United States	Office of Pollution	January-February 1993
Environmental Protection	Prevention and Toxics
Agency	Washington, DC 20460	EPA 741 -N-92-002
vvEPA Pollution
Prevention
News
PREVENTION
Inside:
2
EPA News
3
Refrigerators
4
Resource Round-Up
5
33/50, Green Lights
6
Case Studies:
WRITE, WREAFS
7
Waste Minimization
Assessments
8
University
Assessments
9
Design for the
Environment
10
Gov't Purchasing
Project, Letters
11
Calendar
12
Quick Notes
New Energy Bill Holds Promise for the
Environment
Energy efficiency and renewable energy
received a major boost in the recently-
enacted, 350-page Energy Policy Act of 1992,
although neither environmental activists nor
the energy industry got everything they
wanted. Here are some of the bill's high-
lights:
Energy Efficiency. The bill uses a
mixture of voluntary and mandatory
measures to encourage energy efficiency.
The bill also requires the Secretary of
Energy to create a voluntary home energy
rating system for prospective home buyers.
Title I requires new energy efficiency
standards for lamps, utility transformers,
electric motors, and commercial heating and
cooling plus new efficiency standards for
shower heads, urinals, faucets, and toilets. It
also requires states to adopt energy-effi-
ciency standards for commercial building
codes. And the bill sets up an R&D program
to promote energy efficiency.
Alternative Fuels. The bill gives a boost
to vehicles fueled by ethanol, methanol,
propane, electricity, compressed natural gas
and electricity, by requiring certain federal,
state, and private fleets of cars to increase
their numbers of alternative-fueled vehicles.
In its energy revenue section, Title XIX, the
bill gives consumers a ten percent tax credit
on the cost of an electric vehicle. The bill
also sets up a research program on electri-
cally powered vehicles.
Electricity. Title VII is one of the bill's
most important provisions, making major
changes in the electric industry. The bill
promotes greater competition by relaxing
the regulatory burden on certain producers
of electrical power, and by ensuring that
wholesale power producers have greater,
more affordable access to transmission lines
(Continued on page 11)
State Grants Awarded
EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics has awarded $3 million to 16
organizations under the 1992 Pollution
Prevention Incentives for States grant
program. Since 1989, $15.5 million has been
awarded to 56 state organizations. This
fourth round of awards was made through a
competitive process to state, state entities,
and tribal governments for amounts not to
exceed $200,000. Recipients are required to
match federal funds by at least 50 percent.
Recipients include: Arizona Dept. of
Environmental Quality, Colorado Dept. of
Health, Delaware Dept. of Natural Re-
sources, Hawaii Dept. of Health, Illinois
EPA, Maine Dept. of Environmental Protec-
tion, Maryland Dept. of the Environment,
Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management,
Montana State University, New Mexico
Pueblo Indians, New York Industrial
Technology Assistance, Ohio - University of
Cincinnati, Rhode Island Dept. of Environ-
mental Management, South Dakota Dept. of
Environment, Washington Dept. of Ecology,
and Wyoming Dept. of Environmental
Quality.
For more information, contact Lena Hann
at 202-260-2237.
Printed on Recycled Paper

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Pollution Prevention News - 2
January-February 1993
EPA News
PPD Staff Changes
EPA's Pollution Prevention Division
has undergone a change in leader-
ship and a number of other personnel
changes. Jerry Kotas, director of PPD
since its formation, has left EPA to
become Senior Environmental Advisor
to the Assistant Secretary for Conserva-
tion and Renewable Energy at the
Department of Energy.
Dave Klitig, Acting Director of PPD
The new acting director of PPD is
David Kling, formerly deputy director of
the Environmental Assistance Division in
EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics. In that position, he helped lead
EPA's asbestos control programs for
schools and commercial buildings, and
was involved in the Agency's new lead
exposure reduction program. Prior to
coming to EPA, Dave served as special
assistant to the Federal Inspector of the
United States for the Alaska Natural Gas
Transportation System. Reflecting on
PPD's mission, he notes, "We must
continue to translate pollution preven-
tion into terms and programs that are
most meaningful and useful to the
public, including industry, and which
facilitate environmental results."
Other staffing changes at PPD are in
the offing as well. Priscilla Flattery,
editor of Pollution Prevention News since
its inception, has moved to another
communication and outreach position
with EPA's Office of Pollution Preven-
tion and Toxic Substances. A new editor
of PPN will be named shortly.
NICE3 Doubles Awards,
Goes National
A total of $1.4 million — over twice
the funding of the previous year —
was awarded to six projects under the
NICE3 (National Industrial Competitive-
ness through Efficiency: Energy, Envi-
ronment, and Economics) grants pro-
gram for FY 1992. The program is jointly
administered by EPA, the Department of
Energy, and the Department of Com-
merce to foster new industrial processes
and equipment that can reduce the
generation of wastes, improve energy
efficiency, and enhance the competitive-
ness of U.S. industry.
The six award winners are:
•	Ultrasonic tank cleaning to replace
solvents — NJDEC and DuPont s
Merck Pharmaceutical Division.
•	Electric Tundish — Ohio Development
Agency and Western Reserve
Manufacturing Co. of Lorain, OH.
•	On-Site Aluminum Recycling — Ohio
Development Agency and AAAP St.
Mary's of St. Mary City, OH.
•	Ultra yiolet Curing — Ohio Develop-.
ment Agency and Fasson Films
Division, Avery-Dennison of
Painesville, OH.
•	40% Recycled Paper — California
Waste Management Board and an
industrial partner.
•	Ultrasonic Dishwashing — California
Division of Water Resources, Ultra-
sonic Products, Southern California
Edison, University of CA at Santa
Barbara.
Grants awarded under the NICE3
pilot program in the last two years were
targeted to four industrial sectors with
high-volume environmental pollutants
— paper, chemicals, petroleum, and
primary metals — in seven states (CA,
IL, LA, NJ, NY, OH, and TX). On
November 6, DOE and EPA announced
in the Federal Register that the next
round of awards would be open to
national competition for the $2.5 million
funds available as grants or cooperative
agreements. Applications must be
received by April 30,1993. For more
information, contact Technical Inquiry
Service, NREL, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden,
CO 80401. Tel: 203-231-7303.
New ACE Grants
Awarded
In its third round of funding, 24 new
projects across the country have been
awarded over $2 million in ACE grants.
The ACE (Agriculture in Concert with
the Environment) grants program is
jointly administered by EPA's Office of
Pollution Prevention and the Sustain-
able Agriculture Research and Educa-
tion program of USDA's Cooperative
State Research Service. The program is
aimed at reducing pollution from
pesticides and soluble fertilizers and
safeguarding environmentally sensitive
wetlands and habitats.
The new round of awards reflects the
increased diversity of the initiative, witj^fe
inquiries coming from state- and
community-based groups, agricultural
cooperatives, and advocacy organiza-
tions, as well as the research and
academic communities.
(Continued on page 8)
Notice: Due to budget constraints
and staff changes, Pollution Preven-
tion News was not published in the
Fall, 1992. Beginning with this Jan/
Feb 1993 issue, PPN will be pub-
lished bimonthly.
To be added to our mailing
list, please write:
Pollution Prevention News
U.S. EPA
401 M Street SW (MC 7409)
Washington, DC 20460
Editorial Staff:
Priscilla Flattery, Editor
Gilah Langner
Perry Frank
Teresa Opheim
Jeff Porro

