ICF Highlights Risk Reduction
Tenth Technical Exchange Conference -
Grafenau, Germany
A backdrop of
the beautiful pristine forests of the Bavarian National Park set the scene for
the International Crystal Federation's (ICF) tenth Technical Exchange
Conference held in Grafenau from the 12th to the 15th September. With this
scene in mind the technical exchange opened with the conference chairman,
Arnold Forrester of Royal Doulton, emphasizing that the crystal industry's
first commitments are the health of the customer and the protection of the
environment. These commitments were reflected in the conference's technical
papers of which eighty percent presented during the conference addressed lead
risk reduction.
Dr. Ahmed Ahmed, Professor of Glass Science at the
Egyptian National Research Center, explained to the delegates the progress made
at the Glass Research Laboratory in Dokki, Cairo. Dr. Ahmed described how the
laboratory had successfully modified the composition of crystal glassware to
minimize any lead release. In addition, he outlined the procedures that had
been developed to treat the internal surfaces of existing crystal formulations
to inhibit lead solubility and migration. Furthermore, Dr. Ahmed stated that
progress had been made in the preparation of lead free glass crystal
formulations employing various combinations of titanium, zinc and potassium
oxides in place of the traditional lead oxide.
ILMC Program Manger,
Brian Wilson, explained to the conference how, in conjunction with the ICF and
Rutgers University, in the USA, the ILMC had initiated the preparation of a
comprehensive Technical Manual covering all aspects of Lead Risk management in
the manufacture of lead crystal, including processes to restrict lead leaching.
Brian also informed the delegates that plans are being made for the preparation
of manuals describing environmental issues associated with different lead
crystal production processes that minimize occupational exposure. Rutgers
University has also been commissioned by the ILMC to produce guidelines to
reduce lead exposure for hobby enthusiasts and small-scale ceramic production
facilities.
Thomas Lang, of conference hosts F. X. Nachtmann GMBH,
presented a very interesting technical paper that considered the energy
consumption and nitrogen oxide emissions using oxy-fuel burner firing. He
explained that F. X. Nachtmann sponsored research in this field had developed
two distinct regimes that would reduce the production of undesirable nitrogen
oxide (NOx) gases. The first, a new procedure, was to undershoot the liquid
crystal bath below the conventional burner with oxygen to produce lower NOx
levels in the exhaust gases. The alternative method developed, that is the use
of one hundred percent pre heated oxygen in the burner mix, reduced NOx and
carbon dioxide (CO2) production by forty percent compared to conventional
firing and specific energy consumption by a third.
Companies that have
any reservations about the adoption of European Environmental Directives and
ISO 14001 would have been absorbed by Michael Wilcock's paper. He described the
benefits that Waterford Crystal Limited had derived from the introduction of
these standards. The requirement to separate storm and process water had
considerably reduced water consumption and improved the quality of the liquid
effluent discharge. Reduced emissions for hydrofluoric acid had been achieved
by triple scrubbing and noise levels reduced by twenty five percent. Annual
fuel efficiency improvements of five percent and the complete recycling of
waste glass cullet and packaging materials had however, most significantly
reduced costs. This point was reinforced later in the conference by Klaus-Peter
Martinek of F. X. Nachtmann who explained that eighty five percent of
unavoidable production waste vitrified in a simple melting furnace can be
reused to produce saleable glassware. Michael Wilcock stated that ISO 14001 had
provided the Company with the ideal tracking system to record and calculate the
extent of the environmental improvements and cost benefits.
Any owner
or manager of an old crystal factory would have been inspired by Sven Fivelsdal
from Norway's two hundred and thirty six year old Hadeland Glassverk crystal
factory. He explained that the adoption of new technologies for the production
of a wide range of glass crystal and the introduction of new operating regimes,
including improved personal hygiene regimes, had lowered occupational lead
exposure. Sven Fivelsdal explained that whilst the factory did not lend itself
to modernization, occupational blood lead levels had been reduced from 28
employee's with elevated lead in blood to one employee with an unsatisfactory
level.
Since the Organization for Economic Development and
Cooperation's (OECD) Declaration on Lead Risk Reduction in 1996, there has been
considerable interest in the development of lead substitution in the
manufacture of glass crystal. Bo Johnson of Sweden's GLAFO explained that the
Industry should not assume that a lead substitute would be benign, but should
be prudent and continue to minimize leaching and evaluate the biosafety of new
glass materials.
