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Design for the Environment Program
Emerging Contaminants and Business Realities:
How Can They Be Compatible?March 29, 2006
DfE Program
DfE projects:
• Are multi-stakeholder & driven by a business “client;”
• Take business realities into account; and
• Benefit business and the environment.
DfE works with chemicals of concern through broad partnerships –reducing exposure and release.
DfE provides access to EPA technical tools and expertise that serve as an incentive for business participation in our work.
DfE projects have touched more than 200,000 business facilities and approximately 2 million
workers, reducing use of chemicals of concern by approximately 237 million pounds per year.
Overview of Presentation
Alternatives Analysis• Electronics
• Flame Retardants
Safer Products
Auto Refinishing Best Practices
Emerging Chemicals and the ECOS/DoD Sustainability Workgroup
Alternatives Analysis
Lead-Free Solder PartnershipLife-Cycle Assessment
-Free Solder Partnership
The U.S. electronics industry is moving away from lead solder (176 million pounds per year)• EU will ban lead in electronics – June 2006• Industry approached DfE based on past
relationship• Partnership is helping U.S. Industry adopt lead-
free alternatives and maintain international competitiveness
Partners • Electronics manufacturers• Assemblers• Suppliers•Trade Associations
• Academic & Research Organizations
• Public Interest Groups
Lead-Free Solder PartnershipLife-Cycle Assessment
-Free Solder Partnership
Key Findings• Cost of mining silver may drive choices• Energy-efficient ovens will cut manufacturing costs
Areas for Further Research • Energy-efficient solder application equipment• Impacts of silver mining and processing• Assessing the leachability of various metals in more realistic environments
Tin-lead and alternatives• 95% tin, 3.9% silver, and 0.6% copper• 57.0% bismuth, 42.0% tin, and 1.0% silver• 96.0% tin, 2.5%silver, 1.0% bismuth, 0.5% copper• 99.2% tin and 0.8% copper
Furniture Flame Retardancy Partnership
The Partnership• Chemical and furniture manufacturers• Consumer Product Safety Commission• NGOs• National Institute of Standards & Technology• Fire Safety Advocates and Environmental
Groups
The Issue • Predominant flame retardant (pentaBDE) was being found increasingly in
human tissue, breast milk and the environment.• This flame retardant was phased-out at the end of 2004.• Need for fire safety will likely increase based on planned national standards.• Decision-making for alternatives to a 19 million pound per year chemical.
Furniture Flame Retardancy Partnership – Goals
Facilitate industry decision-making
Level the playing field
Protect trade-secret information
Drive innovation toward environmentally safer flame retardancy methods
Develop a model for alternatives assessment
Potential Exposure
EcotoxicityHazard Concern
Human HealthHazard Concern
EnvironmentalHazard Concern
Flame Retardants PartnershipAlternatives Report
Final Report online: www.epa.gov/dfe
TBBPA is the highest volume brominated flame retardant at 330 million pounds/year PBDE project plan• present in environment, workers’ blood; • PBT and incineration by-products.
The electronics industry is actively seeking alternatives—ripe for lasting change; our partnership will explore all alternatives• Dell• Intel• IBM• Hewlett Packard• IPC, iNEMI, HDPUG
Furniture flame retardant alternatives assessment for PentaBDE will be used as a model
Flame Retardants Partnership—Stage 2 TBBPA Alternatives Assessment
Flame Retardants for Printed Wiring Boards
• GreenBlue• Clean Production Action• Greenpeace• Flame Retardant
Chemical Manufacturers
Safer Products
Safer ProductsProduct Recognition
Continuous Improvement
Of Concern Improved Sustainable
Characteristics of Ingredient of Concern
Characteristics of Improved Ingredient
Characteristics of Sustainable Ingredient
Continuum of Improvement
Formula Ingredient by Use Class
• Driven by Green Chemistry
• Reduces the Environmental Footprint
• Acknowledges Business Realities
Functional Use
Formulator Program focuses on:• Products with substantial market potential• Industries ready for change• Hazard reduction
Recognition stimulates use of safer chemicals• Reduction of 40 million pounds/year • Safer cleaners, holding tank treatments, industrial
coatings, and fertilizer alternativesFuture areas of focus:• Consumer Products• Innovations
■ Safer coatings & fragrances■ Pesticide-labeled products■ Mercury-free flat panels
Safer ProductsFormulator Program Product Recognition
Safer ProductsLeveraging to multiply reductions
Multi–stakeholder coalition, with over 300 participants
Identify key characteristics of detergent ingredients – for each functional class
• Product formulator could choose “recognition worthy” ingredients
Existing PartnersDfE Formulator PartnersDfE commends these companies for their leadership in designing products that are good for their business and for the environment!
