Government Watch A boost for developing nations However, the NAS panel considered PCB's effects on the Faeroe Islanders and concluded through further analysis of the test data that it was possible to isolate the effects of mercury. PCB exposure is associated with the results of a few of the dozen test results in the Faeroe study, says Phillipe Grandjean, principle investigator in the Faeroe Islands study To circumvent this potentially confounding exposure, the researchers limited their review to results from children who had the lowest PCB exposures, similar to average U.S. and European levels. In this the mercury effects fire just as strong as in the total he says. The NAS report clears away at least one hurdle facing the U.S. EPA in its efforts to regulate mercury emissions from coal-fired electric power plants, the last large, anthropological source of
unregulated mercury emissions in the United States. Two years ago, Congress forced EPA to delay regulatory action until the NAS evaluation was complete. EPA's current mercury reference dose is more stringent than other federal agencies and WHO recommendations. The NAS committee found that EPA's reference dose is scientifically justifiable, but it disagreed with EPA's reliance on the Iraqi study. EPA toxicologists are updating their reference dose in light of the recommendations, says Bob Sonawane, in EPA's Office of Research and Development. A peer-review panel meeting, open to the public, is scheduled for late November. That timing fits with the courtordered Dec. 15 deadline requiring EPA to state whether or not it intends to regulate electric power plant mercury emissions REBECCA RENNER
Developing countries can expect help cutting their production of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) now that Canada has established a $13.5 million fund for just this purpose. The Canada POPs Fund, the first of its kind offered by a developed nation, aims to help developing countries build their own capacity to create inventories, establish regulations to control releases, and find alternative chemicals and practices that can substitute for the use of POPs Global air currents quickly transport POPs such as polychlorinated biphenyls and the pesticide DDT to colder climates such as in northern Canada where they b i o a c n i mulate through the fonri chain iwio-j. of the POPs in Canaris c o m e f r o m f o r a l n n c r u i r r a c anri
significant
Furniture plant reduces emissions, showcases innovations A new wood furniture manufacturing plant being built in Gaines Township, MI, will reduce its airborne emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—including the solvents butyl acetate, toluene, and xylene—by more than 70% over its existing facility while doubling its production. The plant, owned by Steelcase Corp., will also be the first large manufacturing building certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program. "We are using a blend of technologies developed by research chemists at our key suppliers, Akzo Nobel and Giardina USA, to convert as many of the wood finishing stages as possible from organic solvent-based to waterbased finishes," says David
Rinard, Steelcase's director of corporate and environmental safety. "The difficulty lies in developing topcoat finishes [that embody] the same clarity and durability as the organic solvent-based finishes but use water as the carrier agent" [Environ. Sci. Technoll 2000, 34 (15), 334A). Steelcase's target is to have 60-70% of its materials in a water-based finishing system when the new plant opens in the spring. The remainder of the emissions reduction will be made up by collecting and destroying the organic solvents in exhaust gases with a 909& destruction efficiencv The plant itself will also reduce emissions since it "is designed to allow for the longer cure times needed for water-based finishes and will have new equipment with better capture efficiencv so less spray is
health threat
to Canadians
Canadian officials say they hope the fund will nudge negotiations over the global agreement to control releases of 12 proposed POPs, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Negotiations stalled in March over disagreement about who should pay for measures to cut POP releases.
POPs worldwide The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is broadening its attack on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by creating a $5 million program to assess many more persistent toxic substances, beyond the 12 now proposed for reduction. Primary goals of the two-year program, launched in September, are to analyze the damage Continued on Page e43A
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Environmental News wasted," says Denise Van Valkenburg, an environmental engineer at Steelcase. Steelcase's new plant is being designed to meet the "green building" criteria published by the U.S. Green Building Council, which has a membership that includes more than 400 government and international organizations, such as United Technologies, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Bank of America. Most of these criteria are designed for office and commercial buildings, but Steelcase plans to meet them with its manufacturing plant. According to Rinard the new plant will incorporate criteria such as the use of recycled content materials retention ponds for stormwater drain off and a managed forest "The plant manager plans to plant 3000-4000 [indigenous] trees so in 50 years we can use the trees for the furniture we manufacture here " savs Rinard To demonstrate its environmental commitment, Steelcase is retiring the old facility's unused air emission credits, which are valued at approximately $5 million. In Michigan, "we have a free
trade system to encourage companies to reduce emissions and meet regulatory limits," says Rinard. Steelcase anticipates 400 tons per year of emissions reductions in the new plant, which it could sell to other companies for $2000-$3000 per ton, but instead it is retiring them. Since 1989, Steelcase has cut its VOC emissions from the manufacture of its steel furniture by 76%. —PATRICIA DEMPSEY
A water-based finishing process is expected to dramatically reduce a furniture plant's VOC emissions.
McDonouqh to redesign Ford's industrial complex Ford Motor Co.'s aging Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Ml, an icon of American industrialism, is slated for a dramatic redesign by architect William McDonough, who is known for sustainable designs such as the Nike Europe headquarters. Scheduled to begin this spring and take 20 years to complete, the goal of the redesign, according to Ford Chairman William Clay Ford Jr., is to create "a visible testament" to Ford's environmental leadership. Ford chose McDonough for the $2 billion overhaul of the 1212-acre complex, which contains six Ford plants, the Rouge Steel Co., and the Double Eagle Steel Co., because "he realized we were speaking the same language," says McDonough. "We're talking about a new paradigm that integrates design with manufacturing." McDonough's vision of sustainable manufacturing is "an industrial transformation, incorporating the redesign of products to be cyclical rather than cradle-to-grave, [and using] biological systems and materials with [a] long-term utility." Plans for the plant, to be announced this month, will address restoration of the waterfront areas and the ailing Rouge River and create public access to historical sites. —P.D.
Gasoline additive gets physical to attack pollution A small, Virginia-based company called General Technology Applications, Inc. (GTA), is trying to position its pollution-abating gasoline additive, polyisobutylene, as an attractive alternative to fuel oxygenates like methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and ethanol. The company says it has met with its greatest successes in China, but it is clearly facing an uphill battle. At the American Chemical Society (ACS) 220th National Meeting in Washington in August, Paul Waters of American University's Department of Chemistry and a scientific consultant to GTA, reported that polyisobutylene can produce a 70% decrease in emissions of carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and nitrooxides. Waters says that the additive can play the same pollu-
tion-reducing role as MTBE, which a blue-ribbon panel convened by EPA suggested be phased out because of its tendency to contaminate drinking water. In addition to reducing pollution, GTA's additive ratchets up horsepower by 10% and increases mileage by 20%, according to company testing. Waters says that the additive can be used in engines ranging from small twocycle motors to large diesels; it is currently an ingredient in aftermarket products for cleaning engine components and enhancing performance. The standard method for reducing combustion pollution is to change the fuel's chemical properties, but polyisobutylene is based on a physical approach.
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The additive is based on high molecular weight polymers that alter the size of fuel droplets so they are more uniform when the fuel is sprayed into an internal combustion chamber for ignition, according GTA literature. This uniformity allows the fuel to be combusted more efficiently, Waters explains. The company holds a patent on the technology, which was originally developed in the 1980s to create an "antimisting" jet fuel to reduce the chance that a fireball would form in die wake of a plane crash he says. The compound is similar in formulation to polymers used in chewing gum and caulking paste and is considered nontoxic The additive's use of polymers, which are notoriously heavy and do not burn well, may make it a
