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News from the Toxics Use Reduction Institute
at the University of Massachusetts Lowell 
 
 November 2013 
Open House at TURI

 

Tuesday, December 10th
2:30 to 4:30
Wannalancit 5th floor (Suite 501)
East Campus

 

Please join us!   


Learn about TURI's projects to help Massachusetts companies and communities reduce the use of toxic chemicals.

Find out about opportunities for student projects.

Learn about the projects we have planned for the spring and beyond.

Meet new people and catch up with old friends.

 

Enjoy hot cider, hot chocolate, & cookies!  

 

RSVP to Maria Scholl by email or call 978-934-4964

 

Reminder!

Registration for the Safe Spray Foam and Intelligent Insulation Workshop scheduled for December 11, 2013 is full. You can find more information and directions here.
 

Business Value Creation Through Green Chemistry 

 

Wednesday - December 18, 2013
8:30am to 1:00pm 

U.S. EPA Region 1
Memorial Hall
5 Post Office Square
Boston, MA 02109

 

Keynote Speaker: Rui Resendes, Executive Director, GreenCenter Canada
Opening Remarks:

Curt Spalding, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator

 

Join leaders from business and industry, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, non-profit groups, U.S. EPA and others involved in the application of green chemistry principles to bring high value products to the market that are safer, healthier and more sustainable.

 

 

Register here.
 

The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, through its Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative, is offering a webinar series on alternatives assessments. For more information, click here.

Apply for a TURI Business Incentive Grant

 

 

TURI offers incentive grants to help companies adopt safer technologies and share their experiences with other companies. Incentive grants can help make implementation of your Toxics Use Reduction (TUR) opportunity possible and can help Massachusetts industry create a safer and more sustainable economy.

 

For more information and to download an application, please go to www.turi.org/industryincentivegrants 

You can also contact Pam Eliason at TURI, 978-934-3142 or [email protected]

 


TURI's free weekly e-bulletin features previews of recent publications and websites relevant to reducing the use of toxic chemicals.
   .

Continuing Education

  

TUR Plans: Maximizing the Value 

 

The TURA Continuing Education conference held on November 20 at the Sheraton Inn and Conference Center in Framingham, MA brought together experienced TUR planners to review best practices in developing TUR plans. 

 
 

Presentations from the conference can be found here.

 

TURI would like to thank all of the senior TUR Planners who made significant and beneficial contributions to this day through presentations and discussion contributions.   

  

Resource Conservation Planning Basics

  

Resource Conservation Planning builds on the tenets of Toxics Use Reduction Planning by using TUR analysis techniques to optimize use of water, energy, and other resources, as well as encouraging TUR filers to reduce their use of toxics below TURA thresholds and their use of toxic substances outside TURA's scope.These trainings, which were held on November 1 and 6, are designed to meet the continuing education requirements for TUR Planner Resource Conservation planning certification.  

 
Professional Wet Cleaning Demonstration:KMK Cleaners 

 

On November 21, at their Walpole location, KMK Cleaners hosted a demonstration of their professional wet cleaning system and discussed the cost savings and health benefits, to both KMK staff and KMK customers.  

 

Solvent Recovery and Recycling Demonstration: ChemGenes Corporation

On November 5, at its Wilmington, MA, facility, ChemGenes Corporation demonstrated its solvent recycling and recovery system.


Chief Operating Officer, Anuj Mohan, reviewed the business case for this life sciences company's investment in a solvent recovery and recycling system. He also shared the ROI and cost savings due to reduced chemicals purchase and disposal.

Download the ChemGenes case study. 

  

 TURI Staff Presentations

 

  

Liz Harriman delivered a webinar on solvents as part of a series of webinars on chemicals of concern sponsored by Sixclasses.org and the Green Sciences Policy Institute. Liz's webinar and all others in the series can be found here.

Liz Harriman also presented TURI case studies on perchloroethylene and hexavalent chromium at the National Academies Institute of Medicine Environmental Health Roundtable, "Identifying and Reducing Environmental Health Risks of Chemicals in our Society", in Washington, DC on November 8. Liz's presentation and others from the workshop can be found here

 

Pam Eliason presented on alternatives assessment at the Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum conference, "Safe Products, Made Safely: Green Chemistry Tools for Business" held in Wisconsin on November 14. 

 

Heidi Wilcox from the Cleaning Lab at TURI and Jim Cain from OTA spoke at the New England Surface Finishing Conference on November 8 in Plymouth, MA.

Joy Onasch spoke about "Wet Cleaning, Dry Cleaning and the FTC!" at the Northeast Fabricare Association's annual conference on November 17.