National Partnership for
Environmental Priorities (NPEP) Bulletin
Summer 2006
Welcome to the latest edition of
the NPEP Bulletin. The NPEP
Bulletin will be delivered to you quarterly
and waste minimization news and events.
Each issue will have a different theme.
This Issue: NPEP Makes Progress.
We distribute the Bulletin electronically in
order to minimize waste, conserve
resources, and promote the Paperless
Office.
Join NPEP Todav
Interested in waste min? Want to improve
your bottom line while helping the
environment? NPEP encourages public
and private organizations to form voluntary
partnerships with EPA to reduce the use
and/or release of any of 31 priority
chemicals (PCs). Enroll today:
www.epa.gov/minimize/partnership.htm
Read more about PCs at
www. epa.gov/minimize/chemlist. htm
' Information Exchange
Contact the editors with your questions,
events, articles, ideas, comments, and
suggestions. We want to hear from you.
Send us your thoughts and contributions
today via email or our comments and
questions form at
www.epa.gov/minimize/contactus.htm
September 18 - 24: National
Pollution Prevention (P2) Week
More info: www.p2.org
September 19-21: WASTECON
2006. More info: www.swana.org
September 24 - 28: 2006 ASHES
Annual Conference and Healthcare
Marketplace. More info: www.ashes.org
Send us your event today.
Visit the Waste Min Calendar:
www. epa.gov/ndnindze/calendar. htm
Disclaimer: The mention of any company,
product, or process in this publication does
not constitute or imply endorsement by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
vth
NPEP Welcomes 100m NPEP Partner: Tinker AFB
The Tinker Pollution
Prevention Team
receives the 2004
Secretary of Defense
Pollution Prevention
Team Award.
The NPEP Team is pleased to welcome our 100* partner: Tinker Air Force
Base, Oklahoma. Tinker set five NPEP goals to reduce priority chemicals
(PCs) by December, 2007. Tinker plans to eliminate almost 900 pounds of
trifluralin and almost 600 pounds of pendimethalin by replacing two
herbicides used on base. Tinker also plans to eliminate over 300 pounds of
naphthalene, 7 pounds of cadmium, and 1 pound of mercury by replacing
equipment and products like batteries, paints, and solvents.
When Tinker was contacted by Tim Townsend and Ryan Rossner of EPA
Region 6 about joining NPEP, Bede Ley, Pollution Prevention Manager,
discovered that the base was using six PCs. Because Tinker is an Air Force
installation, all chemicals used on base are tracked through a hazardous
material tracking system, so it was easy to identify potential NPEP activities.
According to Mr. Ley, "Pollution prevention is an active program on the
base." He adds that, since 1994, Tinker has reduced the amount of releases it
reports to TRI by 92 percent. In 2004, the base won the Secretary of Defense
Pollution Prevention Team Award and, in 2005, was awarded the Secretary of
Defense Pollution Prevention - Industrial Category Award.
The Air Force Materiel Command is using Tinker AFB as an example for
other Air Force installations by encouraging them to join the NPEP program
and by crossfeeding information on successes across the command. Mr. Ley
reports that the staff at Tinker is excited about being NPEP's 100th partner and
hopes that other federal facilities will also join the effort to reduce priority
chemicals.
Waste Min News
Second Annual NPEP Awards
Ceremony: Oct. 19. See page 3
Priority Chemical Query Tool
Available. Seepages
P2 Week is September 18 - 24:
www.p2. org
The NPEP Team Has Moved.
See page 3.
EPA's Green Vehicle Guide
Updated: www.epa.gov/greenvehicles
Volume 2
NPEP Bulletin page 1
Issue 1
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New Partner Spotlight
Region 2
Checkpoint Caribbean LTD
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Targeted Chemical: Lead
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, New York
Targeted Chemicals: Lead, Methylene
Chloride
Lucent Technologies, Inc.
Murray Hill, New Jersey
Targeted Chemical: Lead
Micron Technology Inc.
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Targeted Chemical: Lead
Region 3
National Institutes of Health
Washington, B.C.
