PARAMOUNT METAL FINISHING, of Linden, New Jersey, provides plating, painting and anodizing services on ferrous and non-ferrous metal parts. Like many metal finishers, Paramount used 1,1,1 trichloroethane (TCA) in its degreasing operations. By switch to an alkaline, aqueous cleaner, the company realizes an annual cost savings of over $30,000, and eliminates the use of 22,000 lb of TCA annually.

RED DEVIL, INCORPORATED, located in Union, New Jersey, is a manufacturer of quality hand tools for the home improvement market. The company's main products are stainless steel putty knives and wall scrapers. Red Devil used vapor degreasing with 1,1,1 trichloroethane (TCA) to clean the blades prior to final product assembly. With the aid of a Bradley Grant for $50,000, the company switched to an aqueous cleaning system. The results were the elimination of the use of TCA, reduction of approximately 27,500 lb. of air emissions, and the reduction of 1,500 lb. of hazardous waste. In addition, annual savings to the company are estimated at $39,700 annually.

UNION INK COMPANY, of Ridgefield, New Jersey, manufactures specialty inks from a variety of pigments, resins and chemicals. The company was looking for a way to decrease the amount of fugitive solvent emissions and hazardous waste that were generated from their tank cleaning processes. With the aid of a Bradley Grant for $35,400, the company was able to reengineer its tank washing system, resulting in a 50% decrease in annual solvent purchases for cleaning purposes, and an annual cost savings of more than $17,000.

WILSON IMPERIAL is a maker of deglossers, brush cleaners, and paint removers. The company has operated at its location in Newark, New Jersey since 1918. With the aid of a Bradley Grant for $2,750, Wilson Imperial installed hinged steel covers on its mixing tanks. Consequently, the company saves a projected $8,200 per year, and reduces VOC emissions by 32,800 annually.

CITY AUTO RADIATOR, INCORPORATED, a remanufacturer of automobile radiators located in Trenton, New Jersey, is saving $1,650 a year and has eliminated a significant portion of its discharge to the municipal sewage system by using mechanical cleaning. In, another process, they completely eliminated discharges by implementing counterflow rinsing and tank refill procedures, thereby eliminating the yearly discharge of 100,000 gallons of wastewater to the municipal sewage system. In addition, they switched from solvent-based paints to water-based paints, completely eliminating VOC emissions.

HILL REFRIGERATION, a manufacturer of commercial refrigeration units currently located in North Carolina (formerly, Trenton, New Jersey), reduced its annual use of solvents by 83,400 pounds, which led to a savings of $221,000 in 1994. Elimination of the annual purchase and disposal of 7,000 gallons of methylene chloride (an ozone depleting chemical) saved an additional $28,850 in purchase costs and $48,750 in disposal costs. Total savings amounted to $298,600 in 1994.

ORBEL CORPORATION, a custom producer and finisher of continuous wire and strip located in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, reduced the amount of water it used by more than 80%. Yearly water consumption decreased from 3,000,000 gallons to an average of 550,000 gallons. Cost savings exceed $12,000 a year.

CONSTANT SERVICES, INCORPORATED, a gravure printer located in Fairfield, New Jersey, altered its press wash procedure. This change saves the company more than 10,000 pounds of solvents, 3,600 pounds of fugitive emissions and 2,300 hours of labour annually. In the formation of its colorants, as well as in one entire part of the shop, CSI switched from TRI-listed solvents to non-listed solvents. Total cost savings were estimated at $26,000 annually.

PRECISE PRODUCTS, is a small, spring pin manufacturing company located in Paramus, New Jersey. Spring pins are small metal tubes used in machine parts, stampings, and castings. With help from the New Jersey Technical Assistance Program, pollution prevention opportunities were considered at Precise Products. Ultimately, the company was able to recycle its process water cost effectively, ending the need for costly lab analyses and discharge permits, and saving the facility over $5,000 a year.

WATER CONTROL: USING SIMULATION FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION
This study was performed on an operation involving the rack electrolplating of steel and brass plumbing and lighting fixtures with copper, nickel, and chrome. NJTAP used process modeling to perform a low-cost feasibility analysis of pollution prevention options. Hypothetical changes to the electroplating process of a job shop were analyzed. The study demonstrated not only that countercurrent flow could reduce water use dramatically, but that simulation can be a valuable tool for reducing resource consumption and minimizing waste.

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