I: Introduction
A. Background on HJR 453 Goals
B. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science

II. Inputs and Waste Streams
A. Chemical Waste
B. Radioactive Waste
C. Regulated Medical Waste
D. Solid Waste

III. Accomplishments

IV. Responsibilities

V. Pollution Prevention Opportunities

VI. Implementation Schedule

VII. Evaluation Measures

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is an element of the College of William & Mary. The School of Marine Science (SMS), which is the college's graduate school in marine science, is included within VIMS. The Institute's mandated tripartite mission of research, education, and advisory service is carried out by approximately 500 faculty, staff, students, and volunteers on campuses at Gloucester Point and Wachapreage, Virginia and at various other locations. As an agency with an intimate connection to the environment, the entire VIMS community is dedicated to the enhancement and maintenance of the environment.

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science views this Pollution Prevention Plan as a living document. As other methods and concepts of pollution prevention are developed, they will be implemented. The Pollution Prevention Plan has been developed in response to Virginia HJR 453 which was passed by the General Assembly in February 1995.

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In HJR 453 (1995), the House of Delegates with the Senate concurring, resolved that each agency of the Commonwealth that generates more than a minimal amount of toxic or hazardous substances as wastes be requested to:
1. Review the programs, processes, and activities of the agency and ascertain how reductions in the amounts of toxic or hazardous materials generated as wastes or released into the environment as pollutants can be promoted and achieved;
2. Amend those programs, processes, and activities, except those relating to the procurement and use of fuels by stationary sources, so as to reduce the amounts of toxic or hazardous substances generated as wastes or released into the environment as pollutants in furtherance of statewide goals for reducing or eliminating the release of toxic or hazardous substances into the environment as pollutants; and
3. Submit to the Department of Environmental Quality an agency pollution prevention plan in accordance with a schedule for filing of such plans to be established by the Department.

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As stated above, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) including the School of Marine Science (SMS) is an element of the College of William & Mary. VIMS is a nationally recognized and respected research organization and graduate school that some consider to be the largest such organization in the country emphasizing studies of bays, estuaries, and shallow marine waters. The approximately 500 faculty, students, and staff are organized within five academic and several administrative departments. The major focus of activity is the 35 acre campus at Gloucester Point with a lesser focus at the Wachapreague Research Station in Accomack County. Individuals also perform research on the marine environment at various other sites related to Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere. VIMS has been tasked with three major missions -- research, education, and advisory services. Much of the Institute's effort is directed to concerns with Virginia's marine resources and waters, especially Chesapeake Bay.

Many of the past, ongoing, and anticipated research projects are concerned with marine pollution with the result that most members of the VIMS community have a significant awareness of and sensitivity to pollution as a societal problem. Individually and collectively the members of the VIMS community strive to minimize pollution and reduce consumption of natural resources. Most elements of the Institute's Pollution Prevention Plan fall under the general oversight of the Office of Safety and Environmental Programs.

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A. Chemical Waste

Inputs and waste streams come from two discrete segments of the campus, research activities and maintenance operations. Table 1 presents a listing of several of the hazardous wastes, primarily from research activities, disposed of between July 1996 and June 1997.

During the past fiscal year, the general maintenance area shipped 2 fifty-five gallon drums of waste motor oil for recycling and collected small quantities of hydraulic and brake fluids and coolants for recycling when sufficient quantities are accumulated. The Vessel Operations group collected several hundred gallons of lubricating oil which were shipped out to a recycler. These materials are tabulated in Table 2.

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The use of radioisotopes in research activities results in the generation of radioactive waste. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission imposes stringent controls on the management of radioactive waste. The Institute's Radiation Safety Officer, a staff member within the Office of Safety and Environmental Programs, oversees and has specific responsibility for the control and management of radioactive waste. It is in the Institute's best financial interest to minimize the quantity of radioactive waste produced on campus. Table 3 is a listing of the radioisotope wastes disposed of between July 1, 1996 and June 30, 1997.

