Cal/EPA & U.S. EPA Select First 11 Technologies for Verification Program

For Immediate Release (C-37-96)
Contact: Communications Office (916) 324-9670
October 18, 1996

555 Capitol Mall, Suite 525
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 324-9670
FAX (916) 445-5563

Sacramento The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the today announced the selection of the first eleven technologies for evaluation under a joint Environmental Technology Verification  Program.

"Widespread certification and verification of environmental technologies is an innovative regulatory reform measure.  Through this joint program, California is able to share much of the progress we have made in recent years with U.S. EPA and others states who come to  share our vision," California Secretary for Environmental Protection James M. Strock said.

U.S. EPA's Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development  Dr. Robert  Huggett said, "The President's National Environmental Technology Strategy calls for a common sense, cost effective EPA program to verify the performance of improved and less expensive environmental technology.  Our partnership with the State of California is the  first Federal/State joint effort to achieve this important goal." 

Recently, U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development and Cal/EPA entered into a partnership to conduct one of ten pilot programs under U.S. EPA's Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program.  This program assists developers of new technologies by giving them an independent evaluation of their technology which can then be used to provide confidence to investors, regulators and customers.  Cal/EPA and U.S. EPA put through a competitive review process 41 applications received from technology developers. Working with the following 11 companies, Cal/EPA and U.S. EPA will establish criteria for evaluating their technologies:

1. Group 206 Technologies, Inc (Gainesville, Florida) A simple field or laboratory test kit for the detection of heavy metal toxicity.
2. SCIGEN (Gardena, California) NEUTRALEXTM  treatment of spent aldehydic solutions.
3. SMarTSonic (Newbury Park, California) Smart Sonic process replaces solvents with an aqueous cleaning process that utilizes a non-hazardous detergent and cold water.
4. Duratherm (Houston, Texas) Thermal desorption for treatment and recycling of hazardous wastes.
5. Katec/Aerosolv (Virginia Beach, Virginia) Aerosol can recycling system. 
6. AKZO Nobel MPP Systems (Louisville, Kentucky) Immobilized organic phase liquid/liquid extraction.
7. Metre-General, Inc.  (Westminster, Colorado) Silica gel immobilized ligands for removal of metals from liquid streams.
8. Air Quality Laboratories (La Jolla, California) Dry cleaning machine waste water treatment and recycling unit.
9. Environmental and Energy Products (Lafayette, California) Closed loop plating waste water recovery system.
10. Columbia Analytical Services (Carlsbad, California) A test to measure biological response to hazardous substances and a system for detecting these compounds in environmental samples, especially dioxin-like compounds.
11. PAT X-Ray Company, Incorporated (Stockton, California) Electrolytic silver reclamation unit for use in film processing operations.

Applications to participate in this innovative pilot program are still available by contacting Department of Toxic Substances Control  at (916) 322-5244.   Selections will be made on a priority basis and will be limited by available resources.  Preference will be given to hazardous waste pollution prevention technologies, although treatment and recycling technologies will also be considered.   Technologies used in these industrial sectors will be given higher priority: computer and electronic manufacturing, metal plating/finishing,petroleum refining, printing, automobile manufacturing, and iron and steel making.

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