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Original Date: 02/24/1997
Revision Date: 04/14/2003
Best Practice : Pollution Prevention Centers for Technical Exchange
The Industrial Operations Command’s (IOC's) principal tool for compliance with the federal Pollution Prevention Act is the Pollution Prevention Centers for Technical Exchange (P2-CTX). P2-CTX coordinates and oversees the activities of teams of experts in various process areas that represent the users of pollution prevention technology throughout IOC. There are currently 18 different centers. Below is a list of the primary and back-up centers by category and installation:
CTX Assignments:
P2 Category Installation
Chemical Depainting Letterkenny Army Depot
Mechanical Depainting Anniston Army Depot
Painting Tobyhanna Army Depot
Existing Plating Rock Island Arsenal
New Plating Watervliet Arsenal
Solvent Cleaning Corpus Christi Army Depot
Open Burn/Detonation McAlester Army Ammunition Plant
Ammunition Operations Crane Army Ammunition Activity
Metal Treatment Red River Army Depot
Regulatory Forecasting NDCEE Johnstown
Adhesives/Sealants Lake City Army Ammunition Plant
Mechanical Depainting Red River Army Depot
Painting Letterkenny Army Depot
Existing Plating Corpus Christi Army Depot
Open Burn/Open Detonation Hawthorne Army Depot/Iowa Army Ammunition Plant
Ammunition Operations Milan Army Ammunition Plant
Chemical Depainting Tobyhanna Army Depot
Solvent Cleaning Prospective Tech.
This approach eliminates duplication of effort by designating lead centers for each category and drawing on expertise across the IOC. It facilitates the sharing of expertise, successes, and failures. Equipment purchases can be consolidated and P2 projects prioritized across IOC making better use of available dollars and resources.
P2-CTX is an outgrowth of the Army's HAZMIN CTX Program which was created to reduce hazardous waste and communicate needs to the appropriate Research and Development (R&D) organizations. It consisted of representatives from the depots and resulted in equipment purchases. The program evolved into the IOC P2-CTX Program which was formally established by the Commanding General of IOC in 1994.
IOC provides central coordination of the program. It is administered by IOC's Environmental Compliance and Pollution Prevention Division. The headquarters unit seeks funding, chairs and coordinates meetings and activities, and provides overall direction of the organization. Actual execution of the program is decentralized. The lead centers maintain expertise in their assigned areas, assist other installations as required, and develop action plans. All work together for the common goal of reducing the hazardous and toxic materials used in IOC by 50%. Current activities include reviewing all major IOC waste streams, and determining corrections to eliminate or reduce them. Ongoing R&D efforts are being reviewed to determine what gaps are left. Lead centers work with customers to revise specifications, fund studies, purchase equipment, find alternative chemicals, and monitor current actions. Other actions include maintaining cognizance of the latest technology, conducting update meetings, and exchanging information.
The P2-CTX initiated equipment purchases and actions have produced substantial cost avoidances. New caustic solution filtration units saved $85,000; acquisition of aqueous parts washers saved $750,000; industrial waste water treatment plant sludge dehydrators saved $350,000; chemical stabilization of blast media saved $1.2 million; and elimination of the chrome conversion process saved $195,000. Other successes include elimination of methylene chloride stripper and finding environmentally friendly solvents.
The overall purpose of P2-CTX is not research. Its primary focus is technology exchange to influence R&D communities and share successes and failures throughout IOC.
For more information see the
Point of Contact for this survey.
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