Federal Facilities Toxic Release and Reduction

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
Washington, DC 20460
EPA-30Q-F-98-002c
February 1998
iSrEPA federal Facilities Toxic Release and Reduction
* initiatives Fact Sheet
Background
Executive Order 12856, entitled "Federal Compliance with
Right-To-Know Laws and Pollution Prevention
Requirements", was signed by President Clinton on
August 3. 1993. The primary objectives of EO 12856 are
to encourage Federal facilities to:
• Develop pollution prevention plans to reduce toxic
releases by 50%;
• Collect and report data on the quantity of hazardous
materials stored, used, and released at the facility;
• Ensure public access to use and release information.
Federal facilities are required to submit annual TRI reports
starting in 1995 for data collected in 1994.
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS
1995 Waste Management Distribution
0% I
1
47%
—f*

¦
38%
Recycling
Energy Recovery
¦ Treatment
e Releases
Approach
A study was undertaken to analyze Federal facility TR! data for 1994 and 1995 to; 1) determine the most commonly
used and released chemicals; 2) identify currently used pollution prevention (P2) approaches and on-going pollution
prevention research and development to lower or substitute the use of a chemical; and 3) identify potential
RD/transition needs. As of January 1998, fifteen chemical Fact Sheets have been developed. Please refer to the
back page to order Fact Sheets for other chemicals.
This Fact Sheet contains two charts and four main sections:
The charts represent the waste management distribution and percent change of TRI reported quantities.
Chemical Profile section.
Identified and used P2 approaches section.
On-going P2 research and development section.
P2 research and development/transition needs section.
TRI Reported Quantities - Percent Change 1994 and 1995
£
o
TRI
Reporting
1994 (lbs)
1995 (lbs)
% Change
Releases
176.633
83,357
-53%
Recycling
On-Site Off-Site
0 6.000
0 0
0% -100%
Energy Recovery
On-Site Off-Site
30.000 24.570
"30,006" 72,430
0% " 195%
Treatment
On-Site Off-Site'
10.552 18,816
0"~ 34,078
-100% 81%
Releases plus
Off-site Treatment
195,449
117,435
-40%
Page 1 of 4
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS

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CHEMICAL PROFILE: CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS	CAS #:
SYNONYMS	NONE
COMMON USES IN THE U.S.
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ACUTE HEALTH HAZARDS
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CHRONIC HEALTH HAZARDS
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COMMON P2 INITIATIVES
Eleven federal facilities reported TRI chromium releases in either 1994 or 1995, The largest
reported releases were from Air Force Plant 04, Air Force Plant 06, Anniston Army Depot, and
Watervliet Arsenal. The chromium releases resulted from depot-level maintenance and
manufacturing operations involving chrome plating. The decreases in releases between 1994
and 1995 may be attributed to fluctuations in workloads, plating tank change-outs, and other
factors.
The primary use for chromium compounds is in electroplating and other metal finishing
operations. The main ingredient in all hexavalent chromium plating solutions is chromium
trioxide, a compound that contains approximately 25% hexavalent chromium Other uses are
leather tanning, stainless steel welding, chromate or chrome pigment production
Breathing very high levels of chromium (VI) in air can damage and irritate your nose, lungs,
stomach, and intestines People who are allergic to chromium can also have asthma attacks
after breathing high levels of either chromium (VI) or (til). Long term exposure to high or
moderate leveis of chromium (VI) can cause damage to the nose and lungs and can increase
the risk of non-cancer lung diseases Ingesting very large amounts of chromium can cause
stomach upsets and ulcers, convulsions, kidney and liver damage, and death
Certain chromium (VI) compounds are known carcinogens. Not enough data are available to
determine if chromium (0) or chromium (111) are carcinogens.
wwfw.epa.gov/ttn/uatw#http //www.epa qovfttn/uat • Recycling. Facilities have installed closed loop recycling systems for nnsewaters and
w#	advanced bath maintenance equipment to extend bath life.
•	Process efficiency improvements Many facilities have also replaced their conventional plating
bath lines with physical or chemtcal vapor deposition processes.
•	Material substitution Many DOD facilities have replaced chromium (IV) with chromium (III) and
other substitutes
Additional information regarding chemical hazards and access to Material Safety Data Sheets can be reached through
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry web page: http://atsdr1 .atsdr.cdc.gov.8080/ - refer to ToxFAQs.
FEDERAL FACILITIES REPORTING	COMMON USES OF: CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS
Federal Facilities Reporting in both 1994 and 1995 6 PLATING
Federal Facilities Reporting Only in 1994	4
Federal Faciiilties Reporting Only in 1995	1
POLLUTION PREVENTION APPROACHES CURRENTLY IN USE
PLATING
•	8est management practices for reducing chrome plating wastes include, operator training, routine tank testing, strict inventory control, written
procedures for bath make-up and additions, use process baths to the maximum extent possible, and establishing a preventive maintenance
program
•	Bath maintenance technologies to extend the life of chrome plaltng baths include: fluorosurfactant fume suppressant, tank chemistry monitors,
alternate anodes, drag-out reduction, rinse water reduction, ton exchange, microfiltration, acid sorption.
•	High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) — HVOF is a dry process that uses a fuei/oxygen mixture in a combustion chamber to produce a dense metallic
coating HVOF is recommended by Boeing as a replacement for chrome plating HVOF is under implementation at: Hill AFB, Cherry Point,
Corpus Chnsti Army Depot, and Sacramento ALC. Hill AFB (00-ALC) has already implemented HVOF for landing gear components. (POC at
General Atomics, San Diego, CA A Gattuso 619-455-2910). Coating is much harder and wear resistant than electroplate chrome. Process
window is wide Additional research is being performed by: B1RL, Northwestern U., Keith Legg, George Nichols; T 708-467-1572, F 708-467-
1022, MITRE, Neil Sylvestre: T 703-683-5708.F 703-883-1951; Concurrent Technoiogies Corp., David S. Viszlay: T 814-269-2593, F 814-269-
2798, Some work is conducted from SM-ALC, (McClelian AFB). NDCEE and commercial clients.
ON-GOING POLLUTION PREVENTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Page 2 of 4
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS

