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1. EPA LAUDS PITTSBURGH-AREA COMPANY FOR REDUCING LEAD-CONTAINING WASTE BY 95 PERCENT, 2. EPA RELEASES BUTADIENE HEALTH ASSESSMENT, 3. U.S. EPA NATIONAL COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS FORUM 2002, 4. EPA, TEXAS, AIR FORCE PROMOTE REDEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF CONTAMINATED INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES NATIONWIDE AS PART OF ADMINISTRATION'S ONGOING EFFORTS TO REVITALIZE COMMUNITIES, 5. RECYCLING COMPANY PRESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO VIOLATING CLEAN WATER ACT
more information on any of these subjects, call the appropriate contact. FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2002 EPA LAUDS PITTSBURGH-AREA COMPANY FOR REDUCING LEAD-CONTAINING WASTE BY 95 PERCENT Dave Ryan 202-564-7827/ryan.dave@epa.gov Marianne Lamont Horinko, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response, yesterday visited American Video Glass Body (AV) of Mount Pleasant, Pa., and praised the firm for reducing its lead-containing waste by more than 95 percent (18 hundred tons) between 1997 and 2000, while saving more than one-half million dollars in raw materials and waste disposal costs. (Lead is a hazardous substance that can be harmful to human health and the environment.) AV accomplished this 95 percent reduction by substituting non-hazardous materials for leaded ones, recycling wastewater and recycling chemical solutions used in the production process. Although these changes have significantly reduced AV’s consumption and release of lead material, the quality of the glass manufactured has not only been maintained, but the company also increased its production by 20 percent. The glass products made using the materials substitution have passed all of AV’s customer tests and requirements and received Underwriter’s Laboratory product approval. AV produces more than 250 tons a day of glass for television tubes. Traditionally, lead compounds have been incorporated into the glass to shield viewers against radiation from cathode ray tubes in televisions. (AV also operates a recycling center to disassemble and recycle computers, televisions and monitors.) AV is one of the founding members of the National Waste Minimization Partnership, the new voluntary initiative that challenges businesses and manufacturers to adopt a resource conservation ethic that results in less waste, more recycling and more environmentally sound products. The Partnership is committed to reducing lead and 29 other harmful chemicals in hazardous waste by 50 percent by the year 2005. For more information about the Waste Minimization Partnership or AV, see: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/descrip.htm . EPA RELEASES BUTADIENE HEALTH ASSESSMENT Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819/ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov EPA has released the final health assessment of 1,3-butadiene describing the potential health hazards associated with environmental exposures to butadiene. The health assessment will serve as a resource document regarding the possible health hazards associated with exposure to 1,3-butadiene. EPA will consider the risks detailed in the assessment as it continues to take action to reduce or eliminate harmful pollutants from the air. Butadiene is a colorless gas used in the production of synthetic rubber and plastics. Minor releases of butadiene occur from production processes, tobacco smoke, and vapors from the burning of plastics and rubber. The major environmental source of butadiene is incomplete combustion of gasoline and diesel fuels. EPA is substantially reducing emissions of butadiene through mobile and stationary source standards. For motor vehicles, the largest contributors to butadiene, EPA projects that emissions will be reduced by more than 50 percent from 1996 to 2020 through efforts such as the reformulated gasoline program, the mobile source air toxics rule, and motor vehicle emissions standards and gasoline sulfur control requirements. Tobacco smoke can also be a significant source of butadiene in indoor air. To reduce indoor exposure, EPA has launched the Smoke-Free Home Pledge Initiative, designed to protect children from the risks of secondhand smoke. The goal of the program is to motivate millions of parents to pledge to keep their home smoke-free. EPA has also designated butadiene in the Urban Air Toxics Strategy as a priority pollutant for risk reduction from all sources. The primary public health concern regarding long-term exposure to 1,3-butadiene is the potential risk for cancers of the human lymphatic system. Risk from exposure to 1,3-butadiene at annual average levels in the ambient air are not likely to exceed a lifetime cancer risk of around one cancer incidence in one million people exposed. Future EPA regulations will consider the risks detailed in the health assessment, which is available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/ under the “What’s New” heading. U.S. EPA NATIONAL COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS FORUM 2002 Teresa Libera 202-564-7873/libera.teresa@epa.gov EPA is hosting the National Compliance Assistance Providers Forum on Dec. 3-6. This annual event will be co-sponsored with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and held at the Adam's Mark Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. The theme for this year’s forum is “Optimizing Resources for Environmental Results.” The forum will