NPEs and the Textile Industry

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• NPEs and the Textile Industry
• Navigating the CEPA Regulations for Textile Mill
  Effluent
• C.A.T.C.C.
• Longueuil, Quebec
• December 6, 2001
• Barbara S. Losey

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Presentation Overview

• What are Nonylphenol (NP) and Nonylphenol
  Ethoxylates (NPEs)?
• What Does the Science Say About NPEs ?
• How do NP/NPE Relate to the CEPA Assessment for
  Textile Mill Effluent ?
• What are the Risks of NPE Substitution?
• What is the APERC NPE Environmental Management
  Program ?

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What are NP and NPEs?
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Nonylphenol
One of the major isomers
CH3
CH2
OH
C
CH
CH2
CH3
CH2
CH3
CH3
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What is NP?

• Raw material in the synthesis of NPE surfactants
• Intermediate in the biodegradation of NPE
  surfactants

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Nonylphenol Ethoxylates
One of the major isomers
CH3
CH2
(CH2CH2O)n H
O
C
CH
CH2
CH3
CH2
CH3
CH3
n 1 - 100
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What are NPEs?

• Excellent wetting agents, emulsifiers and
  dispersants
• High performance surfactants with excellent
  chemical and heat stability
• Cost-effective, workhorse surfactants

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What are NPEs?Applications

• Household,Industrial Institutional cleaners
• Textile manufacturing
• Paper and pulp processing
• Emulsion polymerization
• Industrial additive

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What Does the Science Say About NP and NPEs?
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What Does the Science Say?Treatability

• NP/NPE are effectively removed in
  well-functioning secondary biological sewage
  treatment plants.
• Removal rates of NP/NPE from such plants are on
  average 95

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What Does the Science Say?Treatability

• Very high concentrations of NPE are degraded
  efficiently with adequate treatment
• NP and NPE are biodegradable
• NP and NPE do not build up in the food chain

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What Does the Science Say?Environmental Exposure

• Monitoring studies in North America generally
  show low environmental levels of NP and NPE
• Environmental levels of concern exist where
  effluent treatment is inefficient or inadequate

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How do NP/NPE Relate to the CEPA Assessment for
Textile Mill Effluent ?
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CEPA Assessments TME and NP/NPE

• Concurrent CEPA Assessments for TME (July 2000)
  and NP/NPE (April 2000)
• Effort made to determine the environmental risk
  of NP/NPE in TMEs due to concurrent assessment
• Gazette Notice recommending TME and NP/NPE CEPA
  Toxic June 2001

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CEPA Assessment TME

• TMEs contain a wide range of chemicals have a
  range of pH, temperature, colour and oxygen
  demand characteristics.
• The assessment did not attempt to determine the
  contribution of individual components of TMEs to
  toxicity or environmental effects and was based
  instead on the impacts of whole effluents.

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CEPA Assessment TME

• No acute toxicity was measured in samples from
  environments receiving TMEs that were subject to
  secondary or tertiary treatment.
• The combined results of a battery of
  whole-effluent toxicity tests indicated a
  reduction in toxicity with increasing intensity
  of treatment of TMEs.

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CEPA Assessment Conclusionsfor NP/NPE (TME not
evaluated)

• Section 64(b) No Danger to Environment on Which
  Life Depends NP/NPE are not entering the
  environment under conditions that constitute a
  danger to the environment
• Section 64(c) No Danger to Human Health from
  Environmental Exposure NP/NPE are not
  considered a priority to reduce public exposure
  through control of sources that are addressed
  under CEPA

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CEPA Assessment ConclusionsTME and NP/NPE

• Section 64(a) NP/NPE and TME are entering the
  environment under conditions that have or may
  have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on
  the environment or its biological diversity

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CEPA Assessment ConclusionsNP/NPE

• Section 64(a)
• NP and its ethoxylates from untreated or
  partially treated textile mills that discharge
  directly to the environment occur at levels that
  are likely to be causing harmful effects on
  aquatic organisms.
• Discharges from municipal wastewater treatment
  plants and pulp and paper mills contribute NP and
  NPEs to the environment at levels that are of
  concern at a limited number of sites.

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CEPA Risk Management Process

• 1.Conduct technical and socio-economic
  assessments of the impact of regulating TME and
  NP/NPE
• 2. Establish risk management goals and identify
  risk management instruments in coordination with
  stakeholders (June 2003)
• 3. Publish final risk instruments (Dec. 2004)

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CEPA Risk Management Process

• Socio-economic assessment considers
• Structure of the industry, links to other sectors
  of the economy
• Economic impact of switching to alternative
  products
• Economic assessment of alternatives to regulatory
  action

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Draft Best Available Technologies Economically
Achievable (BATEA) for TME

• Technologies Evaluated
• Automated Chemical Dosing Systems
• Dye Machine Controllers
• NPE Surfactant Substitution
• Dye Substitution

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Draft Best Available Technologies Economically
Achievable (BATEA) for TME

• Technologies Evaluated
• 5. Low Liquor Ration Dyeing Machines
• 6. Cold Pad Batch Dyeing
• 7. Quality Control for Raw Materials
• 8. Pulsating Rinse Technology

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Draft Best Available Technologies Economically
Achievable (BATEA) for TME

• Technologies Evaluated
• 9. Recycling and Reuse of Cooling water and
  Condensate Water
• 10. Bleach Bath Recovery System
• 11. Salt Bath Recovery System
• 12. Biological Wastewater Treatment

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Draft Best Available Technologies Economically
Achievable (BATEA) for TME

• Surfactants
• All surfactants exhibit aquatic toxicity without
  treatment
• NPE represent 7 of the Toxic Units to TME
  toxicity
• Other surfactants represent 49 of the Toxic
  Units to TME toxicity

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What are the Risks of NPE Substitution?
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Risks of NPE substitution

• NPE substitution may not impact - or may
  worsen -TME toxicity
• All surfactants exhibit aquatic toxicity when
  discharged without treatment
• Alternatives can require higher use levels and/or
  additional ingredients

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What is the APERC NPE Environmental Management
Program?
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NPE Environmental Management Program

• Program Goals
• Achieve Acceptable Levels of NP/NPE in the
  Environment
• Promote Responsible Environmental Management
• Provide Guidance on Pollution Prevention and
  Control
• Complement Existing and Planned Regulations
• Support the Continued Responsible Use of NPE

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NPE Environmental Management Program

• Operating Premise
• Acceptable environmental concentrations of NP/NPE
  exist and are achievable
• In areas where environmental levels are below
  acceptable levels, additional risk management
  measures are not necessary
• Substitution will not solve treatment or practice
  problems

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NPE Environmental Management Program

• Program Elements
• Best Practices and Operating Guidelines
• Analytical Method Standardization
• Environmental Monitoring
• Outreach, Communication, Education
• Case Studies

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For More Information

• Alkylphenols Ethoxylates
• Research Council
• www.aperc.org