Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industry - P2 InfoHouse · 2018. 6. 13. · Pollution Prevention...

DEkZ Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Environmental Assistance Division September 1995

For further information on the Auto Project, call the Environmental Assistance Division, Environmental Assistance Center at 1-800-662-9278.

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Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industrv

Table of Contents Page

CHRYSLER McGraw Glass Plant LEAD-FREE BLACK CERAMIC PAINT ............................................................................ 1

Corporate Wide NON-PRODUCTION MATERIAL SCREENING ............................................................... 3

Corporate Wide MERCURY REDUCTION PROGRAM .............................................................................. 6

Corporate Wide PCB ELIMINATION PROGRAM ....................................................................................... 9

Corporate Wide SURFACE COATING TOXICS REDUCTION PROGRAM ............................................. 11

Thermal Products Facility ELIMINATION OF CHROMIUM FROM RADIATOR PLANT .......................................... 13

Chrysler Partnership with Dow Chemical, BASF, and INTAC POST CONSUMER ANIT-FREEZE REMANUFACTURING .......................................... 16

Warren Stamping Plant STAMPING PLANT TOXIC REDUCTIONS .................................................................... 21

Belvidere, Illinois Assembly Plant POLLUTION PREVENTION PROJECTS WITH THE NEON .......................................... 22

Corporate and Facility CHRYSLER HONORS ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE RECOGNITION (CHEER) PROGRAM ..................................................................................................................... 24

Toledo Machining Plant ELIMINATION OF TRICHLOROETHANE VAPOR DEGREASERS ............................... 29

Kenosha Engine and Toledo Machining Plants MINERAL SPIRITS ELIMINATION IN MACHINING PLANTS ........................................ 33

Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industry Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Pollution Prevention in the Auto Tndustrv


FORD Michigan and Indiana Plants RECENT POLLUTION PREVENTION PROJECTS ......................................................... 2

Corporate Wide HANDLING OF SPENT LEAD-ACID BATTERIES ........................................................... 4

Climate Control Division PROCESS CHANGE TO ELIMINATE THE USE OF TRICHLOROETHYLENE ............... 7

Utica Plant TOLUENE EMISSIONS MINIMIZED .............................................................................. 16

Ypsilanti Plant REDUCING THE RELEASE OF TRICHLOROETHYLENE AND METHYLENE CHLORIDE ..................................................................................................................... 22

Ra wsonville Plant TETRACHLOROETHYLENE .......................................................................................... 29

Romeo Engine Plant SOLVENT USE REDUCTION AT THE FORD ROMEO ENGINE PLANT ...................... 30

Worldwide Operations WASTE PREVENTION STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION .............................................. 34

POLLUTION PREVENTION STRATEGY ....................................................................... 36


Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industry


GENERAL MOTORS Lansing Automotive Division REDUCING FREON USE ................................................................................................ 3

Lansing Fabrication Plant SUBSTITUTION WITH A SOLVENT-FREE ADHESIVE ................................................... 5

Packard Electronic Division REFORMULATION OF PVC INSULATION ...................................................................... 8

Delco Remy (Anderson, Indiana) RECOVERING LEAD FROM WASTEWATER ............................................................... 10

Inland Fisher Guide, Livonia SOLVENT-FREE SPRAY ADHESIVES FOR INTERIOR TRIM ...................................... 12

RESCHEDULING PAINT BOOTH CLEANING REDUCES SOLVENT USE & VOC EMISSIONS ................................................................................................................... 14

Inland Fisher Guide Plant (Anderson, Indiana) COPPER AND NICKEL RECLAMATION FROM PLATING WASTE .............................. 17

Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant ADJUSTING PAINT EQUIPMENT REDUCES EMISSIONS, SOLID WASTE AND SAVES MONEY .......................................................................................................................... 19

Columbus Inland Fisher Guide Plant COLUMBUS IFG PLANT ELIMINATES METHYLENE CHLORIDE ................................ 26

REDUCING CHROME, VOC AT THE SOURCE ............................................................ 27

RECYCLING CHROME FROM RINSEWATER .............................................................. 31

Hughes Electronics' Delco Electronics (Oak Creek, Wisconsin) REMOVING LEAD AND SOLVENT FROM AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS OPERATIONS ................................................................................................................ 34

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e- Environmental Assistance Division


Chrysler McGra w Glass Plant

LEAD-FREE BLACK CERAMIC PAINT McGraw Glass cuts, prints and shapes vehicle windows (windshields, backlights, side and rear windows) for use by Chrysler Corporation assembly plants in the U.S. and Canada. The company has been very proactive in attempting to minimize both solid and hazardous waste. As a result, efforts are underway to eliminate or reduce to the extent possible the amount and number of toxic materials used.

One of the targeted materials is a ceramic black glaze paint that is used for both aesthetics and as an Ultraviolet (UV) light shield for an adhesive that is applied to the glass where the interior trim abuts the window. The adhesive is sensitive to UV light and requires the “blackout” to prevent the adhesive from losing its bond strength. The paint is applied to the glass in a “silkscreening” process.

The black ceramic glaze paint currently in use at McGraw Glass contains lead. A program has been launched to develop, test and approve a lead- free black ceramic glaze paint. It is anticipated that a suitable substitute for the paint that contains lead will be approved and in use at the plant by late 1993 or early 1994.

The new lead-free reformulated material, in combination with replacement solvents that have flash points higher than 140 degrees fahrenheit, would result in the waste from this operation being classified as nonhazardous. This new lead-free paint with suitable higher flash solvent would enable the plarit to eliminate approximately 700 drums of hazardous waste per year.

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Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Environmental Assistance Division


The new paint is extremely viscous and has a consistency similar to molasses, which makes it both difficult to handle and to fully utilize all of the material from supply containers. As a result, the plant is investigating methods to reduce the volume of nonhazardous waste that will be generated, including providing a washer for empty cans and screens and/or compacting and granulating the empty ceramic glaze cans.

McGraw Glass continues to review its waste stream and look for ways to reduce the quantity and toxicity of waste generated.

Ford Michigan and Indiana Plants

RECENT POLLUTION PREVENTION PROJECTS Based on Toxic Release Inventory data, toluene and trichloroethylene have been identified as the two Great Lakes Persistent Toxic (GLPT) substances, which have the highest volume of releases from Ford plants. Manufacturing and other sources that use these materials are priority processes for evaluation. Consultant-assisted waste prevention opportunity assessments that evaluate many in-plant processes were recently completed at two plants within the Great Lakes states. Each of these plants identified opportunities to reduce wastes in the areas of hydrocarbon solvents (e.g. xylene, acetone), packaging materials and plastics.

Toluene With regard to specifically listed GLPT substances, a plant in Michigan reduced the release of toluene. This was accomplished by changing the way paint “buildup” is removed from fixtures used to hold decorative parts in position for painting. Previously, paint was “stripped” from these fixtures using a toluene-based solvent. In the revised method, solvent is not used. A molten salt is used in place of the toluene to remove the paint from the fixtures. This change in processing reduces the release of toluene by about 23,000 pounds annually.

Trichlo ro e th-vlen e The second plant, in Indiana, replaced two trichloroethylene (TCE) degreasers used for cleaning oil from metal tubing with water wash systems. Testing and pilot evaluation indicated that such a process change could maintain product quality and reduce the overall environmental impact from the manufacture of these parts. Implementation of the new system reduces the release of TCE by approximately 50,000 pounds per year.

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General Motors Lansing Automotive Division

REDUCING FREON USE General Motors’ Facilities Management Section of the Lansing Automotive Division decided to remove chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from its operations wherever possible because of the ozone-depleting potential.

The Lansing Automotive Division (LAD) identified uses of CFCs throughout its Lansing manufacturing facilities. Starting in September 1989, General Motors’ Chemical Substances Information System was used to identify CFC-containing materials that were approved for purchase and which departments were authorized to purchase them. Departments were sent a letter asking whether there was a non-CFC niaterial that could be substituted, with follow-up reminders as needed.

When departments responded that acceptable and cost-effective alternatives were available, LAD removed the CFC-containing materials from the list it had approved for purchase. By mid-1990, all the target materials had been identified. By mid- 1992, suitable substitutes had been identified for each one, and products with no CFCs have been purchased by LAD plants since that time.

LAD identified one material, a mixture of Freon 1 1 and Freon 12, that was used extensively as a degreaser. It was purchased in 24-ounce spray cans and used at the rate of approximately 15,000 pounds per year throughout the complex. Testing revealed that HCFC-141B was an acceptable substitute for degreasing operations. Although HCFC- 141B also has some ozone-depleting action, it has only about 12 percent of the ozone-depletion potential of the Freons it replaced. In addition, LAD identified changes in internal material controls to reduce the use of aerosol cans of degreaser by up to 40 percent.

