LaRoche Industries awarded Louisiana Environmental Leadership Award.ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 1994--LaRoche Industries Inc. was recently awarded one of the first Louisiana Environmental Leadership Awards by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. LaRoche's Gramercy, La., facility was recognized for achieving the greatest percentage reduction in chemical releases to water over a four-year period. The facility successfully reduced its water releases by 97.5 percent or 1.1 million lbs. In 1990, LaRoche Industries Inc., in addition to 32 other chemical manufacturing facilities in the state, submitted reduction plans based on chemical release data reported for 1988. The Department of Environmental Quality monitored these plans during the past four years, and selected eight companies to be recognized for successfully reducing releases in three categories: air, water and land. To reduce environmental releases, LaRoche conducted major projects at its Gramercy plant. In 1989, an end-of-pipe treatment system was completed to reduce chlorine in the plant wastewater from 1.1 million lbs. per year to 1,000 to 2,000 lbs. per year...a reduction of 99.9 percent. In addition, LaRoche now converts the chlorine in the wastewater stream to sodium chloride sodium chloride, NaCl, common salt. Properties Sodium chloride is readily soluble in water and insoluble or only slightly soluble in most other liquids. It forms small, transparent, colorless to white cubic crystals. (table salt) and then recycles the treated stream back into its plant processes as a raw material. Secondly, plant personnel successfully eliminated ethylene glycol ethylene glycol: see glycol. ethylene glycol Simplest member of the glycol family, also called 1,2-ethanediol (HOCH2CH2OH). It is a colourless, oily liquid with a mild odour and sweet taste. from chlor-alkali plant wastewater. Equipment modifications and chemical substitutions resulted in the total elimination of more than 28,000 lbs. per year of this material. With these changes at the Gramercy plant, LaRoche significantly contributed to the major reduction of releases in Louisiana. From 1988 to 1992, voluntary reductions made by the 32 participating companies contributed to the reduction of 068 million lbs. from total chemical releases in Louisiana. Founded in 1986, LaRoche Industries Inc. is a major diversified producer and distributor of organic chemicals, including electrochemical electrochemical /elec·tro·chem·i·cal/ (-kem´i-k'l) pertaining to interaction or interconversion of chemical and electrical energies. e·lec·tro·chem·i·cal adj. products, nitrogen products and alumina chemicals. It owns and operates five major plants located in Gramercy, La.; Baton Rouge, La.; Cherokee, Ala.; Crystal City, Mo.; and Geneva Geneva, canton and city, Switzerland Geneva (jənē`və), Fr. Genève, canton (1990 pop. 373,019), 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surrounding the southwest tip of the Lake of Geneva. , Utah. The company also operates an ammonia joint venture with Cytec Industries Inc. in Fortier, La. The company's electrochemical products are chlorine, caustic soda caustic soda: see sodium hydroxide. caustic soda Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), an inorganic compound. The alkalies called caustic soda and caustic potash (potassium hydroxide) are very important industrial chemicals, with uses in the manufacture of and fluorocarbons, with markets including plastics, water treatment, pulp and paper, air conditioning and refrigeration refrigeration, process for drawing heat from substances to lower their temperature, often for purposes of preservation. Refrigeration in its modern, portable form also depends on insulating materials that are thin yet effective. . LaRoche manufactures and/or distributes nitrogen products including anhydrous an·hy·drous adj. Without water, especially water of crystallization. anhydrous (anhī´drus), adj without water. anhydrous containing no water. and aqua ammonia for industrial manufacturing; ammonium nitrate, nitric acid nitric acid, chemical compound, HNO3, colorless, highly corrosive, poisonous liquid that gives off choking red or yellow fumes in moist air. It is miscible with water in all proportions. and diammonium phosphate for agriculture markets; and ammonium nitrate for mine blasting. In addition, the company also produces specialty alumina chemicals (activated and Versal Ver´sal a. 1. Universal. (TM)) used as absorbents and catalysts, and industrial alumina chemicals (tabular and calcined) used in refractories, ceramics, abrasives and investment castings. LaRoche Industries Inc. is located at 1100 Johnson Ferry Rd., N.E., Atlanta, Ga. 30342; 404/851-0446. CONTACT: LaRoche Industries Inc., Atlanta
Angela D. McLachlan, 404/851-0446
Sarah E. Ramay, 404/851-0445
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