| Summary The Foxboro Company, a
manufacturer of industrial process controls located in southeastern Massachusetts, has
engaged in a series of source reduction efforts since the late 1970s which have eliminated
its discharge of cyanide, eliminated its use of cadmium and ozone-depleting Freon, cut its
emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from painting operations by 99%, and reduced
its use of methylene chloride in degreasing operations. Company management views Toxics
Use Reduction (TUR) as the most cost-effective means of meeting the challenges posed by
increasingly stringent environmental regulations.
Background
The Foxboro Company employs 3,500 people in three facilities in southeastern
Massachusetts. The company manufactures instruments and automation systems for industrial
process control. This involves a wide range of production processes, from electronic
assembly to cleaning, plating, painting, degreasing and machining.
Foxboro has engaged in source reduction since the late 1970s in order to comply with
increasingly stringent environmental regulations while protecting worker safety and
environment. The most notable success of these source reduction efforts was the retooling
of painting operations to virtually eliminate emissions of VOCs--chemical compounds which
cause ground-level ozone, or smog. These reductions were achieved by switching from a
solvent-based painting process to powder coating, and by changing product designs to do
away with the need for painting certain products.
Toxics Use Reduction Planning
Foxboro's history of successful source reduction encouraged the company to launch an
ambitious Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM) program in 1992. This program was
conceived as a way to integrate the environmental commitments of top management into the
corporate culture of the entire company.
The first step towards implementation of the TQEM program was a stratification analysis
of all production processes, aimed at tracking the flow of key chemicals through the
company's various production and treatment
| processes. With this analysis in place, the
company was in a position to create TQEM teams to identify and implement process changes
that would reduce or eliminate the company's use of materials deemed to be of greatest
environmental concern--such as Freon, cadmium, methylene chloride and waste paints. Five
TQEM teams were established in January 1992, and a sixth was created the following June.
One team was charged with eliminating the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), such as
Freon, which have been linked to the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer and which
must be phased out under the federal Clean Air Act. A second team was formed to find ways
to reduce heavy metals in effluents. A third team was charged with making further
reductions in VOC emissions, while a fourth team was assigned to eliminate the use of
methylene chloride in degreasing operations. A fifth team was created to reduce
miscellaneous chemicals generated by assembly operations, and a sixth was charged with
creating a comprehensive new system for tracking all chemicals from purchasing through
manufacturing to final disposition.
Each team met once a week for one hour during the time required for project planning
and implementation. Each of these TQEM teams was supported by a senior operations manager
and composed of five to seven people
representing such departments as environmental management, production, engineering,
purchasing, quality control, facilities and inventory control. The company's environmental
manager served as technical consulting to all of the teams, and was a member of several of
them. Teams also worked in close cooperation with a full-time quality consultant and with
a
corporate vice president who served as a link with the company's Quality Council.
Toxics Use Reduction Modifications
CFC Team: The CFC team identified, tested, and helped to implement CFC-free
cleaning processes. Wherever possible, this was done by switching to no-clean solder
fluxes, which entirely eliminates the need for cleaning. In some applications, no-clean
fluxes are ruled out by specific customer requirements. The team accommodated these cases
by purchasing new equipment for semi-aqueous cleaning. These changes required extensive
worker retraining and a capital investment of about $500,000. This two-pronged approach
virtually eliminated CFC use in all manufacturing operations by October 15, 1993--the date
on which it became necessary, under the federal Clean Air Act, to attach special labels to
products manufactured with ozone-depleting substances. In 1991, Foxboro purchased 6,000
gallons of Freon and emitted 23 tons to the air; by 1994, Freon use was eliminated
entirely.
