Vol. 1 No. 2
July-September 1994
As the end of the Environmental Pollution Prevention Project's (EP3) first year approaches, it is time to reflect on the accomplishments achieved and to look toward next year.
EP3 is a global program focused on creating and supporting locally sustainable pollution prevention programs in developing countries. The EP3 program consists of three mechanisms--a contract with RCG/Hagler Bailly and 16 sub-contractors, a cooperative agreement with the Water Protection Federation (WEF), and an interagency agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). The program offers participating countries pollution prevention expertise to address both industrial and urban waste problems. Funding for the EP3 core program is provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID's) Global Bureau.
EP3 provides technical assistance to help participating countries build awareness of environmental problems and understand how pollution prevention can be used to address these problems. This assistance falls into four categories:
For example, consultants, university professors, and government officials in Chile and Tunisia are actively participating in their country's EP3 projects. It is hoped that they will be the first of a growing list of professionals in their respective countries committed to the concept of pollution prevention. Leadership conferences in both countries are planned for later this year to recognize companies that are implementing pollution prevention programs and to inform others about the potential benefits of practicing pollution prevention.
In 1995, EP3 plans to expand the number of industries it is working with and strengthen the capabilities of government institutions, universities, and industry associations to support and promote pollution prevention in EP3 countries. The project also will focus on providing mechanisms to xpand communications among EP3 countries, and between those countries and suppliers of pollution prevention services, products, and equipment.
As the project enters its second year, everyone associated with EP3 in the United States looks forward to continued progress with EP3 colleagues around the world to establish sustainable pollution prevention programs.
Jim Gallup, EP3 Project Officer
To begin building an international pollution prevention training capability, EP3 developed and conducted a week-long Pollution Prevention Instructor Training Course on 9-13 May 1994, in Washington, D.C. The course will be used in pollution prevention training workshops around the world.
EP3 developed the course in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency's Training Institute, Office of International Activities, and Office of Research and Development, as well as the Toxic Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.
Consultants, government representatives, and university professors from EP3 programs in Chile, Egypt, Ecuador, and Tunisia participated in the course. Argentina, India, Zambia, the World Bank USA, and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) were also represented.
The course included definitions and examples of pollution prevention, assessment procedures and process flow diagrams, environmental accounting, data collection, evaluation of options, and international pollution prevention resources. Participants toured two industrial locations to observe effective pollution prevention programs. The participants also developed outlines for their own training programs and practiced teaching pollution prevention concepts using participatory methods. EP3 will use follow-up surveys to determine the course's effectiveness.
The accompanying training manual, Principles of Pollution Prevention, contained a slide show and audio tape, and introductory course outline, and pollution prevention exercises and problems. This manual is an effective tool in helping trainers develop and conduct their own pollution prevention courses.
Taking this course has equipped the twenty participants to deliver pollution prevention training in their countries. Participants from the Energy Conservation and Environmental Project in Egypt and EP3 project staff in Tunisia have already conducted pollution prevention workshops using course materials and concepts.
While industrial assessments are not a new approach to pollution prevention, the Environmental Pollution Prevention Project (EP3) assessment model, like the project itself, puts a distinct and concentrated emphasis on sustainability. By requiring up-front commitments from an industry's management team for cooperation during the assessment and follow-up and implantation stages, the EP3 process actively involves a facility in creating its own pollution prevention program. Also, EP3 involves in-country environmental professionals throughout the assessment process to establish a mechanism to ensure assistance is ongoing and progress is made during implementation.
EP3's assessment model consists of three phases of activities: pre-assessment, assessment, and post-assessment.
In the pre-assessment phase, EP3 in-country staff and consultants visit facilities to determine if they are suitable EP3 assessment sites. It is important to identify facilities that have the highest potential for implementing and sustaining process changes. This potential is based in management's capabilities and commitment, the company's financial and economic stability in the marketplace, and the pollution prevention opportunities that exist. Once selected, facilities sign a "letter of commitment," provide an in-house technical contact, and assist with the collection of preliminary data on the facility's operations to use as a baseline.
