Client Success

The combination of Sun Chemical's 160 years of experience in the graphic arts industry and ENVIRON's team of the finest environmental consultants and regulatory experts positions SunCare ES to provide unparalleled environmental, health and safety, and risk management assistance to the industry. Here we offer you three examples of the success our professional consultants have achieved assisting clients with problems that may be quite similar to your own.
 





California manufacturer resolves hazardous waste regulation dilemma.

For years, a California manufacturer had been disposing of lead-containing manufacturing wastes both on-site and, more recently, at a nonhazardous solid waste landfill. When a prospective purchaser of the company decided to test the waste material, the preliminary results showed that some of the material might be classified as hazardous waste under the Federal Resource Conservation and Control Act (RCRA). Unauthorized disposal of RCRA-regulated waste could have resulted in both civil and criminal penalties for the current owner, who turned to us for assistance.

On our client's behalf, we coordinated meetings with state and local regulatory agencies to inform them of the violations and to assure them that our client was interested in immediate, voluntary compliance. We secured the services of local legal counsel with experience in hazardous waste enforcement to be certain that the lines of communication were immediately and promptly open and responsive.

Then, we assigned a team of solid waste specialists to perform additional sampling and analysis of the waste material for accurate waste characterization. In the meantime, we conducted an additional evaluation of the ground water data at the solid waste landfill to determine whether there were elevated lead concentrations. The result of these evaluations indicated that there was no detectable impact at the landfill and that the material was not covered by Federal regulations. It was, however, regulated as a hazardous waste in California. We responded voluntarily to the local authorities and remediated the old on-site disposal area to meet health-risk based cleanup standards.

As a result of our guidance and negotiations, the client was absolved of civil and criminal allegations, with minimal monetary penalties, and the matter was closed to the satisfaction of all parties.


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Questionable Chicago site redeveloped after research clears its
safety issues.

The land near Chicago's Midway Airport has long seen heavy industrial use. That's why, when a developer acquired a large tract of airport area land for redevelopment, grave concerns were voiced relative to the suitability of the parcel for any kind of reuse.

According to existing regulatory standards, the redevelopment of this site could not begin without massive excavation, elaborate sampling with extreme detection limit requirements, long-term monitoring of the property, and restrictions that would severely limit or eliminate subsequent use. The cost of this work was estimated at more than $2.5 million.

We were called in to bring all of the parties together to determine the exact nature of the question and to recommend appropriate remediation.

Our first step was a comprehensive evaluation of the property to evaluate the nature of the contaminants—if any.

Our research showed that the site did not pose a significant risk to human health and the environment. We arranged for a meeting with all of the parties concerned, and it was agreed that, with minor soil removal, storm water accommodations, and sophisticated monitoring techniques, tentative approval for the project to proceed could be obtained from the State.

While the client was eager to get started, they recognized that extra time in careful planning, evaluation and negotiation at the beginning could minimize problems, costs and wasted time later on. After less than $175 thousand in investigation and negotiation, unrestricted use of the land was approved. The site has now been completely redeveloped for commercial use.

The conditions at this site may not be exactly duplicated at other sites, but the basic principles are universal. Although good science and engineering are requisite, a confident and determined approach to problem-solving is prerequisite. It is this attitude, along with mutual confidence between owner and consultant, that produces a successful, profitable result.


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Furniture manufacturer increases coatings while reducing VOCs.

It's axiomatic. Business volume grows. More coatings containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are used. Air quality compliance costs grow. That's the problem one urban-based furniture manufacturer ran into. In many parts of the country, there are a series of air quality emission thresholds. Every time you increase production, you pass through another threshold and compliance costs go up. Thus, cost-effective air quality compliance is critically tied to tracking and minimizing air emissions.

We were brought in by this client to establish procedures that would help control costs by accurately tracking and monitoring paint and coating usage, so the client would not be charged for VOCs they hadn't emitted.

When we first started working in this plant, we found that there was a manual recording system at each of several paint spray booths. During busy days, record-keeping failures were common, so only estimates were possible. In addition, inventory control was casual and the amount of paint purchased vs. actually used (as opposed to discarded at the bottom of containers) was only estimated. VOC emission assessments were based on the estimated amount of paint and coatings used, with no allowance for paint discarded at the bottom of empty cans. The client was paying air emission fees for material that was never used!

We instituted a record-keeping system that more accurately accounted for paint purchased, paint applied, and paint discarded at the bottom of containers. That way, they were able to keep far closer accounting of paints and coatings used, VOCs emitted, and related emission costs assessed. We were thus able to help our client improve tracking of coatings, enabling the facility to increase coatings and solvent use, while reducing their actual VOC emissions. In addition, the tracking system also allowed the facility to analyze past paint and coatings use patterns to evaluate which standard permitting limitations would be most favorable for improving cost-effective productivity.

While these particular circumstances may not exist at other locations, compliance and business can be improved by improving knowledge of material use patterns and by applying close monitoring procedures to business management. SunCare, with its business and scientific disciplines in balance, can help you see both sides of the story to help in management decisions that increase productivity and profitability while maintaining your environmental responsibilities.


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