It should be noted that as with other forms of hazardous waste, even if properly conveyed to an appropriate waste handler, radioactive waste is never disposed of completely. The Institute has been informed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency that it may have a de minimis share in the cost of remediation and management of a now defunct terminal storage facility to which an intermediate waste handler shipped some of the Institute's radioactive waste several years.

Mixed waste (that is combined hazardous materials waste and radioactive waste) is a significant problem. The use of radioisotopes to trace the physiological pathways of toxic materials in organisms is a standard and necessary research practice. The techniques, however, generate radio-labeled toxic or hazardous chemicals. Disposal of mixed wastes is very difficult, costly, and often impossible.

During FY 1997 VIMS/SMS shipped sixteen 55 gallon drums of solid, radioactive materials (RAM) waste and 3 drums of used scintillation vials.

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At present, the Institute does not generate regulated medical waste. Some forms of non-human biological waste, e.g. remains of fish, are disposed of either by arrangement with the local regional land-fill or by contract with a commercial waste handler for incineration.

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The Institute's Facilities Management office oversees the collection and handling of general solid wastes. There is a recycling program for paper and aluminum cans. Most other wastes are deposited into dumpsters and hauled by a contractor to the local landfill. Worn-out lead-acid batteries from motor vehicles and other sources are collected and held for recycling. Facilities Management maintains records on the various quantities of materials.

Table 2 presents a listing of the quantity of materials recycled for the year beginning March 1, 1992. During the same period, 136,482 pounds of waste were sent to a landfill. The annual recycling rate was 23%.

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In the late 1980s, the Institute began the Office of Environmental Safety (now the Office of Safety and Environmental Programs) in part to assure that hazardous wastes were handled and disposed of safely and in accordance with the regulations. In addition through the Waste Minimization Committee and other efforts, the Office works with the campus research community in an attempt to decrease the quantity of chemicals, hazardous and otherwise, that enter the waste stream.

Facilities Management has aggressively pursued a course of replacing underground storage tanks of motor fuel and heating oil with new, above ground tanks with provisions for containing spills. Facilities Management also has long been involved with the Institute's recycling efforts.

There has been a standing policy of upgrading building heating and cooling systems (HVAC) to newer, more efficient systems whenever possible.

Administratively, during the past several years e-mail has increasingly replaced paper memos as a means of intra-office communication.

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Although pollution prevention and reduction is the concern of everyone, there are various general and specific areas and responsibilities. Ultimate responsibility for all programs at VIMS/SMS falls to the Dean/Director. The Dean/Director has delegated some responsibilities for pollution prevention programs to the Office of Safety and Environmental Programs, specifically to the Assistant to the Director for Safety and Environmental Programs who is responsible for preparation of the Pollution Prevention Plan and for general oversite of the program, to the Radiation Safety Officer for management of radioactive materials and radioactive waste, and to the Chemical Hygiene Officer for the management of chemical wastes. Individual heads of academic and administrative departments share in the responsibilities for their individual areas. The Director of Facilities Management and through him or her the head of the Housekeeping Department manage the Institute's paper recycling program. The Director of Facilities Management also arranges for the disposal of the Institute's solid wastes. The Port Captain and individual vessel captains and operators have an overlapping responsibility under various federal regulations in matters of preventing and reporting marine pollution.

The existing Waste Minimization Committee will be reformed with a broader base of constituents as the Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimization Committee and will have the responsibility to review the Institute's programs and efforts and to suggests new or alternative strategies to reduce the potential for pollution and the size of the waste stream.

Every individual within the VIMS/SMS community has a responsibility to reduce pollution, to minimize use of natural resources, and to report observed acts of pollution. Such reports should be made to the Office of the Dean/Director, the Office of Safety and Environmental Programs, and/or those responsible for the act of pollution. The intent of this reporting is not punishment of the polluters but cessation of the polluting activity and prevention of further occurrences.

