NPEP Accomplishment Report
Environmental
Priorities
2007-2008
National Partnership for Environmental
Priorities
http://www.epa.gov/npep
The National Partnership for Environmental
Priorities (NPEP) is a voluntary partnership to
reduce potentially hazardous chemicals from
products and wastes that otherwise might be
released into the environment. The core of the
NPEP partnership is the development of a
relationship between partner organizations and
EPA to identify product substitutions, process
changes, reuse and recycling opportunities that
achieve pollution prevention goals and maintain
competitiveness.
NPEP is part of EPA's Resource Conservation
Challenge, a national effort to conserve resources
and energy by managing materials more
efficiently. By engaging in sound materials
management, partners represent the NPEP slo-
gan: "Better Environment, Better Neighbor, and
Better Business."
In October, 2008, the National Partnership for
Environmental Priorities (NPEP) celebrated its 6-
year anniversary and the cumulative reduction of
more than 9.2 million pounds of potentially
hazardous chemicals since the program's launch
in 2002. In the 2008 fiscal year alone, NPEP
partners reduced the use of, or recycled, more
than 5.6 million pounds of priority chemicals.
NPEP continues to grow and has become a
network of more than 215 partners in 32 states,
the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Location of NPEP Members
Notable Partner Accomplishments for
2008 Include:
3M Nevada, Nevada, MO reduced 6,500 pounds
of lead by limiting its use in color film
formulation.
AEP-Ohio: Picway Plant, Lockbourne, OH,
eliminated 4,571 pounds of PCBs by removing
and replacing four PCB transformer/rectifier
sets.
Alcatel-Lucent, Murray Hill, NJ, recovered
2,058,700 pounds of lead by collecting and
recycling more than 2 million pounds of lead-
acid batteries.
Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL,
reduced 360 pounds of mercury by collecting
and recycling mercury-containing equipment
and 23,000 pounds of lead by expanding lead
recycling at their facility.
BFS Retail & Commercial Operations, LLC,
Bloomingdale, IL, eliminated over 319,000
pounds of lead by recycling used batteries and
lead wheel weights at their more than 2000
retail tire and automotive service centers. BFRC
is a charter member of EPA's National Lead Free
Wheel Weight Initiative.
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green,
OH, collected and recycled 3,750 pounds of
mercury through their Elemental Mercury
Collection and Reclamation Program, a program
that helps local residents and institutions
properly manage unwanted mercury.
City of Dallas Love Field Airport, Dallas, TX,
removed 1,548 pounds of PCBs by removing
and recycling PCB ballasts and eliminated 61
pounds of mercury by removing mercury-
containing equipment from their facility.
City of Los Angeles LA World Airports (LAX),
Los Angeles, CA, reduced 2,550 pounds of
mercury by removing and recycling 51
instruments, including flow meters, calibration
instruments, and switches and manometers
from their central utility plant.
Con Edison Company of New York (CECONY),
New York, NY, eliminated more than 3.7 million
pounds of lead by removing Paper Insulated
Lead-Clad (PILC) type of primary electric feeder
cable from the underground electric distribution
system and replacing it with a lead-free
alternative.
EPA530-D-08-003
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Continuous Coating Corporation, Orange, CA,
reduced the use of 70,000 pounds of priority
chemicals per year by eliminating all lead from
their plating tanks.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, DFW
Airport, TX, reduced the rate of trifluralin containing
herbicide by successfully substituting comparable
products that contain no priority chemicals.
Embraer, Nashville, TN, recycled spent fluorescent
bulbs and replaced them with lower-mercury
content bulbs. Embraer also recovered and
recycled 950 pounds of cadmium by removing
cadmium particles from rinse water used during
the plating process.
Epson Portland, Inc, Portland, OR, made a
commitment to remove all mercury from their plant
by the end of September 2008. After auditing for
mercury-containing items, they discovered six
thermostats that utilized the metal. All mercury-
containing thermostats have been removed and
replaced with electronic thermostats. In the
process, one pound of mercury was removed from
the plant.
