United States
           Environmental Protection
           Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5104)
EPA550-F01-006
May 2001
vwwv.epa.gov/ceppo/

           THE LUBRIZOL CORPORATION:
           New Chemicals  Issues Assessment
           The  Chemical Safety  Network  is  designed to share successful practices  in
           implementation, risk communication, and data use.   The projects detailed in the
           Chemical Safety Network are easily reproducible,  low cost and promote partnership-
           building  in the community. This factsheet does  not provide extensive information
           about a  project.  Rather, it is intended to  help stakeholders generate ideas, identify
           tools  and pinpoint  funding  sources  for accident preparedness  and  prevention
           initiatives.

           Program Overview

           Lubrizol has developed and implemented a program called the New Chemicals
           Issues Assessment (NCIA). This assessment has helped bring a more
           consistent and formal review of the environmental, health, and safety (EHS)
           issues associated with new chemicals early in the development cycle.

           NCIA Features

           1.     Formal and easy risk analysis process
           2.     Assessment of manufacturing operability issues in all phases of development
           3.     Initial analysis is performed by the research chemist and development engineer
           4.     Economic impact of EHS issues is incorporated in commercial decision-making
           5.     Updated analysis is conducted with the manufacturing engineer at the "commit
                to  commercialization" stage

           The adoption of this system has led to more efficient, less complex and
           inherently safer products and processes. Instead of addressing EHS issues
           after new products and processes have been commercialized, it is more
           effective to do so early in the research and development phase.

           Safety,  Health, and Environmental

           Lubrizol has successfully used this process to replace some raw
           materials with less hazardous materials, reduce volumes of waste streams,
           improve product quality and process control, and improve yields. The NCIA
           process  has also helped enhance the quality of information available for the
           decision to commercialize a product, including risk to employees, customers,
           the public and the environment.
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and'Prevention Office
                            (Sj Prtntedem recyclqfl paper

-------
            Implementation

            Implementing the process went more smoothly than anticipated because it was
            beneficial for everyone involved.

            $    Manufacturing personnel support NCIA because it helps ensure that material
                 and process issues that would cause manufacturing difficulties are addressed
                 during development.

            $    Process development engineers support NCIA because it helps them obtain a
                 more complete understanding of the material and process issues at the
                 beginning of project, leading to better processes in less time.

            $    Research chemists support NCIA because it gives their research a better chance
                 of being commercialized.

            $    Research management and business groups support NCIA because it helps
                 reduce the time and cost to develop processes for new chemicals.

            Tips for smaller businesses

            Using an effective and well-established process to  address new chemical issues
            prevents errors by inexperienced personnel.  This can be especially beneficial
            in smaller organizations where there are few experienced personnel available
            to closely supervise newer employees.

            Combining safety, health, environmental, and operability issues into a single
            assessment process reduces duplication of effort.

            Decisions to cancel projects with obvious safety, health, regulatory, or
            processing problems may be made earlier, thereby  redirecting resources to
            more attractive projects.

            For more information contact	
            Name:        Brian Cunningham, Research Manager
            Organization: The Lubrizol Corporation
            Address:      29400 Lakeland Blvd., Wickliffe, OH 44092-2298
            E-mail:       brc@lubrizol.com
            Phone:        (440) 347-2823
            Additional copies of this and other publications in the Chemical Safety Network series are
            available from:

                   National Service Center for Environmental Publications
                   Phone: (800)490-9198
                   Fax: (513)489-8695
                   Email: ncepi.mail@epamail.epa.gov

            or you can download an electronic copy from the Chemical Emergency Preparedness
            and Prevention Office's web site on  the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ceppo.
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and'Prevention Office
(Sj Prtntedem recyclqfl paper

-------