EPA and OSi Enter Environmental Swap

16 March 1998 00:00  [Source: ICB Americas]

Environmental Protection Agency says OSi Specialties Inc. has agreed to install equipment to reduce organic air emissions and sludge generation from one part of its facility in exchange for temporary relief from federal hazardous waste and air emission regulations at its two surrounding impoundments.

OSi Specialties recently entered into a Project XL agreement with EPA and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Project XL is a regulatory program under which facilities may undertake site-specific measures to achieve better environmental results at a lower cost in return for exemption from some federal and state environmental requirements.

OSi managers at the company's Sistersville, W.Va., facility have agreed to route organic air emissions from a polyether methyl capper production unit to a new thermal incinerator. The incinerator is expected to reduce organic air emissions from the capper unit by 98 percent from the current level, or 309,000 pounds per year.

EPA says the company will also recover and reuse about 500,000 pounds per year of methanol that it now disposes of in the on-site waste water treatment system. This will reduce organic air emissions by about 50,000 pounds per year.

Modifications are also expected to reduce sludge generation from the waste water treatment system--that would otherwise be land filled--by 815,000 pounds per year.

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