Chtysler Corporate Wide

NON-PRODUCTION MATERIAL SCREENING This program was approved and implemented in April 1993 as part of the Non-Production Material approval system. This new Chrysler program focuses on pollution prevention practices that eliminate, substitute or reduce to the extent possible, regulated substances from products supplied to Chrysler, as well its own manufacturing processes. This screening approach integrates environmental, occupational health and safety requirements as well as recycling concerns. Chrysler’s environmental protection strategy for the 1990s and beyond focuses on avoiding the use of regulated substances and materials of concern whenever possible in an


Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industri

effort to preclude the need for “end-of-pipe’’ controls. This approach will not only contain the use of materials of concern, but will allow Chrysler to focus attention on transferring successful reduction efforts to existing part numbers. This pollution prevention initiative will add value to the products Chrysler sells, as well as protect employees, the communities in which the company operates and the environment.

This program is supported by Corporate Standards and Manufacturing Technical Instructions, which focuses the earliest attention of Chrysler engineers and designers on the environmental impact of their decisions, in addition to technical and product quality implications.

To ensure elimination, substitution and/or reduction of the regulated substances, the new part screening program has been implemented as part of the non production Restricted Parts Approval System. A similar system will be implemented shortly and integrated into Chrysler’s Production Part Approval System. Additionally, suppliers are being requested to certify their parts regarding the presence of Chrysler’s identified materials of concern.

One example of Chrysler’s success in eliminating one of the 65 persistent toxic chemicals identified in the Auto Project was its refusal to approve a transmjssion fluid for Chrysler’s new TE Van, which contained 10-30 percent Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (CAS 00085-68-7). This was accomplished by working with suppliers and the design team to identify a suitable substitute material. The criteria for the substitute material was that it did not contain one of Chrysler’s listed materials of concern and met all other performance requirements.

Ford Corporate Wide

HANDLING OF SPENT LEAD-ACID BATTERIES Lead-acid batteries are used throughout Ford Motor Company for a number of purposes. To encourage recycling, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act exempts generators of spent lead-acid batteries from federal hazardous waste management requirements when recycling batteries. Consistent with the federal exemption, Ford has established its own guidelines to improve handling and reclamation of spent lead-acid batteries. Included are both automotive and industrial batteries.

Ford’s Hazardous Waste Minimization Committee studied the handling and removal procedures for lead-acid batteries with the intent to minimize the potential for release of lead to the environment. Based on the committee’s work, in April 1992 Ford’s Environmental Quality Office and


Pollution Prevrrition irz the Auto Iridustry

Purchasing and Supply staff issued guidelines directing that all spent industrial lead-acid batteries be sent to company-approved reclamation facilities. Ford facilities across North America are directed to have industrial batteries recycled by these reclamation facilities. Ford’s automotive battery supplier has established a program to take back automotive batteries for recycling, and Ford facilities have been directed to return automotive batteries to this supplier for recycling. Through this program, spent automotive lead-acid batteries are properly reclaimed.

Ford guidelines also set requirements for on-site handling of spent lead- acid batteries. As part of the requirements, these batteries are kept away from soil, surface water and sewerage systems at the facility. The facility must also have a designated storage area for spent lead-acid batteries. The storage area must be able to contain any acid spills that may occur.

Labeling requirements are also set for the storage and off-site transportation of spent lead-acid batteries. A 24-hour emergency telephone number, as required by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), is included in the guidelines for Ford facilities. The use of USDOT “CORROSIVE” labels on all pallets is required.

The guidelines for Ford facilities are intended to minimize pollution through improved handling and ultimate reclamation of spent lead-acid batteries.

General Motors Lansing Fabrication Plant

SUBSTITUTION WITH A SOLVENTFREE ADHESIVE General Motors’ Lansing Fabrication Plant 3, in Lansing, Michigan, builds hoods, trunk lids and doors for several models of GM vehicles. As part of this procedure, adhesives are used (along with spot welds in some cases) to attach the exterior metal “skin” to interior reinforcements that provide strength and stability and control deformation in a crash. In the past, these solvent-based adhesives contained approximately 3.5 lbs of toluene per gallon. All of this solvent eventually evaporated into the air.

The engineers at Lansing Assembly Division (LAD), which has divisional responsibility for the operations of several Lansing facilities--and their colleagues in Plant 3--decided to reduce these emissions by finding alternative materials that do not contain solvents.

When the group expressed a desire to use a nonsolvent adhesive, a vendor identified an adhesive that appeared to meet the appropriate criteria. After some preliminary testing, the team arranged to “pilot” the adhesive on

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hood assemblies for one body style in 1989. It proved to be acceptable in the actual manufacturing process.

Building on the successful use of a nonsolvent adhesive, the Lansing team has expanded the use to the hood assemblies of two other body styles, and to the hood, trunk lid and doors of a third--almost all of its adhesive operations. The most recent conversion was completed in June 1992. The group hopes to convert the one remaining operation in the future.

The change to a nonsolvent adhesive has eliminated the release of 300 tons per year of toluene to the environment. In addition, any adhesive residues and/or containers are nonflammable, and are therefore safely handled as a nonhazardous waste and can be disposed of at a lower cost. As a result, Plant 3’s hazardous waste was reduced from 3,000 gallons to 400 gallons per year.

There was a small material-cost penalty for substituting the non solvent adhesive during the phase-in period when the volume of purchases was relatively low. Now that the material is used and purchased in normal production volumes, there is also a cost savings from the nonsolvent material

Chrysler Corporate Wide

MERCURY REDUCTION PROGRAM Manometers, which are used widely in Chrysler’s research and development programs, are typically filled with mercury. This type of equipment is prone to damage during the testing process, which increases the risk of mercury spills. Mercury is considered to be a persistent toxic, which is known to adversely affect water quality in the Great Lakes and is also targeted for reduction under EPA’s 33/50 program.

Chrysler has instituted a program to reduce mercury usage associated with testing operations through the following means:

*Modification of specifications. Chrysler engineering specifications were analyzed, and it was determined that nearly 20 of the specifications call for use of mercury-containing equipment. Altering the specifications and subsequent approval system will prevent the purchase of mercury containing equipment and offer recommendations for substitutes. Modifications to the nonproduction materials approval system are currently in progress, and the specifications have been changed to eliminate mercury.

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*Decommissioning mercury-containing equipment. An ongoing program has been established to decommission inactive manometers in the Chrysler Center Powertrain Testing areas. Additionally, in an effort to minimize liability and reduce the use of persistent toxics, Chrysler has required laboratories that move from Chrysler Center to the new Chrysler Technology Center to leave behind mercury-containing equipment and purchase new equipment that does not use mercury. In 1992 alone, approximately 1,000 pounds of mercury were collected through these efforts.

*Evaluation of alternatives for blood pressure measurement equipment. Mercury-free alternatives to Sphygmomanometers, which are used for measuring blood pressure, are being evaluated by the Corporate Health and Safety Department

Ford Climate Control Division (CCD)

PROCESS CHANGE TO ELIMINATE THE USE OF TRICHLOROETHYLENE

Ford Motor Company includes pollution prevention in its business planning practices. Ford’s Climate Control Division (CCD) makes aluminum heat exchangers, such as radiators, heater cores, condensers and evaporators. A project is being piloted at a Ford facility in the Great Lakes Basin that has potential to eliminate the use of trichloroethylene (TCE) during the manufacture of these components.

In the traditional process, the TCE is heated and used to “degrease” or clean oil from very thin aluminum parts that are used to make the heat exchanger. After cleaning, the parts are assembled and brazed together as a coherent and leak-free unit. Although the degreaser includes a vapor collection system for reuse of the TCE within the process, some TCE remains on the high-surface-area parts and evaporates outside of the process equipment. This process generates a significant percentage of all the chlorinated solvents released annually by the company.

One alternative that appeared to have potential for replacing the TCE in this process was the use of a detergent and aqueous solution (water wash), which would not etch or damage the aluminum parts. A variety of detergents were tested using a small bench scale process. The two best performing classes of detergents were then used in low volume trials. At the same time, a design for a detergent and aqueous system was developed. With assistance from a supplier, an enclosed water spray

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system was chosen where the parts were moved through the spray areas by a belt feeder. The washer was designed with three sections: (1) a prewash for easy to remove oil; (2) detergent wash to loosen and remove oil attached to the part surface; and (3) a water rinse.

In January 1992, a low production volume prototype unit was installed and tested for about six months. During this testing, critical process evaluations were made to assure that the aluminum parts would not be etched by the aqueous detergents and that they would meet Ford’s brazing process requirements. Equipment operating parameters for the aqueous process were also established during this pilot evaluation.

The low-volume aqueous pilot evaluation was very successful. This process was found compatible with current and future braze processes. The pilot unit is currently being refitted to include controls necessary for a long-term production process. It will then be relocated to a Ford plant in Indiana where it will support production needs and begin reducing the dependency on TCE.

Based on the results of the testing, in August 1992, Ford CCD recommended that the aqueous process replace all existing TCE degreasers world-wide on a normal business cycle basis.

General Motors Packard Electronic Division

REFORMULATION OF PVC INSULATION The Packard Electric Division of General Motors (GM), headquartered in Warren, Ohio, is the largest producer of automotive wiring harnesses in the world and is the sole supplier of wiring harnesses to GM’s North American Operations. In recovering copper from the wiring harnesses, Packard Electric was generating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) scrap insulation. The wiring insulation contained a lead-based stabilizer, a standard practice in the automotive industry.

