Publications and Reports

Factsheet that addresses some of the concerns about chemical emissions from artificial turf

Includes background and best management practices overview. Call 650-329-2598 for a copy of the "Best Management Practices for Pottery Facilities."

Reducing Copper Discharges to San Francisco Bay from Circuit Board and Metal Finishing Shops. How to order a 52-minute Video Created By Waste-Not Video Productions™ for The Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant

Reasonable Control Measures Fact Sheet

"Don't Flush Mercury Down the Drain" poster for dental offices

The Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plan (RWQCP) is concerned about potential dry cleaning waste discharges to the sewer system, and has instituted an educational program to ensure that dry cleaning solvent is not discharged to the sewer or storm drain system.

This program involves educating facilities on Best Management Practices (BMPs) and issuing permits to shops that discharge metal-bearing waste to the sanitary sewer.

Wastewater treatment systems for vehicle service facilities machine shops other small shops

This white paper has been prepared to initiate a regional dialogue regarding pharmaceutical disposal to the sewer system. It provides an overview of research on pharmaceuticals in the environment and potential actions for consideration during that regional dialogue.

Wastewater discharged from hospitals and medical facilities contains relatively low concentrations of pollutants. However, the mass contribution for some pollutants can be significant due to the large flows from such facilities.

The RWQCP has reviewed many of the activities at the hospitals within its service area. By evaluating the waste generating activities and the waste management practices at these facilities, the following Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been developed.

This report is an account of a study performed of water and wastewater systems at Stanford University Medical Center.

Even though water used in your home is treated before it is discharged into the Bay, modern treatment facilities are not designed to remove medications.

Getting Mercury out of Healthcare Facilities...

Contact one of the businesses on our list of "recognized" mobile cleaners

Mobile Cleaner's guidelines for outdoor cleaning projects

Over 75% of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant’s (RWQCP’s) influent silver originates from some 350 relatively small commercial facilities and institutions including photo shops, printers, graphic artists, photographers, dentists, chiropractors, clinics and others.

The Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) has developed these guidelines for water quality protection in order to minimize discharge of metals and other potential pollutants from printers to both the sanitary sewer and storm drain systems.

Selenium is a toxic metal that is not completely removed from wastewater by existing sewage treatment plant technology.

Copper, a highly toxic metal, is present in significant amounts near the Regional Water Quality Control Plant’s (RWQCP’s) outfall in San Francisco Bay. Copper is especially poisonous in very small amounts to aquatic plants and animals such as shellfish in early life stages.

Reducing Pipe Corrosion Reduces Copper to the Bay Your skilled installation techniques can greatly reduce pipe corrosion and help protect the Bay

Recent studies show that food handling facilities are one of the sources of releases of water pollutants to storm drains. Improper discharges of oil and grease, food particles, detergents, solvents, and other cleaning products into the storm drains can pose serious problems to our creeks and the Bay.

Grease-related overflows are costly to clean up, and may expose restaurant customers or employees, food service workers, and others to health risks, or threaten wildlife by going to local creeks and the Bay untreated.

The Regional Water Quality Control Plant began accepting treated contaminated groundwater in late 1987. Typically, groundwater is from remediation sites contaminated by industrial solvents or leaking fuel tanks.

The City of Palo Alto instituted, on a pilot basis, a fee system for key toxic pollutants effective July 1, 1992.

Informational brochure on handling industrial hazardous waste when doing demolition work. Call (650) 329-2495 for copies.

How to keep sediments and contaminated groundwater out of the storm drain system and the sanitary sewer

Soil excavation and grading operations loosen large amounts of soil that can flow or blow into storm drains when handled improperly.

Fresh concrete and cement-related mortars that wash into lakes, streams, or estuaries are toxic to fish and the aquatic environment.

Construction sites are common sources of storm water pollution. Materials and wastes that blow or wash into a storm drain, gutter, or street have a direct impact on local creeks and the Bay.

Many landscaping activities increase the likelihood that earth and garden chemicals will run off into the storm drains. Swimming pool water containing chlorine and copper based algaecides should never be discharged to storm drains.

All paints, solvents, and adhesives contain chemicals that are harmful to wildlife in local creeks, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean.

Road paving, surfacing, and pavement removal happen right in the street, where there are numerous opportunities for asphalt, saw-cut slurry, or excavated material to illegally enter storm drains.

