HEALTHY AIR
A CDMMUMITV AMD BUSINESS LEADEIS GUIDE
Could your family
be affected?
One electroplating
shop switched from a
vapor degreaser parts
washing system that
used solvents to a
water-based power
washing system. It
saves approximately
$12,600 per year and
has reduced toxic air
emissions by 90%.
— Pollution Prevention
Resource Center
One electroplating
shop replaced their
toxic cleaning solvent
with a water-based
solution. This
completely eliminated
toxic air emissions,
reduced air permit
fees, and created a
more pleasant work
environment.
Annual savings:
$8,440 per year
— Kansas Small
Business
Environmental
Assistance
Program
One firm used a low-
concentration plating
solution in 5 nickel
tanks and saved
$1,300 in disposal and
feedstock costs.
— U.S. EPA
9/12/2005
OWNER/OPERATOR INFORMATION SHEET
Reducing Air Pollution from:
Electroplating Operations
Why should my electroplating
shop reduce air pollution?
People who are exposed to toxic air
pollutant at sufficient concentrations, for
sufficient durations, may increase their
chances of getting cancer or
experiencing other serious health effects,
such as reproductive problems, birth
defects, and aggravated asthma.
Pollution prevention safeguards the
health of your employees, customers,
and families by using materials,
processes, or practices that reduce or
eliminate air pollution at the source.
For example, covering containers of
cleaning solvents prevents vapors from
affecting your employees.
Pollution prevention practices also
save money on waste disposal, materials
usage, and the cost of air pollution
controls.
You may already be regulated by
federal, state, local, and Tribal agencies
and may already voluntarily implement
pollution prevention practices. However,
increasing pollution prevention efforts
can further minimize impacts on human
health and the environment.
Why should I be concerned about
air pollution from my
electroplating shop?
• Electroplating operations can
produce emissions of toxic air
pollutants, including heavy metals
and cyanide.
• Degreasing and cleaning solutions
can release toxic air pollutants and
volatile organic compounds (VOC).
Chemicals in these substances can
react in the air to form ground-level
ozone (smog), which has been linked
to a number of respiratory effects.
• Plating processes generate heavy
metals such as hexavalent chromium
and cadmium. While federal, state,
local, and Tribal regulations limit the
amount of emissions from
electroplating shops, dangerous
releases of toxic air pollutants can
occur if an electroplating shop is not
in compliance with regulations.
• Cyanide has been a key component
of plating solutions for years. It can
impact the nervous system, heart, and
lungs.
How can I reduce air pollution
from my electroplating shop?
Substitute Materials
• Use cleaners such as water-based
cleaners that have a lower toxic air
pollutant and VOC content.
• Use degreasing solvents with a lower
toxic air pollutants and VOC content.
• If you are a chromium electroplater,
switch from hexavalent chromium-
bearing solutions, which can cause
cancer, to trivalent chromium ones,
which do not cause cancer.
• Replace the cyanide in plating
solutions with less toxic compounds
like zinc chloride and pyro-phosphate
copper.
Lower Emissions at the Source
• Cover containers of cleaning solvents
and used shop towels. This will
reduce emissions of toxic air
pollutants and VOC as well as the
EPA 's Sector Strategies Program has an Environmental Management
System (EMS) available for electroplating shops to use. An EMS helps
electroplating shops integrate environmental decision making into day-
to-day operations.
— U.S. EPA
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OWNER/OPERATOR INFORMATION SHEET
Electroplating Operations
9/12/2005
amount of solvent lost to evaporation. This reduces
the amount of new solvent purchased.
• Securely cover all containers to reduce the chance of
spills when transferring materials.
• Use funnels or pumps to avoid spills when
dispensing materials.
• Install ventilation hoods over plating baths to help
protect workers from evaporative plating solutions.
Change Cleaning Procedures
• Mandate a "clean as you go" policy to reduce the
amount of solvent needed for removing heavy build-
up.
• Mechanically clean parts with a wire brush or
sandblasting equipment to reduce solvent use.
• Use old solvent as a pre-wash or wipe for cleaning
equipment or parts.
• Switch to a water-based cleaning system like
ultrasonic cleaners, manual parts washers, automatic
spray equipment, steam cleaners, or baths with
agitation.
• Clean parts with hot water and detergent at high
pressures in a pressurized washer.
Recycle Materials
• Use an on-site distillation unit to clean dirty cleaning
liquid. This makes the solvent available for reuse in
the production process. An on-site distillation
reduces the costs of both solvent disposal and fresh
solvent purchase.
• Use old solvent for cleaning very dirty parts.
• Reuse plating bath solution and rinse water.
• Reduce bath dumps by continuously filtering bath
solutions.
Change Production Processes
• Review and streamline production processes to
reduce overall cleaning solvent and degreaser use.
