Shipbuilding PROFILE The shipbuilding and ship repair KEY ENVIRONMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES sector4 builds and repairs ships, barges, and Sector At-a-Glance For the shipbuilding and ship repair sector, 1 other large vessels for military and commercial Number of Facilities: 346 the greatest opportunities for environmental 2 clients. The sector also includes operations that Value of Contracts: $16 billion improvement are in managing and minimizing 3 convert or alter ships, as well as facilities that Number of Employees: 92,400 toxics and waste, reducing air emissions, and manufacture offshore oil and gas well drilling improving water quality. and production platforms. Most facilities that TRENDS Over the past four years, the build ships also have the ability to repair ships, shipbuilding and ship repair industry has although some smaller yards do only repair been relatively stable. & work. ■ Appropriations for construction of new military ships Ship Repair showed a modest increase (6%) from 2000 to 2006, but declined by 35% over the last year.5 ■ Between 2000 and 2004, employment within the sector fell from 102,000 to 92,400.6 ■ The U.S. now has less than a 1% share of the world’s new construction market for commercial vessels of more than 1,000 gross tons, lagging behind the world’s shipbuilding leaders such as South Korea, Japan, China, Germany, Italy, and Poland.7 In the fall of 2005, hurricanes hit Gulf Coast shipyards hard. Time will tell whether these facilities will fully recover from the damage the 2006 storms inflicted. 71 Shipbuilding MANAGING AND MINIMIZING TOXICS As shown in the Total TRI Disposal or Other comparison does not take into account the Given the diversity of their industrial processes, Releases line graph, the annual normalized relative toxicity of each chemical. Chemicals shipbuilding and ship repair facilities use a quantity of chemicals disposed or released by vary greatly in toxicity, meaning they differ in variety of chemicals and report on the release this sector decreased by more than half (58%) how harmful they can be to human health. and management of many of those materials from 1994 to 2003, with one-third of this decline To account for differences in toxicities, each through EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). occurring between 2000 and 2003. From 2000 to chemical can be weighted by a relative 2003, there was a similar decline of 37% in the toxicity weight using EPA’s Risk-Screening In 2003, 41 facilities in the sector reported 10.5 sector’s normalized quantity of chemicals Environmental Indicators (RSEI) model. million pounds of chemicals released (including released to air and water. disposal) or otherwise managed through The TRI Air and Water Releases line graph & treatment, energy recovery, or recycling. Of In 2003, the chemicals disposed or released presents trends for the sector’s air and water this quantity, 80% was managed, while the by the sector were dominated by n-butyl releases in both reported pounds and toxicity- Ship Repair remaining 20% was disposed or released to alcohol and xylene, which accounted for 42% weighted results. When weighted for toxicity, the environment, as shown in the TRI Waste of the total pounds. Zinc, copper, and 1,2,4­ the sector’s normalized air and water releases Management pie chart. Of those chemicals trimethylbenzene accounted for another 26% show a 73% decline from 1994 to 2003, with disposed or released to the environment, 24% of the sector’s total.8 little overall change from 2000 to 2003, despite were disposed and 76% were released into air an increase in 2001. The spike in 2001 is Data from TRI allow comparisons of the total or water. attributable to an increase in manganese releases quantities of a sector’s reported chemical releases to air, with one facility accounting for 68% of across years, as presented below. However, this those releases. TRI Waste Management Total TRI Disposal or Other Releases TRI Air and Water Releases by the Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Sector by the Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Sector by the Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Sector 4 Energy Recovery Treatment 3.5 3.5 6% 34% Water Releases 3.0 3.0 2% 3 Disposal 2.5 2.5 24% 2 2.0 2.0 Releases 20% 1.5 1.5 1 1.0 1.0 Pounds (millions)* Pounds (millions)* 0.5 0.5 Air Releases 0 0.0 0.0 74% 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Recycling Toxicity-Weighted Results (billions)* 40% Year Year Disposal or Releases, total Air and Water Releases, only Pounds Toxicity-Weighted Results * Normalized by annual value of shipments. * Normalized by annual value of shipments. Source: U.S. EPA, 2003. Sources: U.S. EPA, U.S. Census Bureau. Sources: U.S. EPA, U.S. Census Bureau. 