Disposing of four million pounds of scrap PVC per year into a hazardous waste landfill was expensive, costing a penalty of $1 million. Therefore, Packard Electric sought to develop an alternative insulation with no hazardous waste characteristics. Because Packard Electric mixes its own PVC extrusion compound, there was also an opportunity to improve the work environment by reducing potential exposure to lead.

A plastics engineer at Packard Electric initiated an effort to replace the lead-based stabilizer in August 199 1. The work of internal GM research both in the U.S. and Europe was quickly reviewed, as well as the activities

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Pollution Preveiitioii in the Auto Industry

of competitors and suppliers. No solutions were found Turning instead to Packard’s own on-site development laboratory, a new heavy metal-free stabilizer system was developed that met performance requirements. 1Jiifortunately, the cost of the new material was even greater than the additional landfill cost.

Not giving up easily, the development team began working with suppliers to reformulate the new stabilizer system and reduce its cost. Success came in March 1992 with a heavy metal-free stabilizer system that was competitive with the cost of the original lead-based stabilizer. A patent application has already been submitted. It is planned that by the end of September 1992 all PVC insulation produced at Packard Electric will be lead-free.

Not only will the new insulation formulation save Packard Electric hazardous waste disposal costs and provide a safer work environment for its employees, but GM cars of the future will not have lead-containing wire insulation that might otherwise pose a problem for automobile recyclers.

Chrysler Corporate Wide

PCB ELIMINATION PROGRAM Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of chemicals used principally as a coolant and flame-retardant fluid in high voltage electrical equipment. PCBs are one of the most persistent toxics found in the automotive industry, and as a result, Chrysler instituted a program to eliminate PCB- containing equipment from all of its facilities by 1998. Chrysler’s program objectives are to minimize risk to the environment through the elimination of:

*PCB transformers (greater than or equal to 500 parts per million of PCBs) ,from all Chrysler plants;

*Large PCB capacitors from all Chrysler plants;

*PCB.s from oil filled transformers (containing 50-499 parts per million of PCBs);

*PCBs f rom mineral oil filled switches, a i d

*Minimization of risk,for superfund liability through alternate disposal practices.

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The process started with all Chrysler facilities being surveyed for location and quantity of PCB containing equipment. The inventory consisted of approximately 500 PCB transformers, 10,000 capacitors and 250 transformers containing less than 500 parts per million of PCBs. PCB elimination was prioritized based on equipment condition.

Two to three transformers are usually replaced during a period in which a facility is scheduled to be shut down for 48 hours or longer.

General Motors Delco Remy (Anderson, Indiana)

RECOVERING LEAD FROM WASTEWATER Delco Remy, of Anderson, Indiana, has aggressive programs to recover and recycle lead from its battery-making operations. But while the battery plants have always removed lead from wastewater, the lead was not recyclable due to other parameters of the wastewater. As part of this program, plant personnel decided to recover the lead from process water in a manner that made it suitable for recycling.

In 1990, plant personnel, led by Project Engineer Paul Ruegamer, installed a holding tank in the wastewater treatment facility at the Muncie plant. Process water that contains lead is diverted to this tank and a proprietary chemical mixture is added. This mixture allows the lead to settle to the bottom when the tank contents are neutralized despite the other chemicals in the water. (This proprietary mixture was identified through a cooperative effort between plant personnel and a chemical vendor). After the lead settles, 90 percent of the wastewater is “decanted”--removed without disturbing the material that has settled to the bottom of the tank. This water passes through a sand filter to remove any remaining lead and then is sent to the city’s water treatment plant for additional treatment.

The remaining water and lead are agitated with air to put the lead back into suspeasion. This mixture of suspended lead and water is pumped from the tank into a filter press where the water is removed, filtered through sand and sent to the municipal wastewater treatment facility. The dried, solid material containing lead is sent to a secondary smelter (along with various other lead-bearing scrap from Delco Remy processes) to reclaim the lead. This filter “cake” is approximately 40 percent lead.


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Polluticw Prevention in the Auto Industry

As a result of this Delco Remy effort, approximately 24,000 pounds of lead are captured for reuse each year at the Muncie plant. Building on this success, Delco Remy installed similar control systems, using clarifiers rather than a holding tank, at its Anaheim, California plant in 1991 and its Fitzgerald, Georgia plant in 1992. Installation of such a facility at the New Brunswick, New Jersey plant began in late 1992 and will be completed by mid-1993. A total of approximately 125,000 pounds of lead are reclaimed and recycled each year from the wastewater of the Delco Remy plants.

Chtysler Corporate Wide

SURFACE COATING TOXICS REDUCTION PROGRAM Assembly plants account for roughly 90 percent of Chrysler’s total impact on the environment. The paint shop accounts for 90 percent of an assembly plant’s total releases. Painting operations use Volblile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as carriers to apply solids to the vehicle. Although some of the VOCs are also listed as toxic chemicals, less than five percent of the solvents, on average, contain Great Lakes persistent toxics. Chrysler has placed an increased focus on material and process technologies to remove the toxins at the source. In order to exploit the most cost-effective means of minimizing toxic releases, Chrysler’s strategy focused on “true” source reduction. This strategy involves both emerging coating materials and technologies that do not include toxics and reformulation of current materials to remove materials of concern.

Strategies to reduce toxic releases from Chrysler’s facilities are targeted at a much broader range of materials than the 65 persistent toxics known to adversely affect water quality in the Great Lakes (e.g. SARA 3 13 toxic chemicals, Clean Air Act list of 189 hazardous air pollutants, EPA’s 33/50 list of 17 high priority toxics, lists covering state and local programs, TOSCA, OSHA, etc.). As a result of the company’s strong desire to eliminate future regulatory burden, the following toxics-reduction projects are either under way or planned for the near future:

Coatings that use less VOCs/toxics or none at all are being evaluated for plant introduction where not presently in place. A combination of process changes and material reformulation will be required to achieve the 75 percent reduction in toxics planned for 1996. Current materials will be reformulated around listed toxics and future materials will be specified that do not contain listed chemicals.


Pollution Prevention in the Auto Iridiistrv

-Elimination of lead from surface coatings. Lead has been eliminated from all Chrysler color coats (basecoats). Further reductions in lead are being pursued for the Electrodeposition primer (E-coat), with a goal of total removal in 1995. Lead has already been reduced from about two percent down to one percent by weight in some E-coat systems. The first generation of lead-free E-coat passed the laboratory tests but failed Chrysler’s one and one-half year long corrosion testing. A new lead-free candidate is being lab tested and, if acceptable, corrosion testing should begin by spring 1993.

*Elimination of hexavalent chromium in phosphate pretreatment has already been accomplished. Trivalent chromium remains in the final rinse that seals the phosphate at all but one of Chrysler’s assembly plants. Elimination of trivalent chromium from phosphate pretreatment is slated for 1995.

General Motors Inland Flsher Guide, Livonia

SOLVENT-FREE SPRAY ADHESIVES FOR INTERIOR TRIM The General Motors Inland Fisher Guide Livonia plant produces soft trim for the interiors of automobiles. Some of these trim pieces, such as door inner panels, are assemblies produced by gluing together smaller part\. This enables the plant to produce panels combining a variety of colors, textures and materials.

In the past, the adhesive used to assemble Cadillac Fleetwood door panels contained Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The adhesives in this process generated approximately 20 tons of emissions per year.

“The first step in finding a way to reduce emissions was to identify solvent-free adhesives that looked promising and then evaluate them in this specific process,” explained Mike Melekian, Senior Environmental Engineer at the Livonia facility.

“We have very high quality standards, and an adhesive that is great in one process might not measure up in another where the materials are slightly different,” he stated.

“It can be risky to change from a proven material. You worry that the new material might work okay in production and still lead to product failures in the field with the passage of time. Many engineering and trial hours are required to test a new material adequately.”


Pollution Preverition in the Auto Industry

Several potential water-based adhesives were identified and eventually one that met the quality requirements was implemented. The plant has been using the new adhesive since the beginning of 1993. As a result, the 20 tons of VOC emissions have been eliminated. Among the chemicals in the previous material were: 4 percent methylene chloride, 30 percent methyl ethyl ketone, 30 percent hexane, and 14 percent toluene.

In addition to abating VOC emissions, the change converted the solid waste stream of the process from hazardous to nonhazardous.

“The waste from the solvent-based adhesive was classified as a flammable solid. We generated about a drum-full each week and sent i t to a hazardous waste incinerator at a cost of about $500 per drum,” Melekian said.

“Now we are improving local air quality, and we can dispose of the waste from the booth as a nonhazardous waste.” Melekian said.

Chrysler Dayton Thermal Products Facility

ELIMINATION OF CHROMIUM FROM RADIATOR PAINT Chrysler’s Dayton Thermal Products facility produces radiators, heater cores, fuel pumps, vapor canisters, plastic housings and air conditioning units for use in various vehicle makes and models. Processes used to produce the products include injection molding, bending, forming, assembly, soldering, painting, degreasing, grinding and cleaning. Raw materials used at the plant include lead solder, aluminum, steel, copper/ brass sheet and ribbon and process-related chemicals. Over eight million units are produced each year at this plant.

