Center for Industrial Services

In this issue ...

1. TP3 Membership Growth For 2003.
2. EPA And FedEx Freight Partner To Reduce Diesel Emissions.
3. Y-12 National Security Complex Pollution Prevention Successes.
4. Company Fined For Failure To File Form R Reports.
5. Employee Struck And Killed By Flying Object.
6. Tennessee Industries Significantly Increase Recycling.
7. EPA Proposes Revisions To The Definition Of “Solid Waste”.
8. Annual Reports Due by March 1, 2004.
9. QUALITY, MANAGEMENT, AND ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY WORKSHOPS –January 2004 through March 2004.

1. TP3 MEMBERSHIP GROWTH FOR 2003

Presently, the Industry and Business membership in the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership (TP3) stands at one hundred and one (101). That is forty-three more than one year ago; a seventy-four percent increase!!!

Seventeen members advanced from Prospect to Pledge; a sixty eight percent increase over last year. Five members advanced from Pledge to Partner, a one hundred and twenty-five percent increase over last year. Two members advanced from Partner to Performer; a two hundred percent increase over last year.

Congratulations to all!

To view a complete listing of industry and business Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership Members go to: http://www.cis.utk.edu/EHSP/TP3Membership.pdf

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2. EPA AND FEDEX FREIGHT PARTNER TO REDUCE DIESEL EMISSIONS

Under EPA's Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program, the Agency is partnering for the first time with a private company, FedEx Freight, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., to retrofit its fleet. The one-year pilot project will demonstrate the benefits of installing advanced emission control technologies on diesel trucks. FedEx Freight will retrofit approximately one-third of its delivery trucks with particulate filters and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel at its Dallas fleet maintenance facility. EPA and FedEx Freight expect that treating engines and fuels as a system will significantly reduce particulate matter, hydrocarbon, and carbon monoxide emissions by approximately 90 percent.

Begun in 2000, EPA's Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program uses innovative technology to bring the current diesel fleet closer to 2007 standards. The program implements pilot demonstration projects to encourage more fleet retrofits and evaluates emission control technologies such as performance, durability and maintenance. To date, fleet owners and operators have committed to retrofit approximately 160,000 diesel trucks, buses and construction equipment.

To learn more, go to: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit.

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3. Y-12 NATIONAL SECURITY COMPLEX POLLUTION PREVENTION SUCCESSES

The National Nuclear Security Administration facility is located on the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation southwest of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The facility was built in 1943 and covers over 800 acres. Multiple prime contractors are located at Y-12. There are approximately 4,000 BWXT Y-12 employees plus additional personnel employed by other prime contractors and subcontractors.

There are two main regulatory drivers for the Y-12 P2 program. The Tennessee Hazardous Waste Reduction Act requires waste stream-specific goal ratios. Y-12 P2 program is based on an aggressive 50% reduction goal. The other regulatory driver is a DOE Order. This Order requires reduction goals for specific routine material and waste types ranging from 45% to 100%. The DOE directive also includes goals for affirmative procurement, ozone depleting substances, and off-site transfers and releases for hazardous (RCRA) waste, low-level radioactive waste (LLW), mixed waste (RCRA & LLW), and industrial waste.

For 2002, 46 new P2 projects will reduce 25,191,000 kilograms of waste and saving/avoidance of $3,136,000. For the future, there are an additional 58 P2 projects in various stages from planning through implementation.

At Y-12, we consider the following factors in our environmental improvement projects. Many times these savings far outweigh the disposal costs of waste materials.

• reduction in personnel time
• improved operations (more efficient equipment, procedures, etc.)
• reduced hazardous materials requirements
• reduced personnel protective equipment (PPE) requirements
• reduced waste handling and associated documentation
• reduction in raw material purchases
• reduced hazardous waste containers
• reduction of PPE costs

For more specific information on Y-12 Pollution prevention programs, contact Jan Gilbert at gilbertjm@y12.doe.gov or Aprell Patterson at PattersonAL@y12.doe.gov.

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4. COMPANY FINED FOR FAILURE TO FILE FORM R REPORTS

EPA recently fined RMC Pacific Materials $70,790 for failing to file timely reports estimating its releases of toxic chemical compounds. This failure violates the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

RMC did not report its releases of nickel and chromium to the environment in 1998, 1999 and 2000. These chemicals are processed and otherwise used at the company's cement manufacturing facility in Davenport, California. An EPA inspector discovered the violations during a routine investigation, which began in 2001.