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There are several opportunities for more efficient use of resources. Older HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) systems usually are significantly less efficient than more modern systems. The Institute is making an effort to modernize and upgrade HVAC systems using both special grants and, as the opportunity permits, operating funds.

The campus recycling effort can become more efficient. More and better placed recycling stations and more frequent reminders (via e-mail) about recycling would be simple techniques to enhance the recycling effort so as to capture a greater percentage of the potential waste stream. Provisions could be made to capture plastic beverage containers at the recycling stations.

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Most of the programs described herein already are in place and operating. As new methods for reducing waste or preventing pollution become available they will be implemented as soon as they can be integrated. The Waste Minimization Committee will be reformed as the Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimization Committee during the fall of 1997.

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The primary evaluation measure is record keeping. If our output streams of waste decrease through time, the Pollution Prevention Plan can be considered somewhat successful. There has to be the stipulation that, as there is no specific measure of basic solid waste, trash, material put into a recycling stream that previously went into unrecorded trash would cause an inflated measure. Similarly, it is difficult to evaluate a change in the quantity of recycled materials. An increase in the volume of recycled material could result from either an increase in quantity of materials used, which would be a change for the worse, or an increased rate of capture of recyclable materials, which would be a change for the better.

The "recycling rate,"pounds of material recycled divided by the sum of the recycled and land-filled materials, provides a rough measure of the efficiency of recycling.

The various measures of the several waste streams will be reviewed on a fiscal year basis, probably in late summer or early fall, by the Director of Facilities Management, the Assistant to the Director for Safety and Environmental programs, the Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimization Committee, and others to assess the quantities and trends.

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.........................................................................Drum Capacity ..................................................................................Total Gal
Waste Classification .................................Class ........55 gal ...... 30 gal ...... 20 gal ..... 10 gal ....... 5 gal

Bulked Flammable Liquids .......................... I ................ 3 ............................................................................................... 165
Bulked Flammable Liquids ......................... II ................ 3 ............................................................................................... 165 Bulked Flammable Liquids......................... III ................ 1 ................................................................................................ 55
Bulked Combustible Liquids .................... III ................ 4 .............................................................................................. 220
Bulked Flammable/Corrosive Liquids ..... III ................ 3 .............................................................................................. 165 Flammable Liquids ..................................... IV ................ 2 ............... 1 ............... 2 ........................................................ 180 Flammable Solids ....................................... IV ....................................................................... 1 ................. 3 .................... 25
Organic Peroxide Liquids ........................... V ..................................................... .1 .................................. 5 .................... 35
Poison Liquids ........................................... VI ................. 1 ............... 1 .................................................... 2 .................... 95
Poison Solids ............................................. VI ....................................................... 1 ............ 1 ................. 1 .................... 35
Corrosive Liquids ................................... VIII ....................................................... 1 .. ...................................................... 20
Corrosive Solids ..................................... VIII .................. 1 ................................. 4 .................................. 1 ................. 140 Hazardous Solids - PCBs ......................... IX .................. 1 .............................................................................................. 55
Hazardous Liquids .................................... IX .................................... 1 ............... 1 ............ 1 .......................................... 6

Totals ................................................................................. 19 .............. 3 ............. 10 ........... 3 ................ 10 .............. 1415

.................... Type ..................................................................................................... Pounds
Metals .................................................................................................................................... 3,680
.................... Aluminum, inc. Cans ....................................................................... 1,040
.................... Steel Cans ......................................................................................... ---
.................... Other Ferrous ................................................................................... 2,580
.................... Other Non-Ferrous ............................................................................... 60

Paper ..................................................................................................................................... 25,525
.................... Newspaper ........................................................................................ 2,384
.................... Cardboard ......................................................................................... 2,423
.................... Office Paper .................................................................................... 19,742
.................... Phone Books ....................................................................................... 976

Plastics ....................................................................................................................................... 0
.................... PETE #1
.................... HPDE #2
.................... Other

Containers ................................................................................................................................... 610