EP3 puts together teams of experts in pollution prevention and experts from the industry being assessed to conduct the actual assessments. These teams review the preliminary data collected by in-country staff; conduct their own assessments of the plant's operations; and identify, analyze, and prioritize opportunities based on pollution prevention potential.
Before leaving the country, the team prepares a report and provides a briefing for the facility's management on their findings and recommendations. Recommendations may include improving the facility's production process, installing new equipment, substituting raw materials, and improving maintenance procedures. The report details cost savings, implementation costs, and payback periods for all recommended options.
In the post-assessment phase, facilities work directly with EP3 in-country staff and consultants to identify technical assistance needs and implement the recommended pollution prevention actions. EP3 in-country staff provide advice on how to identify suppliers of equipment and instrumentation, evaluate proposals and bids, train plant personnel in pollution prevention technologies, identify possible financing sources, and develop an enterprise pollution prevention program. Together, EP3 and the facility agree on a time-table for implementing the plan's recommendations.
Through this process, EP3 is developing a network of committed pollution prevention experts and advocates working hand-in-hand with the assessment facilities and the in-country experts. These experts and advocates are committed to developing a sustainable pollution program in their respective countries.
As of 31 August 1994, twenty-five facilities in Chile and Tunisia have participated in the EP3 pollution prevention assessment process. These facilities should be congratulated for their vision in acting as environmental leaders as they work toward pollution prevention in their respective countries.
| Industry | Assessments Conducted |
|---|---|
| Batteries | 1 |
| Electroplating | 3 |
| Leather | 5 |
| Meat Processing | 1 |
| Paint | 2 |
| Printing | 2 |
| Slaughterhouse | 2 |
| Soap Manufacturing | 2 |
| Textiles | 6 |
| 25 |
Four Environmental Pollution Prevention Project (EP3) assessments in Tunisia and Chile have identified low-cost pollution prevention opportunities for leather tanning companies. The goal of these assessments was to identify ways facilities can produce quality hides and reduce the quantity of toxic chemicals discharged to the environment. The assessments conducted to date have recommended several pollution prevention actions, including increasing the temperature and pH of tanning baths, recycling chromium-based tanning solutions, and replacing lacquers containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with lacquer containing fewer VOCs.
Chrome recycling is a widely accepted practice in the U.S. and other developed countries; therefore, it is not surprising that the EP3 assessment teams recommended the reuse of chrome waste streams at all four facilities. Savings associated with recycling chrome wastes at the four pants ranged from $5000 US to $60,000 US per year.
The team determined that two of the facilities could effectively reuse effluent from each virgin tanning bath five times. To reuse the effluent after the initial tanning, the assessment recommended screening and pumping the effluent to a clean holding pit, then filtering the recycled solution, adjusting the pH to 3.0, and adding one-third of the normal amount of chromium sulfate.
The team recommended that another facility construct a drum system to collect spent chrome tanning solutions to avoid contaminating or diluting the solutions before reuse. This avoids the need to chemically treat the spent solution before the pickling and tanning process. This drum recycling system can reduce the amount of chromium used by 25%.
All the assessments concluded that more careful and frequent monitoring and control of the pH and temperature of tanning baths could increase the amount of chrome fixed to the hides to over 70%.
The teams concluded that the facilities using black dye could substitute a dyeing solution consisting of 50% recycled dye and 50% virgin dye without adversely affecting product quality. It was pointed out that recycled dye solutions are sensitive to light and tend to break down over time; therefore, the teams recommended that the stored solutions be protected from light.
Minimizing wastewater is a significant concern when effluent standards require the treatment systems be installed. In most cases, the design of primary and secondary treatment systems is influenced by their hydraulic loading, so decreases in the generation of wastewaters are accompanied by significant savings.
Thus, the team recommended that all tanneries recycle the final rinse waters in some hide-wetting processes.
For example, one assessment team recommended reusing final rinse water to hydrate and prepare goat hides for dehairing and tanning as rinse water in the original soaking because the rinse waters and using automated systems was found to save up to 50% of the water consumed.
