1、API PUBLX312 90 0732290 0510737 031 RECPONUING TO ENVIRONMENTA1 CtlAllfNGt A discussion among people from industry, government and environmental groups The Petroleum Industry and Pollution Prevention API PUBL*3LZ 90 m O732290 05L07L T76 m Pollution prevention is a multimedia concept that reduces or
2、eliminates pollutant discharges to air, water or land, and includes the development of more environmentally acceptable products, changes in processes and practices, source reduction, beneficial use and environmentally sound recycling. (API definition of pollution prevention) API PUBLr312 90 O732290
3、0530739 904 m PREVf NT I N G PO L LUT I O N: MfEIING TIE CIALLENGf “Our goal is to tell the story of pollution prevention from an advocacy and educational standpoint.” -Mark Nordheim, Chairman, API Pollution Prevention Task force, Chevron reventing pollution is becoming one of todays hottest environ
4、- P mental topics. Governments and industries are looking critically at materials and production methods to find ways to cut waste at the source, seeking beneficial uses of once unwanted by-products, and pursuing innovative methods to recycle and reuse materials. Consumers, too, are beginning to loo
5、k at ways to eliminate or recycle waste-instead of disposing of it. The petroleum industry is seeking better ways to prevent pollution. Individual companies and the industrys major trade association, the American Petroleum Institute (API), are looking at new ways of measuring progress in reducing re
6、leases, taking a closer look at releases already identified. and researching potential equipment changes at refineries and other operations to make them more environmentally sound. The industry is not only looking to the expertise of experienced petroleum engineers and pollution prevention experts,
7、but to regulatory agencies and other organizations to help guide its efforts. Though people often think of the petroleum industry as one industry, in reality it is a col- lection of many diverse businesses, each with ditferent pollution prevention concerns. The search for new energy supplies in the
8、Gull of Mexico presents different challenges from a refinery that produces gasoline or a service station that provides the industrys products directly lo customers. Similarly, environmentally sound pollution prevention practices that work in II API PUBL*312 90 m O732290 0510720 626 Maine may not alw
9、ays work in Texas-because climate and topography vary. Overall, the petroleum industry is striving to meet the challenges of pollution prevention by reducing or eliminating discharges to air, water and land, by developing better products, and by changing processes and practices. Waste Management Hie
10、rarchy Source reduction Closed-loop recycling As the hierarchy shows, the goal of pollution prevention is to avoid generating wastes in the first place instead of treating or disposing of them. A CONTINUING TRAOITION he petroleum industry is striving to meet the challenge of improved T environmental
11、 performance demanded by the public. Pollution prevention is key to this effort. API amended its bylaws in 1990 to incorpor- ate an environmental mission statement and 11 guiding environmental principles. Acceptance of the principles is a condition of API membership. They serve as the foundation of
12、a long-term com- mitment to improve environmental performance by API member companies. Building on this foundation is a wide array of existing programs as well as new initiatives- to foster the search for environmental excellence throughout the industry. For example, many of the nations largest petr
13、oleum companies are participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) voluntary 33/50 Program. It aims to cut the releases of 17 targeted toxic chemicals by 33 percent by 1992 and 50 percent by 1995. Even before EPA announced its 33/50 Program, petroleum companies had taken innovative
14、 steps to prevent pollution in their operations nationwide. Individual companies launched programs such as Chevrons SMART (Save Money and Reduce Toxics) and Texacos WOW (Wipe Out Waste) to promote pollution prevention efforts. These programs have already substantially reduced waste. For example, the
15、 Council on Environmental Qualitys 1990 Annual Report profiled Chevrons SMART program. It reported that SMART cut the companys disposal of hazardous wastes by nearly half in the first year. API PUBLU312 90 W 0732290 0510721 562 = Other efforts include the industrys oil spill research program with th
16、e U.S. Department of the Interior, research on cleaner fuels and engines undertaken jointly with the auto industry, establish- ment of the Marine Spill Response Corporation, rerouting tanker traffic off sensitive areas along the California and Florida coasts, and Unocals program to “buy back old, hi
17、gh-polluting cars on the roads in California. To learn more about this important environ- mental challenge, API invited experts from federal and state government, from public interest groups and from the petroleum industry to discuss pollution prevention as part of the October 1990 annual meeting of
