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For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Lorna Haris (917) 825-4959
George McGrath (212) 354-5588
Glenn Goldstein (917) 501-9629
Urban NOx Reduction Partnership
Improves Local Air Quality in NYC Communities
Brooklyn, NY (May 4, 2005) -- Today the public and private sectors have come together to form a unique partnership
in an effort toward improving air quality within the five boroughs; initiated by Clean Air Communities ( CAC ), Waste
Management (WM), Local Development Corporation of East New York (LDCENY), Combustion Components Associates (CCA), and
ENSR International (ENSR). These prominent organizations are addressing the contribution of NOx (Oxides of Nitrogen) to
ground level ozone pollution by demonstrating an innovative emissions reduction technology in Waste Management vehicles
operating in Brooklyn and the Bronx .
The technology, ELIM-NOx, is designed to dramatically reduce emissions of NOx from diesel exhaust and help improve
local air quality in communities suffering from asthma and other related respiratory ailments. "By instituting a
number of innovative measures, Waste Management has worked to reduce the impact of its facilities and operations on the
surrounding community" said Tara Hemmer, Market Area Engineer, Waste Management. "This NOx reduction technology
has the potential to enable us to retrofit existing diesel equipment in a minimum amount of time, cost-effectively and with
little or no disruption to our operations."
CAC , a non-profit organization committed to implementing air pollution reduction and energy efficiency strategies
in New York City communities, is providing funding for the demonstration through a community grant to LDCENY. "Ozone
pollution is very much a local air quality and public health issue," stated Glenn P. Goldstein, Program Director of CAC.
"Which is why it is so important to demonstrate how reliable waste collection and cleaner air can actually be packaged
together -- it is essential for all cities. I am confident Waste Management's adoption of NOx control technology now
sets the stage for cleaner air in New York City . We're getting started today."
Once in operation, the ELIM-NOx system adds a precise amount of a non-hazardous, liquid urea solution into the
exhaust. The solution decomposes in the hot exhaust stream to form ammonia, which mixes with the NOx and passes
through a catalyst in the exhaust pipe, turning NOx into harmless water and nitrogen. CCA, the NOx reduction technology
manufacturer, has applied the technology to two roll-off trucks in Brooklyn as well as on trash compactors and loaders at
Waste Management transfer stations in Greenpoint and at the Harlem River Yard in the Bronx . A total of six (6) vehicles
and machines will be retrofit overall.
"We are pleased to be working with LDCENY, Waste Management, and CAC to pioneer the use of this technology in New York
City and demonstrate its value in improving air quality," said R. Gifford Broderick, President, CCA. "This proven technology
has been used in stationery diesel equipment in the U.S. for more than a decade, and has been recently adopted by the
European Union as the preferred NOx reduction solution for diesel-powered trucks. It has tremendous potential for New York,
where thousands of diesel trucks and pieces of industrial equipment are in operation every day."
"Air pollution remains a serious health issue for our community," added Brian Renehan, Industrial Development Coordinator,
LDCENY. "This innovative technology promises to decrease NOx emissions from mobile diesel equipment by up to 70%,
significantly reducing pollutants that create harmful ground level ozone and aggravate respiratory problems such as asthma
and emphysema."
CAC, Waste Management, LDCENY, CCA, and ENSR International will collect emissions data from the vehicles and equipment
over the coming year to monitor the performance of the technology under actual working conditions to ensure that harmful
emissions are being reduced. From this valuable data, ENSR will construct air quality models that quantify the potential
benefits of using NOx control technology on a local and regional level. "We are looking for the preliminary modeling
results to indicate that widespread use of this technology will result in a significant reduction (approximately 20 percent)
in ambient NOx levels within heavily traveled NYC metropolitan areas," states Dom Mormile, Senior Program Manager, ENSR. By
combining in-use emissions data with robust air quality modeling, the partnership will be able to communicate to the
community how effective pollution controls mitigate the contribution of mobile sources such as refuse vehicles to local
and regional air pollution.
About Clean Air Communities
CAC is collaborative initiative of NESCCAF committed to implementing air pollution reduction and energy efficiency
strategies in low-income New York City communities that are disproportionately affected by air pollution. CAC is
designed to serve as a national model for using market-based mechanisms to inspire and implement community-based
clean air initiatives that advance environmental justice.
About Local Development Corporation of East New York
Local Development Corporation of East New York (LDC) promotes economic development in East Brooklyn through
initiatives designed to support entrepreneurs and small business owners, attract and retain businesses to the
community, help local companies generate new jobs and train local employees, develop clean air technologies,
renewable energy projects, and brownfields, and develop low-income housing projects in East New York. The LDC
serves as a liaison between the public and private spheres, bringing funding to private ventures that serve the
interests of the local community.
About Combustion Components Associates
Combustion Components Associates (CCA) develops manufactures and markets air pollution control technologies.
For over twenty years, CCA has been an industry leader in the design, development, testing and manufacture of high
efficiency, low emission combustion systems for fossil fueled boilers. In 2002, the company developed the ELIM-NOx
SCR system in conjunction with Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. The company serves all the major power companies, pollution
control technology providers and diesel truck operators.
About Waste Management, Inc.
Waste Management, Inc. is the industry's leading provider of comprehensive waste management and environmental services,
serving municipal, commercial, industrial, and residential customers throughout North America. In New York City, Waste
Management provides waste collection and recycling services to some 12,000 commercial customers throughout Brooklyn,
the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, including small businesses, office buildings, hotels, retail stores, and restaurants,
and exports residential waste under contract with the NYC Department of Sanitation.
About ENSR
ENSR International is a leading global provider of environmental and energy development services to industrial and
commercial companies and government agencies. With 35 years of experience, ENSR has completed over 60,000 air, water,
and waste related projects in 100 countries, on all continents, in 40 languages. ENSR has received Environmental
Business Journal Awards in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and has been cited as a top environmental supplier in Latin America and
the UK. ENSR International is ranked in the Engineering News Record's annual listing as the 13th largest All-Environmental
firm.
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