The team's recommended pollution prevention strategies are based on the principle that process and operational changes that address waste sources and pollutants can also improve the economic health of tanneries implementing them. Also, tanneries in developing in developing countries that implementing them. Also, tanneries in developing countries that implement all or some of these recommendations can improve their ability to succeed in markets that are becoming increasingly competitive.
Note: Case study recommendations have been generalized because specific processes may vary from plant to plant; therefore, these recommendations should not be implemented in other facilities without the assistance from a pollution prevention expert. Case studies of all EP3 assessments are available from the EP3 Headquarters Clearinghouse.
Hirschhorn & Associates, Inc., a subcontractor on the EP3 contractor team, developed two procedures: one to identify those industries that would most benefit from pollution prevention, the other to allow facilities to measure the success of pollution prevention recommendations.
The Hirschhorn study identified industries with the greatest pollution prevention potential by evaluating and ranking each industry sector using the criteria--opportunity, presence, and importance.
In the coming months, EP3 offices in Egypt, Indonesia, and Ecuador will use this method to help identify candidate facilities.
The lack of standard approaches to gathering and analyzing data on industrial processes has made it difficult to track pollution prevention progress over time and does not allow the comparison of plant operations against specific performance standards. In addition, assessment data, to date, have not identified a "best industrial practice" or allowed numerical ratios for evaluating pollution prevention opportunities within similar industrial processes to be calculated.
The Hirschhorn report proposes an approach using critical ratios and/or best industrial practices (BIPs) that normalize data from assessments performed at similar facilities and can be used to compare companies in a particular industry sector across countries. This type of benchmark will enable both the company and EP3 to evaluate changes in the plant's operations as a result of pollution prevention options that are undertaken.
Preliminary BIPs have been developed for tannery, textile, and battery manufacturing sectors. Additional BIPs are being developed for other industrial sectors.
Copies of the report "Candidate EP3 Industrial Groups and Best Industrial Practice Pollution Prevention Accomplishment Targets," are available from the EP3 Headquarters Clearinghouse.
EP3 is looking for volunteers with experience in all aspects of industrial pollution prevention. For more information on Ep3 volunteer activities and how you can participate, contact Maurice Knight at Tel: +1 (703) 351-4044, Fax: +1(703) 351-6166; or Marylou Tomkinson at Tel: +1 (703) 684-2476, Fax: +1 (703) 684-2465.
The EP3 Chile program is beginning its second tear. In the first year, sixteen industries received pollution prevention assessments. Bill Bilkovich, a pollution prevention specialist with EQC, Inc., in Tallahassee, Florida, has been instrumental in conducting assessments in a variety of industries and in providing expert advice in the development of assessment guidelines for the program. Tom Thorstensen of TSG, Inc., in Westford, Massachusetts, developed waste reduction options for the tanning industry. Calvin and Denise Henning of Frost Paint Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, provided expert assistance in identifying pollution prevention opportunities in paint facilities. Frost Paint Company was a recent recipient of the Minnesota Governor's Pollution Prevention Award. Terry Foecke of the Waste Reduction Institute for Training and Applications Research (WRITAR), also from Minneapolis, guided assessments for the electroplating industry. In August 1994, EP3 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Centro de Investigacion y Planificacion del Medio Ambiente (CIPMA). CIPMA will manage EP3's clearinghouse in Chile. For more information, contact Maurice Knight.
EP3 is working on two projects in the Czech Republic. In Mezibori, EP3 is evaluating the feasibility of a district heating project that would substitute heavy fuel oil with natural gas fuel diesel drivers. The second project is a feasibility study for another heating project in Vratimov that will use waste heat recovery from the Nova Hut steel rolling mill to eliminate the need for 13 coal-fired boilers. EP3 is also providing assistance to the Czech Environmental Fund in developing a mechanism to evaluate options for substituting gas and electricity for diesel fuel in the country's municipal transport programs. For more information, contact Eduardo Maal.
EP3 is working with the Regional Economic Development Services Office for Eastern and Southern Africa (REDSO/ESA) in Nairobi, East Africa, on a project to evaluate the importance of environmental factors in privatizing industries and the role that pollution prevention can play in this process. EP3 is reviewing the environmental situation and the status of privatization activities in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and South Africa, and has plans to conduct pollution prevention assessments at several industrial facilities in Zambia. For more information, contact Betsy Marcotte.
