Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Nov. 9, 1998

98-184

Contact: Peggy Morgan, Department of Ecology, (360) 407-6739

Business and government facilities honored for preventing pollution

OLYMPIA -- Five businesses and three government entities were honored at the state capitol today for extraordinary leadership and innovation in preventing pollution at their facilities.

The Governor's Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Pollution Prevention are issued annually to businesses and government agencies that have found ways to offer services and make products while generating less or no hazardous waste. This is the sixth set of awards.

Tom Fitzsimmons, director of the state Department of Ecology (Ecology), presented the awards on behalf of Gov. Gary Locke, who had a scheduling conflict.

"The people who receive this award have found that they can save money and improve worker safety by preventing pollution," Fitzsimmons said. "Their ingenuity and resourcefulness make them true environmental champions, and an example for others in our state."

This year's winners were selected from about 40 applicants. Businesses compete against comparably sized companies, and government agencies are judged separately.

The entries were judged by a panel of experts, including past award-winners, pollution-prevention experts, representatives from small and large businesses, and representatives from labor, community and environmental groups. Emphasis was placed on facilities that demonstrated the greatest innovation, and which also reached out to others in their industry or community to teach them about preventing pollution.

The winners of the 1998 awards are: Ace Galvanizing, Inc. of Seattle; Cablecraft of Tacoma; Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane; Hansville Repair of Hansville; Thurston County Waste Program, Olympia; and United Paint and Coatings, located in Greenacres.

Praegitzer Industries of Redmond received an honorable mention for its efforts to reduce the amount of hazardous waste it generates.

The U.S. Navy's Bangor Submarine Base in Silverdale received an award for "continuing leadership in pollution prevention." The base first received a pollution-prevention award in 1992.

For more information about the award winners, call Peggy Morgan at 360-407-6739.

AWARDS

Hansville Repair, Hansville

The owners of this four-bay auto-repair facility set themselves the challenging goal of completely eliminating all discharge. Owners Chip and Linda Keen sought cutting-edge pollution-prevention opportunities, eliminated the use of chlorinated solvents, and installed an aqueous system to replace solvent brake cleaner, which is a mainstay of most shops. Facility employees use repair opportunities to explain environmental effects to customers and set a conscientious environmental example for the community.

Ace Galvanizing, Incorporated, Seattle

This facility employs fifty people, who take oily, rusty pieces of steel and iron, and return them clean and sealed. Ace modified its process with new equipment and changed its process chemicals. The new system was a prototype, so there were technical problems that had to be overcome in order to operate the product line. These changes allowed the company to do an excellent job of reducing hazardous waste. As a result, Ace Galvanizing went from being a large-quantity generator of hazardous waste to being a small-quantity generator. Ace Galvanizing also applied pollution-prevention thinking to its water and energy use.

United Paint and Coatings, Greenacres

This facility is on the cutting edge of innovation. Improvements in technology have slowly allowed the company to shift from solvent-based to water-based products. United Paint & Coatings takes water that is used to wash the latex line and re-uses that water in the next batch of product. Careful tracking showed that the overhead cost of producing latex products is lower than the solvent-based products. The employees understand that, by reformulating their products to be water-based, they have increased worker safety, stepped out from under some regulatory umbrellas, and decreased production costs.

Cablecraft, Tacoma

Cablecraft's 150 employees use a variety of metals and plastics to produce assemblies that are used in the aerospace, automotive and farm-equipment sectors. The staff explores the environmental effect of every new project or process, and worked with the Department of Ecology to find solutions to help them design their facility to prevent pollution. Cablecraft went from generating a large amount of hazardous waste to zero. While they were designing to minimize air pollution and water discharge, the company also thought to ask the local utility for some advice. Tacoma Power helped in selecting energy-efficient motors and lighting, and also provided funding and substantial rebates. Cablecraft employs good stormwater controls; has an excellent solid-waste recycling program; seeks out and uses product substitutes that are less hazardous; and even planted trees to improve the work site.

Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane

Fairchild has shown imagination and innovation in carrying out pollution-prevention opportunities. Fairchild is the largest air-refueling wing in the Air Force, home to more then 60 active-duty and Air National Guard KC-135 aircraft. Through a network of committees, the base established goals for reducing the amount of hazardous and solid waste that is generated, and the staff reduced the use of 17 chemicals that have been identified by the EPA as toxics of concern.

Other improvements include energy conservation, improved air quality, lower emissions of volatile air contaminants, eliminating ozone-depleting chemicals, and encouraging commute-trip reduction. Fairchild's HAZMAT system works to control the purchase and use of chemicals throughout the facility. The base is a safer better place to work now that hazardous waste generation has been reduced by about 215,000 pounds a year. Fairchild's volatile air emissions were reduced by 92 percent, largely through conversion to a lower-volatile jet fuel. Grounds and buildings workers have adopted pest-management methods that consider alternatives to pesticides. Pesticide use has dropped by 68 percent – and saves $20,000 year. Energy conservation has allowed the base to save more than $157,000 a year through a lighting retrofit on the aircraft pad.

Continuous improvement and a commitment to innovation keeps Fairchild at the forefront of pollution-prevention efforts.

Thurston County Hazardous-Waste Program, Olympia

This is a regional service program operated by the Thurston County Health Department and the Thurston County Department of Water and Waste Management. The program serves about 200,000 residents and 2,500 small businesses, providing education, hazardous-waste collection, technical assistance, site investigations and enforcement. Work began as a result of a community-based planning process which recognized that the most effective way to prevent hazardous wastes from damaging public health and the environment is to keep them from being created in the first place. They have had excellent results in educating residents about pest management, household hazardous wastes, and how to perform home assessment of environmental risks. Businesses are provided with industry-specific technical assistance on preventing pollution. The county also promotes the industrial-materials exchange catalogue to encourage local businesses to trade in hazardous materials instead of creating wastes or buying hazardous substances. Thurston County's hazardous-waste collection program keeps wastes out of the environment when generation cannot be avoided.

Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Silverdale

After winning the 1992 Pollution Prevention Award, the Bangor Naval Submarine Base became the first facility in the Navy to embrace the idea of using Ecology's Environmental Management System Alternative to Pollution Prevention Planning. Bangor hosts 54 commands, most of which directly support the Trident Bangor Submarine Program; 10,000 military staff and civilians work primarily to support the Trident-launched ballistic missile system, and maintain the infrastructure of the base.

The base has organized several teams to tackle each specific aspect of its environmental management system. A host of hazardous substances have been banned from the base, including extremely hazardous substances, toxic-release chemicals, PCBs, heavy metals, and all ozone-depleting substances that are not mission-critical. There's now a clear list of materials that are authorized for use, and new employees are taught to weigh actions and choices according to economic and environmental benefits. Wherever raw materials are used, employees seek the least-toxic alternatives.

Other innovative programs include: recycling of lead batteries, curb-side recycling for solid wastes, commute-trip reduction, a reclamation store for hazardous materials, replacing solvent cleaners with safer substitutes, converting coal-fired boilers to natural gas, and installing a "bullet catcher" to collect lead bullets discharged at the firing range. Technology is rapidly changing, and the Navy appears to be on the leading edge of these improvements. Top-level management in the Navy has made a commitment to lead the organization in environmental performance and awareness.

Honorable Mention

Praegitzer Industries, Redmond

Praegitzer produces printed circuit boards, and one of the byproducts of that process has become a source of raw materials for other facilities. Praegitzer sought out other industries to find a home for this new product, called "copper-ore replacement material." Since there is a legitimate use for the product, the facility has been exempted from hazardous-waste regulations, and the product can be sold profitably.

Praegitzer used to generate about 1,500 pounds of lead-laden waste each year, removing solder from Hot Air Level air knives. After extensive testing, the company found a substitute that outperformed conventional cleaners. The waste now generated can be managed as a non-hazardous solid waste. Praegitzer has hosted numerous competitors, guests, regulators and visitors to its facility. The company also is active in a roundtable sponsored by the Department of Ecology that helps provide assistance to other facilities.