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Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 11/03/2006

This is the weekly bulletin of the TURI Library, reporting a selection of recently published titles we have acquired. Our pledge is to keep the bulletin relevant to your work and brief -- no more than 10 titles. You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of the articles listed here.

Titles here, abstracts below them:

Drop-In Alternatives to Trichloroethylene
Reach: Panel Votes to Mandate Product Substitution
Google to Convert HQ to Solar Power
A Bold Little Wine That’s Less Polluting
An Intervention to Reduce Residential Insecticide Exposure during Pregnancy among an Inner-City Cohort
Lebanon sees revival of pre-Islamic environmentalism
Going Green
Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change
Chemicals Management May Be Getting Tougher
Research Helps Industry Make Stronger, Lighter and Cheaper Alloys

1. Drop-In Alternatives to Trichloroethylene

AUTHOR Marshall, Jason; Wilcox, Heidi

SOURCE Process Cleaning, September/October 2006, pp50-57

ABSTRACT Solvents have been used for many years in all fields of cleaning. Many of these solvents, even though they work well, pose health risks to workers and are regulated by state and federal agencies. Efforts have been made to reduce worker exposure. More often than not, these changes arise as a result of a company trying to adhere to the various legal structures that exist, especially liability issues, and account for how most societies approach environmental decision making for cleaning applications. Therefore, as one tries to follow the myriad list of regulations and restrictions, identifying a substitute for solvents in cleaning applications is not an easy task. There are literally thousands of formulations to choose from. The variability of literature for these products changes from vendor to vendor as well as from product to product, making the search for an applicable substitute nearly impossible. Even after selecting a potential product, there is no guarantee that it will work. Part of the Toxics Use Reduction Institute Surface Solutions Laboratory’s (SSL) mission is to test and evaluate the effectiveness of different cleaning chemistries and equipment on a variety of substrates and soils. Located at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the Institute was created to promote reduction in the use of toxic chemicals and the generation of toxic by-products in industry and commerce in the state of Massachusetts. The objective of the lab is to promote and sometimes develop environmentally-friendlier, safer alternatives to hazardous solvents that perform as well, or better, than existing hazardous solvents. SSL has been aiding companies in the search for safer products for more than 10 years and has evaluated more than 500 cleaning formulations and performed more than 1,300 cleaning trials.1 This article discusses SSL’s effort to find alternatives to one hazardous solvent in particular, trichloroethylene (TCE). In every instance, at least one safer and effective alternative to TCE was found for each of the three end users applications evaluated. Yet, there is no one size fits all for replacing TCE. Specific criteria need to be considered and tested on a case-by- case basis. All of the results of the testing can be found in the TURI Cleaner Solutions Database at www.cleanersolutions.org.

WEB LINK http://www.processcleaning.com/documents/articlearchive/
septoct2006/Dropin.pdf

2. Reach: Panel Votes to Mandate Product Substitution

AUTHOR Sissel, Kara

SOURCE Chemical Week, v168 n34, October 18, 2006, p8

ABSTRACT The European Parliament’s environment committee has approved a version of the European Unions (EU) Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (Reach) law that is stricter than the draft approved by the EU’s Council of Ministers last summer. The Parliament’s vote, if upheld in the final bill, would mean a much faster “exit from the market” for the most hazardous substances under Reach, attorneys say. The Parliament committee has approved language that requires mandatory substitution of hazardous substances if a safer alternative exists. “If there is a safer alternative, and if it’s economically viable, that alternative must be used,” says Italian Member of Parliament Guido Sacconi. The Council version would allow companies to continue to use hazardous substances if they can demonstrate that they would be adequately controlled. Officials have scheduled finalization of the Reach law for mid-2007. Parliament’s decision to take a harder position on product substitution sets the stage for a battle between the Council and the Parliament over how to authorize the most hazardous of substances, attorneys say.