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January-February 1993
3 - Pollution Prevention News
ouper-Efficient Refrigerator to Receive
a Cool $30 Million
Technologies
CFC-free refrigerator/freezers that
will be 25 to 50 percent more
energy efficient than 1993 federal
standards will be on the market as early
as 1994, say organizers of the Super
Efficient Refrigerator Program (SERP).
The program plans to jump-start the
effort to bring environmentally friendly
refrigerator/freezers to consumers years
ahead of normal market expectations.
SERP, an EPA-endorsed electric
utility program, will use a "golden
carrot" approach to bring about the new
appliances: Participating utilities will
pay out over $30 million to the U.S.
manufacturer that designs, develops
and brings to the American marketplace
the highly efficient refrigerator. The
winning manufacturer will be deter-
mined through a winner-take-all
impetitive bid process, and the award
will be given only when the winning
manufacturer delivers the refrigerators
to the utilities' service territories.
Because of the manufacturing subsidies,
SERP expects the price of the super-
efficient refrigerators to be no higher
than units that use more electricity and
contain CFCs.
Present-day refrigerators use 50
percent less electricity than those made
20 years ago, but "even the most energy
efficient units still waste significant
amounts of electric power," says Dr.
Richard Harkness, executive director of
SERP. "Refrigerators and freezers
consume approximately 20 percent of
the electricity used in American homes,
and much of that is wasted." Harkness
says that SERP hopes to increase
refrigerator efficiency in the next three
years on the same order of magnitude as
has been accomplished since 1972.
Public and private utilities likely to
participate, including Baltimore Gas and
Electric, Pacific Gas and Electric and the
Long Island Lighting Co., will contrib-
ute between $150,000 and $7 million
each to the program. The utilities hope
the end result of the program will be
cuts in power demands, thereby
reducing the need for new power
generating stations while also reducing
emissions of carbon dioxide. Savings to
consumer electric bills could reach $240
million per year. "The fact of the matter
is that such a refrigerator would not be
available to the public for many years if
Lawn mower exchange announced
Utilities are also joining forces to tackle another major air pollutant: the lawn
mower. The National Consortium for Emissions Reduction in Lawn Care
and EPA announced in August a plan to study the environmental benefits of
electric lawn mowers by distributing up to 1,000 cordless electric mowers to
residents across the country in exchange for the gasoline mowers the residents
currently use. The consortium includes the Edison Electric Institute and the
Electric Power Research Institute and utilities such as Boston Edison and the
Potomac Electric Power Co.
A lawn mower used for one hour produces as much air pollution as driving
a car 50 miles. Preliminary studies suggest that switching from new gasoline
mowers to electric mowers decreases emissions such as hydrocarbons and
I nitrogen oxides more than 70-fold, taking into account the emissions associated
^^with the generation of electricity.
EPA will use the collected gasoline mowers for fuel consumption and
emissions testing. The results of the testing will give EPA the data called for by
a Clean Air Act directive to document emissions from off-highway mobile
sources, of which lawn mowers make up the largest portion.
the participating utilities had not come
together to provide the incentive for
manufacturers to develop the product,"
says Harkness.
Energy efficiency
challenge spurs a new
air conditioning system

While the race is on to develop
refrigerator designs that are
highly energy efficient and CFC-
free, innovations are being made in
other aspects of cooling as well. One
example is ICC Technologies, a
small Philadelphia air conditioning
company that has a system with the
potential to reduce the amount of
energy used to cool our homes,
offices and stores. ICC Technolo-
gies' cooling system uses no
chlorofluorocarbons and only a
small fraction of the energy of
conventional systems.
ICC's cooling system uses a
desiccant (drying agent) made of
silica and alumina, to take moisture
out of the air and make it feel cooler
and more comfortable. Conven-
tional air conditioners, in contrast,
lower the temperature of the air but
also cause the humidity level to rise.
The ICC cooling technology has
been installed successfully in more
than 40 U.S. supermarkets. ICC
estimates that half of the nation's
30,000 supermarkets could use the
system.

