NEWMOA: Tell us about yourself and your background.

 

Rich: I began my pollution prevention (P2) career when OTA was staffing up in 1991. I have a degree in chemistry, had worked in manufacturing, and was hired as an on-site technical assistance provider with 20 other chemists and retired engineers. It was an exciting time in P2 and the Massachusetts Toxic Use Reduction (TURA) program was at the forefront of innovative state programs helping businesses to reduce their reliance on toxics and reduce their generation of hazardous waste.  

 

Prior to joining OTA, I worked in real estate and financial services. I enjoyed helping people with their financial planning but was interested in aligning my work with my love of the environment. As a child I spent hours playing in a stream at our family wood lot in Vermont and working in the Christmas Tree plantation that I established at the age of 14. I enrolled in a working professionals' graduate program in plant and soil sciences in 1990 with the intention of shifting my career to work in wetlands and natural resource management.  

 

NEWMOA: What do you do at OTA?                                                      

 

Rich: I currently serve as OTA's Director and have responsibility for directing and coordinating the efforts of the office and technical assistance staff. In addition to my responsibilities at OTA (which sits within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs), I also coordinate the activities of the three entities that comprise the TURA program. I work closely with the management team and staff at the Toxic Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at UMass Lowell and the MassDEP TURA group. I coordinate the activities of the Administrative Council for Toxic Use Reduction, the policy governing body for the TURA program, and oversee its 16 member advisory committee. I love the variety of assistance work OTA does with companies as well as the chemical policy issues undertaken by the TURA program. I work with bright and dedicated individuals who have helped make the TURA program a national and international model.

 

NEWMOA: What are your priorities for NEWMOA? What do you hope it will accomplish?

 

Rich: I want to make sure that NEWMOA continues to be on the innovative edge of environmental protection, as well as focus on the long-term stability of the organization. A majority of NEWMOA states are dealing with Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), a contaminant of emerging concern, polluting our groundwater and public drinking water supplies. NEWMOA has been a leader in educating and building capacity of state environmental protection personnel who are dealing with the technical and public health concerns posed by this unfolding environmental issue. As states move in the future from reacting to the PFC contamination to preventing it, NEWMOA is uniquely qualified to facilitate the conversation to safer alternatives and to avoid regrettable substitutions.

 

All state agencies are charged with doing more with the same or fewer resources. I share all board member concerns regarding the loss of institutional knowledge in our programs and the need for successional planning. It's important to have our rising staff participate on NEWMOA subcommittees to ensure their fresh ideas, state perspective, and enthusiasm is incorporated into our strategies to address state and regional issues.

 

NEWMOA: What's one thing you would like people to know about you?

 

Rich: My hobbies are tree farming and forest management.

NEWMOA has been working with stakeholders in four rural areas in Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont to develop effective strategies to reuse and recycle carpet, furniture, mattresses, and large rigid plastic items. NEWMOA published consumer handouts for Franklin and   Worcester Counties in Massachusetts. Handouts for three other partner communities will be published later this fall, as well as a writable template version that other communities can customize to their needs. 

Additional publications, including four best management guides for furniture, mattresses, carpet, and large rigid plastic items, available at: www.newmoa.org/solidwaste/projects/bulky/publications.cfm .

 

Bulky Waste Project - Workshops & Webinars

Over the summer and fall, NEWMOA conducted stakeholder workshops at locations in Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The workshops covered current practices and local alternatives to bulky waste disposal. Presentations are available at: www.newmoa.org/solidwaste/projects/bulky/workshops.cfm .

NEWMOA will also host a national webinar, Promoting Strategies to Increase Reuse & Recycling of Bulky Wastes on December 15th from 1:30-3:00 PM EST. The webinar will summarize the results of the Project, including lessons learned and next steps for the partner communities.

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5987622943784832516. 

NEWMOA held a successful  Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) - Appropriate Tool or Easy Way Out? workshop for waste site cleanup professionals on September 27 and 28 in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Natural attenuation relies on natural processes to clean up or attenuate pollution in soil and groundwater. Natural attenuation happens at many sites, but must be monitored to make sure it is occurring and in a timeframe that is reasonable. The workshop:

• Reviewed the basic MNA principles including attenuation processes, monitoring tools, data evaluation, and optimal site conditions with focus on hydrocarbon impacted sites and chlorinated solvent sites
• Provided an overview of MNA as a tool for site closure- when it is appropriate and when active remediation should be considered
• Presented new developments in the field of MNA, MNA of other compounds (e.g., emerging compounds and metals), and the relationship between MNA and vapor intrusion

If you are interested in receiving a notice about these events and other waste site cleanup workshops, contact   Jennifer Griffith  to be added to our email list . 

NEWMOA is promoting professional wet cleaning as the safest alternative to perc dry cleaning for garment care. On September 28th, NEWMOA, in coordination with NJ DEP's Sustainability Program and the  Korean Cleaners' Association of New Jersey, held a demonstration event at Green Village Cleaners in Morristown, NJ. The event gave cleaners the opportunity to observe wet cleaning in practice and see and feel the results. Sangbum Lee of Natural Garment Care in North Plainfield, NJ presented on the benefits of professional wet cleaning and his experience converting from perc dry cleaning. The session was presented in English and Korean and was attended by 15 people.

 

NEWMOA plans to hold three additional demonstration events throughout the northeast in the coming months. The next event is planned for November at Best Neighborhood Cleaners in Medford, MA. For more information, contact Andy Bray at NEWMOA.

IMERC recently added more than 30 new fact sheets to its Mercury Legacy Products Webpages . These one-page fact sheets were developed by Todd Dresser of ESIS Health, Safety, and Environmental and include photographs and information about mercury devices that he found while conducting mercury surveys of numerous public buildings.

 

The term "legacy product" covers items that may no longer be sold as a new product, but may still be in use, may be resold as a used or antique product, or may be stored in homes, schools, hospitals, or other businesses. The webpages were first developed by NEWMOA in 2008 and include photographs and information about past and current uses of mercury-added legacy products, such as the types of situations in which the products were typically used; the location of mercury within the product; and information on their proper handling, removal, and disposal.

 

For more information, visit:  www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/projects/legacy/ .

On September 19th, James Lundström, Director of Regulatory Affairs for Volvo Car Corporation, joined IC2's members to discuss the evolution and use of the worldwide automobile industry's shared material data system, the International Material Data System (IMDS).

 

The IMDS was jointly developed by Audi, BMW, Daimler, HPE, Ford, Opel, Porsche, VW, and Volvo. Additional manufacturers have since joined the community, and IMDS has become a global standard used by almost all of the global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In the IMDS, all materials used for automobile manufacturing are collected, maintained, analyzed, and archived. Using the IMDS, makes it possible for the companies and their suppliers to meet their obligations under national and international standards, laws, and regulations.