperative research projects. A small core of
in-house research personnel,  supplemented by
professionals on temporary appointments, would
ensure that the intramural research  program is
effective and the extramural research program is
properly managed.


Extramural Research


Business and Industry

  EPA has an important role in investigating
ways  that  industry can reduce  or prevent the
generation of pollution.  Even though  finding
ways   to  reduce, recycle, or  prevent waste
ultimately  depends on  conditions  that are
specific to each site or plant, basic approaches
and procedures seem to hold promise for several
different types of  companies since they have
already been  employed successfully at many
locations across the country.   EPA will expand
its contracts  and cooperative agreements with
industries to identify, demonstrate, and evaluate
effective approaches to prevent pollution, and
encourage the use of these successful pollution
prevention techniques in industry.
  Effective pollution prevention research in the
business and industry sector should address each
step in the product life cycle independently, as
well as the total pollution burden associated with
the entire  life  cycle  of  the  product.   The
emphasis  of this research should  be to  develop
methods to  reduce the total quantity,  potency
(toxicity or  concentration), and the mobility of
pollutants   associated   with  manufacturing
processes  and the product produced. EPA does
not have the resources to conduct the  process-
and   product-oriented  pollution   prevention
research that can be conducted by large busi-
nesses in developing,  testing, and marketing
their specific products  and services.  Therefore,
EPA  will cooperate with large  industries and
trade    associations   to  establish   pollution
prevention assessment  methodologies,  assist  in
developing  pollution  prevention  plans,  and
transfer technical information.

  Unlike large businesses, small businesses often
lack the resources to conduct research that may
assist  them  in  reducing their pollution loads.
EPA's role is to assist industries that are domi-
nated by  small  businesses in their efforts  to
reduce and prevent pollution. This research will
include  evaluation  of  pollution   prevention
opportunities associated with specific industrial
unit processes.   This research is applicable  to
both large and small businesses and will be used
to assist small business operators in identifying
pollution   prevention   opportunities   and
approaches.    These  efforts,  coupled  with
targeted  technology transfer, are expected  to
help small businesses move forward rapidly in
pollution prevention.

  EPA will work cooperatively with industries
to ensure that a multi-media focus is maintained
and that  all appropriate  avenues of pollution
prevention  are explored.  Funding assistance
may be provided by EPA  for pollution preven-
tion research related contracts and cooperative
agreements.   Such  funding assistance would
ensure that broad-based, multi-media pollution
prevention research will be applicable to existing
businesses and amenable for use  in preventing
pollution.  Some pollution prevention  research
projects and technology transfer activities may
                                            3-J

-------
be conducted through an industry-government
forum or institute that would function as a
separate entity.

University and Academia

  Numerous  pollution   prevention   research
questions  involve  either  basic  technological
investigations  or collection  of socioeconomic
information that lie outside EPA's expertise. In
addition,  much of the  data collection  effort
associated with socioeconomic research may be
facilitated by researchers who are not perceived
as having direct government affiliation. There-
fore,  EPA could support university-based aca-
demic pollution  prevention  research efforts
through  grants and  cooperative  agreements.
Research  at these universities will  comprise
investigations  into basic pollution prevention
issues that are not directly related to product or
process development  or modifications.  EPA-
supported research at universities  may include
analyses of:

• Incentives and disincentives for pollution pre-
  vention

• Impacts of regulation on pollution prevention

• Recycling and  reuse options

• Consumer behaviors  (product  preferences,
  recycling, etc.)

• Trends in consumer and industrial habits

• Outreach and technology transfer activities

• International activities in pollution prevention.

State and Local Government

  State and local  agencies  are aware of  the
problems  facing  the  commercial or manufac-
turing industries  and consumers.   Successful
arrangements  have been established with state
and local waste reduction programs throughout
the country. These programs have enabled EPA
to leverage its financial and personnel resources
to increase pollution prevention research and to
demonstrate  pollution prevention  techniques.
The  Agency's  expansion of  these  state/EPA
partnerships would reflect its continued support
of state agencies as the primary contact with the
public in matters related to pollution prevention.
A key element of EPA's support for state and
local programs- is the provision of an informa-
tion  network at a national level to insure that
technical  information is developed  and  made
available  to  firms  and groups  that  need the
information  and to states that are often the
front-line advisors to many firms.