Nickel is a suspected carcinogen and may cause respiratory disorders. The toxicity of chromium depends on the form that it takes. Chromium (III) is an essential nutrient that can be toxic in large doses. Inhaled chromium (VI) is a known human carcinogen and causes respiratory disorders.

Federal law requires certain facilities with 10 or more employees using chemicals over certain amounts to file annual reports of chemical releases with the EPA and the state. The reports, known as the Form R, provide estimates of the amounts of each toxic chemical released to the environment, treated or recycled on- site, or transferred off-site for waste management. Form R reports are then compiled into a national database and made available to the public.

Each year the EPA publishes a report entitled the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Public Data Release, which summarizes the prior years submissions and provides detailed trend analysis of toxic chemical releases.

More information on the program can be obtained by calling 800.424.9346. The U.S. EPA's environmental databases, including TRI data, can also be accessed via the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/enviro. Further information about the TRI program can be found at http://www.epa.gov/tri/

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5. EMPLOYEE STRUCK AND KILLED BY FLYING OBJECT

A team of employees was assigned to install a floor of gypsum/concrete material. Prior to installing the floor, they applied a water-based adhesive primer onto the wood sub-floor utilizing a spray apparatus that was a 95-gallon air compressor receiver that had been converted into a sprayer. Primer and water were poured into the tank through a 6-inch diameter fill cap on top of the tank. The tank was pressurized to approximately 120 psi. There was no safety relief valve or pressure gauge on the tank.

At the end of the day, one employee opened the system air bleed-off valve. Another employee began to release the latches on the fill cap in order to add more water to the tank in preparation for the job the next day. The pressure inside the tank propelled the fill cap and struck the employee in the right temple resulting in death.

Employers can prevent this accident from occurring again:

• Initiate and maintain a program that provides for frequent and regular inspections of the job site, materials, and equipment to be made by competent persons;
• Instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions;
• Instruct each employee in regulations applicable to their work environment pertaining to the control or elimination of hazards or other exposures to illness or injury;
• Maintain current and valid certifications by an insurance company or regulatory authority regarding the safe installation, inspection, and testing of pressure vessels.

If you would like to be added to the mailing list for the quarterly publications of Together With Tennessee TOSHA, contact the TOSHA Division Training Section at 615.741.5726.

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6. TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE RECYCLING

Attention!!! Industries in Tennessee…Take a bow !!!

The University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services recently completed a survey of recycling activities in Tennessee industries. The project was requested and funded by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Community Assistance (DCA). DCA has been monitoring recycling efforts in municipalities and counties since the 1991 Solid Waste Management Act was implemented, but it had not focused on tracking recycling in Tennessee industries. A cross section of more than 100 large, medium and small industries in 12 counties was surveyed by direct visits, phone conversations, or mailed questionnaires. The objective was to get “snap-shot” pictures…semi-quantitative estimates…of the amount of recycling versus the total quantity of solid waste generated. The purpose of the project was not to obtain detailed quantitative information. Rather, companies were assigned to one of four broad categories that represented the estimated range of recycling.

As evidenced by the data in Table 1, Tennessee industries may be proud of their accomplishments! Of particular interest is the 0-25% recycling category. Only six companies in this category reported 0% recycling and four of these started recycling programs following the survey! Industries of all sizes and types are committed to recycling as a way to cuts costs. Over half of the companies surveyed recycled at least 50% of the solid waste they generated.

Table 1. Recycling performance: numbers of companies in 7 industrial sectors and their distribution in four ranges of percent solid waste recycled.

Many companies preferred to be recycling materials but after making an attempt, e.g., having a bin for cardboard left at the site by a recycler, found it was not economically feasible for the recycler because their volume was too small. Interested staff in some companies carried office paper, junk mail, aluminum cans, and various other kinds of scrap that had commercial value but were generated in small quantities to recyclers. Other companies stacked broken pallets for employees to take and use for fuel. For obvious reason, this technique was more effective in colder than warmer seasons.

Another recycling option for “small quantity generators”

Presently the Center for Industrial Services, with funding from DCA, is working with industries in a small industrial park in East Tennessee to develop a plan whereby those industries generating “small quantities” of recyclable (non-hazardous) materials may work collectively to get them recycled. Disposal costs of the individual industries will be reduced and revenue generated from the materials will help a community cause.

