STATE OF NEW YORK

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER

GEORGE E. PATAKI, GOVERNOR

Press Office

518-474-8418

212-681-4640

FOR RELEASE:

IMMEDIATE, Friday

May 31, 2002

Governor George E. Pataki today announced eight winners of the 2002 Governor’s Awards for Pollution Prevention, honoring these organizations for their outstanding efforts in protecting New York’s natural resources.

"Companies across New York State are making pollution prevention an integral part of their business strategies and all New Yorkers are benefiting from this renewed commitment to environmental protection," Governor Pataki said. "By identifying and reducing pollution at its source, businesses and other institutions are helping us build on our commitment to cleaning our air, land and water for future generations."

The Ninth Annual Governor’s Awards for Pollution Prevention were presented at a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Albany during the 14^th Annual Pollution Prevention Conference. The awards honor pollution prevention practices that go beyond regulatory requirements and are successful in reducing or eliminating pollution at its source.

Each year, awards are given to organizations in the following categories: small, mid-size and large businesses; federal, state and local governments and educational institutions; and trade associations or other business/industry groups. Applications are judged by a panel of members from business, environmental, academic and government organizations and were selected based upon each project’s success in reducing toxic and hazardous pollution, as well as the overall environmental record of the applicant, the economic benefits of the project, the extent of employee participation, management commitment and the applicability of the project to other businesses or organizations.

State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin M. Crotty said, "Governor Pataki’s commitment to the environment has produced significant improvements in our air, land and water, and the partnership of the business community is critical to our continuing efforts to protect our natural resources. The organizations receiving these awards this year and past winners are demonstrating that pollution prevention is an achievable and profitable strategy."

Since 1997, the Governor’s Awards for Pollution Prevention have recognized 54 companies and organizations whose projects have led to the elimination of more than 20 million pounds of hazardous waste, 35 million pounds of solid waste, and 168 million pounds of atmospheric gases.

Awards were presented to the following organizations:

C. H. Thompson is an industrial metal finishing company located in Binghamton, Broome County. The company eliminated the generation of two highly toxic substances, hexavalent chromium and ferricyanides, by developing a new process for coating aluminum. As a result, the company avoided generating more than 67,000 pounds of hazardous waste from this facility. In addition C.H. Thompson improved worker safety by eliminating potential exposure of its workers to carcinogens and highly toxic substances.

Owens Corning is a manufacturer of fiberglass building insulation located in Delmar, Albany County. The company installed an oxygen-fuel glass melting technology, which eliminated direct mixing of ambient nitrogen within the furnaces’ burners. Using this new technology and eliminating a nitrogen compound from the molten glass process led to an annual reduction of more than 270 tons/year of nitrogen oxides.

The Sentry Group is a family-owned manufacturer of fire-resistant storage equipment located in Rochester, Monroe County. The company changed a touch-up painting operation from a solvent-based coating to a water-based coating, and also developed a partnership with Sherwin-Williams Paint Company to formulate a water-based touch-up paint. Through this material substitution and a more efficiently designed powder coating operation, Sentry Group achieved a Conditionally-Exempt Small Quantity Generator status at the end of 2001.

Ulano Corporation is a graphic arts supply manufacturer located in Brooklyn, Kings County, that specializes in stencil-making products for screen printing. By substituting non-hazardous water-based emulsions for all of the hazardous solvent-based coatings, Ulano achieved a 79 percent reduction in toluene emissions. The project also resulted in a 94 percent reduction of hazardous waste generated.

The DuPont-Yerkes plant in Buffalo, Erie County, is a large manufacturing facility that produces two consumer products - Corian® and Tedlar®. The company developed a program that resulted in an annual reduction of 867,000 pounds of manufacturing waste that formerly went to a landfill. The project also achieved a significant reduction in the company’s costs for manufacturing Corian.

The National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery (NCR³) at Rochester Institute of Technology, Monroe County, is a leading center for applied research and development in remanufacturing technology. NCR³ developed technologies for the automotive remanufacturing industry that made processes more energy- and resource-efficient, environmentally-responsible and cost-effective. These technologies were tested at two automotive remanufacturing facilities and showed that if similar systems were installed in all 945 automotive remanufacturing facilities in New York State, the potential benefits would be a reduction in natural gas consumption of more than 27.6 million cubic feet per year, a reduction in power consumption of more than 4.39 million kilowatt hours (KWH) per year, the elimination of a hazardous waste stream of more than 125,000 gallons per year, and a reduction in non-hazardous waste of more than 560,000 gallons per year.

The State University of New York at Geneseo, Livingston County, implemented a multi-faceted pollution prevention program that resulted in the elimination of leaks of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexavalent chromium, and the minimization of petroleum leaks. In addition, the institution achieved 90 percent reduction in the use of chemical herbicides, a 94 percent reduction in the release of Title V hazardous air pollutants, and a nearly 90 percent reduction in hazardous waste generated by campus operations annually.

The Piermont Landing Homeowners’ Association (PLHOA), Rockland County, developed a policy regarding the use of toxic chemicals for purposes of landscaping maintenance at this residential development. The result of this policy has been a complete substitution of chemical pesticides and fertilizers with organic pesticides and fertilizers. This residential area is adjacent to Piermont Marsh, a protected National Estuarine Research Reserve wetlands.

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