Planning For Pollution
When it comes to managing the chemicals and wastes in your shop, an ounce of prevention is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in cures.
Deborah Lockridge
Senior Editor
'Those who fail to plan, plan to fail." Take this saying to heart when it comes to chemicals and waste in your shop. When the result of failing to plan could be fines that slash your profits to zero - or put your company out of business altogether - developing a plan for handling shop wastes is essential.
"You're going to generate waste in maintenance," says Tom Moses, environmental attorney and president of Spill Center. Examples of waste include oil, batteries, solvents, grease, fuel, paint and more. "You want to make sure you're disposing of those safely and legally - and make sure the companies you hire are handling them safely and legally."
WHY YOU NEED A PLAN
Fail to report a spill, or to dispose of wastes properly, and you could face fines of $25,000 a day from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental agencies. You also could face Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines, workers' compensation claims, even a lawsuit.
"If you were manufacturing something, you would expect employees to [potentially] be exposed to chemicals," Moses says. Trucking companies are in the transportation business, not the chemical business, so they often overlook basics such as training, contingency planning, protective gear, shop ventilation and storage of hazardous materials.
It doesn't take a big spill to create a problem in the long term, Moses says. "If you're spilling solvent on the shop floor, just a drop every day, over 20 years in business, you could end up with significant environmental liability."
In nearly every case he's involved in, Moses says, "It's not that the can blew up in someone's face and they inhaled a catastrophic amount. It's the person who says, 'Every day for two years I applied one drop, and now when I come to work my throat gets scratchy and my eyes run and I'm disabled.'"
You need a comprehensive pollution prevention plan, covering things such as battery and oil recycling programs, training employees to recognize and report pollution sources, where your discharge is going, storm water runoff, truck washing, and storing used truck parts to be salvaged or returned.
You also need a spill contingency plan, detailing the who, what, where, when and how of the way your company will respond to spill emergencies. Spills are more likely to be a problem on the road, but make sure you know how to handle spills at your own facilities, as well.
HOW TO BEGIN
It's one thing to realize you need a plan. It's another to actually come up with a good one - and follow it. The world of regulations affecting environmental issues is a large, confusing and sometimes conflicting one.
Glen Kedzie, environmental counsel for the American Trucking Assns., does this full time for a living, and even he has a hard time keeping on top of it all.
For one thing, there are new regulations in the works all the time. For instance, new regulations on disposal of shop towels are expected soon. In another case, ATA has been lobbying government officials for a small business exemption to new requirements last year on spill prevention and containment.
When members call with a question, Kedzie usually has to spend some time researching the answer, a task that might take an hour or a week. "Often when someone calls me, I have to find out if it's a federal or state issue, find the statute, go to the regulation, see if there have been any superseding guidances, policies or memos, and track down a phone number so I can talk to a real person."
One thing he does - and he recommends that truckers do the same - is create a paper trail. Write down who you talked to, the date, what they said, and if possible get them to send you an e-mail. "That way, if they give you some bad information, you at least have some defense," Kedzie says.
At Penske Truck Leasing, it's enough work for a full-time staff of five environmental engineers and geologists, which works closely with a government relations department. Most trucking companies don't have those type of resources, but the government won't take that as an excuse. Marc Althen, vice president of facilities and environmental services, recommends that smaller companies work closely with their trade associations. Many state trucking associations have boilerplate pollution prevention plans available. Vendors that specialize in environmental compliance are also a good source of information, he says, and there are consultants that can help for a price.
Moses recommends making an inventory of all the activities you're involved in that generate waste, such as parts storage, changing oil, fueling and painting. If you focus on activities that generate maintenance waste, it's an easy way to group materials, as well as locations and regulations you have to comply with, he says.
"With the challenges the trucking industry faces in terms of economics, there's not a lot of money left over for environmental compliance and occupational safety and health programs," Moses says. "You can't afford to spend a dime on things that aren't necessary, and the only way you can find out what's necessary is by identifying the activities that give rise to the legal responsibility."
