Transcript North Carolina’s Mercury Reduction Champions

North Carolina’s Mercury
Reduction Champions
Norma Murphy
NC DPPEA
[email protected]
919-715-6513
DPPEA Services
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Multi-media & Non-regulatory
Staff Expertise
Waste Assessments
Compliance Assistance
Technology Research
Outreach & Training
1-800-763-0136, [email protected],
www.p2pays.org
DPPEA’s Mercury Resources
http://www.p2pays.org/mercury/
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General Information
Mercury in Schools
Mercury and Health
What is Government Doing?
Mercury in Households
Fluorescent Lights
EPA’s Mercury Site,
http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/topichub/toc.
cfm?hub=22&subsec=7&nav=7
DPPEA Mercury Assistance
Industrial: Hg in effluent, product
alternatives, energy audits
 Municipal: Hg evaluation & reduction
in wastewater; community
involvement
 Dentist Practices: Implementing
BMPs & upgrading equipment
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Industrial Reduction Strategy
Evaluate facility operations,
production data & raw materials use
 Investigate existing piping and test
for Hg levels in receiving water
 Collect water samples
simultaneously with city
 Inventory Hg containing
products and replace with
alternatives
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Chemical/Product Evaluation
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Inform suppliers on concern for Hg
contamination in feedstock chemicals. Hg
content in ppb should be included on the
MSDS and should not be expressed as a
percentage.
Implement a chemical/product management
program including pre-purchase review and
approval by environmental staff.
Project/Process P2 Evaluation
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Require all engineering projects be
reviewed by environmental staff to
identify potential environmental
impacts from mercury.
 Practice pollution prevention: a) know
where Hg is found; b) use mercury-free
alternatives; c) properly recover and
recycle elemental mercury and mercurycontaining products
Industrial Champion
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Textile Company, largest Hg contributor to
WWTP
Better cleaning of sampling equipment
Review/Substitution of Hg containing
products/chemicals
Treatment basin cleaning
Pollution Prevention audit
Implemented Ultra-Clean Sampling
techniques
Municipal Reduction Strategy
Identify Sources
 Dye Houses
 Dental offices
 Hospitals and other
medical facilities
 Industries that use
large volumes of
caustic soda or acids
 Laboratories, clinics
 Painting operations
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Reduce Impacts
Prioritize mercury
sources
Work with customers;
industry groups
Present monitoring
data & success
stories
Provide technical
assist. & pollution
prevention (P2)
Public education
programs
Institutional Champion
Duke Hospital: 2005 elimination goal
 Generated from spills & releases
from broken or discarded products
 Mercury thermometer replacement:
almost 700 from 44 labs and patient
clinics, 90% participation
 Mercury spills decreased 37%
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Town of Tryon
Problem
 Hg Limit, 30 ppt,
repeated
exceedances
 Lawsuit by
American Canoe
Assoc., paid
$68,000 in fines
 DWQ SOC
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Solution
Inventoried Hg
sources, textile mfg.
major source
Implemented BMPs
Dental office
improvements
WWTP upgrades
Community
Outreach
Silver Star
Mercury Reduction Pledge
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Discontinue purchase and sale of mercurycontaining equipment where equivalent, nonhazardous alternatives are available
 Replace existing mercury devices with nonhazardous ones whenever possible
 Properly manage mercury-containing wastes by
collecting them for proper disposal - preferably
recycling - and avoiding incineration
 Educating employees about sources of mercury
and proper mercury management techniques
Tryon Mercury Collection Day
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Community Mercury Collection Day: 175
lbs of mercury (thermometers, bulbs,
dental filters & piping, thermostats, & 4
small containers of liquid mercury)
 Public Awareness Campaign
 Local paper: 7 articles on mercury, health
effects, sources, NC levels, etc.
 Silver Star Mercury Reduction
Pledge for businesses
Tryon’s Success
Pretreatment Coordinator, “Tryon has
not had a single problem with its
mercury limit”
 Tryon meeting Hg limit
 DWQ removed Hg limit from wastewater
permit
 ACA’s consent suit removed
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City of Gastonia
Municipal Mercury
Collection Day
Local newspaper & radio ads
 Fliers posted around town
 Brochures sent home with
schoolchildren
 894 mercury-containing items
collected
 Permanent collection program
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Did You Know?
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Wet scrubbers can contribute to elevated
mercury concentrations if not pretreated prior to
discharge. Average mercury concentrations have
measured 200 ppb in untreated scrubber effluent,
20 ppb after treatment.
Typical fever thermometers contain 0.5 gm Hg
which can contaminate 11 million gallons of
water.
Deposition of 1/25th of a teaspoon of mercury per
year is sufficient to contaminate a 60-acre lake to
the point that the fish are not safe to eat.
The states with the worst mercury "hot spots" are
Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Florida, Illinois,
South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Texas and Tennessee.
Everyone can Help to Reduce
Mercury in the Environment!
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Use less energy
Identify Hg sources and
implement alternatives
Reduce & recycle mercury
containing products
Educate yourself and others and involve
decision makers.
Contact DPPEA for assistance,
www.p2pays.org, 1-800-763-0136