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Pollution Prevention News - 4
january-February 1993
Resource Round-Up
From Regulations to Industry Compli-
ance: Building Institutional Capabili-
ties. A UNEP report offering guidance
to government officials on implement-
ing environmental laws using an
integrated approach to encourage
source reduction. Available from UN
Publications, CH 1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland, or New York, NY 10017.
Green Advertising Claims. EPA, the
Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S.
Office of Consumer Affairs have
published a short brochure for consum-
ers explaining FTC guidelines and
helping consumers understand and
evaluate commonly found environmen-
tal claims on consumer products. For
more information, contact EPA's RCRA
Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 (in the
Washington, D.C. area, call 703-920-
9810).
The Road from Rio: An Agenda for U.S.
Follow-up to the Earth Summit. The
Environment and Energy Study Insti-
tute has distilled elements of the U.N.
conference held in Rio in June and
identified 15 initiatives for U.S. action.
Cost: $10.00. Contact: EESI, 122 C St.
NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20001.
Tel: 202-628-1400.
Pollution Prevention in Lake Erie and
the Great Lakes: Ohio EPA has com-
pleted five reports on hazardous waste
generation and pollution prevention
programs in the Great Lakes Drainage
Basin, as follows: The Generation and
Management of Hazardous Waste in the
Lake Erie Basin Portion of Ohio; Hazardous
Waste Minimization in the Lake Erie Basin
Portion of Ohio; Great Lakes State and
Provincial Pollution Prevention Programs
and the Great Lakes Pollution Prevention
Action Plan; Pollution Prevention Case
Studies in Ohio's Lake Erie Basin; and The
Waste Profile Review System and Waste
Management Alternatives Plans in the Lake
Erie Basin Portion of Ohio.
Executive summaries are available
free; complete reports cost between $5
and $8. Contact: Pollution Prevention
Section, 614-644-3469. The Government
Recycling Update
EPA has announced that the
national recycling rate for municipal
solid waste rose to 17 percent in 1990,
up from 13 percent in 1988. The new
data show a significant rise in yard
waste composting either in backyards
or through large community facilities.
Americans produced a total of 196
million tons of MSW in 1990, an 8
percent increase over the 180 million
tons generated in 1988. Some 60
percent of the MSW total comes from
residential sources. Copies of EPA's
Characterization of Municipal Solid
Waste in the United States: 1992 Update
are available from the Solid Waste
Hotline, 800-424-9346 (in the Wash-
ington, D.C. area, call 703-920-9810).
A recent report by the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers
estimates that about 20 percent of all
trash will be recycled by the end of
1992, and notes that recycling has
become a mainstream solid waste
management option. However, the
report finds it unlikely that the U.S.
will reach EPA's national goal of
recycling 25 percent of municipal solid
waste by the end of 1992. The Status
Report on Municipal Solid Waste
Recycling also explains the U.S.
Conference of Mayors' Recycling
Index, a working definition of recy-
cling rates that allows comparisons to
be made across cities. Contact: Martin
Siegel, AIChE, 1707 L St. NW, Wash-
ington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-223-0650.
Also on recycling: Recycling
Realities: Facts, Myths and Choices is a
new booklet by Keep America Beauti-
ful, Inc. Contact: KAB, 9 W. Broad St.,
Stamford, CT 06902,203-323-8987.
of Canada has opened a Great Lakes ^
Pollution Prevention Centre in Sarnia,
Ontario with a mandate of developing
awareness of pollution prevention in the
basin. Contact: 519-337-3423.
Chlorinated solvent reduction in
industrial processes is the subject of 11
industry-specific reports and one
summary report produced by the
Source Reduction Research Partnership.
Industries include: chemical intermedi-
ates, dry cleaning, solvent cleaning,
paint removal, pesticide formulating,
and adhesive, aerosol, textiles, food
products, pharmaceutical, flexible foam,
and electronic product manufacturing.
Contact: Dr. David Roe, Environmental
Defense Fund, 510-658-8008.
EnviroLink, a new newsletter for
educators in the field of environmental £
management, is published by the
Management Institute for Environment
and Business, 1220 16th St. NW, Wash-
ington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-833-6556.
For engineering students, another
resource is available: Pollution Preven-
tion: Homework & Design Problems for
Engineering Curricula has just been
released by the Center for Waste
Reduction Technologies at the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers (155
pages, $35). Contact: AIChE Sales
Department, 345 East 47th St., New
York, NY 10017. Tel: 212-705-7657.
Pollution Prevention Northwest, the
newsletter of the Pacific Northwest
Pollution Prevention Research Center, is
published quarterly. Contact: PPRC,
1218 Third Ave., Suite 1205, Seattle, WA
98101. The PPRC also has a new bi-
monthly newsletter for companies and
organizations putting together a	J
pollution prevention library. Call
Pamela Worner (206-223-1151) about
getting on the mailing list for Pollution
Prevention LibraryTalk.

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January-February 1993
5 - Pollution Prevention News
Program Updates
%

