Chemical Manufacturing

Chemical Manufacturing Links

Chemical Manufacturing is one of 13 sectors in the Sector Strategies Program. This page provides information about the sector and how we are working with the sector.

On this page:

Contact
Sector Profile
Working with the Industry
Trade Associations

Contact

Sarah Mazur (mazur.sarah@epa.gov)
National Chemical Sector Liaison
(202) 566-2652

Sector Profile

Sector Definition

Chemical manufacturing creates products by transforming organic and inorganic raw materials with chemical processes. Chemicals generally are classified into two groups - commodity chemicals and specialty chemicals. Commodity chemical manufacturers produce large quantities of basic and relatively inexpensive compounds in large plants, often built specifically to make one chemical. Commodity plants often run continuously, typically shutting down for only a few weeks a year for maintenance.

Specialty-batch or performance chemical manufacturers produce smaller quantities of more expensive chemicals on an "as needed" basis that are used less frequently. Often there is only one or a limited number of suppliers producing a given product. In contrast to the production of commodity chemicals, in batch manufacturing, the raw materials, processes, operating conditions, and equipment change on a regular basis to respond to the needs of customers.

Demographics

There are approximately 13,500 chemical manufacturing facilities in the U.S., owned by over 9,000 companies. Facilities are located all over the United States with many companies in Texas, Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas. The specialty-batch chemical sector is composed of primarily small companies, with more than 89% employing 500 or fewer employees.

The chemical industry is an essential contributor to the U.S. economy, with shipments valued at about $555 billion per year.

Environmental Impact

The chemical sector has multi-media impacts. It is one of the largest users of natural gas, which is required for energy and as a feedstock. The sector emitted more than 1.5 million tons of criteria air pollutants, of which more than 80% were carbon monoxide (CO), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), and Nitrous Oxides (NOx) (NEI, 2002). Nearly half of these emissions are energy-related. The chemical sector also manages a huge amount of chemicals that are reported to EPA's Toxic Release Inventory. About five percent of the more than 10 billion pounds of chemicals managed are disposed or otherwise released to air and water, while the rest goes to treatment, energy recovery, and recycling. The performance trends for the specialty batch chemical sector are highlighted in the 2004 and 2006 Sector Strategies Performance Report. Look for information on the entire chemical sector in future reports.

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Working with the Industry

The U.S. EPA Sector Strategies Program is working in partnership with the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Through this program, EPA works with major manufacturing and service sectors of the U.S. economy to address challenging environmental problems, reduce major performance barriers, and prompt environmental stewardship on a broad scale.

Compliance Assistance

EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance also has published extensive work related to regulatory compliance in the chemical sector. For more information see the Compliance Assistance Chemical Web site.

ChemAlliance

is the compliance assistance center for the chemical industry. Funded by EPA's Office of Compliance and Enforcement and operated by a partnership of environmental professionals in government, industry, and academia, ChemAlliance is a source of up-to-date information concerning the environmental regulations affecting the chemical industry. (Contact: Scott Butner (scott.butner@pnl.gov), (509) 372-4946)