PROGRESS REPORT 2000 

Hexachlorobenzene/Benzo(a)pyrene

Canadian workgroup co-chair: Tom Tseng
U.S. workgroup co-chair: Steve Rosenthal

Workgroup Activities and the 4-Step Process

In the past year, the workgroup has made the following progress with respect to the 4-Step process:

• A notice of availability of U.S. HCB and B(a)P Step 3 reports, Draft Report of Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) Reduction Options and Draft Report of Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) Reduction Options, was published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2000. These reports describe options for reducing HCB and B(a)P emissions from the major emitters of these pollutants. The U.S. HCB and B(a)P Step 3 reports are posted on the GLBTS web site.
• The draft U.S. Steps 1&2 reports, Hexachlorobenzene (HCB): Sources and Regulations and Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P): Sources and Regulations, were revised and distributed to the workgroup at the May 2000 Stakeholder Forum.
• USEPA's 1996 National Toxics Inventory was released in September, 2000. This inventory is especially significant because it was prepared using a "bottom-up" approach in which the States determined emission levels from sources located within their boundaries using a common set of emission factors that were used by all States.
• In light of the recent release of USEPA's 1996 National Toxics Inventory and the difference in HCB emission source categories from previous inventories, an addendum to the U.S. Steps 1&2 report for HCB is being drafted.
• Draft HCB and B(a)P (including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs) release inventories for Ontario have been updated and circulated to the Council of Great Lakes Industries (CGLI) for a preliminary review. The draft documents are presently being circulated to workgroup members for review and input.
• USEPA reported in a Federal Register notice (Vol. 65, No. 150) on August 3, 2000, that it now estimates that there are no HCB emissions from tire production manufacturing, based on additional testing performed by the Rubber Manufacturers Association.
• Reporting requirements to Canada's National Pollution Release Inventory have been revised to include micro-pollutants. Canada will receive HCB and B(a)P release reports beginning in June, 2001; this information will improve Ontario release profiles for B(a)P and HCB, as well as other substances.
• Two Ontario facilities thus far have responded to the call for voluntary stack testing (base-metal smelter and hospital incinerator). Arrangements for the testing will be finalized soon, and testing is anticipated to be completed by Spring, 2001. Outreach to other facilities continues.
• Two workgroup meetings were held (Chicago, November 1999 and Toronto, May 2000), and a teleconference (September 2000) was held to discuss comments on emission inventories.

Reduction Activities

• The Spring 2000 Pilot Project for the Great Lakes Great Stove Changeout was a success. Coordinated by the Hearth Products Association and the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes (part of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality), the pilot project was held in the Traverse City, Michigan, and Green Bay, Wisconsin, areas (both locations included about 10 to 20 surrounding counties). B(a)P was covered in four television stories, numerous local print stories, an Associated Press story, and on several local National Public Radio stations in Wisconsin and Michigan. Over 100 old woodstoves were retrieved, scrapped, and replaced by EPA-certified woodstoves or gas appliances. Two dealers in the Traverse City/Cadillac area were responsible for 42 units. The particular success of that program reflected several factors: a large number of woodburning households, committed retailers, and especially the support of the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Initiative and the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes. The Hearth Products Association is planning to extend this program to portions of all of the Great Lakes States in 2001. The program will kick off in February and run until the end of April. A similar Wood Stove Changeout program has been implemented in Eastern Ontario with the Hearth Products Association of Canada, and this pilot program will be expanded to other parts of Canada during February-March 2001.
• A pilot project is being implemented with Algoma Steel (a major Ontario steel mill) to develop a facility-based approach to addressing environmental priorities. The project is similar to an Environmental Management Agreement (EMA) signed by Dofasco and is expected to bring about significant reductions of priority substances. The EMA has been finalized and is expected to be signed by Algoma Steel soon.
• Ontario has implemented an effective scrap tire management program to minimize environmental liabilities. Scrap tire program managers for the Great Lakes States and the (U.S.) Scrap Tire Management Council were contacted to learn how each state is handling its scrap tires and the potential ways that accidental fires can be minimized. Millions of scrap tires burned in several catastrophic U.S. fires in 1999. The more than 500 million scrap tires accumulated in stockpiles throughout the U.S. are a potential threat to human health and the environment. Tire fires are typically caused by wildfires, lightning strikes, and arson. These fires are nearly impossible to extinguish and can burn for months, generating considerable air emissions of B(a)P/PAHs as well as groundwater contamination and oily runoff.
• Canada Wide Standards (release limits) have been developed for mercury, particulate matter, particulates, ozone, and benzene, and are being developed for dioxins and furans. Implementation of CWS by the major source sectors and the Province of Ontario is expected to bring about HCB and B(a)P release reductions in the next 5 to 15 years.
• Recommendations from two Strategic Option Reports for the Canadian iron and steel and wood preserving sectors are in place. Audits against the Codes of Good Practice have been conducted for all three pentachlorophenol (PCP) and creosote wood preservation facilities in Ontario. A report with recommendations is expected by March 2001. Codes of Practice for the iron and steel sector are being finalized for implementation by Ontario steel mills.

Progress Toward Challenge Goals

The U.S. has taken steps toward the goal of seeking (unquantified) reductions in HCB and B(a)P releases to the Great Lakes basin. Canada has made progress toward its goal of a 90 percent reduction in releases of HCB and B(a)P in the Great Lakes Basin. Approximate reductions based on the latest emission inventory estimates (base year ~1988) are as follows:

Concerns, Challenges, and Next Steps

Remaining challenges are to fill emission data gaps and to obtain voluntary emissions reductions from major source sectors. The workgroup's focus in the coming year will be to review the latest emission inventory estimates and undertake a decision-tree analysis to further identify sectors and facilities for reduction activities.

