US EPAS POLLUTION PREVENTION RD-AND-D RESULTS - PRACTICAL TOOLS FOR THE TRADE

Waste minimization/pollution prevention has become the strategic appro ach to waste management in the 90s and the hope for environmental mana gement as we enter the third millenium. Nearly a decade ago, EPA's Off ice of Research and Development began a focused Waste Minimization Res earch Program to identify and demonstrate technology for reducing the generation of wastes and shifted the Agency's priority from end-of-pip e controls to the prevention of waste generation. The purpose of this presentation is to share a number of the results from several years of researching engineering solutions to multi-media problems, building a sound scientific foundation to support pollution prevention (P2) prin ciples, and developing and demonstrating pollution prevention technolo gies, tools, and techniques. The ''tools of the trade'' for pollution prevention are the research reports that provide results of technology development, the case studies and demonstrations of P2 technologies, and the technical guides and manuals for conducting P2 activities. Tec hnology Development - Tools resulting from technology development incl ude the numerous research reports and briefs from: 1) the Life Cycle A ssessment (LCA) Program, 2) pollution Prevention Measurement Projects, and 3) the Innovative Clean Technologies Program. Technology Demonstr ation - Tools resulting from technology demonstration include the rese arch reports and summaries from: 1) the Waste Reduction Innovative Tec hnology Evaluation (WRITE) Program, 2) the Waste Reduction Evaluation At Federal Sites (WREAFS) program, 3) the New Jersey/EPA Waste Minimiz ation Assessment Project, and 4) Small Generator Waste Minimization As sessment Program. Technical Guides and Manuals - These tools include: 1)Facility Pollution Prevention Guide, 2) 16 industry specific guides to pollution prevention, 3) Background Document on Clean Products Rese arch and Implementation, and 4) industrial Pollution Prevention Opport unities for the 1990s. Much of the EPA's Pollution Prevention RD&D Pro gram has focused on the development and demonstration of practical too ls to encourage the development and adoption of processing technologie s and products that will lead to reducing the aggregate generation rat es for pollutatants entering various environmental media. The strategi c direction for pollution prevention RD&D through the 1990s is: 1) to study high risk environmental problems where P2 offers a cost-effectiv e solution for reducing the risks, 2) to conduct cross-cutting researc h such as measurement, modelling, and LCA that can be applied to multi ple problems, and 3) to establish joint global P2 RD&D ventures where products and processes know no waste generating boundaries.