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PLATING
PSII
Coating is much harder than electroplate chroma when used on chrome and steel, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Jay T. Scheur. T 505-665-6525. .
F 505-665-3552; For US Dept of Energy and US Dept. of Commerce !
AMPLATE Ni-W-B Cemkote NiB Electroplating j
Coating is as hard as electroplate chrome NiB applied for automotive and plastic molding tools and some aerospace approvals. U. of California.
Davis. Prof, Ahmet N. Palazoglu; T 916-752-8774, F 916-752-1031. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Sandia National Laboratory: National I
Chemical Corporation, Edward McComas: T 407-22-3-4058.
Manganese Silicate for Aluminum
Coating is as resistant to corrosion as chrome electroplate {on bulk aluminum), McDonald-Douglas, Inc., Sanchem, Inc., Dr.. John W. Bibber; T 312-
733-6100; F 312-733-7432,
Laser cladding "
Wright Laboratory (Jay Tiiey. 513-255-3054). EB-PVD and Laser cladding = High deposition rate of EB-PVD and Laser cladding. Applied Research
Laboratory, Penn State Prof. Jogender Singh; T 814-863-9898, F 814-863-1183; Concurrent Technologies Corp., David S. Viszlay; T 814-269-2593, s
F 814-269-2798. 1
Chemical vapor deposition
MicroCoatsng Technologies, lnc for the Office of Naval Research CAPVD and CCAD: Coating is almost as hard as chrome and wears as well or
almost as well as chrome. Implant Sciences Corp . A.J. Armmi; T 617-246-0700, F 617-246-1167; For US EPA
Carbon based coatings
Developed by Diamonex, Inc. (Patricia Kendall. 888-234-5978).
Russian hard chrome coating
Under development by Faraday Technology, lnc
I
Nickel-tunqsten-silicon-carbide j
SM-ALC, NDCEE, Delta Pollution Control and Boeing Aircraft. "Takada" Ni-W-SiC electroplate - Coating is as hard as electroplate chrome. MITRE, I
Neil Sylvestre; T 703-883-5708, F 703-883-1951. j
High hardness eleetfoless nickel
Electro less plating is similar to electroplating, but deposition is accomplished without the use of electrodes or external electrical energy. A high
hardness NiClad 797 4% phosphorus electroless Ni plating process is available from MacDermid. lnc - Waterbury, CT (POC - M. Malik 810-437
8161) This process is currently being developed for chromium replacement for ALC applications at SA-ALC by L. Galarza 210-925-3190 and is
being tested at Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot (Steve Hartle, NAWC-AD Patuxent River, 301-342-8006). Very Hard Electroless Nickel - coating is j
close in hardness to electroplate chrome Wear tests show less wear resistance than chrome electroplate McGean-Rohco, lnc , OH D Kent Dickie, J
T 216-441-4900 X-3010. F 216-441-1377 I
Physical vapor deposition (PVD) {
PVD processes are performed under a high vacuum, in their simplest form, a vapor of coating material is generated either by evaporation or j
sputtering from a solid target The most advanced types of PVD coatings use energetic ion bombardment to enhance coating properties PVD is
currently being tested under separate initiatives by the EPA's Environmental Technology Initiative, Boeing, SM-ALC/TIEL. the Hard Chrome |
Alternatives Team. Wright Laboratory (Jay Tiley, 513-255-3054), and SERDP (Dr John Beatty. 410-516-4748). The Army has proposed three R&D j
