Shepherds of the earth:
Automotive services facilities go the extra mile to preserve the environment
Customers who use the services of Doug Scales Body Shop, Austin, Texas, will soon be treated to covered parking. Not because the business believes it has to offer this feature, but instead because the shop has been approved to be part of a photo electric program sponsored by the City of Austin. As a program participant, the shop will install large solar grids that will essentially roof the parking lot. The program's overall goal is to find ways to reduce emissions from power plants. As a sponsor, Doug Scales Body Shop will get free advertising in the local electric bills, letting customers know that the business is a strong supporter of protecting the environment.
Similar to Doug Scales Body Shop, many automotive service businesses are taking steps to protect the environment that go beyond U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements. These extra steps not only preserve the environment, they also give the business a marketing edge, and in some cases, result in cost-savings.
"There are the tree-huggers and then there are those within the industry who are working behind the scenes to really make a difference," said Doug Scales, owner of the shop. Scales, with a Ph.D. in environmental sciences, puts himself in the latter category. His background as a certified environmental scientist gives him a thorough understanding of the subject, which he in turn applies to the auto body business. Currently, his shop is the only automotive business in the country participating in EPA's Planet Wise project, which requires him to set goals to reduce the greenhouse gases the business produces by the year 2000. This program also gives free advertising to program partners.
Doug Scales Body Shop is a Clean Texas 2000 Partner, awarded by the governor of the state. The business was recognized as Small Business of the Year by the Texas Nature Conservatory. "We were the only automotive company ever nominated for the award, not to mention receiving the award," said Scales. The business also was the recipient of two of six Green Shop awards given by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS).
Even with his extensive background, Scales still has to stay up-to-date on new EPA or OSHA regulations. For this information, he relies mostly on EPA or OSHA seminars, EPA's web site and associations. He has monthly meetings with his employees to cover what the business is doing for the environment, and the affiliated costs and benefits. Standard procedures in the shop are to recycle all cardboard and office products, and to use a laundry service once a month.
He keeps an eye out for new environmentally friendly products, and is especially fond of one called Rubberize It, which takes a vehicle's hazardous material and puts it through a process that results in underseal, which Scales in turn uses on vehicles. "It's half the cost of underseal and a win/win for everyone," said Scales.
Intensive Care Auto Repair
At Intensive Care Auto Repair, East Point, Ga., customers are greeted by signs that say the business "disposes of used auto parts, engine coolant, motor oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid and refrigerant by environmentally sound and legal means at no extra charge." According to owner Jack Bergan, although many places are making it too difficult to recycle, "it's the drill" at Intensive Care Auto Repair.
The business takes its scrap metal, nuts, bolts and copper to a local recycler. "I split the money with the local guy and we both walk away happy," said Bergan. He has an EPA-approved waste oil furnace that uses used motor oil to heat the business. This process eliminates the cost of someone to haul away the waste oil and according to Bergan, lets him heat the business essentially for free. With his better-humored customers, Bergan enjoys reminding them that he's heating the shop with the oil taken out of their cars last summer.
Bergan also uses the services of a local company to recycle antifreeze on-site. "The truck comes, uses a process of achieve the right ph balances and the right parameters, then it's [the antifreeze] put back into the tank," said Bergan. He's in the market now for an oil filter crusher.
Bergan said that his recycling efforts and his overall concern for shop cleanliness keep the business looking like a high-school repair shop on opening day.
Ogston's Body & Paint
Ogston's Body & Paint, Duluth, Minn., follows a standard procedure for each process that involves a waste stream. Right from the start, the business analyzes ways to minimize the amount of waste, which then minimizes the disposal amounts and costs, said owner Joe Ogston. "It's almost become a game to find ways to minimize the amount of waste we produce," he said.
The business's recycling efforts have become standard procedures for employees. "Just like anything in life, change is hard at first. They [the employees] accepted and conformed to our procedures, and now it's just part of the routine," said Ogston. The business recycles its scrap metal and cardboard, and various other supplies in the body shop.
As owner, Ogston initiates any recycling efforts and stays up-to-date on new regulations affecting his business. He credits the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for its work to keep shops informed about new regulations. According to Ogston, the agency offers a service that evaluates shops and makes recommendations for ways to improve.
