Request for case studies and stories connecting P2 and employee/public health

[Cindy McComas <mccom003@umn.edu>]

Please forward to your regional roundtables.  This is my second attempt 
to try to get a wider response.  Thanks to those of you who have already 
responded with case studies.

To all P2Techers:

The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable is interested in bringing more attention to the 
employee health and public health benefits resulting from P2 efforts.  To better understand what 
has been accomplished and documented in this area the Roundtable is collecting success stories 
that highlight this connection.  Please send me any relevant case studies, newsletter articles, 
grant reports, or other project reports.  Thanks in advance.  Some examples are below:
 
o  switching to aqueous-based coatings at a wood furniture finishing operation results in 
significant reductions in HAPs and VOCs; HAP reductions result in less reported incidence 
of headaches, fatigue, nausea, and irritation of the upper respiratory tract; reductions in VOCs 
were quantified as reductions in ground-level ozone formation; ground-level ozone can adversely 
affect sensitive populations including those with asthma or other respiratory diseases.
o  eliminating TCE use by switching to aqueous cleaning in metal parts degreasing; workers 
report "feeling better" (i.e. eliminated feelings of sleepiness, fatigue, headache, confusion, and 
feelings of euphoria resulting from TCE exposure); risk of long-term affects on kidneys, liver, 
gastrointestinal system, and the skin are mitigated.  
o  implementing coolant management practices and in-process recycling equipment; issues with 
dermatitis and irritation of the upper respiratory tract eliminated; risk of Legionnaires disease 
eliminated.
o  high rates of asthma in community lead to heightened sensitivity among community members 
of asthma triggers; community complaints about odors from auto body shops result in an NOV 
for painting cars outside; referral to P2 program results in switching to HVLP guns and spray 
operator training, which translates into VOC reductions; reduced incidence in asthma events 
noted over time.



--
Cindy McComas
Director

Minnesota Technical Assistance Program
University of Minnesota
612/624-4678, 800/247-0015
http://www.mntap.umn.edu

Helping Minnesota businesses maximize resource efficiency, prevent pollution and reduce costs.




--
Cindy McComas
Director

Minnesota Technical Assistance Program
University of Minnesota
612/624-4678, 800/247-0015
http://www.mntap.umn.edu

Helping Minnesota businesses maximize resource efficiency, prevent pollution and reduce costs.

Join the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable at www.p2.org!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
P2TECH is hosted by the Great Lakes Information Network:
http://www.great-lakes.net
To unsubscribe from this list: send mail to majordomo@great-lakes.net
with the command 'unsubscribe p2tech' in the body of your message. No
quotes or subject line are required.
About : http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/p2tech/p2tech.info.
A map of P2TECH subscribers can be viewed at http://www.frappr.com/p2tech.

This list is managed by the Great Lakes Regional Pollution
Prevention Roundtable (http://www.glrppr.org), part of the
P2Rx national network of regional P2 information centers
(http://www.p2rx.org ).