United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
Washington, DC 20460
EPA-300-F-98-Q02h
February 1998
J^EPA Fec^eral 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 TRl reports
starting in 1995 for data collected in 1994.
HYDROCHLORIC ACID
1995 Waste Management Distribution
0%

0%

— 34%


SS66%
Recycling
Energy Recovery
¦ Treatment
T? Releases
Approach
A study was undertaken to analyze Federal facility TRl 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 TRl 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.
TRl Reported Quantities - Percent Change 1994 and 1995
1.00 -	,	,			_				
0.80 				 						
0 60	,								
0 40	,	_____
0,20			—				
^ -0.20
-0.40
-0 60
-0 80
-1.00
TRl
Reporting
Releases
Recycling

Energy Recovery
Treatment
Releases plus
Off-site Treatment

On-Site Off-Site
On-Site Off-Sste
On-Site
Off-Site
1994 (lbs)
377,398
0
0'
2,417.075 475
398,556
4.320
331 718
1995 (lbs)
210,350
0
0
o
o
106.100
0
210,350
% Change
-44%
0%
0%
-100% -100%
-73%
-100%
-45%
Page 1 of 4
HYDROCHLORIC ACID

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CHEMICAL PROFILE: HYDROCHLORIC ACID	CAS #: 7647-01-0
SYNONYMS	MURIATIC ACID	CHLOROHVORIC ACID	HYDROGEN CHLORIDE
COMMON USES IN THE U.S.
www epa qov/ttn/uatw#ltnp ffwww eoa qoWttn/uat • Twenty-one Federal facilities reported hydrochloric acid in their 1994 and/or 1995 TRI reports,
w#	The largest releases were reported by Wright Patterson AFB (31% of the total releases for
1994), and US DOE Naval Petroleum, Tupman. CA (33%) The three remaining largest
releases were from Annrsion Army Depot, Rock Island Arsenal, and US Marine Corp, Cherry
Point, NC Hydrochloric add is a by-product of coat combustion from the power plant at Wright
Patterson and the US Marine Corp facilities The Naval Petroleum facility may use hydrochloric
acid to remove blockages encountered when drilling oil and encourage the flow of crude oil or
gas to the well {source Kirk-Othmer. Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. 4th edition. John
Wiley & Sons 1995). The facility may also burn matin its power plant, The two Army fatalities
use hydrochloric acid m their metal plating and finishing maintenance and manufacturing
operations Hydrochloric acid may also be used in laboratory operations
•	Hydrochloric acid is used in many applications. Aqueous hydrochloric acid is used tn metal
cleaning operations, chemical manufacturing, petroleum well acMtficaton and hydraulic
fracturatien, and in the production of food and synthetic rubber. (Kirk-Khmer, Encyclopedia of
Chemical Technology 4th edition, John Wiley & Sons 1995),
ACUTE HEALTH HAZARDS
www,eoa.govlMrtfuat»*httpi/lwww.fepa.oev am. _ it • Contact can cause severe skin bums and severe bums of the eyes leading to permanent
w#	damage with loss of sight. Breathing the vapors can irritate the mouth; nose, and throat. High
levels may irritate the lungs, causing coughing andter shortness of breath. Higher exposures
can cause a buildup of fluid in the lungs, a medical emergency (source.
Mtp.//maii.odsr>et corrvTRIFacts)
CHRONIC HEALTH HAZARDS
www.epa qovrttn/u3rw#hltp.//www epa qov/ttn/uai • There is limited evidence that worKers who are manufacturing hydrochloric acid have an
W#	increase of respiratory cancers Other long term effects' hydrogen chloride can cause erosion
of the teeth, skin rashes, and lung damage.
COMMON P2 INITIATIVES
WWW.epa qoWUn/uatwffhttp //www,ipa,govftfn/uat • Petroleum Exploration and Production
si	Reuse of hydrochloric acids.
•	Power Generation
Alternates fuels. Convert to natural gas.
» Metal Platinq
Recycling Install waste acid detoxification and recovery equipment
Additional information regarding chemical hazards and access to Materia! 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: HYDROCHLORIC ACID
Federal Faculties Reporting in both 1994 and 1995 5 PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS PR PLATING
Federal Faculties Reporting Only in 1994	15 POWER PRODUCTION
Federal Facilities Reporting Only in 1995	1
POLLUTION PREVENTION APPROACHES CURRENTLY IN USE
PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION
• Hydrochloric acid is injected under high pressure into the well head to remove blockages caused by sand, stones, and other debris Two
processes can oe carried out. acidification, or hydraulic fracluration. The waste acid can be segregated into components and reused on-site or
off-site (source: American Petroleum Institute Waste Minimization in the Petroleum Industry API Publication 1991)
PLATING
Pa&e 2 ot A
HYDROCHLORIC ACID