Although Ogston doesn't actively advertise his environmental efforts to customers, his relationship with the MPCA has provided the type of advertising that money can't buy. Through a recommendation made by MPCA, an environmental awareness class at a local college tours Ogston's business four to five times a year as do students from the local schools. As a result, more than 100 people each year are exposed to the services of the business and the steps it takes to be environmentally friendly. Ogston wins because annually about 10 percent of these people become his new customers. The industry wins because his business is helping change the public's perception of collision repair.
Dean McDonald, McDonald's Collision Repair, Forest Park, Ga., works regularly with three to four recyclers in efforts to recycle just about everything possible in the business. His employees are actively involved in problem-solving pertaining to new regulations or new environmentally friendly steps for the business to implement. "There's not a whole lot that goes to waste any more," said McDonald.
Supporters of clean air standards claim enough support to sustain veto
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) claim to have the support of over 145 of their colleagues, enough to foil the supporters of H.R. 1984, a bill that would impose a four-year moratorium on the new standards for ozone and particulate matter.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized new regulations on ozone and particulate matter and published them on July 18, 1997. The new regulations lower the present standard for ozone from 0.12 parts per million to 0.08 parts per million and target particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter.
The Clinton Administration has committed to delaying the impact of the new regulations. The administration also will give local officials flexibility in how to comply with the new regulations. The fine particulate matter standards will be delayed five years, allowing completion of a nationwide monitoring network, and cities will have an additional two years to devise a strategy for reducing air pollution.
EPA regulations for MVAC service
Production of chloroflorocarbons (CFCs) in the United States was phased out at the end of 1995; worldwide, production will be phased out by the year 2000 under the international treaty known as the Montreal Protocol. These production phaseouts were incorporated into the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Section 609 of the act gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the authority to establish requirements to prevent the release of refrigerants during the servicing of motor vehicle air conditioners (MVACs), and to require recycling of refrigerants.
As outlined on an EPA Fact Sheet, these requirements include standards for equipment that recovers and recycles CFC-12 refrigerant from MVACs, training and testing technicians to handle this equipment, and recordkeeping requirements for service facilities. A supplemental final rule, published in May 1995, established a standard for equipment that recovers but does not recycle CFC-12, and for training and testing technicians to handle this equipment.
CFC-12
EPA has a list of approved equipment available on-line or from its Stratospheric Ozone Hotline (800) 296-1996. Technicians servicing MVACs must use either refrigerant recover/recycle or recover-only equipment on this list. Recover/recycle equipment both recovers the refrigerant from the motor vehicle and processes it through an oil separator, a filter and a dryer. This equipment must meet the technical specifications of SAE Standard J-1990, and must have the capacity to purify used refrigerant to SAE Standard J-1991 for safe and direct return to the air conditioner following repairs.
Recover-only equipment removes the refrigerant from the a/c unit as specified by SAE Standard J-2209 and transfers it into a holding tank. By law, technicians must recycle the used refrigerant on site or send it to an off-site reclamation facility to be purified before it can be used to recharge a/c equipment.
Certification/recordkeeping
An EPA-approved organization must be used to train and certify technicians who service MVAC. The training program covers the use of recycling equipment, the regulatory requirements, the importance of refrigerant containment and the effects of CFCs on ozone depletion. To become certified, technicians must pass a test demonstrating their knowledge in these areas.
As part of the recordkeeping requirement, shops must report to the EPA that they own approved CFC-12 equipment. If refrigerant is recovered and sent to a reclamation facility, the name and address of that facility must be retained.
The sale of any size container of CFC-12 to anyone other than certified technicians is prohibited under Section 608 of the act, as of November 1994.
HFC-134a
In anticipation of the CFC phaseout, in 1993 many vehicle manufacturers started producing new vehicles with an alternative refrigerant called HFC-134a. Section 608 of the act prohibits releasing HFC-134a into the atmosphere as of November 1995.
In March 1996, the EPA proposed a rule to require recycling of HFC-134a. The rule proposed standards for recover-only and recover/recycle equipment, and rules for training and testing technicians to handle this equipment. This rule is not yet final.
Technicians who repair MVACs with this refrigerant must recover the refrigerant because of the HFC-134a venting prohibition. At this time, any equipment may be used to recover the refrigerant, since equipment standards will not be in place until the effective date of the final rule. Technicians are not required to recycle HFC-134a until the effective date of the final rule. When the final rule is in place, technicians will have to either recycle used HFC-134a on-site or send it to an off-site reclamation facility before it can be used to recharge a/c equipment.
After the final rule, technicians will also need to be certified in the proper handling of HFC-134a. However, those who are already trained and certified to handle CFC-12 will not need to be recertified to handle HFC-134a.