18、 the Health and Environment General Committee. The discussion is summarized in the following pages. Waste Management Vocabulary Waste management Waste minimization Waste reduction Pollution prevention Use Source Closed-loop Recycling/ Treatment reduction reduction recycling reuse - Disposal As the w
19、aste management vocabulary has grown, descriptive terms have acquired meanings that encompass different tiers of the waste management hierarchy. 3 API PUBLX312 90 073 2290 0530722 4T9 Itif ffDERA1 PfRSPfCTIVE n November 1990, C Pollution Prevention I to establish an effecti “I think you will see ove
20、r the next two years, a new approach at EPA making pollution prevention the hallmark of our new direction.” -Nancy Firestone, Associate Deputy Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 4 prevention policy. The act stressed the importance of source reduction as a major part of pollution pre
21、vention- keeping the role of recycling and treatment separate. The act also committed EPA to establishing an office to develop and implemen a strategy to promote source reduction. This new office will also help businesses adopt source reduction techniques. In addition, EPA is taking many steps on it
22、s own to develop a pollution prevention strategy. The first major step is finding ways to evaluate control strategies across media lines- looking at the emissions of a plant holistically, rather than focusing on the plants waste, water or air emissions. “At EPA we have managed quite successfully to
23、divide the world into air, water and waste. Not only have we been able to do that, we have been able to build brick walls between those offices,” Firestone said. As a result, waste often gets transferred from one medium to another. For example, the Clean Water Acts effluent standards have successful
24、ly minimized much a solid waste. E 90 percent of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) waste is largely water. This approach does not eliminate waste, it simply reclassifies it. To change this situation, EPA has begun a series of “clustering” projects, which are designed API PUBL*3L2 90 0732
25、290 0510723 335 to foster a more integrated approach to key environmental issues and key industries that affect them. EPAs first cluster is the oil refining industry. By clustering pollution sites with similar characteristics, such as oil refineries, EPA hopes to pool existing information spread thr
26、oughout the agency. Pooling this information will help EPA develop an environmental management system that is most effective in reducing pollution for the cluster as a whole. Another major part of EPAs pollution prevention strategy is risk prioritization. EPA hopes to improve the benefits of its env
27、ironmental programs by regulations that promote wiser and more efficient use of the estimated $100 billion annually spent on environmental protection in the United States. For example, much of the money spent on environmental protection goes to cleaning up hazardous waste facilities. EPA is developi
28、ng a way to prioritize the potential risks from these facilities and then see if the money spent on them appropriately matches the level of risk they pose. EPA is also exploring several “non-traditional approaches to environmental protection. These include using public information as an environ- men
29、tal tool, establishing programs to encourage technology transfer and development, using market-based incentives to accomplish environ- mental goals and encouraging voluntary action. , I In addition to the 33/50 Program, EPA has undertaken other voluntary emissions reductions efforts. It asked the ch
30、ief executive officers of nine companies emitting butadiene to voluntarily reduce emissions- accelerating pollution preven- tion. The companies were asked to develop a plan to reduce their emissions. Six to eight months later, all the companies had reported back with plans. Collectively, these plans
31、 reduced the emissions of butadiene by 80 percent within the affected communities. If EPA had used normal means, it might have taken years to produce any reduction in emissions. EPA hopes that applying these new measures- clustering, risk prioritization, and voluntary non- traditional approaches- wi
32、ll lead to a pollution prevention strategy that is both effective and practical. 5 API PUBL*3L2 90 m 0732290 0510724 271 m TIE STATE PERSPECTIVE “Technical assistance is one of the relative strengths the states enjoy.” -AI Innes, Co-founder, Waste Reduction Institute for Training and Applications Re
33、search ver the past several years, over half the states have adopted O some form of pollution preven- tion legislation. This legislation has ranged widely in its focus and intent. State pollution prevention legislation tends to focus on the environmental and industry issues that are most important i