Exide Technologies: Vernon, Los Angeles, CA,
recycled lead-acid batteries and reduced more than
200,000 pounds of lead waste in its blast furnace
slag prior to disposal. Exide successfully minimized
lead in waste shipments even though the
production output of the plant grew by 34percent.
GE Energy, Newark, DE, joined NPEP in July 2007
and set a goal to reduce the quantity of lead
disposed of as a hazardous waste by 85 pounds in
one year. GE implemented a process change to
separately collect the lead-coated tabbing and
interconnect, which enables the lead to be recycled
from these materials. By July 2008, GE recycled
2,400 pounds of tabbing and interconnect
containing 145 pounds of lead - exceeding their
goal by 70 percent.
Lansing Board of Water and Light, Lansing, Ml,
eliminated more than 76,000 pounds of lead by
removing lead service pipes from water services.
Luminant Generation Company, LLC: Comanche
Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Glen Rose, Texas,
reduced the total amount of mercury onsite by
50 percent. This was accomplished by replacing
mercury-containing thermometers with more
environmentally preferable thermometers. A total
of 2.5 pounds of mercury was safely recycled
through the effort.
Luminant Generation Company, LLC: Luminant
Power Plants, Dallas, TX, eliminated 319 pounds
of mercury from their facilities by removing
mercoid switches, manometers, barometers,
thermometers and free liquid mercury not used
in processes or equipment.
Merisol USA LLC, Houston, TX, reduced 518,982
pounds of PAHs, 1,073,995 pounds of
naphthalene, 61,055 pounds of dibenzofuran,
and 578 pounds of mercury through process
changes, which no longer produce these priority
chemicals as byproducts.
Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical
Research, Great Lakes, IL, set an NPEP goal to
install amalgam separation equipment in all
CONUS Navy dental treatment facilities.
Installation of this equipment resulted in an
estimated 550 pounds mercury reduction.
Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG),
Gibbstown, NJ, removed and recycled 464
pounds of mercury and 822 pounds of lead
through the removal and recycling of mercury-
containing equipment such as thermostats, gas
regulators, street lamps, fluorescent lamps, and
lead-containing surplus computers and monitors.
Pull-A-Part, LLC, Atlanta, GA, set a goal to remove
every convenience lighting mercury switch found
in vehicles purchased by Pull-A-Part. As of
August 31, 2008, Pull-a-Part has recovered
47,155 switches, thus recycling nearly 104
pounds of mercury.
Rubicon, LLC, Geismar, LA, reduced 500,000
pounds of benzene and 520,000 pounds of
aniline by implementing a two-phase project
involving several process changes that will
reduce waste generation in the Aniline complex.
The Okonite Company, Inc., Orangeburg, SC and
Paterson, NJ, established NPEP goals to reduce
the amount of lead processed at its
manufacturing facilities. Okonite reduced lead
usage by 147,811 pounds at its Paterson facility
and 2,805 at its Orangeburg facility. While
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reducing emissions and waste, Okonite also saved
$227,000 as a result of this project.
Thomas & Betts Corporation, Horseheads, NY,
eliminated over 30,000 pounds of cadmium and
hexavalent chromium replacing them with NiTin
alloy in their plating process. As a result, Thomas
& Betts saved $128,044 in transportation, dis-
posal and energy costs.
Valero Energy Corporation, Port Arthur Refinery,
Port Arthur, TX, recovered and recycled more than
95,000 pounds of naphthalene by recycling oil
bearing refinery residuals that were previously
being transported off-site for disposal. Valero saved
$891,000 in off-site disposal costs.
Wyandotte High School, Kansas City, KS, set an
NPEP goal to remove and recycle 5 pounds of
mercury from mercury-containing equipment.
The school worked with EPA's Region 7 to remove
155 mercury thermometers and one barometer,
successfully meeting their goal of 5 pounds.
Xerox Office Group-Wilsonville, Wilsonville, OR,
eliminated 118 pounds of lead by discontinuing
the use of lead-based solder in prototype circuit
boards.