reen Lights On Bright
The Green Lights Program
to promote energy savings
and achieve environmental
benefits by upgrading lighting
systems continues to demonstrate
its momentum with 668 partici-
pants as of October 31,1992 and
some 3 billion square feet
committed to the program. The
180 participants that have
reported on their progress
indicate that 186 million square
feet are currently in the "Upgrade
Pipeline" (i.e., either being
surveyed or upgraded). Average
reductions in lighting electricity
being achieved are 52 percent.
Green Lights Partners and
Allies receive a wide range of EPA
support services, including state-of-the-
art software to assist decision making;
an in-house training video; two-day
orkshops; a 400-page Lighting Upgrade
anual that guides users in upgrading
lighting; and Light Briefs, technical fact
sheets. Upgrades to date have included
a wide variety of strategies and tech-
nologies, including installation of T8
Monsanto Tracks
33/50 in Annual
Environmental Report
Progress on 33/50 goals are among
the data presented in Monsanto's
1992 Environmental Annual Review,
which also provides detailed infor-
mation on releases to the environ-
ment by plant and by chemical. The
company's Pensacola, FL plant
reduced 800,000 pounds of cyclohex-
ane emissions through source reduc-
tion, modified air pollution control
equipment, and energy recovery.
Monsanto reports achieving a 66
percent reduction in process air
emissions of toxic chemicals from its
U.S. operations through 1991, and
still hopes to meet its own target of a
90 percent reduction by the end of
1992. Contact: Diane Herndon, 314-
694-2915.
Region 2 Administrator Constantine Sidamon- Eristoff
presents Sharon Landers of Orange & Rockland Utilities with
a Green Lights certificate of participation as part of a
corporate recruiting forum attended by 20 New York and
New Jersey corporations in October 7 992. The forum was
hosted by Green Lights Charter Corporate Partner, American
Express Company and featured case studies of successful
Green Lights implementation by American Express and
Warner Lambert Company.
lamps, metal halide lamps, motion
sensors, electronic ballasts, compact
fluorescents, and upgraded reflectors.
The State of Maryland has set an
example in terms of a comprehensive
approach from the start. Maryland has
completed pilot upgrades in six build-
ings totalling 714,000 square feet. The
most common technology was replacing
T12 lamps and magnetic ballasts with
T8 lamps and electronic ballasts. Other
upgrades include replacing mercury-
vapor lamps with metal halide lamps,
incandescent lamps with fluorescent
lamps, and incandescent exit signs with
LED signs.
The private sector has demonstrated
an impressive array of innovative
approaches. White Castle, the oldest
fast-food chain in the nation, completed
a massive lighting upgrading project
covering 700,000 square feet in 238
offices and restaurants located in 12
states. White Castle planned individual-
ized renovations for each space that
included relamping, reballasting, and
reflector installation. After joining Green
Lights in December 1991, Westin Hotels
upgraded its 1.5 million square foot St.
Francis Hotel in San Francisco, prima-
rily by replacing its 1,624 incandescent
lamps with compact fluorescent twin
tubes. The upgrade cost $36,000, and has
resulted in an annual 82% reduction in
energy use and $85,000 in lighting costs.
Small Companies
Jump on Board
33/50 Program
As of mid-November 1992, participa-
tion in EPA's 33/50 program had
risen to over 1,000 companies, up 37
percent from February. Companies have
now committed to the voluntary
reduction of 347 million pounds of key
chemicals, close to one quarter of the
1988 baseline level of emissions of 1.4
billion pounds. The program aims for an
overall 50 percent reduction in baseline
emissions by 1995. "The 33/50 program
has gotten the attention of the industrial
community and resulted in genuine and
dramatic reductions in toxic chemicals,"
notes David Sarokin, 33/50 Program
Director.
Many of the nation's largest compa-
nies have committed to the program for
a variety of reasons, including a desire
for recognition of ongoing efforts and
hopes of avoiding mandated reductions.
Lockheed Corporation, for example,
reports a 48% reduction in total emis-
sions, and Eastman Kodak has achieved
a 47% reduction primarily through
reuse and recycling. ITT is conducting a
pilot process safety and pollution
prevention initiative at three locations,
prompted by the desire to eliminate
chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Numerous small companies have
also joined the effort. For example,
Southline Metal Products Company, a
metal drum and pail manufacturer
located in Houston, TX, employs about
100 people at a single plant. The com-
pany has circulated a survey to its
suppliers, asking them to identify which
of the 17 targeted chemicals are used in
their manufacturing and offering to
work with them to find substitute
materials or processes. Gerald Mazgiel,
who heads the effort at Southline, is
pleased with the response. "Some
manufacturers have sent back the
questionnaire, and a number of others
have called to express their interest,"
said Mazgiel.

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Pollution Prevention News - 6
January-February 1993
Case Studies from	EPA's
Pollution Prevention Research Branch *
The Pollution Prevention Case Studies Compendium is a compilation of 31 case studies of pollution
prevention projects under four EPA technology evaluation and assessment programs. Four case studies
are profiled here. The complete document (EPA/600/R-92/046) is available from: U.S. EPA, Center for
Environmental Research Information, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, or from the
Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC), 703-821-4800.
Waste Reduction Innovative Technology Evaluation (WRITE)
WRITE, a technology demonstration
program conducted in cooperation
with six states and one local government
(CA, CT, IL, M.N, N], WA, and Erie County,
NY), performs technical and economic
evaluations of technologies designed to reduce
the volume and/or toxicity of wastes pro-
duced from the manufacture, processing, and
use of materials.
The WRITE Program has evaluated
technology applications in the areas of paint
mixing and stripping, acetone recovery, ion
exchange, and CFC replacement/recovery.
WRITE's goal is to establish reliable
performance and cost information on
pollution prevention techniques by conduct-
ing evaluations or demonstrations of
promising innovative technologies and to
accomplish an early introduction of waste
reduction techniques into broad commercial
practice. WRITE supports the participation
of small and medium-sized companies in
evaluating and adopting pollution preven-
tion concepts.
Case Study:
Computerized Printed Circuit
Board Plating System
This study was technically and
economically evaluated under the
California/EPA WRITE program and
was a cooperative effort between EPA's
Risk Reduction Engineering Lab
(RREL); the California Dept. of Health
Services, and General Dynamics
Pomona Division. The evaluation was
conducted during site visits and addi-
tional information was obtained
through follow-up conversations. A
simple payback for each process was
calculated because other economic
measures are considered company-
sensitive information.
Chemcut Corporation installed a new
computerized printed circuit board
plating system at General Dynamics in
July 1988, at a cost of $4.1 million. The
new plating system completely elimi-
nated rinse tanks from the process by use
of a unique spray-rinse configuration
contained in a transporter hoist system
that passes over the plating bath tanks.
This computerized hoist system allows
the circuit boards to be rinsed for only a
short duration after their immersion in a
process solution. Rinse water discharge
from this new process has been reduced
from 60 to less than 10 gallons per
minute. This reduction in wastewater
discharge allowed for a corresponding
reduction in metal recovery system
sizing. The use of spray rinse versus a
dip rinse can also be a major design
factor if water supply limitations must be
considered or if space is limited in
locating the plating line.
In conjunction with the installation of
the new production equipment,
Chemcut Corporation was required to
provide a non-sludge-producing
treatment system for all waste streams
generated by the process. This resulted
in the installation of a new copper-
recovery system using short-bed ion
exchange columns and electrowinning
technologies. This system now produces
salable scrap copper metal, eliminating
a major waste stream to the conven-
tional sludge-producing waste treat-
ment system.
Savings in labor and waste treatment
were found to be the major cost results,
yielding a payback period for the new
system of 8.3 years. Annual cost savings
of $130,000 in waste treatment and
disposal were estimated from the
recovery of copper from rinse water and
process tank solutions, which were
previously treated and disposed as a
hazardous sludge. Annual cost savings
for water usage were estimated to be
$10,000 based on a net overall decrease
in rinse-water discharges of 50 gallons
per minute.
Waste Reduction Evaluations at Federal
Sites Program (WREAFS)
The WREAFS Program focuses on waste
minimization research opportunities
and technical assessments at federal sites.
This year, the WREAFS Program is
focusing on providing technical research
support to the Tidewater Interagency
Pollution Prevention Program which is
sponsoring a number of joint EPA/DoD/
NASA community R&D demonstration
projects.
Case Study:
Hospital Pollution Prevention
EPA/RREL and the Department of
Veterans Affairs (DVA) conducted this ^
study to find pollution prevention ™
alternatives for minimizing the dis-
carded medical supply wastestream.
The need to deliver services under a
(Continued on next page)