In July 1994, EP3 signed an MOU with Corporacion OIKOS to implement the Ecuador EP3 program (E2P2). The workplan for the project includes beginning demonstration pollution prevention facility assessments in November 1994. For more information, contact Mario Salazar.
Mohammad Latif, the director of the EP3 Egypt office, arrived in Cairo in 1 August 1994 and is working with EP3 core staff to set up the office and hire technical staff for the project. Latif came to EP3 from REDSO/ESA were he directed privatization projects for USAID. EP3 will work with the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), the Tabbin Institute if Metallurgical Studies (TIMS), and the Development Research and Technological Planning Center (DRTPC) at Cairo University in providing technical assistance and training and information services to industry and urban enterprises in Egypt.
EP3 Cairo will have a "kick-off" meeting on 26 October 1994, to officially start its EP3 activities. Training on conducting assessments will begin in early November. For more information, contact Betsy Marcotte.
The Indonesia EP3 program is beginning its first year of operation and will be the main provider of technical assistance and services in carrying out USAID's pollution prevention program in the country. EP3 Indonesia will provide direct technical assistance to industries through facility assessments and follow-up support; training courses, workshops, and seminars; technical information developed specifically for Indonesia; and assistance in selecting appropriate clean technology. For more information, contact Maurice Knight.
In cooperation with the Water Environment Federation (WEF), plans are underway to conduct a two-day training course in Warsaw in December on the Role of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Pollution Prevention. This training is based on the new U.S. EPA "Pollution Prevention Guidance Manual in Municipal Pretreatment" and will be customized to reflect the specific needs of Poland. WEF, in conjunction with its members in Poland, is developing a relationship with the Polish Association of Sanitary Engineers and Technicians focused on increasing awareness and encouraging the application of pollution prevention to an historically treatment-oriented group. For more information, contact Marlou Tomkinson.
EP3's activities in SRI Lanka will focus on creating mechanisms to assure that pollution prevention and clean production are incorporated into new urban and industrial development. Part of this effort includes reinforcing and expanding the urban and industrial pollution prevention capacities of national development institutions in Sri Lanka. For more information, contact Maurice Knight.
Tunisia's program has been in operation for almost a year. In July, staff from the EP3 Tunisia office worked with Terry Foecke of WRITAR, which is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to complete assessments at two metal finishing plants. Also in July, EP3 Tunisia staff and local consultants worked with Alan Gagnet, of Hirschhorn & Associates, Inc., and Martin Bide, a Professor in Textile Science from the University of Rhode Island, to conduct assessments at two textile manufacturing plants in Tunis. All four assessments identified important opportunities for the facilities that will save money and reduce pollution from hazardous wastes. EP3 Tunisia staff will work with managers of these facilities to develop and carry out programs for implementing the assessment findings. For more information, contact Betsy Marcotte.
The EP3 Headquarters (HQ) Clearinghouse is the EP3 project's information sourve and distribution point. The HQ Clearinghouse collects and disseminates technical information, training materials, and other items on industrial and urban pollution prevention.
Recently, the HQ Clearinghouse completed cataloguing its collection of approximately 1,000 items and has provided copies of the EP3INFO database, which contains this information, to the local EP3 clearinghouses in Tunisia and Chile. As new countries join the EP3 project, similar clearinghouses will be established.
Through its linkage with INFOTERRA/USA, the HQ Clearinghouse has access to several hundred databases, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency documents, and many other information sources. This linkage allows the HQ Clearinghouse to offer users from around the world access to a wide variety of pollution prevention resources.