In the past, the radiators were protected by spray painting with a coating containing chromium. This process rendered the overspray paint waste or sludge that was generated hazardous. The collected sludge was shipped to an approved hazardous waste disposal facility. In an effort to minimize risk associated with hazardous material constituents and resultant waste, the plant targeted this coating that contained chromium for reformulation. The plant then contacted vendors to produce and test reformulated materials’that met performance specifications for the required surface coating. The initial tests were rigorous and included, for example, an accelerated salt spray corrosion test. Only two products successfully passed all tests. These two products were then evaluated in a more comprehensive production pilot test. The product that exhibited the best quality on a consistent basis was chosen as the chromium-free material substitute.



The substitute that was chosen is a water-based material that is both chromium and lead-free (the original paint was also lead-free). Dayton Thermal has also realized a substantial Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) reduction using the new water-based material.

Using the chromium-free paint will eliminate approximately 18,000 gallons, or 90 cubic yards of hazardous paint waste per year that was previously landfilled at a hazardous waste disposal facility.

The plant has successfully eliminated releases of chromium and continues to make strides toward reducing the number of hazardous constituents used in the manufacture of its products.

General Motors

RESCHEDULING PAINT BOOTH CLEANING REDUCES SOLVENT USE & VOC EMISSIONS

The quality of an automobile’s paint job is a major factor in a customer’s decision on which vehicle to buy. So automakers work hard to keep the quality of the final finish high. Part of this effort involves preparing the vehicle for painting and then applying the paint correctly and well. A second, less obvious area of effort, involves the careful cleaning of paint spraying equipment each time the color of paint being applied is changed. This is necessary to insure that each vehicle of a given color is uniform and consistent. A third area involves careful cleaning of the paint booth (the area in which vehicles are painted) to prevent any stray drops or flakes of old paint from dropping onto subsequent paint jobs. The solvent used to clean the spray equipment between color changes also is used for cleaning portions of the spray booth. This solvent is generally referred to as “purge solvent.”

One unintended side effect of cleaning with purge solvent is that the solvent readily evaporates into a form of air pollutant called Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs. These VOC emissions count against the manufacturer’s permitted operating emission levels. And since cleaning contributes only indirectly to product quality, cleaning emissions are an attractive target for reductions in plant emissions.

Bill Bennett, General Supervisor of Sanitation at General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant, is responsible for that plant’s paint booth cleaning activities. Bennett concluded that so long as the booths were cleaned well, some of the cleaning could take place less frequently. In March 1993 he initiated a new booth-cleaning schedule at the plant.



Prior to March, the entire paint booth was cleaned after every other day of production. Since then, only the sections of the main paint booths in which people work are cleaned every other day. The automated section of the painting operations are now thoroughly cleaned once a week.

“The automatic equipment is used for the easier jobs, so the transfer efficiency in those areas is better,” Bennett explained. “That means more paint goes on the vehicles and less onto the booth. Also, we don’t have to provide as clean and safe a working environment for robots.”

The only modification that was required by the less frequent cleaning was increasing the size of the holes in the floor grating in the automated areas. The larger holes were necessary to provide proper air flow rates and booth conditions with thicker paint accumulations on the grates.

The booths where primer paint is applied and where paint defects are repaired also were switched from every-other-day to once-a-week cleaning. The primer is applied automatically and the repair area is a much lower volume operation, so once a week is fine,” Bennett explained

In addition to changing the cleaning frequency, Bennett and the on-site solvent supplier’s representative began monitoring the amount of purge solvent used in each booth for both production and booth-cleaning. They shared this information with the painting and cleaning teams. This helped the teams identify the most efficient cleaning techniques. The data also provided an early warning if equipment problems resulted in increased use of purge solvent.

How much did all these changes reduce VOC emissions? In 1992 the Fairfax Assembly Plant used slightly more than a gallon of purge solvent for each vehicle produced. From April through June 1993, they averaged about 5/8 gallon.

“Neither of these numbers account for the fact that we recover two-thirds of the purge solvent we use,” Bennett notes. “But even so, we’ve cut our emissions from purge solvent almost in half.”

When the VOC emissions reductions achieved by solvent recycling and by reduced booth cleaning are combined, the result is impressive. In 1992, VOC emissions from purge solvent totaled 460 tons. The projected total for 1993 is 9 1 tons.

(Note: The constituents of purge solvent include: Dimethyl-benzene; 2- Propanone; 4-methyl-2-pentanone; Butyl ester acetic acid; Light aromatic solvent naphtha; Ethyl-benzene; hydrotreated heavy naphtha; 2-butanone; toluene, and 1-butanol).


Chrysler (partnership with Dow Chemical, BASF, and INTAC)


POST CONSUMER A NTI-FREEZE REMANUFACTURING Chrysler Corporation is testing remanufactured antifreeze in several vehicle models. The program is a partnership with Dow Chemical, BASF and INTAC. The intent of this program is to encourage the development of an infrastructure to collect post-consumer antifreeze for remanufacture and reuse.

The remanufactured antifreeze is produced from post-consumer ethylene glycol antifreeze collected from individuals at service stations and dealerships, and will meet or exceed all current requirements. The heavy metals captured in the redistillation step will be recycled for metals recovery or sent off for safe disposal. Additionally, the remanufactured antifreeze is expected to be longer lived, exceeding 40,000 miles between changes with no reduction in engine protection or performance.

Large quantities of used antifreeze from “do-it-yourselfer’s” have been reported to be disposed of in an improper manner, thereby contaminating soil and water. The creation of an infrastructure for the collection of used antifreeze and markets for remanufacture is intended to discourage and reduce the quantities of used antifreeze that are improperly disposed. The substances that will be reduced from discharge to the environment include ethylene glycol and heavy metals such as lead, copper, zinc and others that may be found in the used antifreeze.

Ford Utica Plant

TOLUENE EMISSIONS MINIMIZED The Ford Utica (Michigan) Plant is a widely diversified manufacturer of interior and exterior automotive components. One line of products is door panels. About 500 different door panels utilizing over 8,500 different components are fabricated and assembled at the Utica Plant. Toluene based adhesives have been used in this manufacturing process. Adhesive usage was typically 3 to 5 million pounds per year.

Utica engineers embarked on a voluntary program to minimize toluene emissions by designing manufacturing processes to use low solvent substitute adhesives that meet customer quality criteria.

~~ ~



The new processes include:

water-based cidhesives developed specifically f o r u variety of inplant processes,

sthe introduction of hot nzelt adhesives, and

- ( I minufrrcturing process chnnge to use vibrating welding, thereby reducing the amount of adhesives required.

These process improvements have significantly reduced the use of solvent based adhesives and the release of toluene. From 1991 to 1993, Toxic Release Inventory data indicates that toluene releases from the Utica plant have been reduced by over 60 percent, from 3 15,000 pounds to about 113,000 pounds.

The plant was able to take advantage of waste reduction opportunities by concurrently integrating process and material changes into ongoing manufacturing and product improvements within the business planning cycle. This enabled the plant to meet company investment guidelines which would not have been possible if they were stand alone projects.

General Motors Inland Fisher Guide Plant (Anderson, Indiana)

COPPER AND NICKEL RECLAMATION FROM PLATING WASTE

The General Motors Inland Fisher Guide plant in Anderson, Indiana produces headlight and taillight assemblies and plastic exterior trim pieces for automobiles. Many of these pieces are coated with chrome to enhance their appearance. Because chrome will not bond to plastic, these parts are first plated with copper and then nickel to prepare them for chrome plating.

The process begins by hanging the plastic parts on racks made of copper. These racks hang from an overhead conveyor. The conveyor carries the racks and parts over a tank of acid and lowers them into it. The acid etches, or roughens, the surface of the parts. The racks of parts are removed from the acid tank and dipped into a series of tanks of water to rinse them.

The racks move next to a tank containing a solution of copper into which they are dipped. While the parts are immersed in the solution, some of the copper chemically bonds itself to the parts. The parts are left in the solution for a precise length of time to build up the proper amount of copper on their surfaces. Then they are rinsed several times to remove any excess or unbonded copper.



The conveyor then takes the racks and parts to a tank filled with a solution that contains nickel. At this point, electric cables are attached to the racks and a negative electrical charge is applied. Because copper is a good conductor of electricity, the charge flows through the rack and into the copper covered parts on the copper rack. The nickel-bearing solution is given a positive charge. The opposites attract and molecules of nickel attach themselves onto the copper-plated parts (this process is called electroplating). The layer of nickel adds luster and strength to the layer of chrome that comes next.

After several more rinses, the racks and parts advance to a tank containing a chrome solution and the electroplating process is repeated. The parts are rinsed again to remove excess chrome, dried, and are ready to go to the assembly plant to become part of new automobiles.

Since the copper racks are dipped into the various solutions along with the parts, they also are plated with copper, nickel and chrome. Because nickel and chrome do not conduct electricity as effectively as copper, the coatings of those metals eventually must be removed from the racks to keep the plating process efficient and to keep the quality high.