Michael Hynes, of the National University of Ireland,
quoting extensively from the 1997 report "Lead and Human Health" published by
the American Council on Science and Health informed the conference that recent
scientific studies had concluded that the threat of extensive lead poisoning
might have been exaggerated. Nevertheless he reminded delegates that lead is
one of the most pervasive heavy metals in the environment and as a
non-essential element, the Industry must protect the public from unnecessary
exposure. The Crystal Industry, he advised, should aim to eliminate the risk of
lead exposure by adopting national standards for occupational exposure levels
and educating consumers in the safe use of crystal glassware.
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ILMC Makes The Connection
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The Portsmouth -
Severodvinsk Connection was formed in 1994 as an exchange project between the
city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the USA, and Severodvinsk located on the
banks of the White Sea in the northwest region of the Russian Federation. The
city of Severodvinsk once had the world's largest nuclear submarine building
complex and Portsmouth has the oldest naval shipyard in the USA, including
nuclear submarine maintenance facilities. Both cities now face similar social
problems following nuclear decommissioning and naval downsizing. In addition
Severodvinsk is facing potentially serious health and environmental problems
after years of industrial and nuclear waste dumping, with the city's water
supply contaminated with heavy metals.
The objective of the Portsmouth
- Severodvinsk Connection is threefold. First, to promote ways and means
creating new business enterprises in order to generate employment. Second, to
explore and exchange technical solutions that will reduce environmental
contamination and third to facilitate research into peaceful uses of nuclear
technology, which is partly sponsored by US Department of State and the
National Endowment for the Humanities.
Since 1996 there have been three
exchange visits by the two cities and in August this year Linda Gunn, a Vice
President in the Business Development and Sales Division of the New Hampshire
Bank, hosted a delegation visit from Severodvinsk's sister city Arkhangelsk.
The delegation comprised of the President of Sevsnab, Mr. Oleg Grigoriev, the
Vice-President, Mr. Alexandre Lugov and Mr. Alexandre Kushev, a commercial
banker with the Moscow Industrial Bank. Sevsnab is a major automotive battery
retailer and distribution company in the Severodvinsk - Arkhangelsk region, and
as a responsible organization has just started a pilot collection scheme for
"spent" lead acid batteries which are ultimately destined for recycling. The
ILMC were invited to meet the Sevsnab delegation by the US Executive Secretary
of the US - Russia Environment Committee, Gary Waxmonsky.
Brian Wilson,
ILMC Program Manager, discussed with the delegation various battery collection
schemes recommended by the Battery Council International (BCI) and proven to
increase the rates of collection and recycling for lead acid batteries.
The delegation also reviewed with the ILMC the environmental benefits
of secondary lead smelting and the desirability of integrated sales, collection
and smelting facilities. It was, however, suggested to the group that despite
such a potentially large catchment area, the Moscow Industrial Bank and Sevsnab
should jointly determine the current tonnage of scrap lead acid batteries
available and the likely growth in the number of automobiles and commercial
vehicles over the next decade. In this context the ILMC would assist with the
cost benefit analysis, environmental audit and any economic evaluation to
determine whether a local secondary smelter would be a viable proposition.
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Economic & Sound Recycling
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Mr. Paul Frost, Development
Metallurgist with primary and secondary lead producer, Britannia Refined
Metals, a wholly owned United Kingdom subsidiary of ILMC Corporate Member Mount
Isa Holdings of Australia, gave a timely reminder to Battery manufacturers at
the sixth Lead Acid Battery Conference in Prague last month.
Examining
the current situation, Mr. Frost explained that the lead industry is under ever
increasing environmental and economic pressure. He emphasized that the
potential for future development in the industry could only be realized if the
life cycle perspective of the lead acid battery could be fulfilled.
The
delegates were informed, however, by Mr. Frost, that recent developments in
battery technology were not necessarily conducive to economic secondary
smelting. As an example, Mr. Frost cited the introduction of battery grids with
silver bearing alloys, designed to improve mechanical properties and reduce
corrosion, particularly at elevated temperatures. Lead producers that rely
entirely on Secondary production for their saleable products do not have and
could not afford to invest in the expensive process equipment necessary to
remove silver from the recovered metallic fractions and would therefore find it
increasingly difficult to meet the high purity demanded by the lead oxide
producers.
More recently certain lead acid batteries have been produced
with antimonal cadmium grid alloys. Such batteries cannot be easily identified
in the scrap feed to the recycling plant and inevitably if these alloys gain
market share, cadmium will concentrate in recirculating baghouse fume and
invariably increase the vigilance required in a medical surveillance program
and the cost of effective liquid effluent treatment.
Mr. Frost urged
battery manufacturers to consider carefully the work of the Advanced Lead Acid
Battery Consortium (ALABC), because recent scientific studies had demonstrated
that increasing tin levels in calcium grid alloys achieved similar improvements
in grid performance to that claimed for silver and other metals that interfere
with the recycling process.