projects for chrome plating substitutes but has not yet funded them IBAD - Coating (after nitride implantation) is much harder than chrome I
electroplate Low deposition rate. Only thin coating and nitride are energy efficient. Use in combination with CAPVD/CCAD implant Sciences j
Corp., A J. Armirti; T 617-246-0700. F 617-248-1167
For US EPA (Cr), US Army (diamond), US Air Force (SiC) (N+ impregnation) Southwestern Research Institute; T 210-522-6588. F 210-522-6965 j
and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. J.M. Williams. T 423-574-6265, F 423-576-8135 Thermal deposition - High hardness (Cr203 in particular), 1
wear reduced &y 1/3 (for tungsten carbide) Corrosion resistance is much improved with WC-Cr and Cr203- (no pitting) and resistance to 50% HCI i
Sicorsky Aircraft, Robert Guillemette- T 203-386-7559, F 203-3S6-7523 For US Army. j
Spray Casting j
Spray casting is another form of thermal spray process in which an inert gas is heated and enter a supersonic convergent, divergent nozzle The j
nozzle injects molten metal/alloy into the gas stream where it is broken into tiny droplets, accelerated by the supersonic flow, then sprayed out of the j
nozzle toward the part to be coated Testing is underway at the National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence. The Air Force POCs for j
this project are Lt Ray Smith (210-724-6506), and Maj Albert Rhodes (904-283-6239). Spray Casting Ni Alloy - Coating parameters can be used to f
control hardness and corrosion resistance, MSE Technology Applications, Ronald J. Glovan; T 31-2733-6100, F 312-733-7432. ,
• On-going R&D and existing commercial off-the-shelf technology solutions are adequately addressing the pollution prevention needs for this use J
POLLUTION PREVENTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT I TRANSITION NEEDS
PLATING
Federal Facilities Which Reported for Both 1994 and 1995
Facility
1994 Release*- 1995 Release+ Percent
Off-site Treatment Off-site Treatment Change
Page 3 of 4
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS

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US
MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS, ALBANY, GA
3,260
0
-100%
u s
MARINE CORPS. BARSTOW, CA
0
11,749
100%
u s
ARMY WATERVLIET ARSENAL. WATERVLIET, NY
37,433
20,518
-45%
u s
ARMY.SCRANTON PA
284
0
¦100%
US
ARMY. ANNtSTON, AL
29 696
28,480
-4%
u s
AtR FORCE PLANT 06 GA MARIETTA, GA
65.389
3,371
-95%
u s
AIR FORCE PLANT 04 TX FORT WORTH, TX
28,600
12,100
-58%
u s
AIR FORCE PLANT 03 OK, TULSA. OK
9.583
0
-100%
US
AIR FORCE OGDEN AIR, HILL A F B, UT
6.930
7,100
2%
US
AIR FORCE. TINKER AFB, OK
5,509
34,119
519%
US
AIR FORCE, KELLY AFB, TX
7,765
0
-100%
If you have additional information regarding an identified or used P2 approach, on-going P2 research and development,
or any P2 research and development/transition needs, please notify Will Garvey, US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW, Ariel Rios Building, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20004-2403, or fax (202) 501-0069.
Page A of 4
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS

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