PC&NJTAP is a cooperative undertaking of the Passaic County Office of Recycling and Solid Waste Programs, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and NJTAP. Using a combination of State and Federal grant funding, the PC&NJTAP project focuses on pollution prevention opportunities at small companies in Passaic County. Highly qualified engineers from a variety of fields work to provide free, confidential, environmental assistance.

PC&NJTAP will provide free, confidential, nonregulatory pollution prevention advice that is specific to your company.

The pollution prevention methods that are offered include:

• material substitutions,
• product reformulation,
• production process redesign or modification,
• in-process reuse and recycling, and
• operations or maintencnce improvements.

PC&NJTAP can help you to tap into savings by: reducing raw material expenses, cutting disposal fees, increasing profits, reducing environmental liabilities, and enhancing your company's public image.

How to sign up

A simple phone call is all it takes to arrange for a free assessment.

Upon completion of anitial survey, which will be sent you by mail or fax, an appointment will be set up with one of PC&NJTAP's engineers. The engineer will review your facility, operations, and manufacturing practices. Findings and recommendations will be compiled into a report that is specific to your company and its operations.

Performing an Ecological Opportunity Assessment (ECOPA) on your facility can effectively provide assistance toward compliance with applicable risk management regulations. ECOPA is a free, non-regulatory, voluntary and confidential service.

NJTAP can help you in the following areas:

• Determine whether or not ECOPA applies to your facility.
• Conduct an ECOPA at your facility.
• Improve overall worker health & safety.
• Develop and implement a working process safety/risk management program.

New Jersey Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (NJAC 7:31-1 through 6)
All businesses who use, handle, manufacture, store or have the capability to generate extraordinarily hazardous substances or chemicals listed under the regulation are required to register with the state as well as to develop and implement risk management plans.

OSHA Process Safety Management Standard (29 CFR 1910.119)
The new OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations focus on the catastrophic release of covered toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive materials. The regulation lists approximately 130 toxic or reactive chemicals with specific threshold quantities. Businesses with at least one covered process must complete an initial process hazard analysis by May 26, 1997. Many elements of the PSM requirements are similar to those of the EPA risk management standards.

Over the past few years there has been growing concern that pesticide use on golf courses, home lawns, and sod turfgrass has contributed to nonpoint pollution, surface and groundwater contamination.

The use of some pesticides (e.g. the insecticide DDT, and the nematicides DBCP and EDB) has been banned due to their toxicity and persistence.

The principal losses of pesticides once applied to the soil include surface runoff, leaching, volatilization, chemical and microbial degradation. Pesticides are also most likely to contaminate groundwater when the pesticides used have:

• high solubility
• low adsorption to soil particles
• longer persistence.

With more than 4 million pounds of pesticides applied in New Jersey annually, approximately half of which is applied on lawns and golf courses, a "pollution prevention" approach makes sense. According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Lawn Care Surveys, lawn care use of pesticides is the largest category of use in the state.

1990 and 1995 Lawn Care Survey Comparison:

• Herbicide use dropped from over 200,000 lbs. in 1990 to 46,000 lbs. in 1995
• Fungicide use increased by 11,150 lbs
• Overall pesticide use declined by 40%- a drop of 531,139 lbs. of pesticides!

An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach can significantly reduce the volume and toxicity of pesticides used, while providing environmentally and horticulturally sound maintenance for turfgrass.

• Prevention- Plant grasses, trees and shrubs that are resistant to insect infestation and disease, and that are "low maintenance" in their nutrient needs.
• Physical controls- Hand pick pests off plants and hand cultivate weeds. Proper mower height (3 inches) and mulching can control weeds.
• Horticultural controls- Manipulate the growing conditions of the turf (nutrients, pH, watering) to keep it healthy.
• Biological controls- Use beneficial insects such as nematodes to control grubs; endophytic grass varieties can help protect turf from fungus disease.
• Chemical controls- Environmentally safe pesticides such as horticultural oil or insecticidal soap can be used to treat specific insects and diseases.