DfE pollution prevention case studies.

The following case studies were developed by the U.S. EPA OPPT Design for the Environment Program. These are only two examples of the many excellent case studies developed and published by the DfE Program. The order form for these and other DfE case studies and materials was published in the May 1997 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health.

These case studies describe a number of practices that many manufacturers have found prevent pollution and reduce employees' exposures to chemicals in their shops. These techniques may also reduce the total cost of your process (which includes equipment, labor, and waste disposal and compliance costs) with minimal capital expenditures.

The EPA's Design for the Environment Program encourages you to evaluate systematically the technologies, practices, and procedures in your facility that may impact the environment.

EPA's DfE Program would like to receive feedback on the effectiveness of these case studies. If you successfully implement one or more of these pollution prevention ideas and would like to provide feedback to EPA, please send a brief description of your pollution prevention initiatives (or ideas for inclusion in future case studies) to the Design for the Environment Program, U.S. EPA (7406), 401 M St., SW, Washington, DC, 20460 or fax: [phone]

HOW DID THE DfE PRINTING PROJECT GET STARTED?

DfE began working with the printing industry in 1992, when the Printers Industries of America (PIA) requested EPA's assistance in evaluating environmental claims for products. This effort ultimately grew into projects with three separate sectors of the printing industry: lithography, flexography, and screen printing. Each project addresses a different area of environmental concern: for flexography the focus is on the types of inks used; for screen printing the focus is on screen reclamation; and for lithography the project partners chose to look at blanket washes.

LITHOGRAPHY PROJECT

Why is EPA Working With Lithographers?

There are more than 52,000 lithographic printers in the United States. These small and medium sized businesses print materials such as books, brochures, newspapers, magazines and other items that are fixtures in our daily lives. In doing so, they make an important contribution to the nation's economy.

Offset presses utilized in the industry transfer the printed image from a plate to a rubber or plastic blanket and then to the paper or other medium for the final printed product. The cleanliness of the blanket is a primary concern for producing high-quality images. Blanket washes, consisting of varying types of solvents, are employed in removing ink, paper dusts, and other debris from the blanket cylinder. However, some of these solvents can pose risks to human health and the environment. New, potentially less harmful blanket washes are appearing on the market, giving printers the product to reduce impacts on the environment and minimize risks to workers. Testing new blanket washes, however, can be a time-consuming and expensive process.

The Design for the Environment (DfE) Lithography Project is a unique voluntary effort between the lithographic printing industry and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that provides information about less pollution materials and process alternatives. DfE's goal in working with printers is to help them make more informed choices by easing the search for and evaluation of cleaner processes, products, and technologies. Since blanket washes are the primary concern, they have been the project's first focus. Through the demonstration of manufacturer supplied, commercially available products at volunteer printing shops, the assessment of associated human health and environmental concerns, and the evaluation of other factors, the project will make information available that will help printers make more informed decisions about the products they bring into their shops.