United States	Pollution Prevention Office	July 1989
Environmental Protection	Washington, DC 20460
Agency
&EPA Pollution
Prevention
News
Inside;
2
3
4
Reports from
EPA Offices:
TOJ, Gulf of
Mexico, PPO
People & Places
in the News:
LA Awards of
Excellence
Upcoming
Events in
August, Sept
Your comments and
letter* are welcome!
Please write;
Prlscilla Flattery, Editor
Pollution Prevention News
U.S. EPA
401 M Street §W (PM-219)
Washington* DC 20460
Editor's Corner
Summertime hasn't managed to slow things
down in the pollution prevention world, as
conferences, workshops, and program activity
proceed full tilt through July and August! Here
in Washington the pace quickens still further as
of July 10th when proposals for EPA's 2% pol-
lution prevention pool begin the review proc-
ess. We fully expect that the proposals will
represent a variety of new and creative initia-
tives in pollution prevention. Look for a de-
tailed report on the awards in the September
issue of Pollution Prevention News.
With all the discussion of pollution preven-
tion, it is sometimes difficult to get a handle on
what the term encompasses. As is clear from the
article below on EPA's Pollution Prevention
Policy Statement, there is room for debate on
how pollution prevention should be defined,
particularly with respect to the issue of recy-
cling, and there are good points to be made on
all sides of the issue.
We don't expect the definition of pollution
prevention to be resolved once and for all over-
night. Indeed, we believe our thinking on pollu-
tion prevention activities will evolve over time.
Which is why, in the course of this evolution,
we will all need to keep our eyes on the larger
picture. The type of progress we are seeking
requires a fundamental shift in attitudes and
activities on the part of government, industry,
and consumers. Switching over an entire soci-
ety to a pollution prevention approach is an
enormous undertaking. As we go forward, let's
try to keep the focus on the common goals we
share and not on the issues that divide us.
Once again, let me extend a personal invita-
tion to organizations involved in pollution
prevention to let the rest of us know about your
activities, plans, and accomplishments. Send us
a note at Pollution Prevention News, U.S. EPA,
401 M Street SW (PM-219), Washington, D.C.
20460.
EPA's Pollution Prevention Policy
EPA has received some 60 comments from
companies, environmental groups, industry as-
sociations, states, local governments, federal
agencies, and individuals on the Agency's Pollu-
tion Prevention Policy Statement, published on
January 26th in die Federal Register. Many of the
commenters commended EPA for moving for-
ward in developing national policy in this area
and encouraged the Agency to emphasize a
cross-media perspective on pollution preven-
tion and to expand prevention efforts to other
federal agencies.
EPA's policy statement specifically requested
comments on whether and to what extent recy-
cling should be part of a pollution prevention
strategy. In EPA's policy statement, first prefer-
ence is accorded to source reduction (including
on-site, closed-loop recycling) in order to reduce
risks to public health, safety, and the environ-
ment. The use of environmentally sound recy-
cling (includingout-of-loop recycling) is consid-
ered the next best approach in EPA's hierarchy
for achieving environmental protection goals.
Comments on the recycling issue ranged
across the board, from opposing the inclusion of
any out-of-loop recycling in a prevention policy
to insisting that recycling be accorded equal pref-
erence with source reduction. Arguing in favor
of recycling's inclusion were most industry groups
as well as the Departments of Energy and Inte-
rior. Some of the commenters noted that small
facilities may be unable to support on-site recy-
cling facilities, and that other companies maybe
continued on page 3
Printed on 100% Recycled Paper

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Pollution Prevention News - 2
July 1989
Reports from EPA Offices
TRI Waste Min Data
by David Sarokin
Office of Toxic Substances
Analysis of data collected for the Toxic
Release Inventory (TRI) sheds some lighton
waste reduction practices. Despite problems
of i ncorrect responses and low participation,
waste minimization information is available
for 2,090 facilities (11 percent of the total
reporting) for at least one chemical.
