U.S. EPA staff tour plants to learn about metalcasting sand.

Staff members from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a first-hand look at the metalcasting process when they toured AB&I Foundry, Oakland, Calif., and Pacific Steel Casting Co., Berkely, Calif., on Dec. 1, 2006. These tours were arranged as part of the ongoing beneficial reuse initiative and served as a tool to educate agency staff about the metalcasting industry, particularly how sand is used for molds and cores, the methods employed to manage sand within a metalcasting facility, and the barriers to beneficial reuse that currently face metalcasters across the nation.

Prior to the facility tours, AFS staff participated in the 2006 Byproducts Beneficial Use Summit in San Francisco, a forum to exchange information and ideas about beneficial use between regulators and industry players. At the forum, the different components of the initiative were highlighted, including the Foundry Sand Beneficial Reuse Guide, a mapping program to connect potential end-users and facilities, and the continuing partnership between the metalcasting industry and the EPA.