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January-February 1993
7 - Pollution Prevention News
Case Studies
fContinued from previous page)
fixed budget had already led DVA to
adopt environmentally clean practices
on its own. Meanwhile, the use of
disposables has increased in the last 2-3
years due to concern over exposure to
the AIDS virus.
On average, hospitals generate
between 0.5 and 4 pounds of infectious
waste per patient each day. The DVA
Cincinnati facility (DVA-Cin) produces
approximately 0.6-0.87 pounds of
infectious waste per patient each day
(depending on how calculated), placing
it at the low end of the spectrum.
For this study, a site assessment team
was assembled with representatives
from DVA-Cin, EPA, and an EPA
contractor to track the flow of
disposables throughout the hospital and
to review procedures, uses, and con-
sumption with department heads. The
assessment team visited the depart-
lents of Laboratory Services, Surgery,
Surgical Intensive Care, 5 South (a
patient floor), a Medical Intensive Care
Unit, hemodialysis, and the outpatient
clinic.
The potential for reuse emerged as an
area for further research. Suggestions
include:
•	Evaluate reuse potential in single-use
devices. Using the rigorous investiga-
tion of hemodialyzers as an example,
research of other potential reusable
single-use devices could be under-
taken to gather substantive data to
either support or reject reuse consid-
erations for these items.
•	Quality assurance. Research con-
ducted by EPA in cooperation with
health care professions, other federal
agencies, and trade associations can
form the basis for developing a
protocol for reuse, giving hospitals a
standard under which to set down
operating procedures and institu-
tional policies.
•	Hidden cost factors. Confusion exists in
comparing the relative costs of
disposables with reusables. EPA may
wish to conduct analytical studies in
conjunction with health care facilities
in order to fully develop and quan-
tify the cost of using disposable and
reusable products as an aid in
decision-making.

Reprocessor for hemodialyzer
Development of reprocessing capacity.
As health care cost containment gains
increasing importance, reprocessing
may become cost effective for some
items. The potential for promoting
some reprocessing capability should
be explored, particularly in those
areas exhibiting a high-density of
medical facilities.
Developing a reusable market. EPA and
DVA should consider working
together in developing procurement
guidelines that will stimulate the
production and distribution of
reusable and recyclable products.
Waste Minimization Assessments Program
The Waste Minimization Assessments
Program is designed to evaluate the
use of waste minimization assessments in
30 hazardous waste generating facilities
across 10 industries in New Jersey. The
assessments, initiated by the New Jersey
Institute of Technology, follow the EPA
recommended procedures outlined in
Assessment Manual.
Initial industries being studied include
electrical power generation, graphics control
manufacturing, paints and coatings
manufacturing, printing, lubricant produc-
tion, transportation vehicle maintenance,
father finishing, and educational facilities.
"/Vote: The New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection refers to this
program as Assessment of Recycling and
Recovery Opportunities for Hazardous
Waste, or ARROW.)
Case Study: Local School
District (K-12)
The assessment focused on the school
district's administration building and the
high school which is attended by about
1,000 students. Located at the administra-
tion building is a central warehouse for
building and maintenance supplies,
including cleaners, floor care products,
paints, and similar materials. Also at the
administration building are a vehicle
maintenance and repair facility and a
wood shop for building and repairing
furniture and related items. At the high
school, paper-, computer-, and video-
based instructional activities occur. In
addition, hands-on instruction in areas
with potential for waste generation also
occurs in science laboratories, art classes,
and vocational educational areas.
The assessment identified empty
paint cans, broken or spilled containers
of hazardous materials, solvent wastes
from motor parts degreasing, used oil,
motor engine antifreeze solution, white
paper, cardboard, aluminum cans, glass
containers, waste chemicals from
teaching laboratories, and vapors from
art projects as primary sources of waste.
The district already has instituted
several practices that have a positive
impact on pollution prevention. These
include ordering only the quantity of
materials that can be used in a single
year; stocking the materials near the
point of use; converting to the use of dry
copiers rather than solvent-based
systems; and recycling of paper, cans,
and oil. In addition, there has been a
concerted effort to change to water-
(Continued on next page)