Heavy Metals Team: The heavy metals team focused its attention primarily on
eliminating the use of cadmium in the company's plating operations. This was done by
eliminating unnecessary plating, and by switching from CdCn (Cadmium Cyanide) to ZnCo
(Zinc Cobalt) for parts which do
| require plating. The change did not require any
new plating equipment, and the vendor of the new plating bath provided technical support
and worker retraining to facilitate the switch. The new plating formula has had no adverse
effects on quality. The switch not only eliminated the health and safety problems
associated with cyanide, it also permitted Foxboro to eliminate an entire process from its
waste treatment operations. Paint Team: By 1990, Foxboro had already reduced its
VOC emissions by 99%, from 140 to 1.4 tons per year. The paint team investigated further
VOC reduction opportunities, and investigated ways of reducing waste paint, which must be
disposed of as a hazardous waste. By training workers in more efficient spraying
techniques, cutting back on touch-up painting, and purchasing more efficient spray guns,
the team cut VOC emissions by nearly 50%, to 0.78 tons in 1993. Waste paints were also
reduced, largely by isolating wet spraying from powder coating, thus eliminating the
incorporation of nonhazardous powder coating wastes into hazardous wet paint wastes.
Foxboro calculates that these steps have led to savings of about $5,000 per year in paint
purchase and disposal costs.
Methylene Chloride Team: The fourth team reduced the use of methylene chloride
in degreasing operations by implementing alternative cleaning methods for a variety of
steel and aluminum parts. Traditionally, Foxboro degreased all of its metal parts after
machining. The idea was to remove coolants and cutting oils in order to insure better
adhesion of paints and plating compounds. After a careful evaluation of the soiling
created by various machine shop operations, the methylene chloride team discovered that
2,200 parts did not require degreasing at all in order to meet established in-house
cleanliness standards. Further reductions were achieved by introducing water-soluble
coolants in machining operations and by using aqueous-based detergents to clean machined
parts. As a result of the team's efforts, methylene chloride emissions were cut by more
than 30% between 1991 and 1994. A new team has been formed to take this project to the
next step, expanding the use of aqueous cleaners and eliminating the use of methylene
chloride entirely.
Miscellaneous Chemicals Team: A fifth team was charged with reducing
miscellaneous chemicals generated by assembly operations. The team focused its attention
particularly on outdated epoxy resins and left-over customer samples that must be disposed
of as hazardous wastes, at considerable expense to the company. The team's aim was to
revise purchasing policies so that chemicals are purchased only in the quantities needed,
and samples supplied by vendors are returned to the vendors after in-house evaluations.
These simple changes in purchasing procedures have led to savings of more than $10,000 per
year.
Tracking System Team: The sixth and last team was assigned the task of creating
a new system for tracking chemicals from purchasing through manufacturing and final
disposition. At the team's recommendation, information about the purchase and use of all
chemicals was incorporated into an existing computerized materials tracking system. This
system has helped
| Foxboro to validate its environmental reporting
data and to identify further opportunities for reducing its use of toxic chemicals and its
emissions of toxic industrial byproducts. Results
Reductions Achieved: Since implementing TQEM in 1992, Foxboro has added to its
previous successes by eliminating CFCs, cadmium and cyanide from its manufacturing
operations and reducing its use of methylene chloride by more than 30%. VOC emissions,
which had already been reduced drastically, were cut again by almost one half.
Economics: Foxboro calculates that its Toxic Use Reduction efforts have resulted
in a cost savings of nearly $900,000 since 1993. Freon elimination accounted for the bulk
of the savings. Cadmium reductions led to $35,000 in annual savings, while reductions in
methylene chloride shaved annual costs by a further $56,000.
Foxboro's conversion to no-clean solder fluxes required a $500,000 capital investment
in new equipment. This investment made it possible to eliminate Freon use, thus paying for
itself in less than eight months.
After years of hands-on experience, company officials are convinced that source
reduction is the most cost-effective means of meeting the challenges posed by increasingly
stringent environmental regulations. This is not just because source reduction lowers
tangible costs arising from chemical purchase and disposal, waste treatment, and licensing
and laboratory fees; it is also because of the less direct and tangible benefits of source
reduction which can be traced to improved employee safety and enhanced relations with
community members and customers. |
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