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POLLUTION PREVENTION APPROACHES CURRENTLY IN USE
PLATING
•	Watervliet Arsenal (WVA) has a project underway to test and evaluate Viatec Recovery Systems. !nc's waste acid detoxification and recovery
system (WADR) The equipment combines vacuum distillation technology with advanced materials to concenirate metal contaminants and
recover clean acid and water. The technology was developed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory which is operated by Battelie Memorial Institute
for the US Department of Energy. Typical waste acid streams include: hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, and phosphoric acid. The ,
Army POC is Phi! Darcy. 518-266-4534. the POC at Viatec is Evan Jones (or Nta Johnson), 509-943-5327 WVA is planning on purchasing a
second system. Several Army facilities are waiting for the results of WVA's project prior to purchasing She equipment. Benet Labs is also in the
process of installing a WADR system	i
POWER PRODUCTION	j
t
•	Many Federal facilities have converted to natural gas
ON-GOING POLLUTION PREVENTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT	I
PLATING	,
Transition to Alternative Plating Technologies
The transition to alternative plating technologies may reduce the need for hydrochloric acid used in conventional plating baths. No R&D projects
were identified specifically for hydrochloric acid substitutes or recovery systems
POLLUTION PREVENTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT I TRANSITION NEEDS	I
PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION
i
•	Existing commercial off-the-shelf technology solutions are adequately addressing the pollution prevention needs for petroleum exploration and |
production.	I
PLATING	i
•	On-going R&D and existing commercial off-the-shelf technology solutions are adequately addressing the pollution prevention needs for this use, •
POWER PRODUCTION
•	On-going R&D and existing commercial off-the-shelf technology solutions are adequately addressing the pollution prevention needs for this use.
Federal Facilities Which Reported for Both 1994 and 1995
1994Reiease+	1995Release+ Percent
Facility	Off-site Treatment Off-site Treatment Change
U.S. DOE OAK RIDGE K-25 SITE OAK RIDGE. TN
81
69
-15%
U.S. AIR FORCE, WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, OH
120,079
0
-100%
U.S. AIR FORCE FLIGHT TEST, EDWARDS. CA
38,914
0
-100%
U.S. AIR FORCE PLANT 44 AZ. TUCSON. AZ
900
0
-100%
U S. AIR FORCE UTAH TEST, GRANTSVILLE, UT
0
170,000
100%
U.S. ARMY, ANNISTON, AL
20,482
0
-100%
U.S. ARMY, KINGSPORT, TN
17
0
-100%
U.S ARMY ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ROCK ISLAND, II
15,000
0
-100%
U.S. DOE, OAK RIDGE, TN
202
81
-60%
U.S. AIR FORCE, KELLY AFB, TX
1.760
0
-100%
U.S DOE NAVAL PETROLEUM, TUPMAN. CA
127.214
0
-100%
U.S. NAVY NAVAL SURFACE. CRANE, (N
588
0
-100%
U.S DOE OAK RIDGE Y-12 PLANT. OAK RIDGE, TN
1,000
1,170
17%
U.S. DOE PINELLAS PLANT. LARGO. FL
361
0
-100%
U.S. DOE ROCKY FLATS, GOLDEN, CO
1,017
0
-100%
U S DOE SAND!A NATL. LAB, ALBUQUERQUE, NM
57
30
-55%
U S DOE WELDON SPRING SITE, SAINT CHARLES. MO
0
0
0%
U.S. MARINE CORPS. CHERRY POINT, NC
52,000
39,000
-25%
Page 3 of 4
HYDROCHLORIC ACID

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Federal Facilities Which Reported for Both 1994 and 1995
Facility
1994 Release*
Off-site Treatment
1995 Release* Percent
Off-site Treatment Change
U S. MINT, SAN FRANCiSCO. CA
U S NAVY, NORFOLK. VA
U S DOE FERMILAB, BATAVIA, IL
1
1,505
450
0 -100%
0 -100%
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 developmentAransition 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 4 of 4
HYDROCHLORIC ACID

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