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ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH BRIEF: WASTE MINIMIZATION FOR A MANUFACTURER OF PLIERS AND WRENCHES
Citation:
Edwards, H., M. Kostrzewa, AND G. Looby. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH BRIEF: WASTE MINIMIZATION FOR A MANUFACTURER OF PLIERS AND WRENCHES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/S-94/004.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has funded a pilot project to assist small and medium-size manufacturers who want to minimize their generation of waste but who lack the expertise to do so. n an effort to assist these manufacturers Waste Minimization Assessment Centers (WMACs) were established at selected universities and procedures were adapted from the EPA Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment Manual (EPA/625/7-88/003, July 1988). hat document has been superseded by the Facility Pollution Prevention Guide (EPA/600/R-92/088, May 1992). he WMAC team at Colorado State University performed an assessment at a plant that manufactures pliers and wrenches. he products are manufactured from metal blanks that have been forged in another plant. n the case of the pliers, the blanks are machined, etched, primed, and assembled. he handles are then plastic coated and the finished pliers are inspected, packaged, and shipped. or wrench manufacture, the metal blanks are nickel- and chromium-plated, inspected, and packaged. he team's report, detailing findings and recommendations, indicated that the greatest quantity of waste in this plant came from the machining and plating operations. he greatest cost-saving opportunity recommended to the plant involved the replacement of 1,1,1-trichloroethane vapor degreasing with nonhazardous aqueous cleaning. his Research Brief was developed by the principal investigators and EPA's Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce key findings of an ongoing research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title available from University City Science Center.