Defense Distribution Depot Red River

Year Submitted: 2003

Process: Equipment Preservation

Industry: Military

Wastes Reduced: Process Chemicals

Substance: Presevative

Equipment: Extra Drip Tank

Location: Texarkana TX

No. of employees: 1045

Contact: Dave McLintock

Phone: (903) 334-2896

Description:

Parts are dipped into a preservative and drip dried before storage to prevent rust. Even though the parts were held above the dip takes for up to 30 minutes before moving, they continue to drip after removal. This creates a large amount of waste preservative and adsorbent material. A second drip collection tank was installed to act as a drip collection station were the preservative is collected and recirculated into the dip tank. This greatly reduced the amount of waste absorbent being used. Absorbent use was further cut down by sifting the used material to separate the used material from unused absorbent.

Environmental Benefits:

Almost 33,000 pounds of hazardous waste is no longer generated with the improved process. Worker exposure to organic vapors was also reduced by making the process more efficient and reduced handling of the waste material.

Details of Reductions

Additional Information :

Reduced purchase of absorbent material saves $10,000 a year, waste disposal cost is reduced by $13,000 a year, and reduced labor costs amount to around $5,000 a year. The additional drip tank was part of inventory and did not require purchasing.

Source: TCEQ