If your industry is a small quantity generator located in an industrial park and you are interested in exploring a collective approach to recycling with other industries in your park, contact the Center for Industrial Services to assist in coordinating your effort. Phone or e-mail: Richard Buggeln at 865.974.9058 or buggeln@tennessee.edu.

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7. EPA PROPOSES REVISIONS TO THE DEFINITION OF “SOLID WASTE”

The following paragraphs are quotations from the 28 October 2002 Federal Register:

“The Environmental protection Agency (EPA) is today proposing revisions to the definition of solid waste that identify certain recyclable hazardous secondary materials as not discarded, and thus not subject to regulation as wastes under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The proposed rule would also establish specific regulatory criteria for determining whether or not hazardous secondary materials are recycled legitimately.

This proposal represents an important restructuring of the RCRA regulations that distinguish wastes from non-waste materials for Subtitle C purposes, and that ensure environmental protections over hazardous waste recycling practices.

By removing hazardous waste regulatory controls over certain recycling practices, and by providing more explicit criteria for determining the legitimacy of recycling practices in general, EPA expects that this proposed rule will encourage safe, beneficial recycling of hazardous secondary materials by industry.

EPA estimates that approximately 70% of the materials potentially affected by today’s proposed regulatory exclusion are generated in the following industries:

• Inorganic chemicals
• Plastic material and resins
• Pharmaceutical preparations
• Cyclic crudes and intermediates
• Industrial organic chemicals
• Secondary smelting of nonferrous metals
• Plating and polishing
• Printed circuit boards

To make sure we consider your comments on this proposed rule, they must be postmarked by 26 January 2004."

Click here, to view the proposed rule change on the EPA website.

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8. ANNUAL REPORTS DUE BY MARCH 1, 2004

Hazardous Waste Annual Report

Hazardous waste generators must file an accurate hazardous waste report by March 1 of every year. The University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services is offering “free” courses on this report to make your job easier and to help reduce errors. The course uses practical case exercises and one-on-one assistance. You will learn how to calculate and report your waste as well as how to eliminate common mistakes from your report. This workshop will be held in the morning, preceding the Tier II Report workshop, at convenient locations across the state in January and February of 2004.

Tier II Report

You must file an annual Tier II report by March 1 if your workplace contains an extremely hazardous substance in an amount greater than the threshold planning quantities or 10,000 pounds of an OSHA hazardous substance. In this half-day workshop, you will learn how to determine if you must file the report, how to gather and organize the information, and how to file accurately with the state and others. This workshop is held in the afternoon following the Annual Report Workshop. The course fee is $75.00 ($50.00 for TP3 Partners and Performers) and lunch is provided.

To register for one or both of these courses (details on dates and locations are given in the next article) please visit our Web site for course information, or call us at 615.532.8657 or 888.763.7439 to request a catalog.

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9. QUALITY, MANAGEMENT, AND ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY WORKSHOPS – January 2004 through March 2004

For more information about the courses listed below, please visit our Web site. Or, call us: 615.532.8657 or toll-free at 888.763.7439. To register for any of these courses, please use this registration form.

Certain courses are underwritten by TDEC Division of Community Assistance funding under the Waste Reduction Assistance Program contract. Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership (TP3) Partners and Performer-level members receive a discount on registration fees for these open-enrollment courses. To learn more about TP3, please call George Smelcer at 615.532.4912, gsmelcer@tennessee.edu; Harding Aslinger at 423.425.2364, haslinge@tennessee.edu or contact Don Stone at 615.532.4924, dstone1@tennessee.edu. Or, you may visit the TDEC Web site at www.state.tn.us/environment/dca/tp3.htm.

** TP3 discount applies to Partner and Performer Level Members
† Government Employee Discount Available

In-plant courses on topics such as Form R Preparation, Lean Manufacturing, Quality Management, Human Performance Technology, Manufacturing Management and Operations, and Environment, Health and Safety also are available on your schedule. Please visit our Web site for course information, or call us at 615.532.8657 or 888.763.7439 to request a catalog.

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SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://www.tmep.utk.edu/

Feedback by e-mail: gsmelcer@tennessee.edu or buggeln@tennessee.edu
Feedback by phone: (615) 532-8657 or (888) 763-7439
WRAP Sheet archive: http://www.tmep.utk.edu/
WRAP Sheet is published by the Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Program: http://www.tmep.utk.edu

The University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services
Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Program
193 Polk Avenue, Suite C
Nashville, TN 37210
Phone: (615) 532-8657
Fax: (615) 532-4937

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