To remove chrome from the racks, they are dipped into a caustic solution. The caustic solution is replaced when it begins to lose its effectiveness. Since chrome is very expensive, the plant has reclaimed it from the spent caustic solution (and the used electroplating solution) since the 1950s. The reclaimed chrome is recycled back into the process.

To remove the copper and nickel plating, the racks are dipped into a tank of nitric acid. When the nickel and copper in the acid reach a certain concentration, the acid no longer cleans effectively. It then is pumped into a storage tank and the cleaning tank is filled with a fresh batch of acid.

In the past, the acid from the storage tank was discharged once every six weeks to the facility’s wastewater treatment plant. There, the acid was neutralized and the metals separated from the waste water. The metals became part of the treatment plant’s sludge, which was disposed of in a properly permitted landfill.

Anthonette “Toni” Miller, the plant’s Environmental Engineer, identified a company that could reclaim the nickel and copper from the nitric acid, then properly treat the acid and dispose of it. The only problem was that the acid storage tank happened to be located in the center of the three-and- a-half-million square foot facility and so was not accessible to the

~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~


Pollution Provention in the Auto Industry

reclaimer’s large tanker trucks. At Miller’s suggestion, the reclaimer built a small tanker on a pickup truck chassis. The smaller tanker can reach the storage tank and is used to ferry small batches of acid out of the plant and into a large tanker truck. The large tanker then transports the acid to the reclaimer’s facility.

In 1993, the reclaimer salvaged approximately 68 tons of copper and 40 tons of nickel from the plant’s nitric acid waste. This metal formerly went to a landfill.

In addition, the plant saved money. Treating the nitric acid in the wastewater treatment plant cost approximately $6300 every six weeks for chemicals and sludge disposal (this does not include labor). Now the plant pays approximately $1300 every six weeks to have the reclaimer transfer and ship the acid and another $2300 for the reclaimer to treat the acid prior to disposal (after the metals are removed), or a total of about $3600 every six weeks.

The change also allowed the plant to avoid the costs associated with refitting another tank to use for acid storage as production increased. And it removed a technically difficult task from the wastewater treatment plant and helped insure that the treatment plant can continue to operate within its ever-increasingly stringent environmental permit limits.

General Motors Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant

ADJUSTING PAINT EQUIPMENT REDUCES EMISSIONS, SOLID WASTE AND SAVES MONEY

The General Motors Cadillac Luxury Car Division’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant produces the Cadillac DeVille, Seville and Eldorado models. The plant, which began production in the fall of 1985, is one of GM’s newest and contains a great deal of highly automated equipment, which performs some of the tasks involved in assembling automobiles. One such task is spraying the “primer” undercoat of paint onto the automobile bodies as one of the early steps in producing the shiny finish of the completed automobiles. This primer coat is applied by spray equipment that applies the primer to the auto bodies as they move past the spray nozzles on a large conveyor system. Because of their shape, these stationary sprayers are generally referred to as “bells.” The individual bells are programmed to begin spraying when an auto body reaches a particular point in the paint booth and to continue spraying for a specific interval. These painting intervals are broken into “counts,” which are



defined as the length of time it takes an auto body to advance one inch on the conveyor system. A “count” typically is a fraction of a second.

In the spring of 1093, the plant entered into a chemical management contract with Parker Amchem. Under the contract, an outside company contracts with GM to provide indirect materials (i.e., materials used in the various processes used to build vehicles but not materials that actually become part of the final vehicles). Examples would include cutting oils, chemicals used in treating wastewater, etc. used in the plant. This company is paid by GM based on the production volumes rather than how much material is used. This provides financial incentives for the contractor to aid GM in finding ways to reduce the amount of indirect materials used to produce the GM products.

One of the joint efforts of the GM chemical manager team was an examination of the plant’s painting systems to look for ways to reduce the amount of purge solvent that ended up in paint waste. The team discovered that many of the plant’s nine primer painting “bells” were programmed so that the spray equipment operated for several counts after the target body had moved out of range. This extra paint was collected by the booth’s environmental systems and eventually became part of the paint sludge of which the plant had to treat and dispose.

“Fractions of a second don’t sound like much,” states Roger Johnson, Senior Environmental Engineer at the plant, “but over the course of a year of volume production, i t really adds up. For example, one bell that operated for 10 extra counts wasted 664 gallons of paint over a year.”

The team fine tuned the timing of each primer bell, reducing the number of counts-of spray time by amounts ranging from six to twenty counts (some bell counts also were increased to improve paint quality).

“All told, we avoided sending about 3000 gallons of primer to our waste treatment system,” Johnson stated.

“And that in turn translates into 5 1/2 tons of VOC emissions and four tons of paint sludge annually. And we avoided all that waste with absolutely no loss of quality. And, of course, in addition to saving paint and emissions, we saved money, too-- about $85,000 a year. All of us with direct environmental responsibility are happy and so are all the accountants in both the companies. It’s the ultimate ‘win-win’ situation.”

(Note: Primer paint includes toluene, xylene, mettianol and butyl cellosolve acetate.)


Pollution Prtwention iri the Auto I tdus t r j

Chrysler Warren Stamping Plant

STAMPING PLANT TOXIC REDUCTIONS The Warren Stamping Plant fabricates steel components for use at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in the manufacture of Dodge trucks and for use at other Chrysler assembly plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The plant receives steel, adhesives and various ancillary machining materials such as paints, oils and grease. Steel is formed into various shapes for utilization in light and heavy duty trucks and automobiles.

Through continuous improvement, significant progress has been accomplished in reducing Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) emissions from the Warren Stamping facility. In the Auto Project and 33/50 program baseline year of 1988, the actual VOCMAP emissions from the plant were 470,000 pounds (235 tons). In 1994, VOC/HAP emissions from the facility are projected to be less than 40,000 pounds (20 tons).

The pollution prevention approach incorporated by the plant focused on individual reportable releases under SARA 3 13. The pollution prevention hierarchy was employed to first eliminate waste, followed by reduction/ substitution where feasible and recycling as a last resort. This effort supports the Life Cycle Management approach at Chrysler of factoring environmental considerations regarding materials and processes early on in the decision making process. The latest reductions were the result of focusing attention on material used, as well as the waste streams generated during steel washing and preparation for stamping.

As a result of this effort, a steel wash solution containing high concentrations of VOC/HAPs was reformulated and substituted with an aqueous, less toxic cleaner. The facility went from being a major source of VOC emissions to a minor source. This not only reduces the regulatory burden, but also significantly reduced the environmental impact. It should be noted that these reductions were accomplished without compromising quality and at a cost savings to the corporation.

The plant has also reduced releases of toluene by almost 52,000 pounds since the 1988 baseline. This was accomplished by eliminating the mastic sound deadener that was previously sprayed on body door panels and replacing it with a low VOC adhesive patch.

Additionally, 7,000 pounds of zinc have been eliminated through the reformulation of a press oil, which contained one percent zinc. The reformulated oil contains no zinc.



Ford Ypsilanti Plant

REDUCING THE RELEASE OF TRICHLOROETHYLENE AND METHYLENE CHLORIDE

The Ford Ypsilanti (Michigan) Plant manufactures field-wound starters. Methylene chloride and trichloroethylene (TCE) were used as solvents for the drawing compounds and cleaning chemicals required in the manufacture of the starter components, including the copper ring of the commutator. Methylene chloride was the primary solvent, which was replenished with TCE as makeup solvent. Approximately 12,000 pounds of methylene chloride and 75,000 pounds of TCE were used annually. Chemical costs were approximately $45,000 per year.

Reducing or eliminating the release of the chlorinated solvents as cleaning and drawing compounds required a manufacturing process change. Production of a permanent magnet starter was planned, which would replace the field-wound starter. This manufacturing change provided an opportunity to evaluate possible changes to reduce or eliminate the release of chlorinated solvents.

When the new product was introduced into the plant, three major changes took place: (1) the new starter was smaller than its predecessor thereby reducing the weight of the part and the overall vehicle; ( 2 ) the copper ring was made from tubing in place of wire, which eliminated a welding step and reduced the need for cleaning; and (3) a water-based drawing compound replaced the methylene chloride and TCE based cleaning/ drawing chemicals.

It is estimated that over 30,000 pounds of TCE releases are being eliminated annually.

The changes in processing were part of a significant manufacturing and product change established in the plant’s business and product cycle plans.

Chrysler Belvidere, Illinois Assembly Plant

POLLUTION PREVENTION PROJECTS WITH THE NEON Chrysler Corporation’s Belvidere, Illinois Assembly plant produces the Dodge and Plymouth Neon automobiles. This vehicle has been designed and produced with pollution prevention in mind. In 1993-94, numerous prevention projects were implemented, resulting in waste stream reductions of office paper, cardboard, batteries and light bulbs, and major emission reductions in the areas of air, water, and hazardous waste. For these efforts, Belvidere Assembly received a 1994 Illinois Governor’s Pollution Prevention Award for large facilities.