Poorly maintained vehicles and heavy equipment that leak fuel, oil, antifreeze or other fluids on the construction site are common sources of storm drain pollution.

The purpose of this report is to present the data and information the RWQCP has gathered to address copper control actions.

This report describes common architectural uses of copper, and then estimates how much of this copper corrodes and is released into the environment throughout the service life of a building. Best management practices are presented for reducing the amounts of these copper releases.

Approximately 71% of the copper discharged from the RWQCP comes from corrosion of copper pipes and cooling equipment in homes and businesses.

Because corrosion by far contributes the greatest amount of copper to the influent load, efforts to reduce copper discharges from corrosion could substantially reduce the observed copper levels.

Brochure on how to properly drain pools and spas, how to locate sewer cleanout for draining, using alternative to copper algaecides and tips about cleaning your pool.

Designers Are Part of the Solution. Plumbing engineers and system designers can significantly reduce pipe corrosion by making simple design adjustments.

Review a table of identified copper sources and related corrective actions

The sources and conveyances of dioxins to the wastewater treatment plant were identified in Dioxins Source Identification (EIP, 1997). Using the sources identified and the recommended source reduction strategies in that report, a pollution prevention plan was developed for the large conveyances of dioxins to the RWQCP.

The primary conveyances through which dioxins flow to the Regional Water Quality Control Plant appear to be laundry graywater, storm water inflow, shower water, human waste, and toilet paper. Primary local sources of dioxins appear to be residential wood burning and motor vehicles, particularly diesel-fueled motor vehicles.

Use this form for a quick assessment of water quality practices in your laboratory

Description of cooling water additives and potential impacts to the sanitary sewer.

Factsheet on cooling water treatment and potential impacts to the sanitary sewer.

Modifying maintenance and facility management practices -- and requesting that your contracted service providers do the same -- will reduce the amount of pollutants flowing into the Bay.

Roof runoff in industrial areas can be a significant source of pollutants to stormwater. There are a variety of Best Management Practices (BMPs) available to prevent rooftop pollution.

Zinc is often used in floor finishes because it increases durability, especially in sites where frequent cleanings are required. Wastewater resulting from stripping of zinc-containing floor finishes has been found to contain as much as 500 ppm zinc.

Use of certain floor waxes and finishers can result in zinc concentrations greater than the discharge limit of 2 mg/L

Use the Bay Area Wastewater Treatment Agencies Phone List to find the agency that serves your location select your county. Look for the service area that contains your facility.

The Emily Renzel Wetlands Site Restoration was designed to expand and enhance the growth of pickleweed, which is the habitat for the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse.

Programs for vehicle service facilities, printed circuit board manufacturers and metal finishers, and pools are representative examples of the pollution prevention activities conducted by the Regional Water Quality Control Plant

Item No. 4 - Fairmeadow Neighborhood Single Story Overlay District

The Regional Water Quality Control Plant Pollution Prevention Program addresses the sewer and storm water discharges of about 100 major industrial facilities, more than 1,000 commercial businesses, about 200,000 area residents.

The plant provides the water free of charge to permitted operators of tank trucks, including landscapers and construction contractors.

For three years (1995-1998), the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant collected influent and effluent concentration data for copper, nickel, and zinc on a weekly basis. The purpose of this document is to examine some of the factors that may influence these concentrations.

Water Pollution And Sustainability: Palo Alto’s History Of Response To New Challenges

The use of recycled water from the Regional Water Quality Control Plant to the duck pond commenced in April 2004, at approximately 20 gallons per minute.

Palo Alto strives to implement a comprehensive water quality protection program covering both storm drain and sanitary sewer discharge issues. The comprehensive Urban Runoff Management Plan addresses these issues.

Brochure about the Water Reuse Program

In response to regional concerns about dioxin emissions, the City of Palo Alto adopted a dioxin policy “to eliminate dioxin and its subsequent release to the environment”

Informative brochure about maintaining and draining pools, spas, and fountains

Home Darkroom Users Drop Off Spent Photochemicals at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant

This brochure is for homeowners, and do-it-yourself remodelers who have access to residential household hazardous waste disposal programs.

Pocket Seafood Selector guide to choosing fish that are both eco-friendly and healthy to eat

Because storm drains flow directly to local creeks and San Francisco Bay with no treatment, chemicals and copper found in pool water can threaten aquatic life. Even small amounts of chemicals can be detrimental to our creeks and Bay.

