Month: August 2007

Posted on

Draft Great Lakes Mercury in Products Phase-Down Strategy Open for Public Comments

The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration announces a sixty day public comment period for a Draft Great Lakes Mercury in Products Phase-Down Strategy. In fulfillment of a Collaboration Strategy recommendation, in April 2006, State, Tribal, and City staff commenced development of a basin-wide Strategy for the phase-down of mercury in products and waste.

A draft Strategy is now available for public comment at http://glrc.us/initiatives/toxics/drafthgphasedownstrategy.html, through October 27, 2007. We invite comments on the Strategy itself and on how best to move forward with implementation, as well as commitments from stakeholders to implement components of the Strategy.

A copy of the draft document was first distributed to government agency experts for technical review, then revised and distributed to a limited group of industry and environmental group stakeholders. A summary of comments that were received and incorporated can also be found at the above web link.

Please send comments electronically to Debra Jacobson at djacobso@wmrc.uiuc.edu. When sending comments by e-mail be sure to put the words “Great Lakes Mercury Strategy Comments” in the subject line.

If you have questions please contact Debra Jacobson at djacobso@wmrc.uiuc.edu or (630) 472 – 5019 (Phone).

Thanks to Deb Jacobson for submitting this information.

Posted on

Apply for Third Round of U.S. DOE Industrial Energy Assessments

Save Energy Now logoIn a previous post, I described the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program Save Energy Now initiative. On August 20th, DOE began accepting applications for the third round of free industrial energy assessments. According to the DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) News, the program has already performed energy assessments at 253 industrial plants throughout the United States which have resulted in annual energy savings of nearly $63 million; currently planned projects are expected to yield another $263 million in annual energy savings. The assessments focus primarily on energy-intensive components and systems, such as fans, pumps, and systems for process heating, steam, and compressed air. Initial selections of industrial plants for energy assessments will be made starting in mid-September, and additional selections will be announced periodically until the target of 250 assessments is reached for the calendar year 2008. For more information and to apply for an assessment, visit the Save Energy Now web site.

Posted on

Illinois EPA Offering Safe Chemicals in Education Workshops

The Illinois EPA Office of Pollution Prevention is once again holding Safe Chemicals in Education workshops this fall. The workshops are geared for science teachers who are interested in learning ways to teach using less hazardous and non-toxic materials, and safely storing and disposing hazardous materials.

The dates and locations are:

Schools that send a teacher to a workshop are eligible for a free pickup of hazardous educational wastes through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. See http://www.epa.state.il.us/p2/calendar.html for details and registration information. Contact Becky Lockart at IEPA, 217-524-9642 for more information.

Posted on

Michigan RETAP Co-Sponsoring Pollution Prevention Showcase Demonstration Aug. 17

The Retired Engineer Technical Assistance Program (RETAP) is hosting a free pollution prevention technology workshop on the successful adoption of advanced rinse water recycling systems within the electroplating process. The workshop is August 17th at the KC Jones Plating Company, Hazel Park, MI. The workshop is entitled A Chemical-Metal Zero-Discharge Technology for Profitable Pollution Prevention in Electroplating Processes.

KC Jones Plating, in cooperation with the Laboratory for Multiscale Complex Systems Science and Engineering at Wayne State University (WSU), integrated advanced rinse water recycling systems into their bronze cyanide plating line. These changes successfully reduced the line’s chemical and water usage requirements by 20 – 45 percent, while reducing associated wastewater treatment costs by up to 70 percent. The simple payback for the project was less than one year.

Professor Yinlun Huang will present the technology, its implementation, and the project’s economical and environmental analysis. Mr. Thomas Januszek and his team at KC Jones Plating will describe the system installation.

Due to limited spacing, please register in advance by contacting David Herb, RETAP Manager, at 517-241-8176 or herbdw@michigan.gov.

Thanks to David Herb of Michigan DEQ for providing this information.