Fact Sheet: Waste Reduction in the Aerospace Industry

The Virginia Waste Minimization Program
Vol. I Issue 10

A Fact Sheet from the Virginia Waste Minimization Program on waste reduction in the aerospace industry.

Waste Reduction for the Aerospace Industry

Background

The aerospace industry utilizes a large number of hazardous materials and generates a significant amount of hazardous wastes in Its numerous manufacturing operations. These diverse operations involve the use, transportation, treatment, disposal, regulatory compliance. and environmental liability involved with these materials and wastes. Wastes may be reduced by a number of source reduction, recycling, resource recovery and treatment options.

Over 300 waste streams have been identified in the aerospace industry. Typical wastes generated include:

• Halogenated solvents associated with metal parts cleaning, degreasing, painting, and paint cleanup
  
• Ferric chloride in printed circuit board etching
  
• Photo-developing solutions
  
• Cooling/cutting oils
  
• Heavy metal waste treatment sludge
  
• Plating/etching/stripping/plating line cleaning solutions
  
• Laboratory packs and scrap metals.

Waste Reduction

Waste reduction can reduce the amount of hazardous materials used to make a product as well as the resulting wastes generated. Some methods may require capital investment, although short-term cost savings have been demonstrated in similar industries. These practices may save industry money in the areas of manufacturing, treatment. disposal, and liability and can place the industry firmly within regulatory compliance.

Both state (Virginia Department of Waste Management Regulations, Section 6.5.B. 1.c) and federal (40 CFR, Part 262, Subpart D) regulations require that generators of hazardous waste file a biennial generator's report. Among other things, this report must include a description of the efforts undertaken and achievements accomplished in reducing the volume and toxicity of waste generated during the reporting period.

The Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest requires large generators to certify that they have a program in place to reduce the volume and toxicity of waste generated ... determined to be economically practicable' and have selected the [most] 'practicable method of treatment, storage, or disposal currently available ... [that] minimizes the present arid future threat to human health and the environment. Small quantity generators must certify that they have made a good faith effort to minimize, waste generation- and have selected the best affordable waste management method available.

Executive Commitment

Reducing the use of hazardous materials and the generation of hazardous wastes requires an executive commitment to examine holistically the stricture and function of environmental operations throughout the company. Waste reduction starts with a strong pollution prevention approach advocated at the top. Compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements should be the minimum standard of performance. The ultimate goal should be to reduce the generation of hazardous wastes as much as practicable,

Division and Program Management Responsibilities

All levels of management and supervision must convey to their staff the importance of implementing a waste reduction program that will ensure proper identification, collection, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste in the short term while providing for the neutralization, reduction, and elimination of hazardous wastes in the long term.

These duties may be accomplished by implementing the following options:

• Identify any environmental effluent or pollutant and its resulting effect.
  
• Eliminate or limit to the lowest practical level any hazardous environmental effect.
  
• Implement all necessary safeguards, tests, measurements, operating and maintenance procedures, and other precautions for the effective control of potential environmental pollutants.
  
• Conduct reviews of current processes requiring hazardous materials and reduce or eliminate their use wherever feasible.
  
• Review current practices for marketing unused or recyclable hazardous materials and for the disposal of hazardous waste to assure regulatory compliance.
  
• Formulate long range plans and prepare and update appropriate justification for recycling and treatment equipment.
  
• Incorporate every phase of the business and involve every department of the division in achieving zero discharge.
  
• Muster the resources to accomplish goals.
  
• Strengthen the company's financial future through waste minimization accomplishments.

Employee Responsibilities

Employees should be charged with the responsibility to protect the environment and to save the company money whenever possible as a result. Each employee should:

• Be knowledgeable of materials and equipment that are used.
  
• Ensure that all materials entrusted to them are handled, stored, and disposed in a proper manner.
  
• Identify and implement waste reduction goals.

Keys to Waste Reduction

• Focus on source reduction, not end-of-pipe treatment.
  
• Move ahead of the 'regulatory avalanche' by setting your own standards.
  
• Distinguish between discretionary practices and mandatory requirements.
  
• Approve all capital and property acquisition plans with a view towards waste reduction and pollution prevention.
  
• Improve staff by hiring or training employees to be "hands-on" specialists.
  
• Analyze your waste stream as part of an overall waste audit.

Facility Modifications

• Provide direct recovery of copper sulfate from etch/strip processes by cooling and crystallization.
  
• Substitute drip pans for rinse tanks in circuit board facility.
  
• Implement metal recovery with state-of-art ion exchange approach to reduce sludge production.
  
• Implement electrochemical extraction of heavy metals from water to reduce sludge generation.

Electronic and Final Assembly

• Use in-line solvent recovery on CFC- 1 13 vapor degreasing.
  
• Extend solvent life by using molecular sieve and GC-MS analysis to avoid unnecessary additions of solvent.
  
• Implement a recycling program for glycol coolants and hydraulic oil.
  
• Change to low-VOC conformal coating operations.
  
• Install a centralized halogenated solvent recovery system.
  
• Implement a shelf-life sensitive materials reduction program to save both materials and money and to avoid the disposal of materials as hazardous wastes.

Detail Part Painting

• Convert to water-based primers.
  
• Convert to low-volatility paints and solvents.
  
• Use proportional mixers for multi-component paintings.
  
• Eliminate all water-wall spray booths by using fiber or deep-bed air filters.
  
• Use plastic beads for paint stripping.
  
• Use electrostatic application methods.
  
• Use low-solvent topcoat paints.
  
• Install a solvent recovery system for waste paints and sludges.

Machine Shop

• Improve general housekeeping to minimize spills. Segregate non-hazardous and hazardous wastes to save on raw materials and to reduce disposal and liability costs.
  
• Replace cutting oils with water-soluble coolants.
  
• Convert to water-based cutting fluids.
  
• Separate dye penetrants from water.
  
• Consider ultrafiltration for water/organic mixtures.
  
• Phase out flammable solvents and convert to water-based cleaners.

Metal Surface Finishing and Plating

• Install water-recirculating/solids-separating vapor hone and blast equipment.
  
• Replace chromium-based chemistry in bright dip, passivation, arid deoxidation: anodize with non-metal chemistry.
  
• Replace dip and counter-current rinses with on-demand spray systems when structure of the part allows.
  
• Replace ventilation scrubber systems with on-demand exhaust systems.
  
• Upgrade aluminum etch and surface treatment acid processes with purification units for life extension benefits.

Printed Circuit Board Fabrication

• Extend the chemical process bath replacement period through filtration, analysis and maintenance.
  
• Introduce low water demand spray rinses on conveyorized processes.
  
• Replace common chemical precipitation with electrochemical reduction processes to minimize sludge production.
  
• Reduce the chemical oxidation demand loading of the sewer by changing manufacturing process chemistries.
  
• Replace electrochemical reduction with ion exchange, crystallization, and heavy metal extraction/recovery through electro-deposition techniques.

(This Waste Reduction Fact Sheet was reprinted with permission from the California Department of Health Services, Toxic Substances Control Program, Alternative Technology Division. Modifications have been made to tailor this fact sheet for use in Virginia.)

This Waste Reduction Fact Sheet is provided as a service of the Virginia Waste Minimization Program, a technical assistance program of the Virginia Department of Waste Management.

For more information on opportunities to reduce waste contact:

Virginia Waste Minimization Program
11th Floor Monroe Building, 101 North 14th Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-371-8716 or 1-800-552-2075
TDD 804-371-8737