Transfer Of Pollution Prevention Technologies

The activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) and its contractors in manufacturing, testing, maintaining, and disposing of military equipment make up a significant portion of the industrial processes conducted in the United States. As is the case with the commercial industries, some of these activities, such as metal plating, have resulted in industrial pollution and environmental contamination. With increasing environmental regulation of such processes in recent decades, defense facilities have been faced with growing compliance issues. Department of Defense efforts to manage, correct, and prevent these problems have included the establishment of the National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence (NDCEE) under the management of the U.S. Army Industrial Ecology Center (IEC). The National Research Council's Committee to Evaluate Transfer of Pollution Prevention Technology for the U.S. Army was formed to identify major barriers to the transfer of pollution prevention technologies and to recommend pathways to success. To address the study objectives, the committee (1) reviewed the NDCEE's technology transfer activities, (2) examined efforts to transfer technology in four areas, two of which were identified at the outset by the NDCEE as successful and two of which were identified as unsuccessful, and (3) identified opportunities for improving the transfer of pollution prevention technologies to maintenance and rework facilities in the Department of Defense and to industrial manufacturing facilities performing defense-related operations.

As many industries are beginning to learn, pollution prevention technologies offer more than just a way to comply with regulations, or even to “do the right thing.” It also makes smart business sense. The authors of this book, both veterans of DuPont’s in-house waste reduction team, have put together a “how-to” guide for locating and implementing the best pollution prevention strategies for particular manufacturing processes. The book codifies elements of fundamental pollution prevention knowledge that are “easily understood and broadly applicable,” across a wide range of industries. At the heart of the book is what the authors call the “10-Step Method for Engineering Evaluations of Pollution Prevention Methods,” which breaks down the process to such simple steps as defining problems, setting goals, and identifying, defining, and evaluating alternative strategies.

This work explores the promise of pollution prevention in contributing to sustainable development, and acknowledges the difficulty of translating national policy into enterprise-level action. After presenting an overview of pollution prevention theory and practice, other topics (including: innovation, technology transfer, total quality management, corporate culture, and organizational strategy) are explored for pollution prevention implications. Detailed cases of three business units of a U.S.-based multinational corporation are the basis for analyzing what really drives the development and transfer of pollution prevention technology. This book is designed to advance the thinking of decision makers whose primary concern is enhancing companies' environmental performance. The findings and recommendations will be useful to government policy makers, consultants, public interest groups and academics, as well as a wide range of people in companies whose actions can nurture development and transfer of pollution prevention technology.

This compendium is a directory of companies and agencies involved in environmental technologies. Information provided in each entry includes name of company, address and telephone/fax numbers, name of contact person, industry sector, description of the technology, successes and economic benefits achieved, and future objectives. Entries are arranged under the following categories: research and technology development, pollution prevention, clean air technologies, hazardous waste management, waste reduction/reuse/recycling, education and training, sustainable development, and site remediation.

"...This book is the best I have read on this subject of increasing importance in the past five years. Therefore, I recommend it strongly to a broad audience which is interested in and responsible for pollution prevention: students on environmental management courses, their lecturers, government administrators, industrial decision-makers and employees, consultants and members of NGOs. The honest impulse toward sustainable development underlying the work as a whole is encouraging for all of them." (Int. Journal of Environment and Pollution) "...Although this book necessarily focuses on many aspects of environmental law and industrial production in the USA, it contains much detailed information on pollution issued in the pulp and paper, pharmaceutical, electronics and commercial printing industries which will be of wider interest. It should prove useful to industrial chemists and engineers and indeed to all those with an interest in protecting our increasingly threatened environment." (Environmental Engineering)