   In addition,  EPA could continue to sponsor
formal programs of technology transfer to state
and  local governments, conduct seminars and
courses in areas related to pollution prevention,
issue technical manuals,  and provide technical
assistance to  state and local  research programs.
Pilot  projects  to develop state  capabilities to
assess environmental problems, conduct analysis
of cross-media issues, and  establish  priorities
could be encouraged and supported. EPA could
also   support  state  technical assistance  and
educational programs for applied research on
pollution prevention that can be implemented by
other state and local governments.  The Waste
Reduction Innovative Technology Evaluation
(WRITE)  program, intended   to  identify,
demonstrate, and evaluate new methods that lead
to the reduction  or prevention of pollution,
could be expanded.  The WRITE program  is
implemented in cooperation with states.

Other Agencies

   Many agencies, including  the Departments of
Agriculture,  Defense, Energy, and Interior, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
the National  Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini-
stration, the  National Center for  Atmospheric
Research, the National Science Foundation, and
the National  Academy of Sciences, are involved
in pollution  prevention  activities,  either as
supporters of studies and research in the subject
areas for which they are  responsible,  as actual
waste  generators  interested  in  reducing their
waste  streams,  or  as regulatory and admini-
strative  agencies  responsible for  maintaining
environmental  standards.    Cooperation  in
                                             3-9

-------
addressing  pollution prevention research needs
is necessary among federal agencies. EPA could
establish cooperative efforts with other agencies
to  identify research needs and work with these
agencies in determining methods  to prevent or
reduce  their  generation  of  pollutants.   By
working with other agencies, EPA can leverage
additional  resources to pursue pollution  pre-
vention as a national  strategy to reduce  risk.
Possible research projects to be coordinated with
other agencies include:

• Integrated  pest  management and non-point
  source  pollution  control   (Department  of
  Agriculture)

• Energy   conservation   and   efficiency,
  alternative energy sources (alternatives to coal
  and  oil),  and  renewable  energy sources
  (Department of Energy)

• Environmentally  preferable products  and
  processes, recycling  and  reuse of wastes and
  pollutants,  and revision of procurement and
  process   specifications   (Department    of
  Defense)

• Indoor air pollution  from building  materials
  or natural sources, such as radon (Department
  of Housing and Urban Development)
• Less toxic feedstocks and alternative processes
  that minimize worker exposure (Occupational
  Safety and Health Administration).

  The Agency could devote more resources to
the Waste Reduction Evaluations at Federal Sites
(WREAFS) program, which was initiated under
EPA's existing WMR program.  This  program
encourages joint pollution prevention assessment
activities at federal facilities.   EPA will also
continue to participate  in  a DOD/DOE/EPA
working group that was established to  explore
pollution prevention cooperative ventures.   In
addition, EPA will  work with other agencies to
develop an interagency strategy to incorporate
pollution  prevention  as  a  means  of  risk
reduction across all sectors of society.

Public Interest Groups

  EPA  will  work  cooperatively  with public
interest groups, including environmental and
conservation  groups,  to support a  variety  of
information exchange and technology transfer
activities  concerning  pollution   prevention.
These information exchange forums  assist EPA
in disseminating research results, as well  as
obtaining information   concerning  pollution
prevention  implementation problems,  oppor-
tunities, and additional research needs.
                                           3-10

-------
     APPENDIX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

-------
     EPA sponsored a workshop for the purpose of obtaining input from numerous perspectives
about existing needs for pollution prevention research. This workshop was held on November 9 and
10, 1989, in Washington, DC. The participants in the workshop were important contributors to the
identification of information needs, development of research program areas, and establishment of
priorities for the plan presented in this document. The participants and their affiliations were:
NAME

Mr. John Atcheson
Ms. Jane Bare
Mr. William Beck
Mr. William Burch
Mr. William A. Cawley

Dr. Anthony Cortese
Mr. John Cox
Mr. Jon DeBoer

Mr. Mark Dorfman
Mr. Alan Ehrlich
Mr. Harry Freeman
Mr. Robert Hangebrauck
Mr. Steven Hendricks
Ms. Jeanne Herb

Mr. Joel Hirschhorn

Mr. Gary Hunt

Mr. Kurt Jakobson
Mr. Mark Joyce
Mr. Joe Kamenski
Mr. Bala Krishnan
Mr. Steven Levy
Mr. Alfred Lindsey
Mr. Joseph A. Lindsey
Ms. Cindy McComas
Mr. Morton Mullins
Mr. Ward Penberthy
Mr. Robert Perea
Mr. William J. Rhodes
Mr. Dick Rosenberg
Dr. Manik Roy
Mr. Marvin B. Rubin
Mr. David Sarokin
Ms. Susan Sherry
AFFILIATION