Xerox Webster, Webster, NY, reduced 35,000
pounds of tetrahydrofuran by improving the
reclamation efficiency for tetrahydrofuran by an
average of 6 percent. Savings attributable to
reduced procurement and disposal costs are
estimated to be greater than $65,000 annually.
Welcome to NPEP New Partners
AB&I Foundry, CA
AEP Ohio: Picway Plant, OH
Aetna Insulated Wire Inc., VA
Appalachian Power Company, VA
Appalachian Power Company, WV
Arrow Group Industries, Inc., NJ
Blount, Inc., OR
California State Polytechnic University, CA
City of Houston Airport System, TX
Coatek Inc, CA
Con Edison, NY
Continuous Coating Corp., CA
Costco Wholesale, VA
CR Bard Inc., IL
Crown Cork and Seal, WV
East Bay Municipal Utility District, CA
Engineered Polymer Solutions, CA
Gaylord Texan Hotel and Resort, TX
GE Energy, DE
Graftech International Holdings, Inc., WV
Guapo Skateboards, LLC., TX
Haldor Topsoe Inc., TX
Hennessy Industries, Inc, TN
Koppers, Inc., WV
Louisiana Department of Environmental
Quality, LA
Luminant Generation Company LLC, TX
Marriott International, DC
M&M Tire and Auto Service, VA
Metro Circuits.Div. of PJC Technologies, Inc.,
NY
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, MN
NEC Electronics, CA
Perfect Equipment, Inc., TN
Pull-a-Part, LLC., GA
Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, CA
Remington Arms Company, Inc., AR
Rio Grande Electric Cooperative, Inc., TX
Rivanna Solid Waste Authority, VA
South Main Auto Service, VA
Spartech FCD LLC, MD
Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation - OEA, TN
UCLA.CA
USPS, CA
Washington State Department of Ecology, WA
WV Bureau for Public Health, WV
Wyandotte High School, KS
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200S Highlight: US EPA Launches National Lead-Free
Wheel Weight Initiative
What?
Tire companies, large chain stores, and the
government are putting the brakes on the use of lead
wheel weights. Through EPA's National
Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative (NLFWWI),
partners pledged to phase-in the use of lead-free
alternative wheel weights, thus reducing the amount of
lead released into the environment by 2011.
Why?
Weights are often attached to the wheels of
automobiles and light trucks to balance the tires. It is
common for these wheel weights to come off—for
instance, when a vehicle hits a pot hole in the road, or
stops suddenly—resulting in lead entering the
environment. Lead-containing wheel weights can also
add lead into the environment as they move into the
waste stream at the end of product life. Given its low
melting point, some hobbyists obtain used lead wheel
weights for projects in their homes.
Lead is one of the 31 priority chemicals EPA is
working to reduce in the environment. EPA estimates that
50 million pounds of lead per year are used for wheel
weights, making it a significant source of lead in the
environment. Eliminating the use of lead in wheel
weights and replacing them with steel weights takes
millions of pounds of lead out of the waste stream,
preventing its release into the environment.
Charter members of the NLFWWI include:
3M
American Honda Motor Company
American Suzuki Motor Corporation
Association of International
Automobile Manufacturers
Aston Martin Lagonda of North America
Bridgestone Firestone BFS Retail and Com-
mercial Operations, LLC
Bridgestone Firestone Motor Sports Car Racing
Division
Chrysler, LLC
Costco Wholesale
Department of Defense: US Air Force
Ecology Center
Environmental Council of States
Ferrari North America
Ford Motor Company
General Motors Corporation
General Services Administration
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Hennessy Industries Inc.—BADA Division
Hyundai Motor America
Isuzu Motors America
Kia Motors America
M&M Tire and Auto Service
Maserati North America
Mitsubishi Motors of North America
Nissan North America
Parker Station
Perfect Equipment, Inc.
Plombco
Sam's Club Tire and Battery Centers
Sierra Club
South Main Auto Service
Subaru of America
Town of Blacksburg, Virginia
Toyota Motor North America
US Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Postal Service
Wal-Mart Tire & Battery Centers
Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express
Wal-Mart Transportation
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