3. Google to Convert HQ to Solar Power

AUTHOR Liedtke, Michael

SOURCE LiveScience, October 17, 2006

ABSTRACT Google Inc. is converting its renowned headquarters to run partly on solar power, hoping to set an example for corporate America. The Internet search leader announced what is believed to be the largest solar project undertaken by a U.S. company during a solar energy conference in Silicon Valley on Monday. Google believes the sun eventually can deliver as much as 30 percent of the power at its 1-million-square-foot campus in Mountain View -- a suburb about 35 miles south of San Francisco. The ambitious project will require installing more than 9,200 solar panels on a high-tech mecca nicknamed the “Googleplex.'' After leasing the offices for several years, Google bought the campus for $319 million earlier this year. Once they're in place next spring, the solar panels are expected to produce about 1.6 megawatts of electricity, or enough power to supply about 1,000 homes.

WEB LINK http://www.livescience.com/environment/
061017_ap_solar_google.html

4. A Bold Little Wine That’s Less Polluting

AUTHOR Rosenthal, Elizabeth

SOURCE The New York Times, October 17, 2006

ABSTRACT The red wines from the small award-winning Milazzo winery here are rich and earthy, commanding decent prices in Italy, Germany and the United States. Hanging from trellises on the towering hills of the island’s southwest coast, Milazzo grapes are pruned and picked by hand, but later, vast computer-controlled steel tanks keep the fermenting mix at just the right temperature. Two years ago, Saverio Lo Leggio, the winery’s owner, bravely agreed to put his 2004 Terre della Baronia red to an unusual test: he allowed researchers from the University of Palermo to calculate the cost to the global environment of producing one bottle of Sicilian red wine. A team led by Maurizio Cellura discovered that winemaking at Milazzo was wasteful and needlessly polluting. The production of a bottle of Terre della Baronia created more than a pound of waste and put 16 grams of sulfur dioxide into the air. Producing the 2004 vintage of 100,000 bottles generated 22,000 pounds of plastic waste, 11,000 pounds of paper and oceans of wastewater. Traditional environmental regulations tend to focus on larger industries and their factories, but it turns out that smaller businesses like Milazzo generate about 60 percent of the world’s commercial waste and cause more than 50 percent of environmental damage, according to the European Environment Agency, part of the European Union. In Sicily, there are hundreds of small wineries and thousands of small businesses, which, like Milazzo, often pollute unwittingly. At Milazzo Winery, the study’s findings have already reduced pollution. “We discovered we were throwing away a huge amount of plastic, mostly little things.” Mr. Lo Leggio said. “We used to pay to send it to landfill. Now, we sort it and a recycling consortium takes it away. We’re recovering a lot more raw material.” This year, Mr. Lo Leggio said, he decided to do away with chemical pesticides. “Producing the wine is more delicate — you have to be very careful with storage — but I think it’s worth it,” he said.

WEB LINK http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/business/
worldbusiness/17wine.html

5. An Intervention to Reduce Residential Insecticide Exposure during Pregnancy among an Inner-City Cohort

AUTHOR Williams, Megan K.; Barr, Dana B.; Camann, David E.; Cruz, Linda A.; Carlton, Elizabeth J.; et al.

SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, v114 n11, November 2006, pp1684-1689

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: We previously reported widespread insecticide exposure during pregnancy among inner-city women from New York City. Here we report on a pilot intervention using integrated pest management (IPM) to reduce pest infestations and residential insecticide exposures among pregnant New York City African-American and Latina women (25 intervention and 27 control homes). METHODS: The IPM consisted of professional cleaning, sealing of pest entry points, application of low-toxicity pesticides, and education. Cockroach infestation levels and 2-week integrated indoor air samples were collected at baseline and one month postintervention. The insecticides detected in the indoor air samples were also measured in maternal and umbilical cord blood collected at delivery. RESULTS: Cockroach infestations decreased significantly (p = 0.016) after the intervention among intervention cases but not control households. Among the intervention group, levels of piperonyl butoxide (a pyrethroid synergist) were significantly lower in indoor air samples after the intervention (p = 0.016). Insecticides were detected in maternal blood samples collected at delivery from controls but not from the intervention group. The difference was significant for trans-permethrin (p = 0.008) and of borderline significance (p = 0.1) for cis-permethrin and 2-isopropoxyphenol (a propoxur metabolite). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study to use biologic dosimeters of prenatal pesticide exposure for assessing effectiveness of IPM. These pilot data suggest that IPM is an effective strategy for reducing pest infestation levels and the internal dose of insecticides during pregnancy.

