Title: P2 Best Practices that Benefit Employee and Community Health
1P2 Best Practices that Benefit Employee and
Community Health
- EPA Design for the Environment Program
- Automotive Refinishing Partnership
Mary Cushmac Office of Pollution Prevention
Toxics Environmental Protection
Agency Washington, DC Environmental Summit May
2008
2Session Goals
- Raise awareness of health benefits from
implementing P2 practices - Identify employee health benefits as an added
incentive for implementing P2 practices - Explore ways to measure health environmental
benefits
3EPAs Design for the Environment (DfE) Program
- Solves problems collaboratively
- Brings industry resources to the table
- Gives access to Agency
technical resources - Factors in economics
- Combines multi-media
- and multi-disciplinary
- approach
4DfE Partnerships
- Alternatives Assessments
- Flame Retardants Furniture, Printed Circuit
Boards - Lead-Free Solder in Electronics
- Wire Cable
- Formulator Program
- Recognition of Safer Formulations
- Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI)
- Best Practices
- Automotive Refinishing ? Session focus
- Nail Salons
5Profile of Auto Refinish Industry
- About 50,000 shops
- 200,000 auto refinishers
- 1,400 high school and community college programs
- Shops/schools use release harmful chemicals
- Many shops are located in residential areas
- Emissions may pose risks to those in the
shops/schools and nearby residents
6 P2 Opportunity
- EPA estimates that auto refinish shops emit
280,000 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
and air toxics annually - DfE best practices
- reduce shop emissions
- improve shops health and safety profile
- reduce shop costs (in many cases)
- assist with regulatory compliance (VOCs,
hazardous waste, air toxics, odors, worker safety
and health)
7Auto Refinishing Chemicals andPotential Health
Effects
- Diisocyanates are the leading cause of
work-related asthma skin lung sensitizers
subject of two NIOSH Alerts - Organic solvents (toluene, ethyl benzene,
xylenes, etc.) are VOCs and air toxics that cause
systemic, central nervous system and reproductive
effects Safer substitutes are available! - Heavy metals hexavalent chromium causes lung
cancer lead causes nerve and brain damage
Lead and chrome-free paints are available!
8Who May Be at Risk?
- Workers and others in the shop
- Students and others in the class
- Persons living near auto body shops
- Children playing in soil contaminated by
automotive paint dust and particulates - Nearby schools, day care centers, and hospitals
- Mobile paint sprayers persons nearby
- Hobbyists and others who use automotive paints,
e.g., artists
9Other Health Issues
- 42 of U.S. population live in counties that have
unhealthful levels of ozone and particulates
(American Lung Association report, State of the
Air, May 2008 www.lungusa.org) - Sensitive populations are particularly vulnerable
to air pollution - 20 million Americans have asthma
- 9 million children have asthma, the leading
serious chronic childhood disease (Am. Academy of
Allergy Asthma Immunology www.aaaai.org)
10DfE Auto Refinishing Partnership Strategy
Approach
- Work in partnership with businesses and build a
network of support to promote P2 - Focus on spray painting and other related
activities that release toxic chemicals - Identify key chemicals of concern and exposure
points - Identify best practices and safer alternative
chemicals - Identify factors that motivate change
- Develop implementation strategy (tools,
approaches) - Network, communicate, train, and encourage best
practices to reduce risk and pollution - Evaluate response and measure results
11Before Best Practices
12After Best Practices
13Findings
- Over 100 shop and school site visits numerous
workshops across the country - 81 of shops made changes
- Some best practices were included in the new EPA
paint regulation (40 CFR Part 63, Subpart HHHHH) - Changes benefit employees community
- Reduced emissions
- Better respiratory skin protection for workers
- Healthier workforce and community
- Cleaner, more productive work area
- Lower costs (less paint, less waste)
- Improved business/community relationships
14Potential Emissions Reduction with Certain Best
Practices
- One small shop reduced overall VOC emissions by
218 lbs/yr (34) and particulate emissions by 316
lbs/yr (99) by adopting best practices - If 300 small shops adopted best practices,
emissions could be reduced as follows - 300 x 218 lb/yr VOCs 65,400 lbs/yr VOCs reduced
- 300 x 316 lb/yr particulates 94,800 lbs/yr
particulates reduced - Using HVLP spray guns/training and conducting
all spraying in a filtered spray booth.
15(No Transcript)
16Potential Cost Savings with P2
SAVINGS
SAVINGS
COST
COST
COST
Conventional
HVLP Spray Guns
HVLP Spray Guns with Proper Technique
Estimated annual savings, based on 420 gal/yr
Courtesy of the STAR Program, IWRC
17Mapping Air Emissions near Schools
Note Air emissions in blue schools in red
18DfE Tools
- Technical fact sheets, case studies
- Site visits
- Best practices train-the-trainer workshops
- Outreach kit (binder, folder, and CD)
- DfE and virtual auto body shop websites
- Best practices self-evaluation checklist
- Emissions reduction calculator
- Collaboration and networking
19Employee Health Benefits
- Better information on hazards and ways to protect
oneself, fellow workers, and family - Reduced exposure to hazardous chemicals
- Respiratory and skin protection
- User-friendly control technology and more
efficient practices to reduce emissions - Healthier painters, fewer lost days
20Community Health Benefits
- Reduced toxic air emissions (VOCs particulates)
and hazardous waste near schools, day care
centers, and residences - Reduced odors
- Cleaner air
- Healthier neighborhood reduction in
- Asthma
- Breathing and other respiratory problems
- Headaches
- Other adverse health effects
-
21Gathering and Evaluating Data
- Occupational asthma data (SENSOR and SWORD
programs) - Asthma and air quality data (American Lung
Association) - DfE Self-Evaluation of Best Practices for Schools
and Businesses - DfE Emissions Reduction Calculator
- OSHA Health Effects Calculator
22On-line Resources
- DfE Auto Refinish Project http//www.epa.gov/dfe/p
rojects/auto - Virtual Auto Body Shop
http//www.ccar-greenlink.org/cshops - STAR (Spray Technique Research)
http//www.iwrc.org/programs/STAR.cfm - NIOSH Health Safety Topics Isocyanates
- http//www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/isocyanates/
- OSHA Auto Body Repair and Refinishing
http//www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/autobody
23 DfE Web Site and Contacts
DfE Automotive Refinishing Partnership http//www.
epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/auto
Mary Cushmac 202-564-8803 cushmac.mary_at_epa.gov
24Topics to Explore in this Session
- How can P2 be linked to employee health?
- How can we better communicate P2 benefits on
employee health? - What data could demonstrate P2 impacts on
employee health? - How can companies be motivated to implement P2
practices for health without fear of liability
for health effects?