For printed copies of this or other pollution prevention
publications distributed by the Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Pollution Prevention, please call the Office of 
Pollution Prevention at 614/644-3469.  A printed copy of the
Office of Pollution Prevention publications distribution list,
"Pollution Prevention Information Available from Ohio EPA", may
also be ordered by calling 614/644-3469.

United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
Washington, D.C. 20460

Pollution Prevention Fact Sheet
EPA/742-F-93-005
September 1993

Pollution Prevention Act of 1990

Purpose

The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, signed into law in November
1990, establishes pollution prevention as a "national objective." 
The Act notes that:

     "There are significant opportunities for industry to reduce
     or prevent pollution at the source through cost effective
     changes in production, operation, and raw material use...
     The opportunities for source reduction are often not
     realized because existing regulations, and the industrial
     resources they require for compliance, focus upon treatment
     and disposal, rather than source reduction... Source
     reduction is fundamentally different and more desirable than
     waste management and pollution control."

Environmental Protection Hierarchy

The Act establishes a hierarchy of environmental protection
measures, declaring that pollution should be prevented or reduced
at the source wherever feasible, while pollution that cannot be
prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe manner. 
In the absence of feasible prevention or recycling opportunities,
pollution should be treated;  disposal or other release into the
environment should be used as a last resort.

Definition of Pollution Prevention

Pollution Prevention is defined in the law to mean "source
reduction" (as further defined below), and other practices that
reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants through:

     - increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy,
       water, or other resources, or
     - protection of natural resources by conservation.

Definition of source reduction

Source reduction is defined in the law to mean any practice which
reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant or
contaminant entering any waste stream or otherwise released into
the environment (including fugitive emissions) prior to
recycling, treatment or disposal; and which reduces the hazards
to public health and the environment associated with the release
of such substances, pollutants, or contaminants.

Provisions

The Pollution Prevention Act formalizes the establishment of an
office at EPA (the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics)
independent of the single medium programs to carry out the
functions required by the Act and to develop and implement a
strategy to promote source reduction.  Among other provisions,
the law directs EPA to:

     - facilitate the adoption of source reduction techniques by
       businesses and by other federal agencies;

     - establish standard methods of measurement for source
       reduction;

     - review regulations to determine their effect on source
       reduction;

     - investigate opportunities to use federal procurement to
       encourage source reduction;

     - develop improved methods for providing public access to
       data collected under federal environmental statutes;

     - develop a training program on source reduction
       opportunities, model source reduction auditing procedures, a
       source reduction clearinghouse, and an annual award program.

Grants

The Act authorizes an $8 million state grant program to promote
source reduction by businesses, with a 50 percent state match
requirement.

TRI Reporting

Under the Act, facilities required to report releases to EPA for
the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) must also now provide
information on pollution prevention and recycling, for each
facility and for each toxic chemical.  The information includes:
the quantities of each toxic chemical entering the waste stream
and the percentage change from the previous year, the quantities
recycled and percentage change from the previous year, source
reduction practices, and changes in production from the previous
year.

Report to Congress

The Act requires EPA to report to Congress within 18 months (and
biennially afterwards) on actions needed to implement a strategy
to promote source reduction, and an assessment of the
clearinghouse and the grant program.

For Further Information

Contact the Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse
(PPIC), U.S. EPA (PM 3404), 401 M Street SW, Washington, D.C.
20460, Tel: 202-260-1023, FAX: 202-260-0178.