July 1991
2nd Edition
United States Special Projects Office (TS-792A)
Environmental Protection Office of Toxic Substances
Agency Washington, DC 20460
x>EPA THE 33/50 PROGRAM
FORGING AN ALLIANCE
FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION
Printed on Recycled Paper
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WHAT IS THE 33/50 PROGRAM?
The 33/50 Program is EPA's voluntary pollution prevention initiative to reduce
national pollution releases and off-site transfers of 17 toxic chemicals by 33 per cent
by the end of 1992 and by 50 per cent by the end of 1995. EPA is asking companies
to examine their own industrial processes to identify and implement cost-effective
pollution prevention practices for these chemicals. Company participation in the
33/50 Program is completely voluntary. The Program aims, through voluntary
pollution prevention activities, to reduce releases and off-site transfers of a targeted
set of 17 chemicals from a national total of 1.4 billion pounds in 1988 to 700 million
pounds by 1995, a 50% overall reduction. The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
(established by federal law, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
Act of 1986) will be used to track these reductions using 1988 data as a baseline.
As required by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, TRI industrial reporting
requirements will be expanded, begining in calendar year 1991, to include informa-
tion on pollution prevention.
EPA announced the 33/50 Program in February 1991 when EPA Administrator
William K. Reilly asked 600 U.S. companies to reduce their releases of these 17
toxic chemicals. EPA contacted these 600 companies first because TRI data
indicated that these companies were the largest dischargers to the environment of
these chemicals. EPA is also contacting thousands of additional companies that
release these 17 chemicals and requesting their voluntary participation in the 33/50
Program. All companies are encouraged to participate in the 33/50 Program (even
if they do not receive a letter from EPA inviting them to participate).
While EPA is seeking to reduce aggregate national environmental releases of these
17 chemicals by 50 per cent by 1995, individual companies are encouraged to
develop their own reduction goals to contribute to this national effort. EPA also
encourages companies to reduce releases of other TRI chemicals and to extend
these reductions to their facilities outside the United States. For those companies
that have not yet made a commitment to participate, EPA encourages those
companies to participate in this national pollution prevention initiative. EPA will
periodically recognize those companies that commit to reduce their releases and
transfers of the targeted chemicals, and publicly recognize the pollution prevention
successes companies achieve.
WHAT IS POLLUTION PREVENTION?
The overall goal of the 33/50 Program is to promote the benefits of pollution
prevention while obtaining measurable reductions in pollution. Pollution prevention
is the use of materials, processes, or practices that reduce or eliminate the creation
of pollutants or wastes.
Pollution prevention should be considered the first step in a hierarchy of options for
reducing the generation of pollution. The next step in the hierarchy is responsible
recycling of any wastes that cannot be reduced or eliminated at the source. Wastes
that cannot be recycled should be treated in accordance with environmental
standards. Finally, any wastes that remain after treatment should be disposed of
safely.
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EPA is promoting pollution prevention because it is often the most cost-effective
option to reduce pollution, and the environmental and health risks associated with
pollution. Pollution prevention is often cost effective because it may reduce raw
material losses, reduce reliance on expensive "end-of-pipe" treatment technologies
and disposal practices, conserve energy, water, chemicals, and other inputs, and
reduce the potential liability associated with waste generation. Pollution prevention
is environmentally desirable for these very same reasons: pollution itself is reduced
at the source while resources are conserved.
MAJOR 33/50 PROGRAM GOALS
The 33/50 Program has three basic goals. First, EPA is aiming to reduce national
aggregate environmental releases of the 17 target chemicals from 1988 levels by
33 per cent by the end of 1992 and by 50 per cent by the end of 1995. Second, EPA
is encouraging companies to use pollution prevention practices (rather than end-of-
pipe treatment) to achieve these reductions. Third, EPA hopes that this Program
will help foster a pollution prevention ethic in American business whereby
companies routinely analyze all their operations to reduce or eliminate pollution
before it is created.
WHAT ARE THE TARGET CHEMICALS?
