Spray Paint Efficiency Training to be offered in Indianapolis on August 23

This training will help painters and managers in any kind of paint shop save money and protect worker health.

This hands-on training will help participants reduce paint material costs, save money, improve air quality, and meet environmental standards. Participants also receive a five year 6H Certification as well as an understanding of NESHAP and 6H surface coating regulations.

A virtual paint booth will be utilized to improve technique.

The training is for painters and paint shop managers of all kinds and sizes—from collision repair and auto shops to industrial paint shops and fleet management facilities. The training is in English, but Spanish language services are available.

Upon completing the training, painters improve their spray efficiency by an average of 20 percent. For most shops, this improvement makes a significant difference. In 2014 PPRC’s spray efficiency program saved businesses over one million dollars in material and other costs as well as preventing over 18,000 pounds of air emissions. An average shop of 10 painters can expect VOC reductions of about 2600 pounds and annual savings of 5,000 to 50,000 dollars.

The head trainer, Ken Grimm, has provided train-the-trainer courses to more than two dozen Community and Technical Colleges in the Pacific Northwest, as well as training to more than 150 collision repair shops and industrial facilities.

Two sessions are offered: an afternoon session from noon to 4:00 p.m. EDT (registration and lunch at 11:30 a.m.); and an evening session from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. EDT (registration at 4:00 p.m and dinner at 6:00 p.m.)

Both sessions will be held at:

Speak Easy Downtown
47 South Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN

Website: https://speakeasyindy.com/

Registration fee is $130 per person for each session. Registration deadline is August 20, 2018.

This training event is being offered through funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) through the collaboration of P2Rx centers facilitated by the Environmental Sustainability Resource Center (ESRC) and the Great Lakes Region Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR), presented by the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC), and hosted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

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.

Small Business Resources: MPCA’s Small Business Environmental Assistance Program

If you operate a small business in Minnesota, be sure to check out the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Small Business Environmental Assistance Program web pages. Included are general information pages on air, water, waste and clean up issues, a link to the Environmental Guide for Small Businesses in Minnesota, information specific for various sectors (including auto body and auto repair, dry cleaning, halogenated solvent cleaning, automotive salvage yards, chromium electroplating and anodizing, fiberglass fabricators, and wood finishers), links to related EPA initiatives, and archived editions of two newsletters–Small Business Enterprise, a quarterly newsletter published by the SBEAP that covers pollution prevention, compliance and training, and The Cross Link, a newsletter geared specifically toward fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) products manufacturers.