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KODAK AND PPG INDUSTRIES DEVELOP SAFER PRODUCTS AND CUT COSTS UNDER PROJECT XL AGREEMENTS

Release Date: 09/14/2000
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2000

KODAK AND PPG INDUSTRIES DEVELOP SAFER PRODUCTS
AND CUT COSTS UNDER PROJECT XL AGREEMENTS

Today EPA signed new Project XL agreements with Kodak and PPG Industries that will reward the companies for producing environmentally superior products by granting administrative flexibility in their research and development operations. Kodak has its R&D operations at Rochester, N.Y., PPG at three facilities in the Pittsburgh area. The companies will apply EPA’s Pollution Prevention Framework, a set of risk screening methods, in the development of new chemical substances. These tools help companies predict future risks early in the product development process. EPA developed the Pollution Prevention Framework to assist companies in quickly screening chemicals and chemical products for risk in the absence of actual performance data. It also helps them develop cleaner operating and waste handling processes and produce products safer to the environment. Through Project XL, EPA will allow Kodak and PPG to cut in half the 90-day pre-manufacture waiting period currently required under the Toxic Substances Control Act, as long as the chemical products present low risk to human health or the environment. While the companies will take slightly different approaches to achieving the environmental gains envisioned in these XL projects, their goals are the same. Both Kodak and PPG are using upfront screening to improve the environmental characteristics of their products. In using the approach, they can reduce costs, save time, and enhance their competitive edge. The companies also are promoting and demonstrating to other industries the environmental and economic benefits of chemical risk screening. With the signing of these agreements, there are now 33 XL projects being implemented by EPA and its partners. Project XL is a five-year-old EPA initiative that tests innovative ways of achieving better and less costly public health and environmental protection. Providing flexibility for companies who strive to attain environmentally superior results is a key element of Project XL. More information is available at: https://www.epa.gov/projectxl

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