Shops must certify to the EPA that they own approved HFC-134a equipment, however, this is a one-time requirement that can be satisfied if the shop has previously reported CFC-12 recycling equipment.
Right now, there is no restriction on the sale of HFC-134a. EPA said it will issue a proposed rule under Section 608 of the act that will restrict the sale of this refrigerant to technicians certified under Sections 609 and 608. A final rule is expected in 1998.
Alternative refrigerants
The EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program reviews alternatives to CFC-12 to determine the risks posed to human health and the environment by the alternative. (The SNAP program does not evaluate the effect of a substitute refrigerant on the life or performance of the components in a vehicle's a/c system, or the effect of a substitute on the system's cooling capacity.)
Other than HCF-134a, all EPA-accepted refrigerants that substitute for CFC-12 in MVACs and that are currently on the market are blends that contain ozone-depleting HCFCs such as R-22, R-142b and R-124. Since 1992, Section 608 of the act prohibits venting these blend substitutes into the atmosphere.
It is anticipated that when the final rule requiring recycling of HFC-134a is published, it will also establish a standard for equipment that is designed to recover, but not recycle, any single, specific blend substitute refrigerant. Until that happens, technicians servicing MVACs with blends must recover the refrigerant because of the venting prohibition. Until an equipment standard is in place, any equipment may be used to recover the refrigerant. However, the equipment must be dedicated to recovering blends and should not be used to recover CFC-12 or HFC-134a. Technicians are prohibited from recycling blend substitute refrigerants and EPA is working to determine whether recycling equipment can be developed to service these blends.
The final rule pertaining to HFC-134a is also likely to include a requirement that technicians using blends be certified by an EPA-approved organization. However, if the technician is already certified to handle CFC-12 or HFC-134a, he will not need to be recertified to handle the blends.
Similar to the recordkeeping requirements for CFC-12 and HFC-134a, shops must certify to EPA that they own the approved equipment to service blends. The one-time requirement also applies to blends so shops that have notified the EPA of their CFC-12 or HFC-134a recycling equipment in the past do not need to send a second certification.
Under a Section 608 prohibition, sales of blends are restricted to only certified technicians as of November 1994.
Service helps identify hazards
Through a free consultation service, funded largely by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), shop owners can find out about potential workplace hazards, improve their safety and health management systems, and qualify for a one-year exemption from routine OSHA inspections.
The service, administered by state governments, takes place on-site and is separate from the OSHA inspection. No citations are issued or penalties proposed, however, shop owners must agree to correct safety and health hazards identified by the consultant.
During the walk-through, the consultant studies the workplace and discusses applicable OSHA standards. The consultation also includes an appraisal of all mechanical and environmental hazards and physical work practices; an appraisal of the present job safety and health program or establishment of one; a conference with management on findings; a written report of recommendations and agreements; and training and assistance with implementing recommendations.
In the closing conference, the consultant will review the findings and discuss abatement periods to eliminate or control any serious hazards identified during the walk-through. A written report follows, which confirms the findings and the agreed upon abatement periods.
According to OSHA, situations will only be referred to an OSHA enforcement office if shop owners fail to eliminate or correct any of the hazards identified within the agreed upon abatement period or an agreed upon extension.
California rule to require water-based cleaners
By January 1999, automotive repair shops in the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) will only be allowed to use water-based cleaners instead of the petroleum-based or mineral spirits type solvents. This regulation is part of Rule 1171, which was developed to help reduce smog-forming emissions (commonly called volatile organic compounds, VOCs) produced by solvents used in cleaning operations. The rule applies to all operations that use solvents to clean parts, products, tools, equipment and machinery.
According to EQ Manufacturing, a manufacturer of non-solvent automatic parts cleaners, the environmentally acceptable detergents are not as aggressive as most solvents, and in manual systems, there is an increase in labor intensity. The company has automated the process in its product to lessen the time technicians spend in the cleaning process. "In about 60 seconds, the parts are cleaned," said Don Meisinger, president. The product also has a process that evaporates the water out of the liquid, and returns the material to a solid. "These solids have historically been land-fillable," said Meisinger. He said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently advocates that this solid is land-fillable, but cautions that it could eventually be classified as hazardous material and therefore need proper disposal.
Important phone numbers and online addresses
- EPA Ozone Protection Hot Line: (800) 296-1996
- EPA: http://www.epa.gov
- OSHA: http://www.osha.gov
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AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLV No. 9, September 1997