22


Belvidere Assembly introduced waterborne topcoats with the launch of the Neon subcompact. This paint was formulated to avoid, the 189 listed hazardous air pollutants in the Clean Air Act. The paint shop layout facilitates block painting (painting a number of cars in a row the same color), thereby reducing the use of purge material to clear out a spray gun before the next color is used. Average volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions per unit have dropped with this modification from about 4 pounds per vehicle to 1.5 pounds per vehicle produced. In addition, a waterborne underbody sound deadener material was selected for the Neon that emits less than .O1 pounds of VOC per car and produces no hazardous waste.

Additional waste reductions were achieved in the paint sludge drying/ recycling operation. Paint overspray is captured in water curtains forming a sludge. In the past, this sludge material was treated, solids skimmed off, and landfilled. During model changeover to the Neon, a new sludge handling and drying system was installed that decreases the volume of sludge by 90%, forming a dry powder. The powder material has been found acceptable for reuse as rip rap in the manufacture of asphalt for road paving. The new paint sludge recycling process has avoided landfilling 1300 cubic yards of waste per year.

Every effort was made to reduce hazardous substances such as solvents, asbestos, and benzyl butyl phthalate in all sealers. No sealers contain asbestos and the solvent content has been reduced to less than .1 pounds per gallon, with phthalate content reduced by over 98%. Additionally, a lower VOC blank washing compound is now used in Belvidere’s stamping operation to clean the stamped metal. This new material reduces 85 tons of VOCs per year.

Ozone depleting substances were an area targeted for reduction. In the vehicle, the air conditioning refrigerant has been replaced with HFC- 134a, resulting in the net yearly reduction of 4 tons of CFC emissions from the plant. In the plant, chillers used to control humidity in the paint both, and an air drying system that used refrigerant to reduce moisture, were replaced by steam absorption units on the chillers, and desiccant dryers on the air system. The new equipment does not use an ozone depleting refrigerant.

A substitute material was found for the alum normally used in a wastewater treatment system. The new material is expected to produce a 20% yearly reduction in sludge generation, thereby diverting 1080 tons from landfill. Also, two boilers have been converted to fire natural gas,


Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industri

Chrysler Corporate and Facility

CHRYSLER HONORS ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE RECOGNITION (CHEER) PROGRAM

Chrysler Corporation has initiated a continuous improvement effort aimed at driving Pollution Prevention (P2) thinking to all levels of the Corporation. This effort, termed Chrysler’s P2 Process Redesign, designated a Team to identify critical success factors. Recognition was determined to be one of six critical success factors identified. The Team selected several companies who were successful in both deploying and sustaining P2 programs and benchmarked them for best practices in the critical success factor areas. One of the benchmark partners’ recognition program was determined to be “best-in-class.” Although Chrylser has had a Quality Improvement Process Recognition Program in place for nearly a decade, recognition related to the environmental area was generally confined to nominations that involved Corporate Staff, and not employees at every level in the company. Therefore, a decision was made to adopt portions of the benchmark partner’s recognition program. This was done in advance of completing the redesign, in order to immediately reap the potential benefits of a “best-in-class” recognition program. Thus was born the first annual Chrysler Honors Environmental Excellence Recognition (CHEER) Awards.

The inaugural CHEER Awards Program resulted in over 70 separate nominations which involved more than 400 individual Chrysler employees. This recognition program provides an excellent means of technology transfer for successful environmental initiatives throughout the Company, as well as honoring the achievements and important contributions of the dedicated and inspired people of Chrysler Corporation.

The mission of the CHEER Awards Program is to promote environmentally sound policies and practices within Chrysler Corporation by providing recognition to those who have reduced or eliminated sources of pollution in the Company’s daily operations. Any team or individual instrumental in contributing to P2 at Chrysler is eligible. Environmental activities being recognized must exhibit the criteria as follows:

*Integrate sound environmental practice, materials and technology in the development, design or manufacturing of products;

