Paul Rosenfeld

Exxon Valdez oil spill

It is the poor management practices that have resulted in numerous disasters during crude oil transport operations. This chapter presents one case study, the Exxon Valdez oil spill. On 24 March 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on a large but newly formed ice shelf in Prince William Sound. The accident spilled 11 million gallons of oil into the ocean. Over the next 3 days, oil spread across 1300 miles from Alaska to northern Washington, resulting in widespread damage to the ecosystem. The waves washed the oil 120 feet up the berm to upset inland habitats and seep into the gravel-covered beaches. In the wake of the disaster, 250,000 seabirds, 2800 otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and countless species of fish washed up dead on the affected beaches. The worlds largest estuary would remain permanently damaged by the technological disaster. The Exxon response generated critical media. Nonstop coverage spread news of the Valdez and its mother company around the world. Exxon provided ample news stories and the CEO appeared arrogant and silly to the world. The impact of Exxon Valdez extended beyond the courts. In 1990, the US legislature passed new legislation meant to prevent further technological disasters related to oil production, shipment, and refinery. The act called for maximum responsibility and increased corporate responsibility. However, enforcement of the act lasted only as long as public outcry over Exxon Valdez continued.

The petroleum industry

Petroleum industry refines crude petroleum and processes natural gas into a multitude of products. It is also involved in the distribution and marketing of petroleum-derived products. The primary family of pollutants emitted from those activities is volatile organic compounds arising from leakage, venting, and the evaporation of raw materials and finished products. The air emissions comprise point, fugitive, and area sources. Other significant air emissions include sulfur oxides, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, and a wide range of toxic chemicals. The operations within a typical refinery also emit a variety of criteria pollutants and toxic chemicals from fuel combustion devices. Oil and gas field operations as well as gas processing plants are also significant sources of emissions. This chapter provides an overview of the most widely used technologies employed by the petroleum industry. Many of the descriptions of refinery process operations are taken from the US OSHA standards and US EPAs AP-42 for background purposes. An identification of any of the sources of pollution is given along with those descriptions. Historically, the industry sector has not acted responsibly toward environmental management. A problem with the sector is the lack of a systematic and transparent approach to the quantification and reporting of air emissions. The majority of air emissions from refinery operations are fugitive in nature. The literature that the authors have reviewed supports that, on the whole, the industry continues to rely on the application of published emission factors that are not statistically significant and calculation procedures that favor low estimations.

Guidelines for cleaner production

This chapter provides guidance on pollution prevention and cleaner production technologies. The guidelines represent state-of-the-art thinking on how to reduce pollution emissions. Not all of the methods are suitable for all refineries. They must be examined on a case-by-case basis with an eye on the cost benefits. The guidelines are intended to protect human health, reduce mass loadings to the environment, based on commercially proven technologies, generally believed to be cost-effective, follow current regulatory trends, and promote good industrial practices. These, in turn, offer the potential for greater productivity, increased energy efficiency, and improved environmental performance. Some of the wastes associated with petroleum refining are discharged in various forms such as air emissions, wastewater, or solid waste. All of those wastes require treatment and containment. Air emissions are more difficult to capture than wastewater or solid waste. Air emissions are the largest source of untreated wastes released to the environment. This chapter also describes general practices for cleaner productions and offers some guidance on best practices aimed at improving environmental performance.

Wood-preserving chemicals

This chapter describes the chemicals that are used in the preservation of wood and illustrates the pressure-treated wood manufacturing technologies. An understanding of both the toxic nature of chemicals used and manufacturing steps is critical to identifying and responsibly managing the many forms of pollution and waste generated in the production of treated wood products. Chemicals that are primarily used in preservation of wood are: coal-tar creosote, pentachlorophenol, inorganic arsenicals, and water-borne preservatives. Coal-tar creosote is a brownish black/yellowish dark green oily liquid with a characteristic sharp odor, obtained by the fractional distillation of crude coal tars. Pentachlorophenol is a synthetic fungicide that is part of the organochloride family. It has historically been used as a pesticide, herbicide, and wood preservative chemical. A major use of PCP is as a wood preservative for power line and telephone poles, cross-arms, and fence posts. Inorganic arsenicals are those wood-preserving chemicals that contain arsenic. Water-borne preservatives are used when cleanliness and paintability of the treated wood are required. Water-borne preservatives are included in specifications for items such as lumber, timber, posts, building foundations, poles, and piling.