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Pollution Prevention News - 8
January-February 1993
Case Studies
(Continued from previous page)
based paints and cleaners from solvent-
based products and to identify and use
other products with reduced potential
toxicity in all areas. Wastes such as
laboratory wastes are treated as hazard-
ous wastes and collected by a contractor
for off-site treatment.
Waste Minimization
Opportunities
The elimination of hundreds of empty
paint cans could be realized by the
purchase of paint in returnable contain-
ers. A 100 percent reduction in
degreasing solvent wastes could be
achieved by enlisting the services of a
solvent supply and recycling contractor
or acquiring a distillation apparatus.
Utilization of antifreeze recycling
technology would eliminate 300 gallons
of waste antifreeze solution annually.
Laboratory wastes could be minimized
by using smaller amounts of hazardous
chemicals and by improved inventory
control. Hazardous art project wastes
could be minimized by increased
substitution of non-hazardous materials.
Other options were identified that
could be considered by the district but
may be more pertinent when commer-
cial technology improves. The district
uses CFCs in refrigeration equipment
and to a limitecj extent in motor vehicle
air conditioning. There is already a
commitment to change to substitutes. In
addition, as mobile air conditioning
becomes more common in district
vehicles, a refrigerant recovery and
reuse capability should be considered.
In some areas such equipment may
become a legal requirement. Consider-
ation could be given to joint acquisition
with the municipal government of
recycling equipment such as antifreeze
recycling or degreasing solvent distilla-
tion equipment. Ideally, the equipment
should be easily movable.
University-Based Assessments Program
The University-Based Assessments
Program, a pilot project between EPA
and the University City Science Center
(UCSC), conducts free waste minimization
assessments for small and medium-sized
manufacturers who lack the requisite in-
house expertise. Under agreement with EPA/
RREL, UCSC established waste minimiza-
tion assessment centers at Colorado State
University in Fort Collins, the University of
Louisville (Kentucky), and the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville to conduct 100 waste
minimization opportunity assessments.
Case Study:
Manufacturer of Components
for Automobile Air Conditioners
This plant manufactures three distinct
product components for automobile air
conditioners: charged air coolers, round
tube plate fin (RTPF) condensers, and
air conditioner tubes.
Waste management activities: The plant
generates several different types of
waste annually. Approximately 40
barrels of spent oil are disposed of off-
site. Twenty-five barrels of still bottoms
(one-third trichloroethylene, the remain-
der perchlorethylene) are disposed of
off-site. About 1.4 million gallons of
process wastewater are treated and put
into the sewer, and 255,000 pounds of
aluminum and steel scrap are sold for
reuse. Twenty barrels of paint sludge
are disposed of as hazardous waste.
The plant currently has a solvent
distillation unit to recover spent solvent
and a secondary still to recover solvent
from the first still's bottom. It has
virtually eliminated sludge from its
wastewater treatment system, and also
sells scrap aluminum and steel (for
$146,500/year).
Waste Minimization
Opportunities
By replacing the chlorinated hydrocar-
bon solvents with degreasers that can be
directly sewered, waste disposal costs
would be reduced by $6,007 per year and
raw material cost savings would amount
to $62,640 per year. The payback period
for the $20,700 implementation costs
would be 0.3 years. Note that of the
11,000+ gallons of solvent used each year,
92-98 percent are lost to evaporation.
By not feeding water to idle rinse
tanks and by converting these tanks to a
counterflow rinse system, $33,235
would be saved each year. The payback
period for the $3,480 implementation
costs would be 0.1 year. By converting
present painting operations to electro-
static powder coating, solvent and
wastes would be reduced or eliminated.
Each year, waste disposal costs would
be reduced $5,869 and raw material
costs savings would amount to $22,885
per year. The payback period for the
$100,640 implementation costs would be
3.5 years.
By fabricating lightweight plastic
tops to cover the degreasing units wher|®
not in use, solvent evaporation would
reduce raw material costs at a savings of
$26,375 per year. The payback period for
the $3,600 implementation costs would
be 0.1 year.
ACE Grants Awarded
(Continued form page 2)
The 24 new projects span a range of
activities, including development of
sustainable crop rotation systems to
minimize the need for chemicals; testing
of nonchemical fertilizers such as leaves
and chicken manure; the impact of tree
windbreaks on the distribution of insect
pests and their natural enemies; habitat
enhancement for beneficial insects;
demonstration of a low-input, sustain-
able potato integrated crop management
program; and economic analysis of farms
managed under alternative systems.
Taking into account the various
funding formulas, ACE money is jg
leveraged at a ratio of 7 to 1, making the™
grants a cost-effective means of testing
new approaches to reducing environ-
mental damage and health risks through
innovative agricultural applications.

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January-February 1993
9 - Pollution Prevention News

Technology
esigning Products for the Environment
Design for the Environment (DfE) is
one of EPA's newest programs.
Run by the Office of Pollution Preven-
tion and Toxics, DfE aims to support
industry in the earliest stages of product
design, in order to develop products
and processes that eliminate or mini-
mize pollution. Through the DfE
program, EPA assists industry in
making informed, environmentally
responsible design choices by providing
standardized analytical tools and
making available information on
comparative risk and performance of
chemicals, processes, and technologies.
The first major DfE initiatives are in the
areas of printing and dry cleaning.
DfE's Printing Industry Project brings
together printers, industry trade associa-
tions, and chemical and equipment
suppliers with EPA staff to examine the
printing process with the goal of finding
;w processes and chemicals that are
"safer for the environment but still
profitable for business. The DfE Printing
Project Team is also evaluating new
methods of getting information to small
print shops, including televideo
conferencing and "comic books" that
may supplement traditional meetings
and trade publications.
Environmental concerns related to
the dry cleaning industry were explored
at an International Roundtable in May
1992. The group of dry cleaners and
state and EPA representatives examined
ways of reducing exposures to dry
cleaning solvents. Following the
Roundtable, EPA formed a partnership
with industry to test a potential water-
based alternative that would partially
substitute for some of the traditional
chemical dry cleaning done in the U.S.
The approach is now being tested with
the assistance of dry cleaning industry
associations and cleaners in the Wash-
ington, D.C. and New York areas.
|esults will be available early in 1993.
To advance its long-term goal of
eliminating pollution at the source,
DfE's Chemical Design Grants Program
is supporting research projects at six
universities for the design of new
synthetic pathways for chemicals using
pollution prevention as a criterion.
Grant recipients include Brandeis
University; Iowa State University;
Purdue University; University of
California at Los Angeles; University of
Connecticut; and Virginia Institute and
State University. The research will
explore environmentally sound alterna-
tive approaches such as eliminating
solvents in some reactions; conducting
chemical transformations with sunlight
rather than toxic reagents; using
Former EPA
Administrator
Reilly receiving his
"wet-cleaned" suit
from EPA staffer
Ohad Jehassi as part
of DfE dry cleaning
initiative.
naturally occurring nontoxic feedstock
for the production of large volume
chemicals; and utilization of alternative,
recyclable reagents of biocatalysts in
place of heavy metals.
Through long-term research pro-
grams and model industry examples,
the DfE program is seeking a basic shift
in the way that industries and compa-
nies manufacture and design products.
For more information, contact Bev Boyd,
202-260-1689.
OTA Report Urges Green Products by Design
A report released in September by the Congressional Office of Technology
Assessment stressed that better product design can safeguard environmental
quality and improve industrial competitiveness, although current regulations
and market practices are not sufficient to exploit these opportunities.
OTA emphasizes that the design stage is where decisions are made regard-
ing manufacturing processes — decisions that ultimately determine the charac-
teristics of both industrial and municipal solid waste streams. By placing a
greater emphasis on designing to anticipate environmental problems, including
disposal, such problems can be addressed in a proactive manner. Examples
include redesigning products and processes that use chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) and reformulating products to avoid the use of toxic heavy metals.
The challenge to policy makers, says OTA, is to choose a mix of regulatory
and economic instruments that target the right problems and give designers the
flexibility to find innovative, environmentally sound solutions. Such policies
include allowing tradeable recyclable credits and negotiating voluntary agree-
ments with industry.
The OTA report also advises against evaluating a product design based
solely on a single environmental attribute, such as recycled content. Rather,
tradeoffs may be required among competing environmental objectives: e.g.,
waste prevention vs. recyclability. Copies of the report, Green Products by
Design, are available by calling 202-228-6204.

