"To investigate opportunities for pollution prevention within your company, you need to assess your current operations."
This chapter provides guidelines for beginning pollution prevention assessments in the facility, starting with the highest priority and/or targeted wastes. The pollution prevention team should name assessment teams, review wastes and processes, and organize and document information before and after the assessments.
When the candidate wastes are established, the assessment for identifying specific pollution prevention opportunities can begin. This procedure involves first looking at the processes associated with the candidate streams and then expanding the assessment to the entire facility so that all potential opportunities are addressed. The pollution prevention team should discuss the potential wastes and the staffing of the overall facility to determine who should conduct the initial process assessment. Typically a team of two to three people is effective.
The assessment team should first become familiar with the targeted processes. The flow diagrams developed in Chapter 9 provide an understanding of the process but may not explain why certain materials are used and why wastes are generated. For this information, the team must go into the facility and study the processes in detail. This study should be conducted while the process is in operation (ideally during all shifts) and, if possible, during a shut-down/clean-out/start-up period to identify what materials are used and wastes are generated by this procedure. When studying the process, the team should note any potential pollution prevention opportunities and should pay particular attention to the following:
It may also be helpful to photograph the process to recall specific details later. Often, details can be better captured visually than with words. However, this should be cleared with the appropriate personnel first.
The assessment team should talk with the line personnel, including operators, supervisors, and foremen, as much as possible. In doing so, they should determine the required operating conditions, product specifications, and equipment specifications for the process. They should discuss the points previously listed as well as the daily routine the workers follow. Specifically, the team should try to identify when waste is generated, not just by the regular process, but by upsets, off-spec products, spills, etc. The team should also talk with the maintenance and housekeeping personnel who service the process to determine when, why, and how the process is serviced. Is preventive maintenance being done or are maintenance people always responding to breakdowns? It is important to talk with these individuals as they generally have the best working knowledge of the processes. The team should also compare written operating procedures for various unit operations to actual in-plant practices.
After examining the targeted processes, the assessment team should set a schedule for looking at the other processes in a similar manner. Assessment for non-targeted sources should be thorough, but it may take more time to completely assess these. Implementing pollution prevention projects on targeted processes can begin before assessments are completed for every process. This will help build momentum and corporate support for a sustained program.
The team should also conduct an overall survey of the facility. This survey consists of investigating supplemental operations such as shipping/receiving, purchasing, inventory, vehicle maintenance, waste handling/storage, laboratories, powerhouses/boilers, cooling towers, and maintenance. Again, the team should discuss daily routine with the personnel in these departments and should note potential opportunities for pollution prevention. Some specific topics to cover in these departments are listed in Table 2.
Once the process assessments and plant survey are completed, the data obtained should be reviewed for thoroughness by all of the pollution prevention team members. This review will also initiate the brainstorming process for ideas to reduce waste at the source.
| Shipping/receiving | Packaging materials - what is done with waste? How are materials shipped/received - drums, bulk? Can containers be returned/recycled? Are you required to return empty containers to vendor? What happens to pallets? |
|---|---|
| Purchasing | Who orders materials? How far in advance are materials ordered? Can materials be ordered as needed (just-in-time)? Is the minimum amount ordered? |
| Inventory | What is the shelf-life of all materials? Is there an inventory control system? Bar coding? Is there a central stockroom (no individual orders)? Do you operate by "just-in-time" philosophy? Do you operate by "first in, first out" principle? |
| Vehicle maintenance | Are solvents used for parts cleaning? Are solvents recycled and have solvent alternatives been tested? Do you recycle batteries, used oil, or antifreeze? How are used oil filters/carburetor cleaners handled? |
| Waste handling and storage | Are waste streams segregated? Do you know the sources of all waste? Do you have a "waste inventory" control system? How often is waste shipped off-site? Treated on-site? How is waste handled once shipped off-site? |
| Laboratories | How are chemicals ordered? In what quantities? What is the shelf life of all chemicals? How are expired chemicals handled? Are solvents recycled/reused (e.g., first rinse)? How are gases stored? How are laboratory wastes handled? Are laboratory wastes segregated? |
| Powerhouse/boiler | How is fly ash/slag handled? How is tube clean-out material handled? What type of fuel is used? Are alternatives used? What type of boiler water treatment chemicals are used? How is boiler blow-down handled? |
| Cooling towers | What type of chemical additives are used? How is bottom sediment handled? What is your water source? Is water recycled? |
| Maintenance | What types of cleaners are used? Are solvents used? Are they recycled/reused? Have solvent/cleaner alternatives been tested? How are waste oil/greases handled? How are other wastes generated and handled? |
(adapted from Pollution Prevention: A Guide to Program Implementation, Illinois Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center, 1993)