*Operate with the goal of continuously reducing the impact of the operation or product on the environment;

~~~


Polliltion Prevention in the Auto Industrj

Conserve resources, prevent pollution or re the rnunufiicturing process or life cycle of ci product; und,

*Demori.strute more efficient energy use fo r plant and product daily ope ra tions.

CHEER Program award-winning suggestions included:

*Instituted the innovative use of “wet task pop-ups” to replace conventionul solvent wipes that are used to clean car bodies prior to pmint, reducing solvent emissions by 28 tons per year and eliminuting the need to launder or dispose cf over 12,000 pounds/yeur of solvent contaminated wipes. Proven sicccessful, this technology will he transferred to other plants.

le niateriuls or \zwstes in

Newark Assembly Plunt Newark, Delawure

*In order to launch the new NS minivan, EPA’s toughest air emission standard, LAER (Lowest Achievable Emissions Rate) had to be met. Rather thun rely on “end cf pipe ” controls to achieve levels required.for topcoat painting operations, N cross-junctional team worked to demonstrate compliance by using waterborne coating technology.first developed for the Neon. Execution qf this strategy resulted in achieving VOC limits f o r the NS that are the lowest in the automotive industry. Waterborne busecoat paints were formulated to remove toxic chemicals and to reduce malodorous chemicals by 90%. Avoidance of end of pipe controls saved the company over $24 million dollars and improved topcoat appearance.

Louis Assembly Plant Fenton. Missouri

*Achieved a high gloss black$nish (90%+) on exterior plastic parts qf the new NS Minivan, without painting, by using an uncoated ASA plastic resin. This eliminated air emissions related to painting, reduced cost by over $22 million dollars, and made the parts recyclable.

Minivan Platform Engineering Chrysler Technology Center Auburn Hills, Michigan


Pollution Prevention in the Auto Iiiditstrv

*Totiilly eliminated Freon I I3 used in odometer ~vheel and e1ec.tmriic ticJhicle information center (EVIC) printed circuit hocrrd solvent N Y ~ shers. The odoineter wheel wiisher was replaced b y a Bmdei i Aqueous System using (1 suponifier and the EVIC washer was replaced with in in-line Electrovert aqueous washer. Both changes represented breakthrough ( “leap frog ”) technology in elimination of ozone depleting substances while meeting the stringent quality standards of electronics applications.

Huntsville Electronics Huntsville, Alabania

General Motors Columbus Inland Fisher Guide Plant

COLUMBUS IFG PLANT ELIMINATES METHYLENE CHLORIDE

GM Inland Fisher Guide’s Columbus Plant produces several automotive components such as door latches, door window frames and reinforcements, roof rail reinforcements, seat belt anchor bolts, fuel filler doors, mechanical assemblies, and trim moldings. Manufacturing operations at the plant include stamping, welding, painting, automated assembly molding, plating, heat treating, and roll forming.

These operations were responsible for 246,100 pounds of SARA 3 13 releases in 1988. Always striving to do better, the plant’s environmental staff took action to reduce emissions. As a result, SARA 3 13 releases totalled 80,009 pounds in 1992. This reduction represents a 67% decrease in TRI emissions.

Environmental engineers found that the greatest pollution prevention opportunity concerned the use of methylene chloride to strip paint masks. Concerned with the 207,000 pounds of usage in 1988, engineers investigated alternatives to this stripping method.

Two cleaning methods were found, which met the needs of removing the paint from the masks. One method used hot, high-pressure water to remove the paint from the masks. The paint solids were filtered from the water for proper disposal. Recirculation of the water allowed for water and energy conservation.

The second method utilized a nonhazardous chemical to strip the paint from the masks. This process involved soaking the masks in a heated solution to remove the paint. This method was used for specific masks that could not be adapted to the water based process. These masks are no longer used in the plant and only the water based stripping process is currently used.


Pollutiori Preveiitioii in the Auto Industry

Development of these cleaning methods allowed for the complete elimination of the use of methylene chloride at the plant.

General Motors

REDUCING CHROME, VOC AT THE SOURCE Two plants, one in Moraine and one in Dayton, compromise the Ohio operations of GM’s Harrison Division. These plants produce compressors, accumulator dehydrators, and receiver dehydrators for use in vehicle air- conditioning systems. Over the past few years divisional management has been transferring operations from the Dayton plant to the Moraine plant. This process is still occurring.

The two plants released or transferred 5 15,492 pounds of SARA 3 1 3 chemicals in 1988. Most of this was caused by volatile organic compound (VOC) degreasers and chrome paints. Engineering, purchasing, maintenance, and production people focused their efforts on identifying alternative methods and equipment that would eliminate the use of these toxic and hazardous chemicals. By 1992, the two plants lowered their combined releases to 255,400 pounds. Of this decrease, 219,000 pounds can be attributed to pollution prevention. This is a 43% decrease after accounting for changes in production.

A significant portion of this reduction can be attributed to the elimination of l , l , 1 -trichloroethane. In 1988, Harrison used about a dozen solvent degreasers for cleaning parts during various stages in the manufacturing process. Recognizing the solvent’s potential adverse effect on the environment, the division decided to completely eliminate the use of trichloroethane in both plants. Management purchased three new water- wash cleaners, which relied on the mechanical action of a high-pressure water stream to clean parts. In 1988, the two plants used 203 tons of trichloroethane. By July 1991, they did not use any.

The reformulation of paint has also contributed to the decline in toxic releases. The plant switched from a solvent based paint to a waterborne paint in 1988. This led to a 65% decrease in VOC emissions. In 1989, engineers converted the paint system from airless to air-assisted spray, eliminated 18 paint guns, and reduced air pressure from 1500 psi to 750 psi. This resulted in a 40% reduction in paint sludge. And in 1990, engineers reformulated the paint to remove chromium. This led to a 95% reduction in chromium use and enabled paint sludge to become a nonhazardous waste.



More recently, the Moraine plant has implemented a plan to stop painting compressors. Management estimates that by October 1, 1994, the plant will have eliminated compressor painting. This will prevent 400,000 pounds from being generated as waste.

The paint department has also made changes that have reduced emissions of regulated chemicals. Changes in the plant’s engine enamel paint resulted in the elimination of a cleaning process that was previously required. The paint being used contained n-butyl alcohol as a solvent. When the paint system was not in operation, the enamel would thicken and cause paint gun orifices to become blocked. As a result, a mixture of water and butyl cellosolve (a glycol ether) was used to purge the lines and guns to maintain smooth operation of the system. When the plant switched to a new paint containing sec-butyl alcohol and tert-butyl alcohol as solvents, the purging procedure was no longer needed. This change contributed to a 6,610 pound reduction in annual glycol ether use.

The paint department also changed the procedure used to clean excess paint off of the electrostatic paint guns and nozzles used to spray paint onto the engine. This contributed to a major reduction in emissions. Lacquer thinner, stored and dispensed from a safety can, was used to clean excess paint off of the guns and nozzles. By changing over to the use of a specially designed cleaning tank with a recirculating system, solvent usage dropped from 8 gallons per week to only 1.25 gallons per week.

Due to overspray from engine painting, paint accumulates on the walls of the paint booth. Acetone was a major component of a paint removal product that was sprayed on walls for easier booth cleaning. The plant now uses a new water-based product which enables workers to remove excess paint with the same ease. The result: 250 pounds of acetone use was eliminated yearly.

Xylene is also a major component of a urethane sealer, which the plant applied to the cement floor. The plant has switched to an epoxy sealer that contains less xylene. Sealing the floors less often has also contributed to the decline in xylene use.

In 1987, engine hot testing used over 7,000 pounds of diethanolamine. This chemical was found in the corrosion inhibitor used in the cooling water during the hot testing cycle. Realizing the availability of substitutes for diethanolamine, the plant decided to switch to non-regulated chemicals.


28

Pollution Preiwitiori in the Auto Industry

Presently, environmental engineers are continuing to work vigorously on reducing or eliminating regulated chemical use through efforts such as material substitution.

Ford Ra wsonville Plant

TETRACHLOROETHYLENE The Ford Rawsonville Plant has used tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene) as a degreasingicleaning substance in the manufacture of nearly 3.5 million automotive fuel injectors. Tetrachloroethylene is an excellent degreaser but i t is listed in two Company voluntary pollution prevention efforts, the US EPA 33/50 Program and the Automotive Pollution Prevention Project for the Great Lakes.

Since the US EPA 33/50 Program base line year of 1988, the plant has reduced the release of tetrachloroethylene by over 50%. This was accomplished primarily by the installation of a water washing process in 1992 that replaced one of the plant’s solvent degreasing processes. In 1993, reported air releases (evaporation) of tetrachloroethylene were 1 5,400 pounds.

A plant waste reduction team evaluated opportunities to reduce further the amount of tetrachloroethylene. It was determined that additional collection and treatment of vapor releases from the remaining solvent degreasing process was not practical and that process change to non- chlorinated solvent degreasingkleaning represented the only viable alternative for continued long term reduction.

The most promising alternative appeared to be the detergent and water wash process. Based on the team’s findings, a new wash system, at a cost of over $700,000, is being installed at the plant. The new system is now installed and the use of tetrachloroethylene at the plant has been eliminated.

Chrysler Toledo Machining Plant

ELIMINATION OF TRICHLOROETHANE VAPOR DEGREASERS

The Toledo Machining Plant, located in Perrysburg, Ohio, manufactures various parts for Chrysler passenger cars and trucks. Operations at the facility include metal cleaning, anodizing, phosphating, machining, heat treating, brazing and component assembly. The plant produces over 10.3 million parts and components annually, with torque converters and wheel cylinders as some of the primary products.


Pollution Prevention in the Auto Iridiistt-v

Since the plant opened in 1966, 1, I , 1-trichloroethane (TCA), was the solvent used in the vapor degreasing process to clean parts. In this process, the parts were immersed in heated solvent vapors and vibrated to remove the contaminants and metal chips. The parts were then allowed to air-dry, releasing a portion of the solvent as fugitive vapors into the plant.

TCA is on the list of 65 Great Lakes persistent toxics as identified by the Auto Project and is a substance targeted for reduction. As such, the vapor degreasing process which used TCA was eliminated and replaced with an aqueous degreaser using an alkaline soap and water wash. In the aqueous process, the parts are sprayed with the soap solution and rinsed with water. A blow-off stage is used to remove the excess water and dry the parts. The parts are cleaned efficiently and effectively, without the use of hazardous solvents.

With the implementation of the water wash process, the Toledo Machining Plant reduced the release of TCA by 14,700 pounds in 1993. This represents a reduction of 12,000 pounds of TCA air emissions and 2,700 pounds of hazardous waste diverted from energy recovery. The oily water generated by the wash process is classified as nonhazardous and is treated on-site at the plant’s industrial wastewater treatment facility.

By removing the vapor degreasing process, TCA has been totally eliminated from use at the Toledo Machining Plant.

Ford Romeo Engine Plant

SOLVENT USE REDUCTION AT THE FORD ROMEO ENGINE PLANT

The Ford Romeo Engine Plant manufactures V-8 engines for midsize and large automobiles including the Ford Thunderbird, Lincoln Continental and the Lincoln Town Car. Twenty-two low volume solvent wash stations were used at the plant in the maintenance and tool set up areas, to clean machine parts and machine tooling. The Romeo Engine Waste Minimization Team identified solvent use as a potential opportunity for preventingheducing RCRA characteristic wastes and other targeted or listed substances.

The solvent cleaning stations used recycled mineral spirits containing small quantities of solvents that were included in the Company list of substances targeted for voluntary reduction. These cleaning stations were serviced by a solvent recycling company. They collected the used solvent and replaced i t with fresh.recycled solvent. The used material was taken offsite to a reclaiming facility where it was cleaned and became a recycled product.


Pollution Preventioii in the Auto Itiditstry

The Romeo Waste Minimization Team adopted a twofold approach to prevent waste; ( 1 ) use a product that did not contain listed substances; and (2) reduce the quantity of solvent being used. A baseline survey for the cleaning stations was developed and alternatives were evaluated. A twelve week trial of the selected replacement solvent and parts cleaning unit was conducted to verify the performance.