For example, evaluate your solvent quality,
consolidate parts washing processes, and service
units only when necessary. These steps can greatly
reduce solvent waste.
• Lower emissions of toxic air pollutants such as
cyanide, chromium and other heavy metals by using
alternative electrocoating technologies like thermal
spray coating, vapor deposition, and chemical
vapor deposition.
• Minimize chemical usage and its associated
emissions by using the lowest concentration of
chemicals in the bath that will produce the desired
results.
• If possible, use mechanical scraping instead of a
chemical solution to remove undesired buildup on
the metal.
• Change baths and rinses based on bath/rinse
quality, not to meet an arbitrary schedule.
What do I need to consider before converting
to alternative plating processes?
Converting to alternative plating processes may
result in high costs from research and development
and new equipment, but these alternative processes
often reduce operating costs.
Some alternative processes may be more labor
intensive, which results in higher labor costs, but these
processes can significantly reduce the amount of toxic
air pollutants emitted.
Check with your state, local, or Tribal pollution
prevention office for funding possibilities.
What else can I do to reduce air pollution?
Your community may already have groups working
for cleaner air. Your expertise and knowledge can be
very helpful to these groups.
Many pollution prevention offices offer free on-site
assessments for interested businesses. A list of these
small business assistance programs can be found at
www.epa.gov/smallbusiness. This site provides
information about assistance and technical help,
environmental experts, environmental regulations and
laws, funding, and cost-saving opportunities.
Sponsor employee awards for good ideas, great
efforts, and dedication to pollution prevention. For
example, you could provide a cash award for workers
who implement a work practice that reduces both
costs and pollution.
HEALTHY AIR: A COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS LEADERS GUIDE
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HEALTHY AIR
» CDHMUmll «»0 iUSHISS UHOIIS Gtlml
Could your family
be affected?
One company uses
active carbon filtration
to regenerate plating
baths.
Capital costs: $9,192
Maintenance costs:
$7,973/yr
Reduction in plating
bath disposal and
fresh chemicals
purchased: 47%
Savings from reduced
waste disposal: $67,420
Savings in chemical
purchases: $55,000
— Illinois Waste
Management
and Research
Center
P2/Finance is a user-
friendly series of free
software programs
designed to help
business people analyze
the costs of pollution
prevention, energy
efficiency, and other
projects to enhance
resource efficiency. It
enables the user to
compare costs/savings
of business-as-usual
practices with
alternative scenarios.
— Tellus Institute
OWNER/OPERATOR INFORMATION SHEET
Electroplating Operations
9/12/05
Resources
National Association of Metal Finishers: www.namf.org, (407) 281-6445
EPA Air Toxics Web Site: www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Chromium Electroplat-
ing: www. epa.gov/ttn/atw/chrome/chromepg. html
Owner/Operator Information Sheet for Metal Operations.
EPA's Sector Strategies Partnership Program for the Metal Finishing Sector:
www.epa.gov/sectors/metalfmishing/index.html
Fabricated metal products sector notebook:
www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/assistance/sectors/notebooks/fabm
etsn.pdf
U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development Capsule Report: Approaching Zero
Discharge in Surface Finishing. EPA 625/R-99/008, November 2000. Guidance on
controls and process changes: www.pfonline.com/magjmages/625R99008AZD.pdf
P2/Finance (Tellus Institute): www.tellus.org/b&s/software/p2.html
Electroplating and metal finishing: www.cdphe.state.co.us/ap/P2/el_met.htm
Plating process:
www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/main_sections/info_services/library_docs/manuals/fmishing/pl
ating.htm
Electroplating and metal finishing industry:
www.engext.ksu.edu/ppi/publications/manual/Metalfinish/contents.html
Options for industry: www. dep. state, ct. us/wst/p2/industry/optindex. htm
Community-Based Projects: www.epa.gov/air/toxicair/community.html
Topic Hubs
• Metal fabrication and machining:
www.newmoa.org/prevention/topichub/toc.cfm?hub=23&subsec=7&nav=7
• Machining and metal fabrication:
www.pprc. org/hubs/subsection. cfm ?hub =23&subsec=4&nav=4
• Plating: www.pprc.org/hubs/subsection.cfm?hub=24&subsec=4&nav=4
Toxicity of Solvents
• Integrated Risk Information Systems (IRIS): www.epa.gav/iris
• Air Toxics Health Effects Notebooks: www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hapindex.html
Alternatives
• Finding an Alternative to Solvent Degreasing:
www.pprc.org/cpc/Contents/Baseline/EPA%20Publications/Solvent%20Degreasing
%20Alternatives.pdf
• Biochemical substitutions:
www.carbohydrateeconomy.org/library/admin/uploadedfiles/BiochemicalJSubstituti
on_in_the_Metal_Plating_.html
• Solvent Alternatives Guide: www.sage.rti.org
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