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Pollution Prevention News -10
]anuary-February 1993
Government Purchasing Project
Urges Environmental Buying
How can the corporate sector be
motivated to produce energy
efficient, environmentally sound
products and technologies? One option
is to use the purchasing power of the
nation's largest consumer: the govern-
ment. Purchasing at the federal, state
and local level comprises about 20
percent of the Gross National Product
(GNP); federal purchasing amounts to
almost 8 percent.
Government demand for fuel
Letters
More on PVC
Your story on the regulatory status of
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastics in
Europe that appeared in the December
1991 issue of Pollution Prevention News
created the strong misimpression that
an anti-PVC movement is sweeping
Europe. It also contained several
inaccurate statements about the envi-
ronmental impact of vinyl products,
which I address below.
~	PVC can be incinerated safely when
proper operating guidelines are fol-
lowed, particularly operating tempera-
ture. Tests by the New York State
Energy Research and Development
Authority in 1987, funded in part by
EPA, found that burn temperatures, not
the presence or absence of vinyl prod-
ucts, were the key to dioxin formation.
~	Hydrogen chloride produced by
incinerating vinyl wastes can be effec-
tively controlled by following EPA
standards for acid gas neutralization.
~	The vinyl production process is one
of the most closely regulated manufac-
turing processes in existence. All air and
water emissions resulting from the
process are regulated by EPA and all
companies that manufacture vinyl in the
U.S. must report their compliance with
these standards.
~	Vinyl products are completely inert
in landfills and do not degrade to leach
organochlorides or any other substance
into soil or groundwater. Post-industrial
vinyl scrap is widely recycled and has
been for years, and there is no reason
why the same cannot be true for post-
consumer vinyl.
~	The industry has known for some
time that packaging cheese with PVC
film is not advised because of the
potential for leaching of plasticizers
(additives to PVC), and its use is not
allowed. However, there is no similar
problem using PVC to package meat,
and in fact, flexible vinyl film keeps
meat fresher than any other comparable
materials.
~	Post-industrial vinyl scrap is widely
recycled and has been for years, and
there is no reason why the same cannot
be true for post-consumer vinyl.
Because of the hundreds of uses for
vinyl, it is probably one of the most
recyclable materials.
~	There is no ban on PVC packaging in
Denmark, rather a voluntary agreement
by industry to substitute alternative
materials when feasible. Industry is
currently working to relax these stan-
dards. The ban on PVC packaging in
Switzerland applies only to mineral
water bottles. This is the one and only
ban in Europe and it is being heavily
challenged by the European Commis-
sion as a barrier to trade.
The reason vinyl is used so widely
today is that it provides certain proper-
ties that other materials cannot match.
These include such attributes as durabil-
ity, ease of installation, cost, etc. Were
this not the case, vinyl would cease to
exist, no matter how vigorously it were
promoted.
Robert H. Burnett
Executive Director
The Vinyl Institute
Wayne, NJ
efficient motor vehicles, safe cleaning
supplies, non-chlorine bleached re-
cycled paper and other products can
create markets and manufacturing
economies of scale.
The Government Purchasing Project
(GPP) was started by Ralph Nader in
1991 to promote responsible govern-
ment purchasing. GPP is publishing a
book titled "More than 40 Ways to Make
Government Purchasing Green" which
covers solid waste, energy efficiency
and hazardous substances. A monthly
newsletter, "Energy Ideas," focuses on
one energy conserving technology per
issue.
GPP is part of a coalition of public
and private buyers and the office
equipment industry developing energy
efficient office equipment. The federal
government currently pays roughly
$115-150 million annually for electricity
to power such equipment. These
products also increase building cooling
requirements. By using life cycle cost
analysis and requiring energy-efficient
components in its specifications,
government purchases could have a {V
significant impact in promoting energy
efficient office equipment.
The GPP also has been actively
promoting federal purchases of solar
energy. Environmentalists have long
stressed that the government could play
a major role in providing markets for
solar energy. In the 1970s, Professor
Barry Commoner wrote that a $500
million order of solar photovoltaic
panels would make solar energy
competitive with conventional fuels by
speeding up the "learning curve,"
enabling producers to learn and econo-
mies of scale to grow.
Uses for solar energy include lighting
road signs, parking lots and park sites,
heating water, pumping water and
powering roadside emergency cellular
phones.
Government buying decisions that
incorporated environmental and societal
"externalities" would set an example for
the private sector, advance statutory
environmental and health goals, and
serve the public interest.
For more information, contact the
Government Purchasing Project, P.O.
Box 19367, Washington, DC, 20035;
202-387-8030.

