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GOVERNMENT
Pollution Prevention Becoming Watchword for Government) Industry • EPA study of progress on reducing pollutants cites growing role of legislation, proliferation of industry programs David J. Hanson, C&EN Washington ust as the decade of the 1980s will be remembered for efforts to clean up hazardous waste, the 1990s may be the decade of pollution prevention. Although the public has caught onto this only recently, industry has been working on it for some time. A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency demonstrates how much this concept is taking hold on all aspects of government and industry. EPA Administrator William K. Reilly sees the change as falling back on common sense, a part of the evolution of environmental protection. "Incorporating pollution prevention into everyday decisions is a major undertaking/7 he says. 'To succeed it will require a better and more sophisticated understanding of the environment." Much pollution prevention is aimed at manufacturing. Although 32% of carbon monoxide emissions and 31% of volatile organic chemicals emissions to the atmosphere derive from transportation, the biggest play is given to industrial emissions. This is partly because they can be more easily measured and regulated. In fact, it is such programs as the Toxic Release Inventory of the 1986 Superfund Amendments & Reauthorization Act and the reporting requirements of the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act that tell the public and government what manufacturers are releasing into the environment. The toxics inventory is also one of the few sources of data on what companies are doing to reduce the generation of pol-
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lution. More information will become available over the next few years as the 1990 Pollution Prevention Act comes into play. Because the source reduction reporting on the inventory is voluntary, however, comparatively few facilities have provided the information. EPA says just 11% have indicated pollution prevention activities and that the combination of adjusted numbers and actual reductions makes any trends in pollution prevention unclear. Each year of the inventory, which began in 1987, has generated more prevention data, but new regulations for this year will make such reporting mandatory. Manufacturers are already moving to make pollution prevention a priority of their own. The EPA report looks at several major industrial associations and the impact they are having on emissions from their members. The Chemical Manufacturers Association, for instance, launched its Responsible Care program in 1988 to improve the industry's management of chemicals. Although Responsible Care does not
Reilly: falling back on common sense
address pollution prevention directly, one of the program's codes of management practices is on waste and release reduction. Other industry associations with environmental principles mentioned in EPA's report include the American Petroleum Institute (API), which has a set of principles its member companies are expected to follow. One of these directly addresses pollution prevention by requiring members to commit to reducing overall emissions and waste generation. API has published some reports containing pollution reduction information. Both the National Paint & Coatings Association and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association provide information to their members on chemical release reduction. To highlight some individual efforts in pollution prevention, the EPA study looks at what two chemical companies have accomplished. Dow Chemical's Waste Reduction Always Pays program, started in 1986, is credited with cutting its emissions of Toxic Release Inventory chemicals 21% from 1987 to 1989. Dow reports that more than $3 million of special capital funds have been spent on pollution prevention projects over the past three years. EPA also cites Dow's Chem Aware program, which is designed to inform Dow employees and customers on how best to purchase, process, handle, and dispose of Dow products. EPA mentions Whyco Chromium of Waterbury, Conn., a small company that has been innovative in reducing chemical pollution. EPA points out that the company spent more than $2 million on pollution control in 1990, and spent an increased amount on research programs. The company developed a new method to make its metal-coated products that greatly reduces the amount of cyanide bath solution used. Although companies can do a lot on their own to reduce pollution, the force that is really moving pollution prevenJANUARY 6,1992 C&EN
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GOVERNMENT tion forward is the federal government. its own R&D program for reducing faculty gain more experience, curricu Because of increased pressure on Con generation of hazardous waste. Anoth lum changes and research topics in pol gress to reduce pollution, several recent er federal department with a major pol lution prevention also are increasing. laws have pushed pollution prevention lution prevention program mentioned Finally, with some encouragement to the fore. And federal agencies other in the report is the Department of En from expanded environmental regula tions, universities are working on re than EPA have started to mandate pol ergy. lution reduction programs. Other major players in the pollution ducing the volume of their own haz First among pollution reducing laws prevention arena are the states. They ardous waste by using more microscale is the 1990 