Just counting the number of forms sub-
mitted, firms in California and New Jersey
reported waste minimization most frequent-
ly, with the chemical industry and fabricated
metals manufacturers submitting more forms
than any other industry. Trichloroethane
and toluene were the two chemicals most
often reported as having been reduced.
Recycling (on or off-site) was the waste re-
duction method of choice for two-thirds of
the reports.
Self-initiated review was the reason cited
for the largest numberof waste minimization
activities, followed by reduced treatment/
disposal costs. Recycling and improved
"housekeeping", according to the data, were
also popular, but had little impact on re-
duced volume of waste. Regulations report-
edly had the smallest impact on decisions to
practice waste reduction.
Of the 2,090 facilities that submitted in-
formation on waste mi nimization, 802 facil i-
tiescompletedformsforboth 1986and 1987.
For these companies, waste was reduced by
52.4 million pounds between 1986and 1987,
a 43% reduction. The bulk of these reduc-
tions were achieved in facilities located in
Michigan and Texas; some large volume
reductions were reported for the chemicals
sodium sulfate and sodium hydroxide.
An interesting correlation appeared in
the relationship between production and
waste minimization for this group of facili-
ties. Companies that more than doubled
their level of production reported the great-
est overall reductions in waste, while those
companies that halved production were not
able, as a group, to halve their waste genera-
tion. As a second year of TRI data becomes
available, the general data on releases and
transfers of waste, as well as the answers to
explicit waste minimization questions will
provide additional information on poll ution
prevention practices and their impacts.
For more information, contact David Sa-
rokin at (202) 382-3715.
Gulf of Mexico Program
With a coastline of over 1,600 miles, half
the nation's wetlands, and 40% of the com-
mercial fish yield, the Gulf of Mexico is one of
the most remarkable marine resources of this
country. The year-old Gulf of Mexico Pro-
gram (GMPO), based at the John C. Stennis
Space Center in Mississippi and supervised by
EPA's Regions 4 and 6, is intended to keep the
Gulfs resources thriving for generations to
come.
GMPO was created as a comprehensive
integrated response to environmental prob-
lems in the Gulf that cross state, federal, and
international lines. SupportingGMPO's staff
are three committees made up of officials from
12 federal agencies, the 5 Gulf states (AL, FL,
LA, MS, TX), the research community, and
citizen representatives. The intent is to pro-
videan appropriately broad institutional struc-
ture that will foster Gulf-wide coordination
and communication.
Threats to the Gulf of Mexico come from
a variety of sources, including both industrial
and agricultural pollution and growing popu-
lation demands for housing, urban develop-
ment, and recreational access. Dredge and fill
operations for canal construction, sea level
rise, diversion of freshwater inflows, increased
salinity, and losses of wetlands, seagrass beds,
and other important habitats, have combined
to threaten the health and ecological integrity
of the Gulf.
Among the projects being planned by
GMPO are baseline inventories of some of the
Gulfs resources; identification of areas and
species that require special protective meas-
ures; determination of pollutant loadingsfrom
river inputs to the Gulf and remedies to pre-
vent further pollution and/or clean up con-
taminated sediments in certain areas.
Work is now beginning on a computerized
catalogue of databases relevant to the Gulf—
for example, databases with information on
Gulfresources.monitoringdata, salinity profiles,
etc. Anyone knowing of relevant databases is
requested to contact GMPO. Accompanying
the catalogue will be a listing of scientists and
current research projects related to the Gulf.
The catalogues are expected to be available
and on-line in mid-1990.
For further information, contact William
R. Whitson, (601)688-3726.
PPO: State Applications
Deadline Extended
EPA is extending the August 15th dead-
line for submitting applications for the Pollu-
tion Prevention IncentivesforStatesprogram
until September 30, 1989. EPA believes that
the extension will give potential applicants
more time to coordinate within their states
and regions and to develop comprehensive
multimedia applications. To date, the Pollu-
tion Prevention Office has received well over
100 letters of intent to apply for grants and
cooperative agreements.