The trial demonstrated that the use of petroleum naphtha, coupled with a self-filtering and cleaning station; (a) greatly improved the service life of the cleaning fluid, (b) does not contain listed substances and (c) has a higher flash point than the recycled material that was previously used.

Based on the trial results, a plant-wide conversion to the new material utilizing improved cleaning stations was implemented. The changes have provided: (a) a S7% cost savings compared to the 1993 costs, (b) a 47% reduction in the volume of waste solvent generated, (c) elimination of listed solvents in the raw materials supplied for this cleaning process, and (d) elimination of 4 of the 22 cleaning stations.

The overall project was submitted by the Waste Minimization Team to the Ford Continuous Improvement Recognition System (CIRS) suggestion program. After approval and implementation, awards were given to the team members for their ideas and efforts.

General Motors

RECYCLING CHROME FROM RINSEWATER The Delphi Energy and Engine Management Systems plant in Grand Rapids manufactures automotive components. This plant covers 1,219,680 square feet and has 1,100 employees. One of the plant’s processes involves the chrome-plating of stainless steel pins. In March, 199 1 , the Grand Rapids plant implemented changes within their plating process, which led to a reduction in the use of chrome.

Within the plating process, the steel pins are submerged in an acid and chrome bath, which is held at a high temperature. The pin “picks up” a chrome coating through the process of electroplating. Electroplating applies a charge to the solution and an opposite charge to the part; allowing the chrome dissolved in the solution to bond to the pin as a metal.

Next, the pin enters a series of three rinse tanks in which the part is immersed to rinse away the excess chrome bath. The part continues to be rinsed in each successive tank, leaving smaller and smaller amounts of


Po 11 u t ion P re ven t ion in th e A u to In dust ry

chrome in the rinse water as it progresses. The first two rinse tanks arc standing pools of deionized water, while the third is an overflow tank. An overflow tank is designed to be fed continuously with fresh water while releasing some of the used water into a catch-basin. Formerly, the rinsing process involved using three overflow tanks which overflowed at approximately 3 gallons per minute each. Now, the single overflow tank releases excess water at a rate of approximately 1 gallon per minute.

The former system not only lost a large amount of water to overflow. it also pumped its waste water to a holding tank, awaiting treatment or disposal. Now, the water from the first rinse tank, which contains the most chrome, is recycled back into the acid and chrome bath where the chrome is reused to plate the pins. The chrome bath operates at a high temperature from which water continually evaporates. This lowers the liquid level in the acid and chrome bath, creating room for the additional rinse waste water to be fed in.

The redesign in the plating process has produced several benefits. First of all, the plant has saved the use of 8,750 tons per year of water by eliminating two of the overflow tanks. Second, the new process has also reduced the cost of wastewater treatment. By recycling the first rinse bath and updating the line’s plumbing, the plant eliminated a large volume of water that needed to be treated. Formerly, they treated 7,500 gallons per day of water for the rinse system, while now they are treating only 5,000 gallons per week -- a 750 percent reduction. Third, by reusing the “rinsed off’ chrome, the Grand Rapids plant has lowered the amount of chrome it purchases by 76 percent; eliminating 3,200 pounds per year of chrome used in the plating process. Also, the recycling of chrome has reduced the amount of chromium waste produced. Since the chromium waste is first treated with sulfur dioxide and then with lime to create a nonhazardous sludge, the reduction of waste leads to a reduction in chemical treatment costs. The lowered volume of wastes also reduces labor costs and disposal costs. Upon implementing the new process, the Grand Rapids plant reduced its waste water treatment sludge disposal by 12 percent.

Overall, these benefits have resulted in a significant reduction in costs. Since the new process began, $30,200 per year has been saved. The implementation cost, which was incurred from the re-plumbing of the line, was $4,250. In 52 days, the new design paid for itself. More importantly, the plant was able to reduce its consumption of water and eliminate 60 tons per year of waste water treatment sludge (including 3,200 pounds per year of chrome) destined for the landfill.


Pollution Preverztioiz in the Auto Industry

Chrysler Kenosha Engine and Toledo Machining Plants

MINERAL SPIRITS ELIMINATION IN MACHINING PLANTS Machining plants have historically used mineral spirits as a solvent to remove grease and oil from tools, parts and equipment. Chrysler’s Kenosha Engine plant has recently implemented a water-based cleaner to eliminate the mineral spirits in targeted cleaning stations. The technology that was successful at Kenosha was next transferred to the Toledo Machining Plant.

The Kenosha Engine plant produces four and six cylinder engines for Chrysler vehicles. Processes used to manufacture the engines include grinding, cutting, and honing. Annual production for this facility exceeds 200.000 units.

In the past, the contaminated parts were cleaned by dipping in mineral spirits and then brushing off the contaminants. This cleaning process generated a large amount of hazardous waste.

At the Kenosha Engine Plant, part washers using mineral spirits have been replaced with a water-based cleaner which is nonhazardous, biodegradable and nontoxic. The water based solvent is also used to dissolve oils, grease, and coolant that accumulates on equipment. This material reformulation has eliminated nearly 58,000 pounds of hazardous waste per year.

The Toledo Machining Plant manufactures various parts for Chrysler passenger cars and trucks. Operations at the facility include metal cleaning, anodizing, phosphating, machining, heat treating, brazing and component assembly. The plant produces over 10.3 million parts and components annually.

The Toledo Machining Plant is in the process of replacing the mineral spirits parts cleaners with a water-based cleaner. Once completed, approximately 56,000 pounds of hazardous waste mineral spirits per year will be eliminated. The cleaner used in this plant has properties similar to the one used at Kenosha, but is formulated by a different vendor.

At each of these facilities, hazardous waste generation has been reduced, without compromising performance, quality or increasing costs.


Pollution Prevention in the Auto Indusfrv

Ford Worldwide Operations

WASTE PREVENTION STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION The Ford manufacturing environmental strategy was developed by manufacturing management and introduced to operations world wide in 1994. Key elements of this strategy include materials management, consideration of environmental impacts early in product design and manufacturing planning, facility-specific environmental improvement opportunities, etc. Ford must align complex environmental initiatives with its business planning process.

Identifying needs and implementing programs that are consistent with the strategy and are cost effective is a significant challenge. To help launch the implementation process, Ford initiated several pollution prevention projects in early 1995 that are consistent with the elements of the strategy.

Example projects that are in progress include research on solvent absorption media, waste minimization/prevention assessments at five specific plants, training for Ford Waste Minimization teams, energy reduction evaluations at selected plants, evaluation of alternative coating system, etc.

The substances being addressed include reportable substances/materials of concern, such as toluene and trichloroethylene and heavy metals, as well as nonhazardous industrial waste materials (oils, fluids, plastics, packaging, etc.).

The potential savings and/or costs that will be realized after implementing these projects has not been determined. Additionally, these projects utilize the full spectrum of the environmental hierarchy. Evaluations of different processes provides for reducing waste generation at the source; some of the work at the plants in waste reduction may involve recycling of materials; and some research work is focused at evaluating improved treatment methodology.

General Motors Hughes Electronics’ Delco Electronics (Oak Creek, Wisconsin)

REMOVING LEAD AND SOLVENT FROM AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS OPERATIONS

The Hughes Electronics’ Delco Electronics manufacturing facility at Oak Creek, Wisconsin produces circuit boards and assembles the engine control computers used in modern automobiles. The 400,000 square foot facility employs approximately I650 people. (Hughes Electronics is a subsidiary of General Motors.)


Pol 1 ut ion P re vent ion in the Auto Iridus try

The primary operation involved in the construction of circuit boards is the soldering of electronic components onto the individual boards. In order to maintain the extremely high level of quality and reliability required by the auto industry (higher than those required by NASA), the plant’s soldering operations had included the use of flux. (“Flux” is a generic term for materials that increase the ability of molten solder to flow and that also inhibit the formation of the surface oxidation that normally occurs when metal surfaces are heated, as they are during soldering.)

Unfortunately, although flux increases quality during the actual soldering operation, i t eventually can cause corrosion if it is left on the circuit boards. For this reason, any residual flux had to be cleaned from the boards after soldering. Originally, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used to clean the boards. Because of environmental concerns about CFCs and other ozone-depleting gases, the process needed to be changed.

For the short-term, the plant began to use a hot, soapy water spray to clean the circuit boards. At the same time, plant personnel began to work with their suppliers to develop a noncorrosive flux that would eliminate the need for the cleaning operations. After two years, the team identified a “no-clean’’ flux that would meet their quality standards. The elimination of the cleaning process resulted in a reduction of CFC wastes of about 24 tons per year.

But the plant people didn’t stop there. While the assembly line was being redesigned to remove the flux-cleaning, they also modified the automated soldering equipment to “design out” another waste product.

Soldering operations were performed by a “wave solder” machine. In this machine, a pool of solder is maintained at a temperature high enough to keep it liquid. Over time, the molten solder reacted with the oxygen in the surrounding air to form a waste product, referred to as “dross.” This dross is skimmed from the solder, cooled to a solid, and then sent to an offsite recycler. When the line was modified, the wave solder machine enclosure was filled with nitrogen, which displaces the air near the solder pool so little oxygen contacts the solder and less dross forms. As a result of the modification, the plant has eliminated approximately 8,000 pounds per year of lead-bearing dross.

And the Oak Creek people didn’t stop there, either. After the circuit boards are assembled, soldered and tested, they are covered with a thin, protective coating to protect them from the moisture, dust, etc., that are part of the environment for automotive components. This coating is


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applied by dipping the boards in a material that evaporated and left a plastic-like coating on them. The original material contained a high level of solvent (a blend of xylene and toluene) and a low level of solids. Again working with their suppliers, plant personnel eventually identified a high- sold/low-solvent material that provided the necessary level of protection. Switching to this coating eliminated 37 tons of volatile organic carbon potential emissions and 5 tons of VOC hazardous waste annually.

(Note: These changes, or variations of them, have been made at Delco Electronics facilities throughout the world.)

Ford

POLL U TlON PRE VEN TlON S TRATEG Y It is Ford policy that its operations, products and services function in a manner that provides responsibly for protection of health and the environment while meeting the expectations of its customers for product quality and value. Meeting regulatory requirements is a minimum. When appropriate, Ford establishes and complies with standards that may go beyond legal mandates.

Ford continues to work to integrate waste prevention and minimization practices into business decision-making processes. The Company’s manufacturing environmental strategy includes processes for reducing waste/pollution at its source.

The goal is to not only find ways to manage wastes, but to prevent wastes through planning and improved processes. In July 1994, the Company advised its suppliers of this environmental strategy and encouraged them to develop similar guidelines. The guidelines focus on three key areas:

Materials *Reduce or eliminate use of materials of concern. *Reduce, reuse or recycle packaging and shipping materials. *Reduce, reuse and recycle other industrial materials.

Processes *Consider the environmental impact early in the design qf Ford products. *Consider the environmental impact early in manufacturing planning. *Develop ways to conserve and save energy.

Facilities *Revitalize sites requiring environmental remediation. *Develop contingency plans to handle potential environmental emergencies. *Provide protection and enhanced habitats f o r wildlife at or near Ford facilities.


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Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industry - P2 InfoHouse · 2018. 6. 13. · Pollution Prevention...

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Transcript of Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industry - P2 InfoHouse · 2018. 6. 13. · Pollution Prevention...