58
Toxic Chemicals
TRI SUCCESS STORIES
TRI success stories include the following:
• The Haartz Corporation, located in Acton, Massachusetts, makes coated
fabrics used in automobiles. The firm once used 800,000 lb/yr of methyl
ethyl ketone (MEK), a solvent that can cause dizziness, nausea, or unconsciousness when inhaled. In 1987, when Haartz was preparing its first TRI
report, the company installed a new emissions control system to capture
and recycle MEK. TRI data enabled Haartz to track the association
between reduced toxic chemical releases and reduced costs. According to
the Haartz environmental manager, the company’s “emissions have stayed
pretty flat” despite its “double-digit sales growth” between 1993 and
1998. In addition, reducing its MEK releases saved Haartz an estimated
$200,000 annually (USEPA 2007).
• Marathon Oil installed a thermal desorption unit to process oily waste and
recovered over 120,000 barrels of oil; Georgia Gulf Corporation relocated
a methanol stripper purge line that resulted in the recovery of 9,300 gallons
of methanol that previously underwent biological waste treatment.
• Attendees of the 1997 EPA Region III TRI workshop provided reasons for
undertaking waste reduction activities. The most frequent reason given
(98 percent of respondents) was cost reduction.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arora, S., and T. N. Cason. 1996. Why Do Firms Volunteer to Exceed Environmental
Regulations? Understanding Participation in EPA’s 33/50 Program. Land Economics
72(4): 413–432.
Konar, S., and M. Cohen. 1996. Information as Regulation: The Effect of Community Right
to Know Laws on Toxic Emissions. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/vcems/papers/tri.pdf
(accessed January 1, 2010).
Stephan, M., M. E. Kraft, and T. D. Abel. 2005. Information Politics and Environmental
Performance: The Impact of the Toxics Release Inventory on Corporate Decision
Making. Paper prepared for delivery at the 2005 annual meeting of the American
Political Science Association, September 1–4, Washington, DC.
Stephan, M., M. E. Kraft., and T. D. Abel. 2009. Facility Level Perspectives on Toxics Release
Inventory and Environmental Performance. Paper prepared for the 2009 TRI National
Training Conference, March 30–April 2, Bethesda, MD.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1999. Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 33/50
Program: The Final Record. EPA-745-R-99-004.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2007. How are the Data Used by Industry? Chemical
Emergency Prevention and Planning Newsletter (June–July): 5.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2009a. Class I Ozone-Depleting Substances. http://
www.epa.gov/docs/ozone/ods.html (accessed October 31, 2006).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2009b. Class II Ozone-Depleting Substances. http://
www.epa.gov/docs/ozone/ods2.html (accessed October 31, 2006).
Toxic Chemicals
TRI SUCCESS STORIES
TRI success stories include the following:
• The Haartz Corporation, located in Acton, Massachusetts, makes coated
fabrics used in automobiles. The firm once used 800,000 lb/yr of methyl
ethyl ketone (MEK), a solvent that can cause dizziness, nausea, or unconsciousness when inhaled. In 1987, when Haartz was preparing its first TRI
report, the company installed a new emissions control system to capture
and recycle MEK. TRI data enabled Haartz to track the association
between reduced toxic chemical releases and reduced costs. According to
the Haartz environmental manager, the company’s “emissions have stayed
pretty flat” despite its “double-digit sales growth” between 1993 and
1998. In addition, reducing its MEK releases saved Haartz an estimated
$200,000 annually (USEPA 2007).
• Marathon Oil installed a thermal desorption unit to process oily waste and
recovered over 120,000 barrels of oil; Georgia Gulf Corporation relocated
a methanol stripper purge line that resulted in the recovery of 9,300 gallons
of methanol that previously underwent biological waste treatment.
• Attendees of the 1997 EPA Region III TRI workshop provided reasons for
undertaking waste reduction activities. The most frequent reason given
(98 percent of respondents) was cost reduction.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arora, S., and T. N. Cason. 1996. Why Do Firms Volunteer to Exceed Environmental
Regulations? Understanding Participation in EPA’s 33/50 Program. Land Economics
72(4): 413–432.
Konar, S., and M. Cohen. 1996. Information as Regulation: The Effect of Community Right
to Know Laws on Toxic Emissions. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/vcems/papers/tri.pdf
(accessed January 1, 2010).
Stephan, M., M. E. Kraft, and T. D. Abel. 2005. Information Politics and Environmental
Performance: The Impact of the Toxics Release Inventory on Corporate Decision
Making. Paper prepared for delivery at the 2005 annual meeting of the American
Political Science Association, September 1–4, Washington, DC.
Stephan, M., M. E. Kraft., and T. D. Abel. 2009. Facility Level Perspectives on Toxics Release
Inventory and Environmental Performance. Paper prepared for the 2009 TRI National
Training Conference, March 30–April 2, Bethesda, MD.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1999. Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 33/50
Program: The Final Record. EPA-745-R-99-004.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2007. How are the Data Used by Industry? Chemical
Emergency Prevention and Planning Newsletter (June–July): 5.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2009a. Class I Ozone-Depleting Substances. http://
www.epa.gov/docs/ozone/ods.html (accessed October 31, 2006).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2009b. Class II Ozone-Depleting Substances. http://
www.epa.gov/docs/ozone/ods2.html (accessed October 31, 2006).