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Cross-Cutting Programs
More on Cross-Cutting Programs
The Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic's (OPPT) accomplishments in 2007 encompass a range of activities that provide support across OPPT’s individual programs and, in some cases, enhance other EPA programs. These activities have helped OPPT improve access to information about chemicals, assess progress toward achieving program goals, strengthen collaboration and partnerships with other EPA programs and stakeholders, and develop tools and models to improve risk assessment and risk management.
Accomplishments
- EPA's Community Action for a Renewed Environment Program (CARE) has been working collaboratively with the Agency's Design for the Environment (DfE) program and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards Community Air Toxics Collision Repair Campaign to promote best practices at auto body and refinishing businesses to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals. They include air toxics such as lead, chromium, diisocyanates (the leading cause of occupational asthma), ethyl benzene, toluene, xylenes, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Implementation of best practices in all 50,000 auto body shops nationwide could reduce air toxics and VOCs by 174 million pounds per year, while saving businesses money by reducing paint and solvent costs, minimizing hazardous waste, and protecting the health of persons in the workplace and surrounding community.
- Information Technology (IT) Support -- OPPT continues to modernize the information holdings and workflow processes to better enable staff, managers and the public to manage and evaluate risks. Proceeding under the Agency's Enterprise Architecture Program, this effort ultimately will result in data being integrated across the office and all key documents being stored and centrally accessible. The goal is for all company data submissions to be submitted and processed electronically, utilizing electronic workflow processes. Current data flows being modernized include the Inventory Update Reporting and those in the New Chemicals Program. A new environment called Managed Toxic Substances, or MTS, will be used to implement electronic processing for OPPT's New Chemicals Program during 2008.
- OPPT also processes Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to the Toxic Substances Control Act and other statutes and policies for which OPPT has responsibility. During 2007, OPPT processed 55 FOIA requests.
Read the CARE section of this report for more information.