KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee is playing a vital role in a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plan to cut 99 percent of hazardous chromium pollution from the nation’s air.
UT’s Centers for Industrial Services and Center for Telecommunications and Video are producing a national video teleconference that will help chrome-plating companies reduce pollution and meet new federal regulations. The teleconference will be broadcast 2-5 p.m., EST, Nov. 15, via satellite on the Ku band only.
Bill Wiley, who directs the CIS Center for Waste Management Worker Training, said the program will cover new federal regulations enacted in January 1995 to control chromium air emissions. The new regulations are the result of the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990.
EPA reports say that some forms of chromium can cause lung cancer. Much of the nation’s chromium emissions pollution comes from the 5,000 U.S. facilities that perform chromium electroplating.
The EPA estimates full compliance with its new regulations will cut 173 tons of chromium emitted into the air annually — a 99 percent reduction from today’s levels.
Wiley said the teleconference has scheduled industry and government leaders to explain the new laws and how to best meet new standards.
Invited speakers include Frank Altmayer, Director of the American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society, and Lalit Banker, EPA environmental engineer who authored the agency’s new chromium emission standards.
The teleconference schedule includes a live talk show format, followed by video case studies and live question and answer periods. It is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Agency.
For more information, contact CIS at (423) 532-8657.
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Contact: Bill Wiley (423-974-6621)