 What you or a contractor put on paved parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks around your facility can have a big impact. Whether in the summer when seal coat is applied to asphalt, or in the winter when salt is spread to prevent ice formation, storm and melt water carry the resulting contaminants to surrounding soil and water.
Coal tar-based pavement seal coats contain very high levels of cancer-causing chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which evaporate, run off, and then build up in ponds or lakes. Winter salt use contaminates ponds, lakes, and streams with chlorides which affect aquatic life.
Cleaning up these pollutants imposes high costs on your community and its taxpaying businesses and residents. MPCA is therefore promoting voluntary use of better salt-spreading and seal-coating practices.
Properly-trained and certified contractors can reduce excessive application of salt around your facility in the winter. For more information please refer to the MPCA road salt webpage, and scroll down to see the “List of Individuals Certified”.
MPCA is also encouraging phase-out of the use of coal tar-based seal coats. Asphalt-based coatings are now available with equivalent performance and at similar cost. Best practices are important during seal coat application as well. For more information, go to the MPCA sealant webpage. While you’re there, be sure to check out the list of Minnesota cities which have enacted a local ban on coal tar-based seal coat use to see if your facility is affected.
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 All industrial stormwater permittees are required to start collecting quarterly stormwater samples one year after they receive permit coverage. The MPCA has entered all Stormwater Monitoring Report (SWMR) forms with a postmark date of June 21, 2012. As of June 21, only 35 percent of all required SWMRs have been sent in. We need your help! Please contact your clients to remind them of this important compliance requirement.
Information about stormwater monitoring requirements and reporting can also be found within Step 10 and Step 11 of our Industrial Stormwater-Steps to Compliance section of our website.
Please contact the MPCA if you would like a more customized article for your clients or for questions. You may contact Melissa at Melissa.wenzel@state.mn.us or 651-757-2816 or Mary West at 651-757-2818. We work hard to provide outreach, training, guidance, and assistance to all permittees and will continue to work to ensure proper compliance. Your assistance compounds our efforts in a significant way.
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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requests proposals from qualified responders to work with the MPCA to reduce the use of BPA in thermal receipt paper used by the hospitality sector in Minnesota. The MPCA has approximately $60,450 for this project.
The responder would be responsible for recruiting hospitality partners, coordinating testing of currently used thermal receipt papers, assisting hospitality partners in researching paperless-point-of-sale technology options, and assisting them in switching to such systems.
See complete RFP, application materials, and additional information.
Proposals are due electronically Wednesday, November 7, 2012, by 2:00 pm CT.
Apparently, environmentalism and economic growth really can go hand in hand. According to a new UCLA study, companies need not fear being hampered down by adopting green practices and standards. Workers in companies that do so are found to be 16 percent more productive than the average. The increased worker motivation stems from their appreciation for their workplace. This conclusion was obtained through a series of employee surveys at various companies. They found that green companies also had more advanced employee training than other companies, as well as greater interaction between coworkers.Read more at the Environmental News Network website.
A National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) webinar series provides attendees with an opportunity to learn about chemical alternatives and safer chemistry initiatives. Presenters throughout the series will represent industry, nonprofit, academia, and technical assistance providers. This fall webinar series will focus on supply chain strategies to transition to safer chemicals. Topics include safer chemistry innovations and case studies, tools and resources, policy initiatives, and supply chain opportunities. There are two more left in the webinar series:
November 1- Using the GreenScreen™ to Identify Preferred Materials 2 EDT in HP’s Global Supply Chain Presenters: Lauren Heine (Cleaner Production Action) and Cory Robertson (Hewlett-Packard). Register here.
December 6- The Quick Chemical Assessment Tool (QCAT): Hazard 2 EST Assessment Tool for Small and Medium Size Businesses. Presenter: Alex Stone (State of Washington). Register here.
EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) has just announced the posting of the DfE Safer Chemical Ingredients List. It is composed of chemicals submitted by manufacturers in formulations that have earned the DfE label. It will be a living list that is updated periodically to include new chemicals that have been reviewed by DfE and to reflect new data and innovations in safer chemistry.
Related: MPCA, in cooperation with the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program, will present the workshop, Findings from Composites Project Using Styrene-free Resin. It is scheduled for Friday, November 9 from 9:30 am to 10:30 am CT at the MPCA in St. Paul, MN. You can participate in person or via webcast. For more details visit the event webpage.
In its quest to identify possible substitutes for a toxic flame retardant chemical known as decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft report on alternatives. This comprehensive assessment, developed with public participation under EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program, profiles the environmental and human health hazards on 30 alternatives to decaBDE, which will be phased out of production by December 2013.
DecaBDE is a common flame retardant used in electronics, vehicles, and building materials. It can cause adverse developmental effects, can persist in the environment and can bioaccumulate in people and animals. This technical assessment can help manufacturers identify alternatives to decaBDE. In addition, EPA will continue to work with manufacturers to investigate both chemical and non-chemical alternatives for flame retardants.
The alternatives to decaBDE characterized in the report are already on the market and will be used increasingly as decaBDE is phased out. The alternatives have differing hazard characteristics and are associated with trade-offs. For example, some alternatives that appear to have a relatively positive human health profile may be more persistent in the environment. Some alternatives appear to be less toxic than decaBDE. Preliminary data suggests that these flame retardants may have a lower potential for bioaccumulation in people and the environment. More information on the DfE Alternatives Assessment Program and the draft report is available on the EPA website.
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