WEB LINK http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/9168/9168.pdf

6. Lebanon sees revival of pre-Islamic environmentalism

AUTHOR Onians, Charles

SOURCE TerraDaily, October 22, 2006

ABSTRACT It was born in the Arabian desert more than 1,500 years ago and is now being revived in the battle-scarred greenery of Lebanon. Already its success is heralding a regional renaissance. The pre-Islamic system of environmental protection known as "hima" -- Arabic for protected area -- means that the local population rather than a distant authority in Beirut decides how to manage the ecosystem, and also to reap its benefits. Now the village of Kfar Zabad in the eastern Bekaa valley, where overuse of land and water almost destroyed once vast wetlands, has seen the return of migrating birds. Hopefully, the ecotourists will soon flock there as well. "Hima means sustainable use of resources by and for the local community," says Assad Serhal, whose Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon has set up two such projects in Lebanon since 2004, Kfar Zabad being one of them. Although their first use is unrecorded, himas were enshrined by the Prophet Mohammed in the 7th century, and the success of the system here has meant other Lebanese villagers are now clamouring to sign up for it. The revival of this ancient practice in Lebanon began when Serhal and his colleagues were poring over old maps of the country, which featured hundreds of areas marked as "himas", a word that was new to his conservation lexicon. While an internationally recognised Important Bird Area (IBA) already existed in Kfar Zabad, it was largely ignored by the villagers because they felt it had been imposed on them from outside and they were unable to see its benefits. Once the advantages of a hima had been explained to them, however, the community voted to establish one -- and a decree was issued giving the municipality power to manage resources as if it were the central government. Provoking the ire of wealthy hunters coming from Beirut, the municipality banned hunting -- which in any case has been illegal in Lebanon for years -- and started to divert irrigation channels to increase the depleted wetlands in a bid to lure migrating birds to stop off once more. Ecotourism projects to replace lost revenue from hunting include building a guesthouse for visitors -- complete with telescope for birdwatching -- and renewing traditional activities such as weaving baskets to sell to guests. Today, birds of prey circle above and furtive squawking is heard from nearby rushes as the bang of hunters' guns in unprotected neighbouring communities echoes off the mountainside.

WEB LINK http://www.terradaily.com/2006/061022045859.77rzon08.html

7. Going Green

AUTHOR LePree, Joy

SOURCE Chem.Info, October 2006, pp24-26

ABSTRACT Green is a multi-tasking color. It represents both the environment and money — two issues usually considered to be at odds with each other. In the chemical industry especially, traditional methods used to make a process or product more environmentally friendly have brought added costs. Recently, however, there has been a push for green chemistry, which according to organizations such as the EPA and the American Chemistry Council's Green Chemistry Institute reduces harmful effects while boosting the bottom line. Although chemical engineers have been slow to adopt related technologies, proponents of green chemistry say that once those in the industry understand the financial benefits, they will see why it's easy, if not better, to be green. Kermit the Frog used to say it's not easy being green. But for the chemical industry, it could be translated to it's not cheap being green. While benefits to the environment and a chemical firm's public façade are apparent, the cost is usually what prevents chemical manufacturers from adopting green chemistry. "No one is going to develop a new process unless there is significant ROI because there is always risk associated with a new process, particularly one that is radically different," says Dr. Everett Baucom, deputy director, NSF Science & Technology Center for Environmentally Responsible Solvents and Processes. "There is always the dilemma of deciding whether to put money into a current process or use it to develop a new one. Industry doesn't have unlimited funds to do research, so it's very difficult for a chemical company to invest in a new process." Prior to his work at the NSF, Baucom worked for DuPont where he helped develop a membrane technology used in a radically greener process to make chlorine and caustice. "The membrane process we developed has a 20 to 25 percent lower investment cost than building a plant based upon existing technology and a 15 to 20 percent lower operating cost because the new process was more efficient. Plus, it made a better product," he says. "It should have been adopted immediately, but 25 years later only half the world's capacity is in the membrane technology and the other half is still using the old technology despite the overwhelming advantages. It is the plants that were built after the membrane technology was developed that are using it. It was deemed too costly to change the process in existing plants, so they just keep plugging along the old way." He says this is just one example of the inertia that exists in the chemical process industry. And, he says, this attitude needs to change before green chemistry with all its environmental benefits is widely embraced in this country.

8. Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change

AUTHOR Stern, Nicholas

DATE 2006

SOURCE HM Treasury

ABSTRACT The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response. This Review has assessed a wide range of evidence on the impacts of climate change and on the economic costs, and has used a number of different techniques to assess costs and risks. From all of these perspectives, the evidence gathered by the Review leads to a simple conclusion: the benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of not acting. Climate change will affect the basic elements of life for people around the world – access to water, food production, health, and the environment. Hundreds of millions of people could suffer hunger, water shortages and coastal flooding as the world warms. Using the results from formal economic models, the Review estimates that if we don’t act, the overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP each year, now and forever. If a wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account, the estimates of damage could rise to 20% of GDP or more. In contrast, the costs of action – reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change – can be limited to around 1% of global GDP each year. The investment that takes place in the next 10-20 years will have a profound effect on the climate in the second half of this century and in the next. Our actions now and over the coming decades could create risks of major disruption to economic and social activity, on a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century. And it will be difficult or impossible to reverse these changes. So prompt and strong action is clearly warranted. Because climate change is a global problem, the response to it must be international. It must be based on a shared vision of long-term goals and agreement on frameworks that will accelerate action over the next decade, and it must build on mutually reinforcing approaches at national, regional and international level.

WEB LINK http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/independent_reviews_index.cfm
stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review_report.cfm

9. Chemicals Management May Be Getting Tougher

AUTHOR Pelley, Janet

SOURCE Environmental Science & Technology Online News, November 1, 2006

ABSTRACT Canada is poised to release an assessment of 23,000 chemicals, making it the first country in the world to systematically review all of the chemicals in current use within its borders. Coupled with the impending adoption of a new chemicals policy in Europe, the Canadian action could change the mix of products on store shelves worldwide, experts say. In 1986, rules in Canada mandated that all newly introduced substances undergo toxicity screening. At the time, 23,000 chemicals already on the Canadian market were “grandfathered” in without proof of their safety. Now, after 7 years of study, Environment Canada and Health Canada officials have combed through all 23,000 substances. They flagged 4000 that are toxic and either persistent or bioaccumulative or that present the greatest potential for human exposure. Of these, 400 were found to be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, a combination that calls for immediate action, says Fe de Leon, a researcher with the Canadian Environmental Law Association. Although the list was submitted to the ministers of environment and health in September, it won’t be made public until the end of the year, says Steve Clarkson, director of the Bureau of Risk and Impact Assessment at Health Canada. The government will conduct another screening process for the 4000 chemicals, based on the scientific literature and other existing data to determine whether they need to be managed. Clarkson predicts that it will take 10–15 years to get through all of them.

WEB LINK http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/
nov/policy/jp_cachemicals.html

10. Research Helps Industry Make Stronger, Lighter and Cheaper Alloys

SOURCE University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, October 27, 2006

ABSTRACT Car engines that consume less energy and can keep running on low oil, lead-free plumbing fixtures, and tanks that are light enough to be airlifted, but are just as rugged as the much heavier varieties. They sound futuristic, but these products are already realities thanks to materials that stretch the limits of performance. Called cast metal matrix composites (MMCs), they are cheaper, lighter and stronger than their original alloys. In fact, an aluminum-based MMC developed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) can replace iron-based alloys. "These composites have many applications in the transportation, small engines, aerospace and computer industries," says Pradeep Rohatgi, a Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Engineering who pioneered cost-effective methods of manufacturing these composites. Now more than a 100-million-a-year industry themselves, MMCs have been used in components for train brakes, thermal management devices in computers, and even the space shuttle and the Hubble Space Telescope. MMCs are engineered by combining metal with a totally different class of material, such as ceramics and recycled waste. Incorporating the two materials -- the matrix and the reinforcement materials -- result in amazing structural and physical properties not available in the natural world.

WEB LINK http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061027153320.htm

You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of these resources. Also, please tell us what topics you are particularly interested in monitoring, and who else should see GREENLIST. An online search of the TURI Library catalog can be done at http://greenlist.turi.org/ for greater topic coverage.

Compiled by the TURI Library, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2006

This page updated Friday November 16 2007

TURI - Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 11/03/2006