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U.S. EPA HONORS FOUR CALIFORNIA FIRMS FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION

Release Date: 9/15/1997
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588

     (San Francisco) -- The  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) honored four California businesses and governmental organizations for outstanding pollution prevention programs in a ceremony in San Francisco today.

     "These companies have demonstrated what is becoming more and more evident throughout the business community -- innovative pollution prevention methods work and go hand in hand with economic success," said Felicia Marcus, U.S. EPA regional administrator.  

     The Pollution Prevention Awards were presented to McDonnell Douglas Corp., Long Beach, which produces the C-17 military transport; Contra Costa Newspapers, Walnut Creek, which publishes 11 Northern California newspapers; the U.S. Postal Service, South San Francisco, which operates over 70 mail handling facilities in California and Hawaii, and Proto Engineering Corp., Sunnyvale, a printed circuit boards manufacturer.

     Pollution prevention encompasses activities that reduce or eliminate generation of pollutants at the source. These include product reformulation or substitution of materials that are less toxic, the use of new procedures that save natural resources, and modified processes that reduce the amount of pollutants released.

     The Proto Engineering Corporation has altered its chemical processes so that less toxic chemicals are used, resulting in the elimination of nearly one-half million pounds of hazardous waste each year for the last three years and a savings of five million gallons of water.

     Contra Costa Newspapers has an ongoing effort to eliminate  the use of chemicals in its printing processes, and ultimately all pollutant emissions from its facilities. The newspaper group now uses soy based inks with low volatile organic emissions, and it has eliminated paper copies through computerization. It also has procedures that minimize contamination from spills, which in turn reduces the hazardous wastes that would be used in the clean up of a spill.  

     The U.S. Postal Service has an excellent program of pollution prevention in both vehicle maintenance operations and mail processing facilities that has resulted in the reduction of air emissions and minimization of wastes. The Postal Service's pollution prevention program includes converting from spray painting to powder coating of its mail boxes, nearly eliminating air emissions, and setting up a central distribution system for maintenance supplies, which minimizes waste.

     The McDonnell Douglas Corp. has eliminated a number of harmful chemicals, including 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), from its processes, and changed its operations so that less harmful chemicals are used. The firm's pollution prevention program -- which is incorporated into the design and development of its products -- has resulted in a drop of toxic air emissions from 225,000 pounds in 1991 to 80,000 pounds in 1996. Hazardous wastes have been reduced from 492,000 pounds in 1995 to 302,000 pounds in 1996.