Pollution Prevention Act, have been in the lead on emissions re methods in labs. which goes into effect later this year. porting and continue to maintain this To make the issue of pollution pre The law will force companies to focus lead. The EPA report says there are vention even more complicated, local on ways to reduce emissions rather presently more than 50 state laws that governments are also getting involved. than treat wastes. Among other things, contain some aspect of pollution pre The EPA study says that city and coun the law establishes a source reduction vention, more than half of which were ty governments in California, particu clearinghouse on pollution prevention enacted in 1990. Most require some sort larly, have played a major role in in information; provides for the develop of facility planning requirement, by dustrial pollution prevention. Local ing, testing, and disseminating of governments can offer more flexauditing procedures designed to Γ™ ™ | ibility to deal with specific prob identify source reduction oppor lems than can federal regulations, CMA survey shows chemical tunities; sets up standard meth it says, and they are often in a ods to measure pollution reduc better position to identify the facilities are polluting less tion; expands the toxic release in needs and limitations of local fa Number of Liquid Solid Millions ventory reporting requirements cilities. Common elements in lo Total waste of tons facilities waste to include questions about source cal programs are educational in 309.3 304.4 1981 536 4.9 reduction and recycling; and re formation to local companies, 292.5 1982 528 289.5 3.0 quires EPA to report to Congress technical and financial assistance, 314.4 722 3.1 1983 311.3 on the progress of the reduction and permits and licenses to force 274.0 1984 272.2 725 1.8 programs. Overall, the Pollution local companies into waste mini 212.4 2.2 210.2 1985 681 Prevention Act has the potential mization. 217.5 216.2 1986 529 1.3 for creating many changes in the 213.2 The last section of the report 1987 552 211.6 1.6 chemical industry. 214.8 582 213.2 1988 1.6 looks at sources of pollution other than manufacturing. EPA has not Other laws affecting source re Source: Chemical Manufacturers Association developed any specific pollution duction are the 1990 amendments I prevention strategies for noninto the Clean Air Act; Federal In secticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act; which a company must file a written dustrial pollution, although the agency and the Toxic Substances Control Act. pollution prevention plan. Require is working with other federal depart The recently passed air pollution law, ments for these plans vary from state to ments to do so. These areas include agri for example, requires EPA to conduct state, but most include items such as a culture, where the greatest concerns are an engineering research program to de description of current practices to elim runoff of agricultural chemicals and con velop new technologies for air pollu inate or reduce generation of hazard tamination of groundwater; the whole tion prevention. And it requires that ous pollutants, information on the area of energy production and use (al EPA take into consideration process amount of waste generated per unit of though some of this is covered under the changes or material substitutions when production, a list of pollution preven Clean Air Act amendments); transporta setting emissions standards for hazard tion options considered economical or tion; consumer awareness of pollution ous chemicals. The idea that EPA could technically feasible, and specific pollu prevention; and pollution by municipal force a facility to change its process or tion prevention goals. Other pollution ities. materials to reduce emissions worries prevention measures adopted by states EPA's report, titled "Pollution Preven some chemical industry officials. mentioned in the report include impo tion 1991: Progress on Reducing Indus In addition to EPA, other federal en sition of taxes and fees on hazardous- trial Pollutants," is long on simplistic de tities are moving into pollution preven waste generation, prohibition of the scriptions of this complicated field and tion. The Department of Defense is the use of certain chemicals such as heavy short on specific, detailed examples or largest of these, with more than 1000 metals or chlorofluorocarbons, require data. Admittedly, specifics on source re major installations worldwide. DOD's ment of emissions reporting, and estab duction have only begun to be collected major pollution project is the 1989 Di lishment of awards for successful in by many companies, but chemical com rective on Hazardous Material Pollu dustrial pollution prevention pro panies in particular are anxious to talk about their successes in pollution pre tion Prevention. It puts a priority on grams. not using hazardous materials to begin Even universities are becoming more vention. The fact that it takes a 200-page with, and if they are used, it recom involved in the pollution movement. report to give a brief overview of pollu mends recycling or reusing as much as Many are providing technical assis tion prevention activities to date only possible. DOD has also developed its tance to local businesses in the form of serves to strengthen the conviction of own pollution prevention programs, as on-site pollution assessments and how important this strategy will be over Π industrial companies have, as well as workshops, the EPA study says. As the next decade. 22
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