Document ID: EPA-HQ-OECA-2003-0154-0011
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-12-10T05:00Z

The
background
papers
on
the
candidate
national
program
priorities
are
intended
to
initiate
further
discussion.
When
priorities
are
selected
more
detailed
strategies
with
in­
depth
background
information,
numerical
targets,
schedules,
milestones
and
performance
measures
will
be
developed.
______________________________________________________________________________

November
2003
Page
1
of
2
Proposed
Priority
Auto
Salvaging
(
SIC
5093
and
5015,
NAICS
42193
and
421140)

Universe
&
Types
of
Facilities
This
sector
includes
auto
wreckers
primarily
engaged
in
dismantling
motor
vehicles
for
the
purpose
of
wholesaling
scrap
and
for
the
purpose
of
selling
parts
(
automotive
salvage
yards
and
automotive
dismantlers).
The
automotive
recycling
businesses
employ
about
47,000
people
at
more
than
6,700
businesses
in
the
U.
S.
An
estimated
78%
of
automotive
recycling
companies
are
full­
service
and
86%
employ
10
or
fewer
people
(
Automotive
Recycling
Industry
Profile
­
1988).
In
1997
alone,
approximately
4.7
million
vehicles
were
acquired
for
recycling
in
North
America.

Geographic
Range
Nationwide.

Environmental
Risks
Contamination
can
arise
from
the
wide
range
of
materials
at
automotive
salvage
facilities.
These
include:
petroleum
products
such
as
gasoline,
diesel
fuel,
motor
oil,
transmission
fluid,
power
steering
fluid,
and
brake
fluid;
engine
coolants
and
additives;
chlorofluorocarbons
(
CFCs);
metals
such
as
iron,
chromium,
lead,
copper,
and
aluminum;
battery
acid;
brake
and
clutch
linings;
rubber;
sodium
azide
from
un­
inflated
air
bags;
mercury­
containing
switches,
and
other
materials.
Additional
potential
sources
of
environmental
contamination
at
salvage
yards
include
a
variety
of
waste
products
such
as
scrap
metal,
Polychlorinated
Biphenyls
(
PCBs)­
containing
fluids
from
heavy
electrical
equipment
(
motors,
transformers,
and
capacitors),
appliances,
heating
and
air
conditioning
systems,
hot
water
tanks,
and
other
heavy
waste
materials.

At
salvage
facilities,
the
contamination
of
soil,
surface
water,
and
groundwater
is
a
primary
concern.
At
many
sites,
the
ground
is
often
heavily
contaminated
with
oils,
hazardous
fluids,
and
other
pollutants
due
to
improper
handling.
Through
infiltration,
these
fluids
can
contaminate
surface
soils,
subsurface
soils
and
ultimately
the
groundwater.
Storm
water
runoff
can
lead
to
surface
water
contamination.

The
outdoor
operation
of
metal
shredders
creates
large
quantities
of
fugitive
dust.
Additionally,
approximately
500
pounds
of
non­
ferrous
automobile
shredder
residue
(
ASR)
is
produced
for
each
car
recycled.
Fluff
(
one
component
of
ASR),
which
is
made
up
of
the
non­
metal
components
of
a
car
including
glass,
ceramics,
cloth,
rubber,
plastic,
and
foam,
may
contain
sufficient
quantities
of
a
variety
of
toxic
substances,
including
heavy
metals
(
e.
g.,
cadmium,
lead,
and
mercury)
to
classify
shredder
fluff
as
hazardous
waste.
The
background
papers
on
the
candidate
national
program
priorities
are
intended
to
initiate
further
discussion.
When
priorities
are
selected
more
detailed
strategies
with
in­
depth
background
information,
numerical
targets,
schedules,
milestones
and
performance
measures
will
be
developed.
______________________________________________________________________________

November
2003
Page
2
of
2
The
release
of
CFCs
not
recovered
pose
a
risk
to
the
earth's
ozone
layer.
Mercury,
a
bioaccumulative,
persistent
toxic,
found
in
mercury
switches
in
vehicles
(
contain
800
mg
of
mercury),
threatens
the
health
of
humans
and
wildlife,
even
in
extremely
small
quantities.
Additional
sources
of
environmental
risk
include
facilities
that
operate
sweat
furnaces
on
site
for
secondary
metal
recycling
which
can
release
dioxin/
furans
if
these
units
are
not
operated
properly
(
many
of
these
minor
sources
are
subject
to
the
Secondary
Aluminum
MACT).

In
both
urban
and
rural
areas,
auto
salvage
facilities
tend
to
be
concentrated
in
poor
and
minority
neighborhoods
and
communities,
areas
typically
suffering
from
pollution
from
a
number
of
industries
and
facilities.

Noncompliance
Information
A
number
of
facilities
in
this
sector
have
had
storm
water
compliance
issues.
For
example,
an
EPA
storm
water
initiative
in
the
Anacostia
watershed
in
Washington
DC,
found
significant
storm
water
noncompliance
issues
at
some
auto
salvage
facilities.
Additionally,
some
compliance
issues
with
potentially
contaminated
fluff
were
identified.
EPA
has
not
had
a
significant
focus
on
this
sector
but
its
limited
experience
suggests
that
there
is
noncompliance
with
storm
water,
CFC
and
other
environmental
requirements.
Many
facilities
do
not
have
good
accounts
of
the
amounts
of
fluids
drained
from
salvaged
automobiles,
chemicals
found
in
these
fluids
or
documentation
regarding
their
disposal.
There
is
concern
that
some
of
these
facilities
could
require
soil
remediation.