Among the activities eligible for funding
are direct technical assistance in source reduc-
tion and recycling, institutionalizing multi-
media pollution prevention as an environ-
mental management priority, education and
outreach, and identifying barriers and incen-
tives to pollution prevention. EPA plans to
distribute $3.2 million in FY 1989 funds as
well as any additional FY 1989 grant funds
appropriated by Congress. This is expected to
be the only round of awards in FY 1990. For
further information, contact JackieKrieger or
Brian Symmes at (202) 245-4167.
Wetlands and industry on the Gulf coast.

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July 1989
3 - Pollution Prevention News
People and Places in the News: L.A. Awards of Excellence
Kim Hubert and Robert Abrams of Major Paint Co.
receiving award from Mayor Tom Bradley.
On May 1, Los Angeles Mayor Tom
Bradley presented the first ever Mayor's
Award of Excellence for Outstanding
Achievement in Pollution Prevention to
Major Paint Company of Torrance, Califor-
nia for "significant reduction of solid and
hazardous wastes, air emissions and waste-
water discharges." The award was one of
four presented at the third Los Angeles
Hazardous Waste Seminar to honor indus-
tries and businesses in the City of Los Ange-
les that have exhibited outstanding com-
mitment to protecting the environment
through innovative hazardous waste man-
agement practices.
Major Paint Company reduced i ts annual
generation of hazardous waste from 1,000
tons to zero through source reduction and
recycling methods. Major achieved a 50%
reduction in disposal of dirty cleaning solu-
tion by using a longer-lived substitute solu-
tion; reduced wastewater volume by 25% by
switching to a high pressure spray system to
wash stationary tanks; and saved 10% of
wastewater by dedicating paint tanks to a
single color, so as to avoid cleaning tanks
completely between batches.
Awards of Excellence for Significant
Comments (cont'd)
from page 1
dissuaded from pursuing closed-loop systems
because of the need for Part B RCRA per-
mits. Commenters from the mining and pe-
troleum industries stated that extraction and
re-fining do not lend themselves as well as
other industrial processes to source reduction
and recycling. Moreover^ recycling in these
industries reduces the need for new supplies
of nonrenewable resources. In some cases
where no substitute materialsare technologi-
cally or economically feasible, recycling is
the preferred choice.
Arguing against the inclusion of recycling
in national prevention policy were a number
of environmental groups who pointed out
that out-of-loop recycling occur after wastes
have been generated and should thus be
considered as a waste management option.
The groups questioned whether such recy-
cling can be pursued in an environmentally
sound manner; for example, off-site recycling
involves transporting wastes to a recycling
facility which increases the risk of transporta-
tion accidents. Moreover, as of 1986, ten per-
Achievement in Pollution Prevention
went to three other companies. Litton
Guidance and Control Systems, an R&.D
firm, increased its waste recycling efforts
from 59% in 1986 to 85% in 1988.
A second award went to Valley Plating
Works, Inc., for reducing its volume of
waste through the innovative use of a
modified cement mixer to dry out hazard-
ous sludge at low temperatures, saving
$6,000 per month in disposal costs and
$4,000 a year in heating costs. The third
company honored was Younger Optics,
for the design and installation of a plating
system which eliminates the need to re-
place plating solution or to dispose of
filters.
In a telegram to Deborah Hanlon, head
of the Los Angeles Hazardous and Toxic
Materials (HTM) Project which spon-
sored the event, EPA Administrator Wil-
liam K. Reilly praised the awards and their
recipients as "further proof that pollution
prevention isn't just a concept people are
talk ing abou t but an effort people are doi ng
something about."
The Los Angeles HTM Project was es-
tablished by the City of Los Angeles in
cent of Superfund sites were former recy-
cling facilities. One commenter noted that
includingoff-site recycling in the definition
of pollution prevention "gives industry the
signal that it is justifiable to avoid ...
production changes that reduce, avoid, or
eliminate the generation of hazardous waste
and environmental pollutants."
Somewhere in the middle on this issue
were various commenters who agreed that
recycling should receive secondary focus,
but is nevertheless important, given that it
will take a long time to shift existing
manufacturing and processing practices to
the point where true prevention takes hold.