In winter, fireplaces and wood-stoves generate 40 percent of the Bay Area’s particulate air pollution.

Research shows significant correlations between exposure to woodsmoke and a wide variety of respiratory ailments and lung cancer.

Woodsmoke is an important source of dioxins and other toxic compounds. Wood-smoke contributes 39 percent of dioxin air emissions in the Bay Area.

In 1990, Peninsula Plating Works was awarded special recognition from the RWQCP for completely eliminating its discharge to the sewer. This was accomplished by modifying plating rinse procedures.

On January 29, 1995 (Superbowl Sunday), the Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) experienced the highest 24-hour average influent copper concentration in recent history, 415 parts per billion (ppb), five times normal levels.

In November 1995, the cyanide in the Regional Water Quality Control Plant’s discharge to San Francisco Bay increased dramatically from typical values of 3 to 4 parts per billion (ppb) to as high as 40 ppb.

Discharge limits and detection levels of wastewater pollutants

In 1990 an Ordinance revision was adopted for the cities within the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) service area requiring the preparation of Waste Minimization (now called "Pollution Prevention") Plans.

In 1989, the Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) began implementing enforcement procedures designed to impose monetary penalties. Enforcement since, has resulted in compliance agreements with industries that violated their discharge limits.

Ordinance provisions became effective in January 1995 that affect businesses and institutions discharging wastewater to the sewer or to the storm drain system. The provisions clarify that the discharge of contaminated water to the storm drain system is not allowed.

Watkins-Johnson Company eliminated its process discharge to the sewer from its Building 1 metal finishing operations in May 1993. Watkins-Johnson now treats and reuses the wastewater generated from its plating operations.

Communications & Power Industries (CPI) has recently implemented pollution prevention projects to reduce its copper discharge and comply with sewer discharge requirements for metal finishers in the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) service area.

In 1995, the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) adopted sewer use ordinance provisions that require metal finishing industries to implement pollution prevention.

Specific Plating has dramatically reduced its sewer discharges of copper and nickel. The company’s pollution prevention efforts include both modifications of industrial processes and improved waste handling and treatment techniques.

In recent years, the City of Palo Alto has coordinated with local government agencies and environmental groups to develop specific control measures to help reduce pollutants in storm water runoff.

In 1994, the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) entered an agreement with a printed circuit board facility, Davila International Circuits (DICI), to perform a pollution prevention demonstration project.

In 1994, the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) entered an agreement with the printed circuit board facility TechniTron, Inc. to perform a pollution prevention demonstration project.

This Fact Sheet is one of six that summarize the findings from pollution prevention reviews conducted by the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). This Fact Sheet summarizes the pollution prevention review of Davila International Circuits, Inc. in Mountain View, California.

This Fact Sheet is one of six that summarize the findings from pollution prevention reviews conducted by the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). This Fact Sheet summarizes the pollution prevention review of Electrite Company, Inc. in East Palo Alto, California.

This Fact Sheet is one of six that summarize the findings from pollution prevention reviews conducted by the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). This Fact Sheet summarizes the pollution prevention review of Martex Circuits, Incorporated in Mountain View, California.

This Fact Sheet is one of six that summarize the findings from pollution prevention reviews conducted by the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). This Fact Sheet summarizes the pollution prevention review of Specific Plating Company in Palo Alto, California.

This Fact Sheet is one of six that summarize the findings from pollution prevention reviews conducted by the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). This Fact Sheet summarizes the pollution prevention review of Symtron Corporation in Mountain View, California.

This Fact Sheet is one of six that summarize the findings from pollution prevention reviews conducted by the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). This Fact Sheet summarizes the pollution prevention review of Technitron, Inc. in Mountain View, California.

Because the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) does not meet its new copper and nickel discharge standards, it is exploring all feasible methods of reducing its metals discharge to San Francisco Bay. To date, area industry has made tremendous pollutant discharge reduction efforts.

On the afternoon of September 17, 1996, the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) hosted a workshop called “Successful Pollution Prevention” that highlighted the outstanding efforts of several local metal finishers and printed circuit board manufacturers that implemented pollution prevention projects at their facilities.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a satellite manufacturer located in the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) service area, has implemented a pollution prevention project that reduced its total wastewater discharge by more than 90%, and its copper discharge by 97%.