Targeted Chemical: Mercury
Town of Blacksburg, Virginia
Targeted Chemical: Lead
Transwestern Commercial Services
Vienna, Virginia
Targeted Chemical: Mercury
Region 4
EMBRAER, Nashville, Tennessee
Targeted Chemical: Methylene Chloride
Region 5
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, Illinois
Targeted Chemical: Mercury
Region 6
Lufkin Industries, Inc., Foundry &
Power Transmission Divisions
Lufkin, Texas
Targeted Chemical: Mercury
Lufkin Industries, Inc., Trailer &
Oilfield Divisions, Lufkin, Texas
Targeted Chemical: Mercury
Lufkin Industries, Inc., Gear Repair
Facility, Lufkin, Texas
Targeted Chemical: Mercury
Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
Targeted Chemicals: Pendimethalin,
Naphthalene, Trifluralin, Mercury,
Cadmium
Region 7
3M Company, Nevada, Missouri
Targeted Chemical: Lead
Pfizer Global Manufacturing
Lincoln, Nebraska
Targeted Chemical: Mercury
Region 8
Nucor, Plymouth, Utah
Targeted Chemical: Mercury
Region 10
Xerox Office Group: Wilsonville
Wilsonville, Oregon
Targeted Chemical: Lead
NPEP Makes Progress
Membership has grown to over 100
partners since NPEP was launched in
September, 2002. The majority of our
partners are private facilities. Nine
federal facilities (including five military
installations), two local and one state
facility have become NPEP partners.
NPEP partners can be found throughout
the U.S. Twenty-five states, as well as
Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., are
represented. And, since the publication
of our last Bulletin, NPEP now has
partners in all 10 EPA regions.
NPEP partners have committed to
reducing 16 of the 31 priority chemicals
(PCs) targeted for reduction by EPA.
PC reduction commitments total about
3.1 million pounds. NPEP partners have
committed to reducing more lead, over
2.9 million pounds, than any other PC.
Our partners have also committed to
reducing about 5.3 million pounds of
other hazardous chemicals such as
methylene chloride and chromium.
Thirty NPEP partners have completed
their goals, for a total reduction of about
831,000 pounds of PCs and about 2.2
million pounds of other hazardous
chemicals.
Since starting NPEP, the NPEP Team
has made a lot of progress. This is our
fifth issue of the NPEP Bulletin, which
we started last year. We started the
NPEP Mercury Challenge in October,
2005. And, we plan to hold our second
annual NPEP Awards Ceremony in
October, 2006.
We recently created the National
Challenge Commitment to reduce PCs.
This Challenge offers NPEP partners the
potential benefit of considering their
goals to reduce PCs as satisfying two of
the four commitments necessary to join
Performance Track.
The NPEP Team is also developing a
new Municipalities Program designed to
improve municipality-run facilities
management. You can read more about
this Program in our next issue.
NPEP Mercury Challenge
The NPEP Mercury Challenge was
introduced in October, 2005. The
Mercury Challenge promotes the
voluntary, systematic elimination of
mercury-containing equipment from
industrial sites. Mercury, a priority
chemical, is a highly toxic metal and a
documented contaminant of air, land,
water, plants, and animals. Exposure to
mercury can cause serious health
problems.
There are three steps in taking the
Mercury Challenge:
1. Join NPEP and commit to a mercury
reduction goal through the removal of
mercury-containing equipment. If you
are already an NPEP partner, you can
take the Mercury Challenge by
submitting a new goal and completing
the following steps.
2. Take the Mercury Challenge Pledge.
Our organization pledges to:
Identify mercury in our facilities and
in the products we make.
Replace mercury-containing
equipment with non-mercury
alternatives.
Dispose of mercury-containing
equipment safely.
Establish mercury free purchasing
policies.
Inform and educate staff, suppliers,
and clients about mercury issues
and non- mercury alternatives.
3. Build and Implement a Mercury
Reduction Plan. A Mercury Reduction
Plan identifies action items related to the
activities in the Mercury Challenge
Pledge, such as establishing mercury-
free purchasing policies. Your plan
should include timelines and a way to
measure progress. You can find
guidelines and instructions for building
your plan on our website.