The 17 chemical groups are:
Benzene Methyl Ethyl Ketone
Cadmium & Cadmium Compounds Methyl Isobutyl Ketone
Carbon Tetrachloride Nickel & Nickel Compounds
Chloroform Tetrachloroethylene
Chromium & Chromium Compounds Toluene
Cyanide & Cyanide Compounds 1,1,1 -Trichloroethane
Lead & Lead Compounds Trichloroethylene
Mercury & Mercury Compounds Xylenes
Methylene Chloride
These chemicals were selected from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The TRI
is a computerized data base containing public information on the annual releases
and transfers of approximately 300 toxic chemicals reported by U.S. manufacturing
facilities to EPA and the States. Since 1987 federal law has required facilities to
report the amount of both routine and accidental releases of the 300 listed chemicals
to the air, water and soil, and the amount contained in wastes transferred off-site.
The chemicals listed above were selected for the 33/50 Program because: a) they
are produced in large quantities and subsequently released into the environment in
large quantities; b) they are generally identified as toxic or hazardous pollutants;
thus there may be significant environmental and health benefits from reducing their
releases to the environment; and c) of the potential to reduce releases of these
chemicals through pollution prevention.
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THE 33/50 PROGRAM SIGNALS A NEW APPROACH
The 33/50 Program complements EPA's traditional command and control approach.
The key attributes of this new approach are:
NATIONAL IN SCOPE
VOLUNTARY
MULTI-MEDIA
Success will be measured according to whether
reductions have been achieved nationwide, rather
than for each company or facility. The reductions
also will be looked at as an aggregate — total
releases of all chemicals rather than for each one.
Companies are free to decide if and how to partic-
ipate in the program by: a) committing to meet their
own specified reduction goals; and b) making
good faith voluntary efforts to identify and imple-
ment cost-effective prevention measures. Any
steps taken to reduce targeted toxics will not be
enforceable, unless these activities are otherwise
required by law or regulation.
The reduction goals apply to total releases and
off-site transfers to air, land, and water.
PREVENTION-ORIENTED EPA's objective is to encourage these reductions
through pollution prevention. However, compa-
nies are encouraged to participate in the 33/50
Program even if all of their reductions are not
achieved through prevention.
ADVANTAGES OF A VOLUNTARY APPROACH
EPA's voluntary 33/50 Program is designed to benefit:
THE PUBLIC
INDUSTRY
— By significantly reducing the amount of pollution
released to the environment.
— By getting faster reductions than might be achieved
by waiting for statutes or regulations to take effect,
and by achieving permanent solutions where
source reductions occur.
— By promoting a pollution prevention ethic in
American business which will lead to long-term
reductions in pollution.
— By creating clear expectations in the form of a
national goal for the targeted chemicals, and
providing the flexibility to choose cost-effective
environmental solutions which may result in
improved efficiency and net economic benefits.
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— By providing positive incentives through public
recognition of efforts. All companies which commit
in writing to EPA to participate in the 33/50 Program
will receive official public recognition of their
commitments.
— By creating prestigious national awards which
companies may apply for to recognize exceptional
pollution prevention achievements in reducing
releases of the targeted chemicals.
GOVERNMENT — By promoting pollution prevention and assisting in
the identification of regulatory and nonregulatory
impediments to pollution prevention. The Pollution
Prevention Act of 1990 requires EPA to promote
pollution prevention and report to Congress on
barriers, incentives and disincentives to pollution
prevention. EPA, through its regional offices, will
be working with the states to coordinate
implementation of the 33/50 Program.
WHAT IS EPA ASKING COMPANIES TO DO?
EPA is contacting thousands of companies to provide them with information on the
33/50 Program and to solicit their participation. Each company is being asked to
examine its processes to identify and implement cost-effective pollution prevention
practices that will reduce or eliminate releases of the 17 chemicals. In addition,
companies are being asked to submit a letter to EPA publicly stating their reduction
goals and how they plan to achieve them. All companies wishing to participate in
the 33/50 Program and receive official public recognition of their commitments are
encouraged to supply EPA with information on their reduction goals.
HOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION
Guidance on how a company can participate in the 33/50 Program is available upon
request. For copies of this commitment guidance and other 33/50 documents, fax
your request to the TSCA Assistance Service at (202) 554-5603. For more informa-
tion on the 33/50 Program, contact the TSCA Hotline at (202) 554-1404, (8:30 am
to 4:00 pm).
Information on pollution prevention (and the 33/50 Program) is available through the
Pollution Prevention Information Exchange System (PIES), a free computer bulletin
board associated with EPA's Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse. To
learn how to use the Clearinghouse and the PIES, call (703) 821 -4800. To access
the PIES using a PC, a modem, and communications software, call (703) 506-1025
(set your communications software to no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit).
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^ tHJ.S. GPO: 1991-0 525-513
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