Progress Report for the Great Lakes Automotive Pollution Prevention Project September 1995

1, CHRYSLER VAf CORPORATION A VOLUNTARY PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT General MO tors TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT! Printed on Recycled Paper @ FOREWORD The Great Lakes Automotive Pollution Prevention Project (Auto Project) is a partnership between government and the automotive industry to promote pollution prevention. The Auto Project originated from the Council of Great Lakes Governor's Pollution Prevention Challenge. On September 24, 1991, Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation, with their trade association, the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA) agreed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) to a voluntary pollution prevention action plan to reduce the generation and release of persistent toxic substances that adversely affect water quality in the Great Lakes. This is the second progress report on the status and accomplishments of the Auto Project, the first was published in February 1994. The first report received wide distribution, which created the need to produce periodic updates on the Auto Project's achievements and its futurp direction. This report provides an overview of some of the key accomplishments of the Auto Project with an emphasis on the activities that have been implemented between October 1993 and July 1995. It also includes data on the release of the Great Lakes Persistent Toxics substances identified by the Project. The Auto Project demonstrates the benefits of a voluntary partnership between industry and government. The parties within the Auto Project pledge their continued support for implementation of the Agreement and renew their commitment to communicate progress to the public. CHRYSLER CORPORATION FORD MOTOR COMPANY GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Auto Project Progress Report II September 1995 Page 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Auto Companies, AAMA, and MDNR wish to thank the Auto Project Advisory Group for providing advice to the Auto Project partners and facilitating public information exchange. Appreciation is also expressed to the Great Lakes National Program Office of the U.S. EPA for providing MDNR with financial support for the project. Piinting Specifications: Cover: 80 Ib. 100% recycled, 100% post-consumer, non-coated, chlorine free Paper: 50 Ib. 100% recycled, 100% post-consumer, non-coated, chlorine free Ink: Soy Based Contacts for Additional Information: The AAMA and the State of Michigan are pleased to provide this Auto Project Progress Report. Please address any questions in writing to Ms. Marcia Horan, Environmental Assistance Division, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 30457, Lansing, MI 48909, or Mr. Lawrence E. Slimak, AAMA, 7430 Second Ave., Suite 300, Detroit, MI 48202. For copies of automotive industry case studies, contact the Environmental Assistance Division of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Within Michigan, call 1-800- 662-9278. Outside of Michigan, call (517) 373-9400. Auto Project Progress Report II September 1995 Page 2 Progress Report forthe Great Lakes Automotive Pollution Prevention Project TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Overview 4 II. Progress Measurements 5 Ill. Other Accomplishments and Activities 11 Past Acco mpl ish men ts 11 . Ongoing Activities 11 Case Studies 12 Supplier Outreach and Technology Transfer 12 Auto Project Advisory Group 14 U.S./ Canadian Coordination 14 Pollution Prevention Internships 15 External Pollution Prevention Efforts 15 MDNR Accomplishments and Related Activities 16 IV. Auto Companies Internal Pollution Prevention Practices 17 V. Future Direction 19 U.S. Auto Project Pollution Prevention Mission Statement 20 U.S. Auto Project Pollution Prevention Operating Guidelines 20 Appendices : A. Auto Project Agreement and Map of Automotive Facilities in the Great Lakes Region B. List of Great Lakes Persistent Toxics (GLPTs) C. List of Plants with Reportable Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Releases D. Combined Company GLPT-TRI Data and AAMA Member U.S. Production, 1980-1994 E. General Process for Pollution Prevention at AAMA Member Companies F. Company Environmental Strategy Statements G. Auto Project Advisory Group and Auto Project Work Group Members H. Auto Industry Case Studies: Synopsis Table and Thirty-three Case Studies I. Highlights of Historical Pollution Prevention Efforts J: List of United States Consortium for Automotive Research (USCAR) Projects Auto Project Progress Report II September 1995 Page 3 Progress Report for the Great Lakes Automotive Pollution Prevention Project September 1995 1. OVERVIEW The Auto Project is a voluntary agreement between Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Corporation (Auto Companies), their trade association, the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the eight Great Lakes states represented by the State of Michigan, and the U.S. EPA. The Auto Project was initiated in September 1991. Its goals are to: Identify Great Lakes Persistent Toxic (GLPT) substances and reduce their generation and release Advance pollution prevention within the auto industry and its supplier base Address regulatory barriers that inhibit pollution prevention actions. The Auto Project is managed jointly by the Environmental Assistance Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the AAMA on behalf of the Auto Companies. The participation of the MDNRl is supported in part with a grant from the U.S EPA Great Lakes National Program Office. The AAMA, the Auto Companies, and the State of Michigan are pleased to report the results and continuing progress of the Auto Project. Since 1991, the year the Auto Project began, releases of the 65 listed GLPT substances from Auto Company facilities (as reported in the U.S. EPA Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) report) have declined, with the exception of 1994. In 1994, 181 member company facilities reported GLPT releases totaling 23.01 million pounds. Two foundries recycling zinc galvanized metal accounted for nearly half of the total reported GLPT releases. When normalized for vehicle production volumes, overall releases of GLPTs to the environment have been lowered by 15 percent. This represents a reduction of 0.40 pounds of releases for every vehicle manufactured in AAMA Member U.S. facilities. If the reported releases of zinc at the two foundries are excluded from the data, releases of GLPTs decreased by 37%, and by 55% when normalized for vehicle production volumes. These reductions have been mainly accomplished through the use of specific pollution prevention actions, process improvements, and recycling as explained in detail in the Auto Project case studies in Appendix H. Other release reductions have been achieved through the use of control equipment and treatment processes. The Auto Project activities are guided by the agreement and established in detail through periodic meetings of Auto Company, AAMA and MDNR representatives who make up the Effective October 1, 1995, the environmental activities of the MDNR will be placed in the newly established Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). Auto Project Progress Report II September 1995 Page 4 Auto Project Work Group (Appendix G). The Work Group is responsible for developing communication materials, planning pollution prevention workshops and conferences, identifying regulatory barriers to pollution prevention, coordinating efforts with the Canadian Auto Project, and maintaining the external Auto Project Advisory Group. The Auto Companies are responsible for undertaking pollution prevention within their operations and for developing case study materials that are published and distributed by MDNR. The AAMA, Auto Companies, and MDNR jointly promote pollution prevention technology transfer with a particular emphasis on the auto supplier sector. The MDNR is responsible for coordinating its efforts with the other Great Lakes states and with the U.S. EPA. The Auto Project has represented a new way of doing business. It has provided an example of how a flexible, voluntary and cooperative governmenVindustry environmental initiative can reconcile and achieve our mutual environmental and economic needs in a globally competitive marketplace. All parties to the agreement have benefited from new working relationships, additional knowledge, and improved management systems from their participation in the Auto Project. Future activities will capitalize and expand on these valued experiences. II. PROGRESS MEASUREMENTS As previously discussed in the Overview section, releases of the GLPT substances from Auto Company facilities (as reported in the U.S. EPA TRI report) have declined, with the exception of 1994. When normalized for vehicle production volumes, releases of Auto Project GLPTs to the environment have been lowered by 15 percent between 1991 and 1994. This represents a reduction of 0.40 pounds of releases for every vehicle manufactured in AAMA Member U.S. facilities. The production data used for normalizing release information in this report is provided in Appendix D. The reported TRI releases from 181 Auto Company facilities are included in the data for this report. The reported releases of zinc from two Auto Company foundries accounted for nearly half of all GLPT releases in 1994. Foundries have increased their use of recycled scrap sheet metal that contains higher quantities of zinc. Higher zinc TRI releases may be due to the Auto Companies’ increasing reliance on and recycling of galvanized steel for body panel

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