Amrep, Inc. Anderson Chemical Co. *Avmor Group Bi-O-Kleen Industries*Carroll Company Clean Control Corporation Coastwide Laboratories Daley International (Provisional)Earth Alive Resources, Inc. Florida Chemical Company GEMTEK Products Inkware, LLC Noramtech CorporationNorchem Corporation
Organic Products Company Osprey Biotechnics, Inc. Pantheon Chemical Penetone Corporation Pioneer Eclipse Corporation Polycon Systems, Inc. PolyPortables, Inc.State Industrial Products, Inc. Sunburst Chemicals, Inc. SYSCO Corporation*Triple S U S Chemical CorporationU.S. Polychemical CorporationVertec Biosolvents, Inc.SC Johnson
* An asterisk appears before DfE licensee partners.
Auto Refinishing Best Practices
Why Auto Refinishing?• Isocyanates, VOCs & metals• Dispersive use• Leading source of
occupational asthma• Linked to asthma in children
Best Practices – important use with no alternatives.
Auto Refinishing Best Practices
Auto Refinishing Best Practices
DfE Best Practices for Auto Refinishing complemented regulatory requirements for the Area Source Rule
Effective, low-resource implementing mechanismVOC emissions could be reduced by 86,000 tons per year and auto refinishing shops could save $650 million
Partners in developing Best Practices• Collision repair shops in AL, PA, VA, NC, SC, WA, NY• Trade associations, trade press & career/technical trainers• Paint and equipment manufacturers/suppliers• OSHA, NIOSH, ATSDR and State Small Business Compliance
Assistance and Pollution Prevention Programs
Best PracticesEstimated Effectiveness
Reduction in Auto Body Shop Emissions with Best Practices
0102030405060708090
100
Conventional SprayGun (No Booth)
HVLP Spray Gun Booth & ConventionalSpray Gun
Booth & HVLP SprayGun
Best Practice
% R
educ
tion
in E
mis
sion
s Diisocyanates
Lead, Chromium
Organic Solvents
Emerging Chemicals and the ECOS/DoD Sustainability Workgroup
Coordination Framework for Emerging Chemicals
Development driven by Furniture Flame Retardancy Partnership communication issuesPurpose• Coordinate• Make information available• Provide avenues for addressing emerging chemical issues
Group meets periodically• Information dissemination• Consider “candidate” chemicals
All EPA Offices – Headquarters, Regions & States
ECOS/DoD Sustainability Workgroup
Collaboration between DoD and the States over certain environmental issues• Includes a pollution prevention strategy for emerging chemicals
February joint ECOS/DoD meeting• P2 issue paper and draft work plan – approved
• foundation for future work
August ECOS meeting – Consider a broad P2 resolution
November joint ECOS/DoD conference – Focus will be pollution prevention
ECOS/DoD P2 Issue Paper-- Recommendations --
New Weapons Systems – consider alternative chemicals
Newly developed compounds should be subject to toxicity testing and exposure modeling
P2 should be used as a positive public relations tool
Mechanisms should be developed for sharing information
