Supporting the warfighter with innovative, cost-effective, greener technologies.

Established in 1994, the Joint Group on Pollution Prevention (JG-PP) has been actively fostering cooperation between the DoD Services, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in an effort to leverage valuable resources and identify new channels for implementing promising innovative technologies in response to weapons/space systems environmental compliance issues.

Our partnership at the flag officer level involves the military services, NASA, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) as needed. At the request of industry, it is chartered by the Joint Logistics Commanders (JLC) to reduce/eliminate hazardous materials, avoid duplication of effort, minimize technical risks, and balance cross-Service acquisition and sustainment pollution prevention (P2) issues and concerns. Through DCMA, projects are brought to the JG-PP by the OEMs.

Our project partnerships include DoD platform and component OEMs such as The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Hamilton-Sundstrand, Messier-Dowty, Heroux-Devtek, Eaton Aerospace, and many others. JG-PP projects frequently partner with other DoD chartered and ad hoc groups such as the Propulsion Environmental Working Group, Joint Committee on Aging Aircraft (JCAA), the Hard Chrome Alternatives Team, the Joint Cadmium Alternatives Team, and the Joint Service Solvent Substitution Team to ensure the necessary DoD weapon/space system and supplier communities buy-in. Past and current projects have targeted HazMat such as hexavalent chromium in both plating processes and coating systems, cadmium, and various hazardous solvents with successful implementation of qualified alternative materials. JG-PP, JCAA, and NASA recently completed Institute for Printed Circuits IPC, Association Connecting Electronics Industries, Class 3 testing, using Military Standard MIL-STD-810 requirements on three leading lead-free solders being substituted in worldwide electronic systems to aid in determining potential impacts to DoD systems.

Our working group actively employs a complementary set of collaborative tools to accomplish our mission and goals: validation methodology; information/resource brokering; and project selection process.

Validation Methodology

We employ a multi-phase validation methodology to effectively match common environmental problems within Services/industries with joint solutions. Our coordination identifies common qualification requirements and cost sharing to qualify new, improved, environmentally acceptable technologies for joint-Service weapon and space system applications. The collaboration continues as part of the technology transfer process with ongoing involvement of project integrators to promote implementation at both the manufacturing, remanufacturing, and depot maintenance levels.

Information/Resource Brokering

Our information/resource brokering efforts include access to an electronic resource library that includes data on potential technologies, project information and goals, and contacts. Our Web site originated in 1997 as an out-reach P2 resource for government and industry for past and current project initiatives. The Web resource maintains over 2.2 gigabytes of data and hosts over 80,000 worldwide Internet visitors annually. In addition, we maintain an electronic file resource with over 10 gigabytes of historical data to support ongoing group efforts.

Project Selection Process

To enhance our project selection process, we formed a project selection committee composed of knowledgeable people from the participating agencies to assess new alternative processes and technologies efficiently and quickly. In 2006 we initiated three new projects:

Nonchromate Primers for Military Applications

We partnered with the Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Equipment Reliability and Maintainability Improvement Program to demonstrate/validate promising nonchromate primers with improved corrosion protection formulation to military specification requirements. The project is intended to reduce worker exposure to hexavalent chromium.

Low Temperature Cure Powder Coatings

We partnered with the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program to demonstrate, validate, and implement a volatile organic compound/hazardous air pollutant-free low temperature cure powder coating on DoD weapon system components in a depot production environment. The demonstration will verify and validate the environmental, performance, and economic advantages of the proposed technology when compared to the baseline coatings. Powder coating technologies can reduce or eliminate risk and cost associated with the use of hazardous solvent-borne organic chromate coatings.

Corn Hybrid Polymer Coating Removal on Delicate Substrates

We coordinated joint service interests for this joint-Service initiative project to evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of corn hybrid polymers (CHP), as a potential process to remove coatings from radomes and other delicate substrates during maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations. CHP is an isolated polycrystalline byproduct material resulting from the commercial processing of corn. It offers an effective alternative to solvent treatment as a means to remove coatings from various composite substrates.

The committee is continuing to coordinate project efforts that will focus on propylene glycol antifreeze recycling, a less toxic replacement for ethylene glycol antifreeze and tactical vehicle biodiesel applications to support government initiatives to reduce dependency on petroleum based fuels.

The Payoff

By engaging in joint environmental technology improvement projects, stakeholders are able to leverage valuable resources through cost sharing and technical expertise that minimize technical risks and result in a more unified, cost-effective, and timely problem-solving approach. The result provides reduced weapons system life cycle costs by improving performance over existing technologies, reducing environmental costs, and reducing maintenance turnaround times.

Our effective collaborative efforts bring together the right people to support the warfighter with innovative, cost-effective, greener technologies in an effort to optimize military, economic, and ecological concerns.

Visit <http://www.jgpp.com> for additional information and a complete listing of all our JG-PP projects.

Leitner is JG-PP Working Group chair at U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Command and can be contacted at [e-mail].