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Department of Ecology News Release - Oct. 26, 2000
00-208
SPOKANE - Smith Chrome Plating of Walla Walla, will be recognized by the Washington Department of Ecology for drastically reducing its wastewater discharges and making improvements to protect the environment from chemical release accidents.
An Environmental Excellence Award will be presented to Smith Chrome's manager Jim Christian, secretary/treasurer John Edwards, and facility personnel at noon on Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Walla Walla Country Club.
Before updating its plant in 1996, Smith Chrome discharged more than 10,000 gallons each day and had little in the way of protection from accidental releases of plating solution to the sanitary sewer. Plating solution contains toxic heavy metals and other compounds such as chromic acid and sodium hydroxide. In fact, accidental releases did occur, resulting in Ecology enforcement actions.
With technical assistance from Ecology's hazardous waste and toxics reduction program, the facility now averages only 150 gallons of wastewater discharge per day, and part of that water is recycled and used as rinse water and returned to the plating tanks. "Smith Chrome Plating has made remarkable progress since facing enforcement action several years ago," said Carl Nuechterlein who manages Ecology's water quality program in eastern Washington.
That experience, coupled with wastewater permit requirements, spurred the facility to make huge improvements, Nuechterlein said.
To eliminate the possibility of accidental releases, the plating area was isolated and alarms were installed on all of the tanks.
Contact: Jani Gilbert, Public Information Manager, 509-456-4464;
pager,
509-622-1289
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
