Petroleum Refinery Efforts to Reduce Waste DTSC and Petroleum Refiners…

Petroleum Refinery Efforts to Reduce Waste
DTSC and Petroleum Refiners Share Pollution Prevention Ideas
OPPTD has focused on pollution prevention at petroleum refineries for several years. Since 1990,
refineries have been working to comply with the Hazardous Waste Source Reduction and
Management Review Act of 1989 (SB 14) and
voluntarily implementing pollution prevention
strategies at their facilities. Refinery pollution
prevention efforts have resulted in dramatic
reductions in the amounts of non-waste water
hazardous waste they generate ­ 32% from 1990
to 1994, 19% from 1994 to 1998, and, based on
preliminary data, 31% from 1998 to 2002.
Although this industry has made great strides
through voluntary pollution prevention efforts, they
continue to be California's largest generator of
hazardous waste.

                                                            Tesoro's Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez,
The OPPTD and the Western States Petroleum
                                                        California, strives for continual improvement through
Association (WSPA) have worked to bring                                   pollution prevention.
environmental agencies, refinery environmental
engineers and managers, and WSPA executives
together to discuss solutions to environmental problems focusing on pollution prevention as the
answer. People from this industry attended a technical forum in 2003 organized by OPPTD and
WSPA to address ways to further reduce their hazardous waste generation by providing innovative
solutions for problematic refinery waste streams. Forum topics included biologically activated
                                  carbon, spent abrasives management, and industrial ecology and
                                  have been compiled into a technical proceedings report. Attendees
                                  appreciated the forum as an opportunity for technical exchange
                                  regarding pursuit of pollution prevention opportunities and problem
                                  avoidance.

                                   The positive response to this forum has prompted the team to
                                   organize a similar event for 2004. Topics may include: a multimedia
                                   discussion on soils management; policies and procedures for a
                                   pollution prevention program;
                                   new or innovative source
                                   reduction technologies; and a
                                    review of the results from the
 Behzad Mirzayi, Sub Surface        2003 forum (i.e., which
 Waste Management, explains         technologies were applied and
benefits of biologically activated
                                    what worked). The 2004 forum
             carbon.
                                    will focus on opportunities and
                                    obstacles to source reduction
and improved waste management practices, and will include
speakers from industry, DTSC, and other Cal EPA boards and
departments.

By design, the technical forum topics are not isolated to
petroleum refineries. The target waste streams, pollution
prevention strategies, and regulatory barriers are common to                  Gil Friend of Natural Logic
many large industries. Sharing innovative and effective solutions             explains the theory behind
to common industrial waste problems will provide both economic                    industrial ecology.
and environmental benefits to many California industries.

For further information, contact: Leslie Goodbody at the Office of Pollution Prevention and
Technology Development, (916) 323-3388.