Pollution prevention development

Analyse in real time for pollution prevention Develop analytical methods that allow for real-time monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substance. 

The PPA of 1990 requires the ERA to establish an Office of Pollution Prevention, develop and coordinate a pollution prevention strategy, and develop source reduction models. In addition to authorizing data collection on pollution prevention, the Act requires owners and operators of manufacturing facilities to report annually on source reduction and recycling activities. 

Pollution Prevention. Procedures haven been developed for recovery of composite ammonium perchlorate propellant from rocket motors, and the treatment of scrap and recovered propellant to reclaim ingredients. These include the use of high pressure water jets or compounds such as ammonia, which form fluids under pressure at elevated temperature, to remove the propellant from the motor, extraction of the ammonium perchlorate with solvents such as water or ammonia as a critical fluid, recrystalli2ation of the perchlorate and reuse in composite propellant or in slurry explosives or conversion to perchloric acid (166,167). 

Regulatory Direction There is no doubt that pollution prevention continues to be the regulatoiy direction. The development of new and more efficient processes and waste minimization technologies will be essential to support this effort. 

The application of waste-management practices in the United States has recently moved toward securing a new pollution prevention ethic. The performance of pollution prevention assessments and their subsequent implementation will encourage increased activity into methods that 1 further aid in the reduction of hazardous wastes. One of the most important and propitious consequences of the pollution-prevention movement will be the development of life-cycle design and standardized hfe-cycle cost-accounting procedures. These two consequences are briefly discussed in the two paragraphs that follow. Additional information is provided in a later subsection. 

Sources of Information The successful development and implementation of any pollution prevention program is not only dependent on a thorough understanding of the facility s operations but also reqmres an intimate knowledge of current opportunities and advances in the field. In fact, 32 percent of industry respondents to an EPA sui vey identified the lack of technical information as a major factor delaying or preventing the implementation of a waste-... 

PPIC is operated by the EPA s Office of Research and Development and the Office of Pollution Prevention. The clearinghouse is comprised of four elements ... 

Additionally, the EPA pubhshes a newsletter entitled Pollution Prevention News that contains information including EPA news, technologies, program updates, and case studies. The EPA s Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratoiy and the Center for Environmental Research Information has pubhshed several guidance documents, developed in cooperation with the California Department of Health Services. The manuals supplement generic waste reduction information presented in the EPA s Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment Manual (Ref. 9). 

Potential tax incentives. In an effort to promote pollution prevention, taxes may eventually need to be levied to encourage waste generators to consider reduction programs. Conversely, tax breaks could be developed for corporations that utilize pollution-prevention methods to foster pollution prevention. 

The idea underlying the promotion of pollution prevention is that it makes far more sense for a generator not to produce waste than to develop extensive treatment schemes to ensure that the waste poses no threat to the quality of the environment (9). 

Flue gas treatment (FGT) is more effective in reducing NO, emissions than are combustion controls, although at higher cost. FGT is also useful where combustion controls are not applicable. Pollution prevention measures, such as using a high-pressure process in nitric acid plants, is more cost-effective in controlling NO, emissions. FGT technologies have been primarily developed and are most widely used in Japan. The techniques can be classified as selective catalytic reduction, selective noncatalytic reduction, and adsorption. 

An acid dipping operation for metal parts involves the use of a 75% strength sulfuric acid solution. Develop recommendations for the Maximum Achievable Control Technology for controlling the air emissions from such an operation. Hint Take some time to look at the EPA Web sites dealing with MACT standards and pollution prevention. 

To understand the possible benefits, we must first develop a working definition of pollution prevention. Although the term seems obvious, there are often wrong interpretations given to P2 practices. 

The book Green Profits A Manager s Handbook for ISO 14001 and Pollution Prevention (N. P. Cheremisinoff and A. Bendavid-Val, Butterworth-Heinemann, Mass., 2001) provides a step-by-step approach to developing pollution prevention programs in an organization. In this section we summarize the basic approach for the reader, but refer you to the above publication for further details and examples. 

All pollution prevention programs start the same - with an audit. The objective of an audit is to gather information aimed at developing a baseline description of the operations. Once we understand how much the costs of compliance to air and other pollution media are, then we can apply engineering tools and management practices to reduce these costs. 

The following references will help you develop techniques for applying pollution prevention audits. Use the examples in Chapter 2 as a basis to tailor audit questions and to focus on areas of opportunities. Finally, Chapter 8 will help you in developing the tools needed to assess the financial attractiveness of the pollution prevention opportunities you identify. 

In reading over this chapter, glance back at Chapter 6. Many of the principles covered here complement the pollution prevention audit, and will assist you in developing approaches to assessing prevention versus control options. 

Develop some pollution prevention options for the disposal of brine or salt solution derived from a desalting operation. 

Davis, G. A., L. Kincaid, D. Menke, B. Griffith, S. Jones, K. Brown, and M. Goergen (1994). The Product Side of Pollution Prevention Evaluating the Potential for Safe Substitutes. Cincinnati, Ohio Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

The Failure and Inventory Reporting System (FIRS) program was developed by the Geological Survey Division of the U.S. Department of the Interior for safety and pollution prevention devices on offshore structures that produce or process hydrocarbons. The program collected data on mechanical and some electromechanical systems on offshore oil platforms. About 8,000 failure events were documented. Access has been limited to internal materials management system use. No real-time access or periodic output products have been available. 

Provide technical and financial assistance to state and local govermnents in connection with the development and execution of their air pollution prevention and control programs... 

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