Take the Mercury Challenge at
www. epa.gov/minimize
NPEP Bulletin page 2
Issue 1
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Second Annual NPEP
Awards Ceremony
The second annual NPEP Awards
Ceremony will be held October 19 at
The Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel in
Arlington,Virginia. The awards
ceremony will be held in conjunction
with the NPEP National Meeting:
Partnering for Success in Sustainability,
on October 20. The National Meeting
will feature informational sessions for
awardees. We look forward to the
opportunity to recognize the efforts of
our partners in achieving their NPEP
goals. We also anticipate a productive
meeting and the chance to share ideas
and continue a dialogue with our
partners. For more information, visit
www. epa.gov/minimize/natlmtg. htm
Welcome!
NPEP Welcomes First
Region 8 Partner
The NPEP Team is pleased to welcome
our first partner from Region 8: Nucor,
Plymouth Division, Plymouth, Utah.
Nucor has committed to recycling 65
pounds of mercury by removing mercury
switches from cars destined for recycling
at scrap steel recycling mills.
NPEP Welcomes First
Region 10 Partner
The NPEP Team is pleased to welcome
our first partner from Region 10: Xerox
Office Group, Wilsonville, Oregon.
Xerox has committed to eliminating 118
pounds of lead by switching to lead-free
solder in the manufacture of circuit
boards.
Priority Chemical Query
Tool Available
The new Priority Chemical Query Tool
was posted for public use in June. It is a
powerful tool used to retrieve and
manipulate data on Priority Chemicals
(PCs) reported to the Toxics Release
Inventory (TRI) by industrial facilities.
You can use the Query Tool to access
information such as the amount of PCs
reported in your state, which PCs were
reported in your region, and which
industry sectors report the most PCs.
Visit the Query Tool on the Waste Min
website atwww.epa.gov/querytool
NPEP Partner
Update
Sentara: Williamsburg Community
Hospital recently achieved their NPEP
goal of eliminating 41 pounds of
mercury by replacing 172 mercury-
containing sphygmomanometers (blood
pressure cuffs). Williamsburg's biggest
challenge in meeting their goal was
funding. Williamsburg plans to become
virtually mercury-free this year. Read
the Williamsburg Success Story at
www. epa.gov/minimize/success. htm
The NPEP Team Has Moved
Our new address is:
Via U.S. Mail
U.S. EPA
National Partnership for Environmental
Priorities (NPEP) Coordinator
Waste Minimization Branch
OSW/HWMMD
(5302P)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Via Delivery Service
U.S. EPA
National Partnership for Environmental
Priorities (NPEP) Coordinator
HWMMD
Sixth Floor, Room N6780
Two Potomac Yard (North Building)
2733 S. Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22202
Director's Corner
National
Partnership
tor
Environmental
MorftfM
Jim Berlow
Director, Hazardous Waste Minimization
and Management Division
I am very pleased to welcome not only
Tinker Air Force Base as our 100*
partner, but also the 17 other partners
who have joined us since the last
NPEP Bulletin went out. As we
prepare for our Second Annual NPEP
Awards Ceremony, it is only natural to
reflect on NPEP, our successes, and
the progress we have made in the last
few years. We should all be proud of
the fact that NPEP partners have
committed to reducing about 3.1
million pounds of hazardous
chemicals.
We should view our success as a sign
that we are on the right track and as a
reason to strive to accomplish even
more. Our work to date serves as a
firm foundation on which to build. We
should try to double our membership
both in NPEP and in the Mercury
Challenge. I would like to see more
states represented in NPEP. I would
also like to see more of the 31 priority
chemicals being reduced through
NPEP partnerships. I'm sure we can
achieve these goals by continuing to
work together.
Contact Us to Subscribe to the
NPEP Bulletin:
www.epa.gov/minimize/contactus. htm
Visit the National Waste
Minimization website today.
www. epa.gov/wastemin
Contact the Editors:
Linda Malcolm, 301-865-1454
malcolm.linda@epa.gov
Christine Guitar, 703-308-0017
guitar.christine@epa.gov
EPA530-N-06-005
Volume 2
NPEP Bulletin page 3
Issue 1
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