Automotive Batteries (16) ......................................................................................................... 470
Automotive Parts

Cloth
Cooking Grease
Photographic Film/Chemicals
Tires (48) ......................................................................................................................... 1,000
Used Motor Oil .............................................................................................................. 1,320
Wood ............................................................................................................................... 3,696
Yard Waste ..................................................................................................................... 3,960
Other (Anti-Freeze) .......................................................................................................... 824

..............................TOTAL ............................................................................................ 41,085

Radioisotope Waste .............................. #55 gal drums ..................Total gal

..... Solid Waste .................................................. 16 ................................ 880
Scintillation Vials ................................................. 5 ................................ 275

Totals ................................................................... 21 ............................. 1,155

I: Administrative/Academic
A: Paper waste reduction - including photocopying
1: Require/encourage use papers with a high content of recycled materials wherever possible.
2 : Encourage use of both sides of the page (two sided copying) in correspondence, memos, etc.
3: Minimize the use of paper by encouraging the use of e-mail for general distribution of information in place of paper memos.
4. Increase the availability and ease of use of recycling bins for paper and other products.

B: Purchase energy efficient electronic devices
1: Include considerations of energy use in specifications for the purchase of equipment.

C: Surplus material sale as opposed to storage
1: Continue the current practice.

D: Laboratory chemical and material use
1: Encourage researchers to review lab protocols and substitute less toxic and/or less polluting solvents and reagents whenever possible.
2: Encourage researchers to use more efficient protocols in terms of use of materials whenever possible.
3: Implement "just in time" delivery ordering procedures to minimize the stocks of materials on hand so as to lessen the opportunity for leakage or spill.

E: Inventory management
1: Encourage "just in time" delivery of chemicals so as to minimize the stocks on hand at any given time and thus decrease the potential or spill, leakage, or loss.
2: Employ storage techniques that emphasize safety and minimize the potential for spill, leakage, or loss.

II: Facilities Management
A: Support Services
1: Food: Except for vending machines, there are no formal food services on campus. There are occasional internally or externally catered events.
a: Improve recycling of aluminum cans.
b: Encourage caterers to separate recyclable materials in the waste stream.
2: Convenience stores
N/A

B: Maintenance
1: Transportation
a: Solvents recycling - Vessel Operations uses a closed solvent parts cleaning system with recycling handled by the system contractor
b: Oil, waste oil - collected and recycled by contractor
c: Antifreeze - collected and recycled by contractor
d: Brake and transmission fluid - collected and recycled by contractor
2: Landscaping
a: Plant species (annual vs. perennial)
b: Low maintenance, disease resistant varieties
c: Mulching and compost
3: Hazardous materials management (pesticides, deicers, cleaning agents)
a: "Just in time" procurement
b: Environmentally friendly compounds
c: Storage/disposal options
e: Mixing vessel cleaning
4: Trades - electrical, plumbing, carpentry
a: Use of recycled material
b: Preventive maintenance
c: HVAC material recycling (Freon)
d: Reduction of steam, reheat of cooled air
e: Fuel/energy
5: Paint shop -NA
a: Use of low VOC paints
b: Analysis of methods of application
c: Use of high-volume, low-pressure spray guns
6: Spill prevention measures
a: Proper handling and storage
7: Vehicle repair and maintenance
a: Solvent substitution - Use closed, recycling systems where possible
b: Alternative fuels - NA
c: Painting and body work - NA
d: Vehicle washing - Strive for efficient use of water
8: Building maintenance
a: Painting - Use low volatility paints where possible
b: Repair - Strive to maintain integrity of insulation
c: Indoor air pollution concerns - Improve HVAC systems
9: Equipment repair shops (welding, machinery, carpentry)
a: Solvent substitution
10: Photographic shops
a: Use "silver traps" to capture and recycle silver
11: Engineering
a: Pavement marking - NA
b: Thermoplastic line taping - NA
c: Sign manufacturing processes - NA