Also, recycling provides a greater role for
individual citizen involvement. One envi-
ronmental group favored the inclusion of
recycling in a pollution prevention pro-
gram, as long as the burni ng of waste mate-
rials for their energy content was excluded
from the definition of recycl ing. This group
noted that recycling has positive "multi-
plier effects" on all upstream industrial
operations. It reduces the needforfacilities
to purchase virgin material, reducing the
amount of raw materials needed to make
July 1989 to ensure that the City conforms to
and promotes the national hazardous waste
minimization policy. The Project provides
nonregulatory technical assistance to city
departments and city businesses that use haz-
ardous materialsand generate hazardous waste.
Ac tivitiestodatehave included inspections of
city-owned properties, training of over 300
city employees, three Hazardous Waste Man-
agement and Minimization Seminars for in-
dustry, and establishment of an information
clearinghouse. The Project will be undertak-
ing a study of metal waste reduction, to include
on-site waste minimization assessments at 10
local plating shops. For further information,
contact Deborah Hanlon, (213) 237-1209.
the virgin material, etc.
Several commenters suggested that
EPA clarify the term "source reduction" and
distinguish between the concepts of "source
reduction" and "use reduction." Use reduction
aims at decreasing the amount of hazardous
substances used by industry and our
society. Input substitution, product reformu-
lation, and redesign of certain processes and
products would constitute use reduction. By
contrast, the goal of source reduction is to in-
crease the efficiency with which materials are
used, through process modification, improved
housekeeping, and closed-loop recycling.
Other areas touched on by numerous re-
spondents included the need for wider public
and i nternational involvement, the importance
of technical and financial assistance to the
states, the need for a national data base on
pollution prevention, and the issue of regula-
tion versus voluntary action. After a careful
review of all comments received, EPA will
prepa re a forma 1 sum mary of the com ments and
finalize the policy statement. The public docket
of comments is available for viewing at the
RCRA Docket, 401 M Street SW, Washing-
ton, D.C.20460.

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Pollution Prevention News - 4
July 1989
Upcoming Events in August and September
Title
Sponsor
Date/Location
Contact
Minimization Audit Training
Workshop (Chemicals, Elec-
tronics, Metal Finishing)
U.S. EPA
August 2-3, 1989
Newark, NJ
Don Duvall
(513) 252-1222
Waste Minimization
Workshop
Alabama Dept. of Environ.
Management, others
August 8-9, 1989
Birmingham, AL
Debi Carroll
(205) 942-7900
Waste Minimization in the
Tri-State Area (for Ohio,
Kentucky, Indiana generators)
EPA, Ohio Tech Transfer Org.,
Kentucky Partners, Indiana
Dept. of Env. Management
August 17, 1989
Cincinnati, OH
Jan Zieleniewski
(513) 782-4796
Prevention, Management,
and Compliance for
Hazardous Wastes
American Institute of
Chemical Engineers (AICHE)
(Short course)
August 23-24, 1989
Philadelphia, PA
Registrar
(212) 705-7526
Haztech International '89
Conferences & Exhibitions
Haztech International
Sept. 12-14 Cincinnati, OH
Sept. 27-29 San Francisco
Ursula Barril
(800) 468-7644
Metal Waste Management
Alternative Symposia
EPA, California Dept. of
Health Services
Sept. 12-13 Pasadena, CA
Sept. 18-19 San Jose, CA
Deborah Hanlon
(818)449-2171
Recycling/Composting
Solid Waste and Sludge
Biocycle, Maine Dept. of
Env. Protection, others
September 13-15, 1989
Portland, ME
Celeste Madtes
(215) 967-4135
North American Waste
Exchange Conference
Renew (Texas Water
Commission)
September 17-20, 1989
San Antonio, TX
Sheri Estes
(512) 463-7754
Correction:
The correct number for the RCRA/Superfund toll-free hotline is l«800'424-9346*
In Washington, DC> the hotline can be reached at (202) 382-30QQ*
FIRST CLASS MAIL
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EPA
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