Development of a Method to Evaluate the Technical and Environmental Feasibility of Particular Pollution Prevention Opportunities

About the report:

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is obligated by House Joint Resolution 453 passed in 1995 by Virginia's General Assembly to develop and implement a pollution prevention (P2) program. The primary purpose of this study was to develop a protocol whereby VDOT could quickly and economically evaluate the feasibility of implementing P2 opportunities identified as requiring additional study. In addition, three P2 opportunities, the use of aqueous parts washers, recycled plastic lumber, and lead acid battery extenders, were evaluated using the developed protocol. Evaluation criteria taken from various literature sources were used to develop the protocol. After using the protocol to evaluate the three P2 opportunities in question, the researcher concluded that the protocol will be a useful tool for VDOT to use when determining what opportunities to implement as part of its agency-wide Pollution Prevention Plan. With regard to the P2 opportunities evaluated, the researcher concluded that (1) aqueous parts washers were comparable or superior to solvent-based washers economically, technically, and environmentally; (2) recycled plastic lumber suffers from quality control problems, making it impractical to use for signposts; and (3) although lead acid battery extenders show great promise, little technical information is available to substantiate vendor claims.

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