U.S. EPA
U.S. EPA
du Pont Corporation
U.S. EPA
Gulf Coast Hazardous
 Substance Research Center
Tufts University
U.S. Department of Commerce
American  Water Works
 Association
INFORM
U.S. EPA
U.S. EPA
U.S. EPA
General Dynamics
New Jersey Department of
 Environmental Protection
Office  of Technology
 Assessment
Pollution Prevention Pays
 Program
U.S. EPA
U.S. EPA
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. EPA
U.S. EPA
U.S. EPA
DOW Chemical USA
University of Minnesota
Monsanto Chemical Company
U.S. EPA
Elliotts Designs
U.S. EPA
Chemical Waste Management
Massachusetts Department
 of Environmental Quality
 Engineering
U.S. EPA
U.S. EPA
Local Government
 Commission
LOCATION

Washington, DC
Research Triangle Park, NC
Kmgwood, TX
Washington, DC
Beaumont, TX

Boston, MA
Washington, DC
Denver, CO

New York, NY
Washington, DC
Cincinnati, OH
Research Triangle Park, NC
Fort Worth, TX
Trenton,  NJ

Washington, DC

Raleigh, NC

Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Alexandria, VA
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Midland, MI
Minneapolis, MN
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Rancho Dominguez, CA
Research Triangle Park, NC
Riverdale, IL
Boston, MA
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Sacramento, CA
                                         A-l

-------
Dr. Dean Smith              U.S. EPA                        Research Triangle Park, NC
Mr. Ned Smith               National Resources Defense       New York, NY
                             Council
Major Charles Snyder         Defense Logistics Agency         Alexandria, VA
Mr. Bern Steigerwald         U.S. EPA                        Research Triangle Park, NC
Dr. David L. Thomas         Illinois Hazardous Waste          Savoy, IL
                             Research and Information
                             Center
Dr. John Warren             U.S. EPA                        Washington, DC
Ms. Kathleen Wolfe          Source Reduction Research        Los Angelos, CA
                             Partnership


     A draft of this report was reviewed and  extensively  commented upon  by the Pollution
Prevention Subcommittee of the Science Advisory Board in a two day meeting held on March 9 and
10, 1989.  Members of this subcommittee included the following individuals:
NAME                                         AFFILIATION

Dr. Joan Berkowitz (Chair)                       Risk Science International
Mr. Richard Conway                            Union Carbide Corporation
Dr. Anthony Cortese                            Tufts University
Dr. Wayne Kachel                               Exxon Corporation
Dr. Jack Kooyoomjian                           Science Advisory Board
Dr. Joseph Ling                                 Consultant
Dr. Walter Shaub                                Coalition for Resource Recovery and the
                                                Environment
Dr. Calvin Ward                                 Rice University
     Draft materials for this report were prepared by numerous members of an EPA workgroup that
was charged with developing the Pollution Prevention Research Plan Report to Congress.  This
workgroup consisted of representatives  from numerous program offices, two laboratories, and
contractor support staff. The workgroup members included the following individuals:


NAME                                         OFFICE

Mr. John Atcheson                              Pollution Prevention Office
Mr. William M. Burch                           Office of Pesticides and  Toxic Substances
Mr. Joseph DeSantis                             Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory
                                                Support
Mr. Harry Freeman                              Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
Mr. Jerry R. Garman                            Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory
                                                Support
Mr. Robert Hangebrauck                         Air and Energy Engineering Research
                                                Laboratory
Mr. Mark  Joyce                                 Office of Air and Radiation
                                          A-2

-------
Mr. Bala Krishnan

Mr. Steven Levy
Mr. Alfred Lindsey

Ms. Karen McCormack
Mr. Ward  Penberthy
Mr. Frank Princiotta

Ms. Diane Regas
Mr. Marvin B. Rubin
Mr. David Sarokin
Mr. Bern Steigerwald
Mr. John Warren
Mr. Greg Ondich

Mr. Tim Oppelt

TECHNICAL RESOURCES. INC.
Office of Environmental Engineering and
 Technology Demonstration
Office of Solid Waste
Office of Environmental Engineering and
 Technology Demonstration
Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Office of Environmental Engineering and
 Technology Demonstration
Office of General Counsel
Office of Water Regulations and Standards
Office of Toxic Substances
Office of Air and Radiation
Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation
Office of Environmental Engineering and
 Technology Demonstration
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
     Technical support in the preparation of this document was supplied by Technical Resources,
Inc., of Rockville, Maryland. Staff members who participated included the following individuals:

Ms. Beverly Campbell, Vice President
Ms. Joan Cox
Dr. Gerald Filbin
Mr. Mel Knapp
Mr. Ky Ostergaard
Ms. Joel Ann Todd
                                          A-3

-------