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January-February 1993
11 - Pollution Prevention News
Calendar
"Title
Sponsor
Date/Location
Contact
Integrated Energy &
Environmental Management
EPRI, AWMA, Amer. Soc.
of Mechanical Engineers
March 10-12
New Orleans, LA
Marci Mazzei
412-232-3444
Oil & Gas Environmental
Conference
American Petroleum Institute,
Gas Research Inst., EPA, DOE
March 7-10
San Antonio, TX
Steve Souders
703-308-8431
Watershed '93
EPA plus 11 federal agencies
March 21-24
Alexandria, VA
Jennifer Paugh
202-833-8317
Corporate Quality/
Environmental Management III
Global Environmental
Management Initiative
March 24-25
Arlington, VA
Lisa Grayson
202-429-0776
Pollution Prevention, Reuse,
Recycling, & Environmental
Efficiency
Air & Waste Management
Assn.
April 20-22
Baltimore, MD
Gwen Eklund
512-454-4797
1st Intl. Symposium on
Electronics & the Environment
IEEE
May 10-12
Arlington, VA
Tel: 908-562-3878
Fax: 908-562-1571
Pollution Prevention on Low
and No-VOC Coating Technologies
EPA, others
May 25-27
San Diego, CA
Coleen Northeim
919-541-5816
Comparative Risks Analysis of
Air Pollution Issues
EPA, AWMA
June 6-11
Denver, CO
Si Duk Lee
919-541-4477
^Annual Meeting & Exhibition
Air & Waste Management
Assn.
June 13-18
Denver, CO
412-232-3444
14th S02 Control Symposium
EPRI, EPA, DOE
August 24-27
Boston, MA
Ruseli B. Owens
415-855-2153
New Energy Bill Impacts Environment
Continued from page 1
and transmission services. Supporters of
this measure argued that it would
strengthen competition, slow rates, and
make it easier for those who generate
renewable energy to sell power to
utilities. The bill also authorizes a five-
year, $65 million study of the health
effects of electromagnetic fields.
Renewable Energy. Title XIX
provides a mixture of tax credits,
payments, and federal loan support to
encourage wind, closed biomass, solar
and geothermal energy facilities and
demonstration projects. The bill also
creates a renewable energy research
j^^ogram.
Fossil Fuels. Two of the most
contentious fossil fuel issues—develop-
ment of the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, and automobile fuel efficiency
requirements—were dropped from the
bill. The bill also contains no restrictions
on off-shore drilling. Title XIII includes
several measures to encourage "clean
coal," authorizing research and devel-
opment projects for technologies to use
coal more efficiently and safely and
extending DOE's clean coal demonstra-
tion program. Title XIX raises the
subsidies employers can provide for
mass transit to $60 a month and caps the
tax benefits for employer subsidized
parking at $155.
Global Warming. Title XVI requires
DOE to do global warming studies,
assess a range of policies for addressing
greenhouse gas emissions, and to create
a new position, the director of global
climate protection. Title XIX increases
taxes on ozone-depleting chemicals.
DOE Announces
Waste Minimization
Policy
In August, the Department of
Energy announced a policy on Waste
Minimization and Pollution Prevention
as part of DOE's ongoing efforts to
improve its management of waste. The
policy, which affects all departmental
employees and contractors, affirms the
environmental management hierarchy
and promotes use of life-cycle cost
analyses.
The announcement follows the
Department's Waste Minimization
(WMin) Crosscut Plan initiated in May.
The WMin Plan pledged the develop-
ment of a department-wide agenda and
schedule for implementation, and
established a Waste Minimization and
Pollution Prevention Executive Board.

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Pollution Prevention News -12
January-February 1993
Quick Notes
Materials Requested for
Curricula Development
The National Pollution Prevention
Center for Higher Education at the
University of Michigan is seeking
instructional materials on pollution
prevention for undergraduate and
graduate business, engineering, indus-
trial design, and natural resources
programs. Submissions are welcomed
from educators, business, industry,
government, and public interest groups.
Curriculum materials are being sought
in any of the following formats: case
studies; closed- and open-ended
problem sets; design problems; videos,
computer software; and journal articles,
textbooks, technical reports.
For more information, contact
Gregory Keoleian, tel: 313-764-1412, fax:
313-936-2195.
~
DOD Reduces
Hazardous Waste
The Department of Defense an-
nounced in August that it had reduced
its hazardous waste disposal by 53.9%
from 1987 to 1991. In June 1987, DOD
established a goal of reducing hazard-
ous waste by 50% before the end of
Moving? Please enclose mailing label!
United States Environmental
Protection Agency (MC7409)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
1992. Over 85% of the reduction
achieved comes from DOD's industrial-
type facilities which account for the
majority of all waste generated by the
Department. The remaining reductions
were generated from such areas as daily
installation operations and training
facilities. The military's pollution
prevention strategy emphasizes four
areas: systems acquisition, material
substitution, process improvement, and
improved hazardous material manage-
ment.
Retired Engineers and
Scientists: Call ECO
The Environmental Careers Organi-
zation (ECO) is seeking retired engi-
neers and scientists to work as technical
advisors to nonprofit groups promoting
industrial pollution prevention. Six-
month projects are available in Boston,
Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago,
Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, Tampa,
Seattle, and San Francisco. Technical
advisors will receive free training on the
latest toxics use reduction methods and
regulations.
Applications can be made until
February 12,1993. Contact: Lori
Colombo, ECO, 617-426-4375.
NREL Sponsors
Building, Wind
Research
A new type of performance test that
could help improve energy efficiency at
home or office—and therefore save
money—will be developed and refined
under a cooperative research agreement
between the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden,
CO, and Colorado State University in
Fort Collins.
The STEM (Short-Term Energy
Monitoring) test will measure how
efficiently a building uses energy
through a system of sensors that will
record temperature, airflow, and heat.
Architects, builders, and occupants will
be able to use STEM to gauge if a home
or office is as energy efficient as it was
designed to be.
In renewable energy research, NREL
recently awarded $7 million in subcon-
tracts to three U.S. firms to help U.S.
industry develop turbines capable of
generating electricity at 5 cents per
kilowatt hour, which could potentially
open up the Great Plains and other
areas to wind power at costs competi-
tive with electricity from fossil fuels.
Contact: Syl Morgan-Smith, NREL,
303-231-7683.
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POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
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