Canada

PROGRESS REPORT 2000 

Hexachlorobenzene/Benzo(a)pyrene

Canadian workgroup co-chair: Tom Tseng
U.S. workgroup co-chair: Steve Rosenthal

Workgroup Activities and the 4-Step Process

In the past year, the workgroup has made the following progress with respect to the 4-Step process:

• A notice of availability of U.S. HCB and B(a)P Step 3 reports, Draft Report of Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) Reduction Options and Draft Report of Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) Reduction Options, was published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2000. These reports describe options for reducing HCB and B(a)P emissions from the major emitters of these pollutants. The U.S. HCB and B(a)P Step 3 reports are posted on the GLBTS web site.
• The draft U.S. Steps 1&2 reports, Hexachlorobenzene (HCB): Sources and Regulations and Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P): Sources and Regulations, were revised and distributed to the workgroup at the May 2000 Stakeholder Forum.
• USEPA's 1996 National Toxics Inventory was released in September, 2000. This inventory is especially significant because it was prepared using a "bottom-up" approach in which the States determined emission levels from sources located within their boundaries using a common set of emission factors that were used by all States.
• In light of the recent release of USEPA's 1996 National Toxics Inventory and the difference in HCB emission source categories from previous inventories, an addendum to the U.S. Steps 1&2 report for HCB is being drafted.
• Draft HCB and B(a)P (including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs) release inventories for Ontario have been updated and circulated to the Council of Great Lakes Industries (CGLI) for a preliminary review. The draft documents are presently being circulated to workgroup members for review and input.
• USEPA reported in a Federal Register notice (Vol. 65, No. 150) on August 3, 2000, that it now estimates that there are no HCB emissions from tire production manufacturing, based on additional testing performed by the Rubber Manufacturers Association.
• Reporting requirements to Canada's National Pollution Release Inventory have been revised to include micro-pollutants. Canada will receive HCB and B(a)P release reports beginning in June, 2001; this information will improve Ontario release profiles for B(a)P and HCB, as well as other substances.
• Two Ontario facilities thus far have responded to the call for voluntary stack testing (base-metal smelter and hospital incinerator). Arrangements for the testing will be finalized soon, and testing is anticipated to be completed by Spring, 2001. Outreach to other facilities continues.
• Two workgroup meetings were held (Chicago, November 1999 and Toronto, May 2000), and a teleconference (September 2000) was held to discuss comments on emission inventories.

Reduction Activities

• The Spring 2000 Pilot Project for the Great Lakes Great Stove Changeout was a success. Coordinated by the Hearth Products Association and the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes (part of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality), the pilot project was held in the Traverse City, Michigan, and Green Bay, Wisconsin, areas (both locations included about 10 to 20 surrounding counties). B(a)P was covered in four television stories, numerous local print stories, an Associated Press story, and on several local National Public Radio stations in Wisconsin and Michigan. Over 100 old woodstoves were retrieved, scrapped, and replaced by EPA-certified woodstoves or gas appliances. Two dealers in the Traverse City/Cadillac area were responsible for 42 units. The particular success of that program reflected several factors: a large number of woodburning households, committed retailers, and especially the support of the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Initiative and the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes. The Hearth Products Association is planning to extend this program to portions of all of the Great Lakes States in 2001. The program will kick off in February and run until the end of April. A similar Wood Stove Changeout program has been implemented in Eastern Ontario with the Hearth Products Association of Canada, and this pilot program will be expanded to other parts of Canada during February-March 2001.
• A pilot project is being implemented with Algoma Steel (a major Ontario steel mill) to develop a facility-based approach to addressing environmental priorities. The project is similar to an Environmental Management Agreement (EMA) signed by Dofasco and is expected to bring about significant reductions of priority substances. The EMA has been finalized and is expected to be signed by Algoma Steel soon.
• Ontario has implemented an effective scrap tire management program to minimize environmental liabilities. Scrap tire program managers for the Great Lakes States and the (U.S.) Scrap Tire Management Council were contacted to learn how each state is handling its scrap tires and the potential ways that accidental fires can be minimized. Millions of scrap tires burned in several catastrophic U.S. fires in 1999. The more than 500 million scrap tires accumulated in stockpiles throughout the U.S. are a potential threat to human health and the environment. Tire fires are typically caused by wildfires, lightning strikes, and arson. These fires are nearly impossible to extinguish and can burn for months, generating considerable air emissions of B(a)P/PAHs as well as groundwater contamination and oily runoff.
• Canada Wide Standards (release limits) have been developed for mercury, particulate matter, particulates, ozone, and benzene, and are being developed for dioxins and furans. Implementation of CWS by the major source sectors and the Province of Ontario is expected to bring about HCB and B(a)P release reductions in the next 5 to 15 years.
• Recommendations from two Strategic Option Reports for the Canadian iron and steel and wood preserving sectors are in place. Audits against the Codes of Good Practice have been conducted for all three pentachlorophenol (PCP) and creosote wood preservation facilities in Ontario. A report with recommendations is expected by March 2001. Codes of Practice for the iron and steel sector are being finalized for implementation by Ontario steel mills.

Progress Toward Challenge Goals

The U.S. has taken steps toward the goal of seeking (unquantified) reductions in HCB and B(a)P releases to the Great Lakes basin. Canada has made progress toward its goal of a 90 percent reduction in releases of HCB and B(a)P in the Great Lakes Basin. Approximate reductions based on the latest emission inventory estimates (base year ~1988) are as follows:

Concerns, Challenges, and Next Steps

Remaining challenges are to fill emission data gaps and to obtain voluntary emissions reductions from major source sectors. The workgroup's focus in the coming year will be to review the latest emission inventory estimates and undertake a decision-tree analysis to further identify sectors and facilities for reduction activities.