provide an opportunity for governmental compliance assistance providers, industry, trade associations, consultants, academia and non-profits to share expertise, build skills and network. Forum highlights include panels, workshops and training on a variety of topics, including: partnering; pollution prevention; environmental management systems; Internet-based tools; homeland security; marketing and performance measurement. Field trips, exhibits and vendor displays also are planned. The deadline for registration for the forum is Dec. 2. There is no fee for the forum or field trips. A limited number of hotel rooms are available at the government rate and must be reserved by Nov. 4. To view a tentative agenda, or to register for the forum, see: www.mng_ltd.com/cfide/website/ncapf02 or contact Sandi Jones of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at 202-564-7038. EPA, TEXAS, AIR FORCE PROMOTE REDEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF CONTAMINATED INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES NATIONWIDE AS PART OF ADMINISTRATION'S ONGOING EFFORTS TO REVITALIZE COMMUNITIES Dave Ryan 202-564-7827/ryan.dave@epa.gov In a major step to promote the reuse potential of contaminated industrial properties nationwide, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman announced today that EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued a “Ready For Reuse” technical determination to the U.S. Air Force for Brooks City-Base (formerly Brooks Air Force Base) in San Antonio. The technical determination is the first of its kind to be issued in Texas and the first for a federal facility nationwide. With this technical determination, the TCEQ and EPA agree that the Air Force has successfully completed the cleanup of its property under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste cleanup program. The Ready For Reuse technical determination verifies that environmental conditions on this property are protective of its current use and anticipated future use as a technology and business park. Brooks City-Base is located 6 miles southeast of downtown San Antonio and encompasses more than 1,300 acres. Brooks Air Force Base was initially established in 1917 as a flight instructor training facility. By the late 1950s, the facility had transformed to a medical research, development and educational facility. On July 22, 2002, Brooks Air Force Base was officially transferred to the Brooks Development Authority as part of the Brooks City-Base Project and formally renamed. Prior to the transfer, the U.S. Air Force completed a comprehensive environmental assessment of the property and performed restoration work to certify that the conditions on the property did not pose a risk to public health or the environment based on the current or anticipated future uses for the property. A Ready For Reuse technical determination allows a potential buyer to make informed purchasing or development decisions based on information verified by EPA and the relevant state environmental regulatory agency. Building on the success of its Brownfields program, EPA’s intention is to promote cleanups that encourage the reuse of formerly-used industrial properties, instead of the development of undeveloped tracts of land. As part of the Administration's ongoing commitment to revitalizing communities around the country, President Bush signed the new Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act in January 2002 to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize Brownfield sites. As part of his FY 2003 budget request, the President has called for a doubling of money for the Brownfields program to $200 million. For more information on the Texas technical determination, call Steve Gilrein, Associate Director for RCRA, EPA Region VI in Dallas, 214-665-8179 (gilrein.steve@epa.gov). More information about the Brooks Ready For Reuse technical determination is available at: http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/ready4reuse/. Today’s action is the second Ready For Reuse technical determination issued nationally; the first was issued in July to Sheffield Steel Corp., a 144-acre steel manufacturing plant in Sand Springs, Okla. To learn more about EPA’s Land Revitalization Initiative nationwide, contact Stephen Luftig, Senior Advisor for Land Reuse, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, 703-603-9931 (luftig.steve@epa.gov). ENFORCEMENT WRAP-UP Teresa Libera 202-564-7873/libera.teresa@epa.gov RECYCLING COMPANY PRESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO VIOLATING CLEAN WATER ACT On Oct. 24, Bruce J. Bardonaro, the former President of Cincinnati Environmental Technologies (CET), a Middletown, Ohio, company which treats and recycles petroleum-contaminated wastewater, pleaded guilty to one pre-treatment violation of the Clean Water Act. Bandonarao admitted after CET began receiving truckloads of petroleum- contaminated wastewater from a local fuel storage facility on Oct. 27, 1997, he directed an employee to bypass the company=s wastewater treatment unit. Then he discharged the wastewater directly into the public sewer system without a permit. A sentencing date has not yet been set. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation division jointly with the City of Middleton, the Ohio EPA and the FBI, all of which are members of the Cincinnati Environmental Crimes Task Force. R-212 # # # Release date:10/31/2002 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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