Best practices for developing fugitive emissions inventories

The term emissions inventory refers to the mass rate accounting of priority pollutants from the different sources within a manufacturing process. Both fugitive and point sources of emissions are required to be accounted for. Those are not by any means total emissions, but only those emissions that are required to be reported. In the USA emissions inventories at refineries, in gas processing plants and in oil and gas fields (as well as throughout the chemical industry) are prepared largely by means of applying emission factors to volume or mass production rates. In other words, the vast majority of reporting of air pollutants in the USA is by means of calculation and not actual monitoring using field instrumentation. Several studies on under-reporting of toxic air omissions in the refineries highlight that under-reporting happens because most air pollution is now estimated and not actually monitored in the USA. To make matters worse, the estimates are prepared by the facilities that generate pollution. Refineries report their toxic emissions under an honor system that is based on calculations. However, those methods are not reliable. This chapter discusses some of the best practices for developing fugitive emissions inventories. It presents several examples of under-reporting by various companies. The aim in describing those cases is to point out how under-reporting practices extend beyond the reliance on calculation methods that shave not been validated.

Wood-preserving technology

This chapter provides a description of the technologies and equipment used in preserving wood. Wood preservation involves the pressure or thermal impregnation of chemicals into wood. The process results in long-term resistance to attack by fungi, bacteria, insects, and marine borers. This has the economic advantage of reducing maintenance costs for industry sectors such as the railroad industry, which faces significant costs for replacement of ties. The effectiveness of the preservative varies and can depend not only upon its composition, but also upon the quantity injected into the wood, the depth of penetration, the conditions to which the treated material is exposed in service, and the species of wood treated. There is considerable art in the preservation of wood, for which other authoritative references may be consulted. The intent is to examine pollution and waste management, and ways to responsibly manage these, and as such only a cursory examination of the manufacturing technologies from the standpoint of product performance is made.

Air pollution from wood treatment

This chapter focuses on the air pollution caused by wood treatment. It attempts to bring some rationalization to the methods for estimating air emissions from wood-treating plants. Some of the common emission sources at wood-treating plants are vapors from the surfaces of freshly treated wood, vapors emitted during the treating cycle, kiln emissions, tank breathing and working losses, vapors from surface ponds and drainage ditches, dust emissions from on-site heavy machinery traffic, and boiler emissions. The emission sources listed fall into two general categories: fugitive and point sources. A point source is an emission that is fixed and/or uniquely identifiable, such as a stack or vent. Fugitive emissions are those emissions entering into the atmosphere that are not released through a stack, vent, duct, pipes, storage tank, or other confined air stream.

Pollution prevention and best practices for the pulp and paper industry

This chapter focuses on pollution prevention (P2) and cleaner production. In terms of cleaner production it is necessary to define gasification as a technology that affords pulp and paper mills an important infrastructure investment into green power and overall reduction in the environmental footprint for the industry. Gasification technologies are now at the stage where they may be implemented at mills for black liquor gasification. Integrated plants capable of producing biofuels are perhaps only a few years away from commercialization, but interim investments into the basic building blocks are currently available. This chapter elaborates the general P2 practices and cleaner production. P2 practices define that pulp and paper are manufactured from raw materials containing cellulose fibers, generally wood, recycled paper, and agricultural residues. The main steps in pulp and paper manufacturing discussed are: raw material preparation, such as wood debarking and chip making, pulp manufacturing, pulp bleaching, paper manufacturing, and fiber recycling.

Pollution prevention and best practices for the wood-preserving industry

This chapter deals with pollution prevention techniques and best practices for the wood-preserving industry. Modern wood-treating plants are considerably less polluting than they were two decades ago, but still it is classified as a ‘‘dirty” industry because of its dependence on chemicals that are toxic and carcinogenic. This chapter discusses scientific and industry studies, which claim that chemicals are most effective in killing pests and fungi and in destroying agents that cause the decay of engineered wood articles. The industry should be obliged to use the best available technologies and practices to control emissions and discharges. Finally, the recommended best management practices and technologies are also defined.

Pollution and pollution controls

This chapter deals with pollution prevention practices. Major waste and emission streams are discussed. The fate and transport of major pollution streams are considered in this chapter along with various control technologies and practices. Wood-treating plants generate fugitive and point sources of air emissions plus both solid and liquid wastes. A point source is an emission that is fixed and/or uniquely identifiable, such as a stack or vent. Fugitive emissions are those emissions entering into the atmosphere that are not released through a stack vent, duct, pipes, storage tank, or other confined air stream. These emissions include area emissions and equipment leaks. This chapter details some of the sources of waste and pollution: solid wastes, liquid wastes, and air emissions.