The following documents are available free-of-charge (as are most materials) from the HQ Clearinghouse:
EP3 Headquarters Clearinghouse
1530 Wilson Blvd., Suite 900
Arlington,
VA 22209-2406, USA
Tel: +1(703)351-4004
Fax:
+1(703)351-6166
Internet:apenderg@habaco.com
EP3 Clearinghouse in Tunisia
RCG/Hagler Bailly/EP3 Project
75 Ave.
Mohamed V
(4eme etage)
Tunis, Tunisia
Tel: 2161788244
Fax:
2161787245
Internet: ep3@tunisia.cu
EP3 Clearinghouse in Chile
CIPMA
Av. Holanda 1515
Casilla
16362
Santiago 9, Chile
Tel: 56 22749600
Fax: 56 22232026
EP3/PRIDE NGO Workshop" "Community Prosperity Through Pollution Prevention: Opportunities for Women and NGOs," 19-21 September 1994, Sfax, Tunisia. Contact: Karen Kaplan, PRIDE, 2000 M St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036. Tel:+1(202)331-1860, Fax:+1(202)331-1871.
U.S. EPA, SEDESOL, and Environment Canada: "Emerging Clean Air Technologies and Business Opportunities," 26-30 September 1994, Toronto, Canada. Contact: Tel:+1(819)953-8717.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): "Workshop on Development Assistance and Technology Cooperation for Cleaner Industrial Production in Developing Countries," 28-30 September 1994, Hannover, Germany. Contact: Elaine Geyer-Allely, Environment Directorate, Tel: 33-145247936, Fax: 33-145247876.
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association: "Sustainable Transportation Symposium," 3-5 October 1994, Boston, Mass. Contact: Tel: +1(413)774-6051.
WEFTEC '94: The Water Environment Federation's 67th Annual Conference and Exposition, 15-19 October, Chicago, Ill. Contact: Tel: +1(703)684-2400, Fax: +1(703)684-2492.
European Roundtable on Cleaner Production Programs: 1st Conference, 16-18 October 1994, Graz, Austria. Contact: STENUM, First European Roundtable on CP Programs, Sparbersbachgasse 22/2, A-8010 Graz, Austria. Tel: 43-316-84810513.
POLLUTEC'94: 10th International Exhibition for Environmental Technology and Services, 18-21 October 1994, Lyon, France. Contact: SEPFI-TECHNOEXPO, 70, rue Rivay, 92532 Levallois Perret Cedex, France. Tel: 33-147562115, Fax: 33-147562120.
P2 Consortium of New England Universities/U.S. EPA/U.S. DOE: "Changing the Course of Production," 22-23 October 1994, Cambridge, Mass. Contact: Tel: +1(617)367-8558, Fax: +1(617)367-0449.
AIDIS: XXIV Congreso Interamericano de Ingenieria Sanitaria y Ambiental, 30 October - 4 November 1994, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Contact: AIDIS Argentina, Belgrano 1580, Piso 3, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
National Roundtable of State Pollution Prevention Programs (NRSPPP): 2-4 November 1994, Minneapolis, Minn. Contact: Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, 1350 Energy Lane, Suite 201, St. Paul, MN 55180, U.S.A.
International Environment Organization: Pre-IEO General Assembly on "Cleaner Production, Environmental Education, and Save our earth," 9-13 November 1994, Kuta, Bali. Contact: Environment Building, Jalan Kramat IV No. 8. Jakarta Pusat 10420, Indonesia. Tel: 62-213909920, Fax: 62-213101656.
Eighth-IWRA World Congress, 21-26 November 1994, Cairo, Egypt. Contact: Dr. Mohmoud Abu-Zeid, Water Research Center, 21 El Galaa St., Bulak, Cairo, Egypt. Fax: 20-2773678. Or contact, Dr. Glenn E. Stouit, IWRA, University of Illinois, 205 N. Matthews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Fax: +1(217)244-6633.
Industrial Wastes Technical Conference: Multimedia Pollution Control and Prevention, 5-8 March 1995, Pittsburgh, Pa. Contact: Pam Douglas, Conference and Exhibitions, 601 Wythe St., Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA. Tel: (703)684-2400, Fax: 1(703)684-2592.
Call for Papers--Federation of Egyptian Industries: Technologies for Energy Efficiency and Environmental Protection, 26-30 March 1995. Contact: Conference Secretary, Federation of Egyptian Industries, 6, Gazira El Wosta Street, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt. Tel: 20-3403674, Fax: 20-3403674.