72 Shipbuilding The table below presents a list of the chemicals EPA’s RSEI model conservatively assumes that REDUCING AIR EMISSIONS Most large ships released that accounted for 90% of the sector’s chemicals are released in the form associated are built of steel and must be periodically total toxicity-weighted releases to air and water with the highest toxicity weight. With respect cleaned and coated in order to preserve the steel in 2003. More than 99% of the sector’s toxicity- to chromium releases to air and water, therefore, and provide specific performance characteristics weighted results were attributable to air releases, the model assumes that 100% of these emissions to the surface. The shipbuilding and ship repair while discharges to water accounted for less than are hexavalent chromium (the most toxic form, sector releases particulate matter (PM), volatile 1%. Therefore, reducing air emissions of these with significantly higher oral and inhalation organic compounds (VOCs), and air toxics chemicals presents the greatest opportunity for toxicity weights than trivalent chromium).9 & during surface preparation and the application of the sector to make progress in reducing the Research indicates that the hexavalent form of paint and coatings. Although emissions of VOCs Ship Repair toxicity of its releases. chromium does not constitute a majority of total and air toxics during these processes are largely chromium releases by shipyards. Thus, RSEI Top TRI Chemicals Based on captured in the TRI air releases discussed above, analyses overestimate the relative harmfulness this section takes a closer look at PM and these Toxicity-Weighted Results 10 of chromium in the sector. chemical categories. AIR RELEASES (99%) WATER RELEASES (<1%) Manganese Copper Chromium Lead Nickel Sulfuric Acid Source: U.S. EPA In 2003, toxicity-weighted results were driven by manganese, nickel, and chromium. In recent years, normalized manganese and chromium releases to air fluctuated but resulted in little overall change between 1999 and 2003. During this time period, nickel releases increased steadily, more than tripling. One facility accounted for 69% of the industry’s nickel 2006emissions in 2003. 73 Shipbuilding Particulate Matter Surface preparation is As shown in the PM & VOC Emissions bar chart, PM & VOC Emissions from between 1996 and 2001, normalized PM and critical to the coating life cycle, since it provides 10 the Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Sector both the physical and chemical requirements for PM2.5 emissions from this sector increased by long-term coating adhesion. To prepare surfaces approximately 31% and 74%, respectively.11 6 However, these emissions estimates may not for coating applications, shipyards predominantly 5 use a dry-abrasive blasting process. This reflect the shipyards’ efforts in the last five years 4 dry-abrasive blasting is typically performed to contain PM emissions from abrasive blasting 3 by using shrouds, shrink-wrap, and other forms 2 outdoors, as the sheer size of a ship makes & enclosure difficult and expensive. of containment. In addition, many shipyards Tons (thousands)* 1 0 have switched blasting materials from coal slag PM10 PM2.5 VOC Ship Repair The blasting operation generates PM emissions 1996 2001 and steel shot to garnet, high-pressure water, and * Normalized by annual value of shipments. from both the breakup of the abrasive material PM = Particulate Matter; VOC = Volatile Organic Compounds other lower emission technologies. The following Sources: U.S. EPA, U.S. Census Bureau. and the removal of the existing coating. Over case study highlights one shipyard’s success in Case Study: Ultra-High Pressure Water Blasting the past 10 years, shipyards have developed reducing PM emissions by adopting an at Atlantic Marine In an effort to reduce its PM several methods to reduce PM emissions to alternative blasting technology. the environment, including: emissions, Atlantic Marine in Jacksonville, FL, has stopped all open-air abrasive blasting in favor of ultra-high pressure ■ Temporary containment of blasting operations; (UHP) water blasting. This technology uses high-pressure ■ Material substitutions; and streams of water, instead of grit, to remove the coatings from ■ Alternative surface preparation technologies. ships. Unlike abrasive blasting, there are no PM emissions from the water stream, and the flakes of paint are larger Early attempts at temporary containment so they do not end up in the air. Over the last six years, consisted of hanging curtains from scaffolding, Atlantic Marine has avoided more than 460 tons of PM wires, dock-arms, and other structures around emissions through the adoption of the UHP technology, as the ship. Generally, these temporary structures shown in the following table.12 were open at the top and reduced PM emissions by reducing the wind speed in the blasting area. PM Emissions Avoided by This practice has evolved to include the Atlantic Marine construction of temporary shrink-wrap YEAR TONS AVOIDED enclosures of entire ships in drydock. 1999 32.0 2000 43.1 EPA’s National Emissions Inventory (NEI) 2001 121.7 estimates that, in 2001, the sector released 2002 83.2 2003 76.0 1,963 tons of PM10 and 1,257 tons of PM2.5.