34、n each state, allowing states to better address statewide or regional issues. Legislative approaches have varied in other important aspects as well. Some states have simply established technical assistance programs to help companies develop pollution prevention plans for new facilities and to help r
35、evise old waste disposal and treatment methods at existing facilities. Others have developed statutes that approach traditional “command and control.” The difference is that these statutes require pollution prevention planning and activity, but attach no penalties for falling short of pollution redu
36、ction goals. In October 1989, California passed the Hazardous Waste Source Reduction and Manage- ment Review Act. The California law has three main goals: Reducing the generation of hazardous waste. Reducing the release of harmful chemical contaminants into the environment. Documenting and making av
37、ailable hazardous waste management information to state and local government. The law also establishes a technical and research assistance program, focused on small businesses, under the California Department of Health Services. The law allows state agencies to focus on particular industries to dete
38、rmine API PLJBL*312 90 H 0732290 0510725 108 management techniques that work well so these techniques can be shared with other industry members. This approach will also help California ensure that all members of the industry are complying with the legislation. In stark contrast, Massachusetts develo
39、ped the stiffest state pollution prevention legislation in the nation in 1990. This law is the first comprehensive mandatory law on pollution pre- vention in the United States. The Massachusetts act focuses on toxic use reduction. It sets a statewide target of 50 percent reduction in toxic releases
40、by 1997. The list of chemicals regulated by the act will eventually include all 1,038 chemicals listed in federal Superfund legislation. Cuts in the emission of these chemicals must be made either by source reduction or closed-loop recycling. Other forms of pollution prevention are not included. Beg
41、inning in 1995, Massachusetts will identiSi industry sectors that require priority action. These businesses may then be targeted for specific regulatory legislation. The state may also set performance standards for individual facilities within an industry segment if the majority of the facilities in
42、 that segment fail to achieve a “reasonable” reduction in toxic releases. The state could also set performance standards if a number of facilities in the segment fall below the state norm for reductions in the use of a particular toxic chemical. Though only about half of the states have specific pol
43、lution prevention legislation, 46 states have some form of pollution prevention or waste reduction program, according to Al Innes of the Minneapolis-based Waste Reduction Institute for Training and Applications Research (WRITAR). Many of these programs focus on technical assistance. State technical
44、assistance programs may become especially important for smaller businesses that do not have the means or know- how to develop pollution prevention plans. According to Mr. Innes, the most effective of these programs are done outside the “regulatory sphere.” Their emphasis is on constructive involveme
45、nt with facilities in the planning stage, rather than simply on regulation. Education is another important aspect of state pollution prevention programs. Many states are developing or have developed study programs for professional engineers, vocational technical school students, and even high school
46、 students. In conjunction with these programs, states are also setting up pollution prevention research grants. Six states have started research institutes. Most states fund their programs through fee- based systems. Some states have established progressive fees for the amount of hazardous waste a f
47、acility produces. Massachusetts, however, simply sent bills to all companies over a certain size that used any of the chemicals on the toxics list in production processes. Additional revenues come from fines and the general state fund. States have entered the pollution prevention arena rapidly and a
48、re now major forces. While a few states have done little to encourage pollu- tion prevention, the ma.jority have established programs and are increasing their efforts. 7 API PUBLX332 90 E 0732299 0530726 044 “lf you investigate the sources of the major environmental problems that we are all concerne
49、d about, you trace them back to decisions about what manufacturing processes to employ and what products to produce . . . what chemicals to use in the manufacture of those products.” -Mike M/u, XHt exploring possible source reductions, recycling and emission control options; and assessing the costs and benefits of each of these options. The final step is API PUBL*312 90 m 0732290 0530730 575 m to determine potential barriers- including technical and economic concerns as weil as regulatory restrictions-and incentives for each of these options. The studys first step
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