Ramlor, Inc. has successfully eliminated its discharge of wastewater to the sewer. The company’s pollution prevention efforts include spray rinsing and recycling of treated rinsewater.

Watkins-Johnson’s Building 5 wastewater treatment system began processing waste water in February 1994. In April 1996, Watkins-Johnson Company began to use the treatment system to recycle a large fraction of its process waters from its Building 5 semiconductor fabrication operations.

Martex Circuits Corporation (Martex) has reduced its sewer discharges of copper and nickel. The company has used a sand filter and better treatment chemicals to improve waste handling and treatment techniques.

To eliminate the use of mercury and its subsequent release to the environment., the City will evaluate pollution prevention opportunities to eliminate mercury and dioxin sources from municipal, commercial, industrial and residential activities.

The RWQCP initiated a recycling program for these bulbs in conjunction with five local hardware stores and a local fluorescent lamp recycler. Residents simply drop off expired T-8, T-12, tube, compact or U-shaped tubes which are stored in barrels provided by the recycler.

By using more energy efficient lighting and recycling old bulbs, businesses and residents will save energy and help reduce air and water pollution.

Because adopting a mercury reduction policy could affect future purchases of mercury-containing items, this memorandum identifies mercury-containing items that Palo Alto may be buying.

Since 1997 the RWQCP has estimated the relative amounts of mercury from laboratories, hospitals, dental offices, human waste, food waste, industrial processes, stormwater inflow, and miscellaneous other activities. This quantification has been based upon local monitoring data, studies by other wastewater treatment plants, and the scientific literature.

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board has listed all segments of San Francisco Bay as impaired due to mercury pollution.

Over the past few years, the RWQCP has put in place several programs that reduce sources of mercury discharges. Among them are a program to reduce the use of mercury thermometers; best management practices for hospitals and other medical facilities, laboratories and pottery studios; and distribution of a guide to installing graywater systems.

Mercury Sources and Alternatives in Health Care SOURCE: Adapted from “Mercury reduction in the health care section” The list contains some common sources of mercury in health care and general information about alternatives. More detailed information on select alternative products can be found in the alternative product section.

Informational Brochure about Mercury

Don't use PVC use these instead...

Significant mercury sources are found in household items like fluorescent lights, thermometers, and thermostats. You can help keep mercury out of the Bay by recycling burned-out fluorescent lights.

Eliminating unnecessary mercury sources, such as specific consumer products, is a critical task because of increasingly stringent mercury discharge limits for wastewater treatment plants.

The results presented in this second annual report demonstrate significant staff efforts to respond to information and goals provided in the 2001 Annual Report (published in July 2002).

Report summarizing the pesticide application practices within the City of Palo Alto.

Summary of the pesticides applied at City facilities in 2009.

Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as reduced-risk pest management, encourages long term pest prevention and suppression through a combination of techniques.

Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as reduced-risk pest management, encourages long-term pest prevention and suppression through a combination of techniques.

The City will ensure that general staff and staff who are responsible for pest control will adhere to both the City-wide and division specific pesticide plan and procedure requirements.

One way to encourage visiting beneficials to be permanent pest patrollers is to grow flowers that are good producers of nectar and pollen; with your help they’ll have food when pest populations decline.

The Argentine ant is a frequent invader in California homes. Although they can be pests, ants provide an ecological cleansing and fertilization service of considerable importance. For

Most plants can tolerate low to moderate numbers of aphids without noticeable damage. On some plants, however, large numbers of aphids can distort foliage and flowers and stunt plant growth.

Amazing as it seems, our pest snails were originally imported from France for culinary purposes. Unfortunately, they escaped to become a major garden and agricultural problem.

With their potent sting, yellowjackets can be menacing creatures when it comes to a showdown over the picnic table. Few people are aware that yellowjackets are voracious predators of insect pests such as caterpillars and flies.

If you want or need to hire a professional pest control service, look for a company that offers less toxic pest control or Integrated Pest Management.

A healthy garden filled with a wide variety of flowering plants will be more resistant to significant pest damage.

It is unrealistic to think that we can have a garden or a lawn that is entirely weed free. If you really want to solve your weed problem, you will need to spend some time, have some patience, and expend some effort.

Although cockroaches are useful outdoors, where they help recycle plant and animal wastes, they are not welcome indoors.

The flea most commonly found in and around the home is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Flea bites cause irritation, but also serious allergies in some animals and humans.