Federal and state environmental agencies have hotlines you can call for advice. You can call with questions about, say, disposing of used tires. Or maybe you've discovered you have 15 barrels of used antifreeze in a back room that have been there for three years, and you want to know what you should do next.
Many people are reluctant to use these hotlines, fearing reprisals. ATA's Kedzie assures truckers these hotlines are anonymous.
"They don't ask for your name, they don't ask for your phone number, there's no caller ID," Kedzie says. "This is done by third-party contractors, so they don't have any interest in relaying your information to the enforcement folks."
Your plan also should include record-keeping. "The No. 1 mistake I see," Moses says, "is that - while by and large trucking companies do the right thing - they have a hard time proving it." You need to be able to produce records showing, for instance, all spills at your facility for a certain month or involving a particular power unit. "The cost of doing it the right way and building the records is a whole lot less than getting a notice of violation," Moses says.
Computers can make record-keeping easier. At Penske, a centralized database tracks the various wastes generated, the quantities, the locations that are generating them, inspections, when the shops were audited, etc. Invoices for services such as waste oil disposal and the testing and disposal of sludge from wash bays are also tracked.
Althen says when he first started working with Penske in the late '80s, it used to take two months to file a Tier 1 report on hazardous materials stored at each site. With the information all available in a centralized database, he says, it takes a few days.
Althen also recommends centralizing environmental compliance. "Even if you have a small fleet with two or three shops, you need to have one person responsible for ensuring they are in compliance, so the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and you can't pass the buck."
REDUCING SHOP WASTE
As you develop your plans, keep in mind the following suggestions from the EPA for reducing and handling shop wastes:
Oil: Recycle used oil. Set up equipment, such as a drip table or screen table with a used oil collection bucket, to collect oil dripping off parts. Place drip pans underneath vehicles that are leaking fluids. You can use a recycling company, or burn the oil in a special space heater. Recycle used oil filters whenever possible.
Batteries: Recycle batteries by sending them to a reclaimer or back to the distributor. Store them in a watertight, acid-resistant container. Inspect batteries for cracks and leaks when they come in. Neutralize any spilled acid and dispose of as hazardous waste.
Shop towels: Keep waste towels in a closed container marked "contaminated shop towels only." To reduce costs and liabilities associated with disposal of used towels, which can be classified as hazardous wastes, investigate using a laundry service that will treat the wastewater generated from cleaning the towels.
Hiring a hauler: Hire a reputable, financially stable, state-approved hauler that will dispose of your shop wastes legally. If hazardous waste is dumped illegally by a hauler you hire, your company may be held responsible.
Solvents: Replace hazardous chemicals with less toxic alternatives. To reduce the amount of solvent used when cleaning parts, use a two-stage process: dirty solvent followed by fresh solvent. Hire a hazardous waste management service to clean and recycle solvents. Some spent solvents must be disposed of as hazardous waste.
Vehicle washwater: Wash vehicles in an area where the washwater can be collected, treated and recycled. Eventually, the recycled washwater either will need to be removed and disposed of by a licensed hauler or discharged to sewers or surface waters. State and local authorities need to be contacted to obtain the necessary permits and to determine if treatment is needed prior to discharge or disposal.
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT
This is a good time to refocus on waste in your shop. Penske's Althen says regulatory agencies seem to be stepping up their facilities inspections, including underground storage tank inspections.
Althen notes that too many people make the mistake of being reactive when they need to be pro-active. At many maintenance facilities, he says, "it's out of sight, out of mind."
Moses notes that for the past two years, the focus on transportation and chemical security has taken the spotlight off everyday waste management. "So many people have been spending time on security, they forget about the nuts and bolts of maintenance."
That kind of complacence is what can get you in trouble. "These chemicals may be familiar to you," Moses says, "but to the EPA and other government agencies, they're not going to be ho-hum, who-cares chemicals." n
Planning For Pollution continued...