Continuing, Mr. Frost turned his attention
to battery case material. He said that the widely used polypropylene was an
"inspired" choice because it is possible to recover it in a clean form
comparatively easily. For many recyclers, during the months when depressed
metal prices have eroded margins, recycled polypropylene represented a welcome
source of additional income. Recycled polypropylene prices, however, depend
entirely on the level of purity. The increased use of alternative plastics for
case materials effectively contaminates the polypropylene recovered during the
battery breaking phase of the recycling process and where the contamination is
high the polypropylene is rendered virtually un-saleable.
The solution
to these dilemmas, stated Mr. Frost, is for the manufacturers and the recyclers
to understand each other's needs and develop strategies for improvement that
sustains a viable secondary industry and maintains sound environmental
performance.
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Pan-American Workshop
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The Pan-American Workshop on the
Safe Use of Minerals and Metals, organized by the governments of Peru, Canada,
Argentina, and Chile, took place in Lima, Peru, from July 1st to 3rd, 1998. The
Workshop was attended by representatives of the sponsoring government public
and private institutions from other pan American countries, including Brazil,
Mexico and the United States.
Mr. Federico Kunz, Met Mex Penloes Vice
President and ILMC Director explained the sequence of events leading to the
establishment of the ILMC, namely the discussions with the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that resulted in the Ministerial
Declaration on Lead Risk Reduction.
Describing the response of the lead
industry to the OECD Declaration, particularly from the mining companies that
created the ILMC, Mr. Kunz outlined the lead risk reduction projects that the
organization has initiated and supported. Special mention was made of the
diverse nature of the programs in the Philippines and Mexico. Mr. Kunz also
emphasized the cooperative efforts with the United Nations Environmental
Program (UNEP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO),
and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as well as
the associations with the International Crystal Federation and Rutgers
University.
The presentation of ILMC's activities provided strong
arguments to back the industry's Voluntary Action Programs as a real
alternative for solutions to environmental problems. The work of the
Pan-American Workshop underscored the importance of minerals and metals in the
achievement of economic development and globalization. It also demonstrated the
need, however, to employ an appropriate scientific basis to adequately manage
environmental issues and systematically assess risks in order to set forth
actions and policies that lead to appropriate management practices.
The
issues relating to the communication and participation of all the government
agencies and industry sectors involved also stood out from the conference
Agenda.
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A Challenge for the Next
Century
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At the August 98 International
Symposium on Environmental Management of Mining and Metallurgical Industries
(EMOMAMI-'98), in Bhubaneswar, India, Dr. Krishna Parameswaran of ILMC
Corporate Member ASARCO Incorporated discussed "The 21st Century: Challenges
and Opportunities for the Mining Industry", co-authored by ASARCO Vice
President for Government and Public Affairs and ILMC Director, Robert Muth.
Krishna Parameswaran discussed the compatibility of mining and
sustainable development and the role played by international organizations in
the development of appropriate models in evaluating the impact of metals on
human health and the environment. The presentation included an overview of the
activities of the ILMC and the promotion of sustainable development through the
lead risk reduction regional demonstration projects or Pilot Programs.
In addition during his Indian tour Krishna Parameswaran also spoke to a
delegation at the National Metallurgical Laboratories in Jamshedpur. This
National Laboratory is responsible for advising the Indian Government on
appropriate procedures to reduce the risk of lead exposure in the country's
"informal" secondary lead recovery sector. The Director of the Laboratory, Mr.
P. Ramachandra Rao, expressed great interest in the activities of ILMC, which
bodes well for the start of the joint ILMC and United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) secondary lead project commencing next year.
In a similar vein,Dr. Craig Boreiko, Executive Director of ILMC,
participated in a special symposium on "Metals and the Environment" organized
and sponsored by the Metallurgical Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining
in Montreal, earlier in the year. Dr. Boreiko's presentation, entitled "The
International Lead Management Center: An Industry Commitment to Cooperation"
noted that traditional patterns of natural resource utilization were being
evaluated by international agencies in accordance with new paradigms seeking to
ensure long-term compatibility of global industrial activity with the
preservation of human health and the environment. The ILMC is working to make
the industry a valued partner in efforts to ensure that lead use by the
international community is compatible with sustainable development.
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NewsCasting is
published quarterly by the International Lead Management Center, a
not-for-profit organization established by the International Lead Community in
response to the need for international action on the issue of lead risk
reduction. Please direct correspondence to :
International Lead
Management Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 14189
Research Triangle Park, NC,
27709
USA
Telephone : ++ (919) 361-2446
Facimile : ++ (919) 361-1957
Internet : http://www.ILMC.org
email : mail@ilmc.org |
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