P2 Best Practices that Benefit Employee and Community Health

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P2 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
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Session 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

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EPAs 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

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DfE 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

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Profile 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

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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)

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Auto 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!

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Who 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

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Other 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)

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DfE 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

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Before Best Practices
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After Best Practices
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Findings

• 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

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Potential 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.

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Potential 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
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Mapping Air Emissions near Schools
Note Air emissions in blue schools in red
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DfE 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

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Employee 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

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Community 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

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Gathering 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

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On-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
  
  

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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
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Topics 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?