Mosquitoes are delicious food for fish and other aquatic creatures, but their buzzing and itchy bites make them a great annoyance to people.

Spiders are beneficial creatures. Because they feed on large quantities of insects, they should be tolerated as much as possible in the home and garden.

Evidence shows that a growing number of commonly purchased and applied pesticides can be harmful to both people and the environment.

Evidence shows that a growing number of commonly purchased and applied pesticides can be harmful to both people and the environment. Part of the problem is the toxicity of the pesticides themselves, but an even greater factor is the sheer volume of pesticides people use, which ends up in our water, air, and soil.

Lawns can look beautiful without using pesticides and fertilizers that may contribute to water quality problems in a local creek, the Bay or Delta.

Even when applied according to label directions, pesticides make their way into our waterways, air, rain and fog.

To grow beautiful roses, you don't need to use pesticides and fungicides that may contribute to local water quality problems.

This product list is intended to help stores participating in the "Our Water, Our World" promotion to stock less-toxic products that are compatible with Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

Diazinon is one of the most commonly used pesticides in California. In 1995, toxicity testing conducted by Alameda County (a San Francisco Bay area county) linked diazinon to toxicity in Bay Area creeks.

Diazinon is one of the most commonly used pesticides in California. In the past few years, diazinon has been found in surface water, wastewater, rain and fog in concentrations toxic to indicator species, and sampling data collected to date suggest that toxicity problems are widespread in urban areas.

On June 8, 2000, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an agreement with pesticide manufacturers that will remove chlorpyrifos, a commonly used insecticide (also sold as Dursban or Lorsban) from retail sale and most residential and professional uses by the end of 2001.

This document is intended to supplement the RWQCP’s primary pollution prevention plan, the Clean Bay Plan. During the RWQCP’s annual pollution prevention planning process, the RWQCP will also consider implementing actions identified in this report as “strategies for further consideration.”

The Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) conducted this study to investigate potential sources of organochlorine pesticides in the plant’s influent.

One of the top ten most used herbicides in the U.S. is 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), which is derived from 2,4-dichlorophenol. Because of the use of 2,4-dichlorophenol to make 2,4-D, it contains traces of dioxin.

Studies by a variety of agencies suggest that copper-based root control agents can contribute 5 to 12 percent of the total quantity of copper received by a wastewater treatment plant. Analyses by the RWQCP suggest that only a few users of tri-butyl tin cooling water additives can cause the RWQCP's effluent to exceed the tri-butyl tin standard.

Annual Watershed Protection Report for Industrial Waste and Source Control

The work plan is divided into two parts: 1. Advanced dental office source control, 2. Mercury use investigation at the RWQCP

Provision 4 of the RWQCP’s August 2003 Discharge Order requires that the RWQCP partners achieve further mercury reductions by developing and implementing an Advanced Mercury Source Control Study.

In response to regional concerns about dioxin emissions, the Environmental Compliance Division is to pursuing the purchase of process-chlorine free (PCF) paper for City wide use.

While the Regional Water Quality Control Plant removes about 90 percent of the copper that enters the plant, the remaining portion that reaches the Bay significantly exceeds regulatory standards. The plant can only meet its discharge limits if industry, commercial establishments, and residents reduce the amount of copper they release into the sewer.

Copper, zinc, chrome, and tributyltin can be found in the discharge from some cooling water systems. The Regional Water Quality Control Plant is working to reduce the discharge of all of these metals to the sanitary sewer and the storm drain system.

In 1993, the RWQCP implemented a program for laboratories. About 100 laboratories in the area conduct chemistry, biotechnology, medical, engineering, and semiconductor research and development.

Bioaccumulation of mercury produces relatively high concentrations of mercury in higher organisms, such as fish. Human exposure to mercury affects the brain, spinal cord, kidneys, and liver, and interferes with normal fetal development. In humans, elevated mercury levels can cause mental and physical retardation.

In August 1995, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) reissued the second 5-year NPDES permit to the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program. One of the permit provisions required the Program to develop a Revised Metals Control Measures Plan to reduce copper and other metals in storm water.

The Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) releases polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to the San Francisco Bay through its treated effluent and could potentially release them to soil if sludge management practices change.

The Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) conducted this study to investigate sources of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the plant’s influent. PCBs arrive at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant from stormwater inflow, landfills, hazardous waste management, human waste, and food waste. The sources of these PCBs are materials and equipment manufactured prior to 1977, when the manufacture of PCBs ceased.

This edition presents the status of copper discharge reduction projects at metal finishing shops and circuit board manufacturers as of 12/31/98, 30 months after the enactment of the new sewer ordinance that established copper discharge limits for these firms.

It’s Federal Law - Urban stormwater runoff is a significant source of pollution to the nation’s waters. In 1987 Congress began to address this problem by requiring municipalities with storm drain systems to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.

Many natural resources are saved each year due to Palo Alto’s switch to process chlorine free copy paper.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are commonly used flame-retardants that are now ubiquitous environmental contaminants. Wastewater treatment plants are one source of PBDEs to the environment through their discharge of treated effluent and land application of sewage sludge.

In order to become a Clean Bay Business, each facility must comply with all ordinance requirements to prevent pollutant discharges to sewers and storm drains.

The Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) conducted this study to investigate sources of zinc in the plant’s influent. Although zinc is relatively nontoxic to humans, its ecological effects are of greater concern.

Palo Alto Stormwater Report for SCVURPPP

Palo Alto Stormwater Report for SCVURPPP

Palo Alto Stormwater Report for SCVURPPP

In 1997, the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) prepared a study identifying sources of dioxins and a Dioxins Pollution Prevention Plan to reduce the amount of dioxins entering the plant in wastewater

Wood preservatives are used to protect wood against rot and infestation. Pentachlorophenol (also known as “penta” or “PCP”) is a common wood preservative that contains traces of polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (referred to collectively as “dioxin”).

Available data show that exhaust from the combustion of diesel fuel contains dioxin. This memorandum summarizes available information about dioxin in diesel fuel exhaust.

This memorandum reviews some environmental concerns regarding the production, use, and disposal of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and explores potential alternatives to its use. PVC is a common plastic often referred to as “vinyl.”

Dioxins are believed to be present in at least some tires as a result of the use of chloranil during the manufacturing process. The attached calculations estimate the upper range of the potential dioxin concentration in tires.

This mercury reduction menu is intended to help water agencies better understand the options that exist to reduce mercury discharges. It focuses on mercury reduction programs that have been implemented by water agencies and others, and includes some ideas for programs that have not yet been tried.

This technical memorandum updates the Mercury Source Identification prepared for the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) in August 1997 to better estimate the load attributable to mercury discharges from dental offices (EIP Associates 1997).

The objective of this study was to characterize typical plant mass transfer of mercury (Hg) across the treatment plant and incinerator mass balance “boundaries” (see Figure 1), as well as account for all known significant mass flows in and out of the mass balance boundaries.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of compounds that bioaccumulate in the food web and are considered potential endocrine disruptors. An endocrine disruptor is a compound that that can interfere with the normal hormone function in humans and animals that controls metabolism, growth and reproduction.

The vehicle service facilities program involves education and positive incentives, combined with enforcement, to encourage shops to reduce pollution and achieve compliance.

Many brake pads contain copper, and they contribute more than half of the copper in urban runoff. The Brake Pad Partnership is pursuing legislation to phase out copper use in brake pads.

Dirty, soapy water is on its way to the nearest creek when you wash your car on the street— or in a driveway that slopes to the gutter. Even biodegradable soap is initially harmful to creek life!

More than 98% of vehicle service facilities in our communities are making special efforts to protect local creeks and San Francisco Bay

List of Clean Bay Business auto parts stores

List of pharmacies, hardware stores, and garden centers that participate in the Clean Bay Business Program

This report describes the approach and findings of an investigation to evaluate the contribution of heavy metals to storm water by disc brake pad wear. The purpose of the study was to measure metal concentrations in disc brakes, and to estimate the pollutant load contributed by brake pad wear to storm water in Santa Clara Valley.

What you can do about protecting the environment from vehicle home repairs

The Clean Bay Business Program provides vehicle service facilities with positive incentives

As part of the effort to reduce pollution from vehicle service facilities, the Regional Water Quality Control Plant developed the Vehicle Service Facility Waste Minimization Program, combining increased regulation, education, and positive incentives to encourage pollution prevention.

Perchloroethylene is a significant contributor to cancer risk imposed by wastewater treatment plants on communities surrounding the plants. One notable source is engine degreaser. (Tri-TAC Presentation)