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EPA Seeks Comments to Improve Emissions Monitoring . . . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an advance notice of a proposed rulemaking that requests public input on the monitoring requirements of the Operating Permits Program under Title V of the Clean Air Act. The notice, part of EPA's ongoing efforts to improve emissions monitoring and ensure compliance with the Act, seeks public comments on the best approaches to improve monitoring - such as by amending the monitoring requirements in existing emission standards and rules. The results of the action will lead to improved compliance with air emissions control requirements and should be less burdensome for states, tribes and industry. The advance notice of the proposed rulemaking is a preliminary step in the regulatory process that allows EPA to solicit comments as it weighs future improvements to monitoring requirements. For more information, link to the Web at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/new.html or contact Marie Martinko, (202) 974-5330; e-mail mmartink@socplas.org. OMB Promotes Peer Review of Government Science . . . SPI Senior Vice President Bonnie Limbach recently met with Paul Noe, counselor to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Noe was the guest of the Regulatory Improvement Council (RIC), which is made up of representatives of a number of major U.S. trade associations and corporations. Among topics addressed was OMB's recent issuance of a Bulletin establishing government-wide guidance aimed at enhancing the practice of peer review of government science documents. Noe said the initiative was one aspect of a larger OMB effort to improve the quality of the scientific information upon which policy decisions are made. For more information, link to the Web at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/peer2004/peer_bulletin.pdf or contact Bonnie Limbach (202) 974-5210; e-mail blimbach@socplas.org. More Mudslinging in the Ongoing Energy Debate . . . Speakers from the American Water Works Association addressing a Congressional staff briefing last week reportedly asserted that gasoline producers used the fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) over the past decade despite knowledge that it could be a water contaminant. Water officials claimed that Clean Air Act amendments passed in 1990 did not require use of MTBE - only unspecified oxygenates - and that gas companies used MTBE because it was cheaper. The briefing was held as Congress resumes consideration of a comprehensive energy bill, which contains "safe harbor" provisions for MTBE manufacturers facing potential liabilities over contamination.
SPI to Take Part in Workforce Conference . . . SPI will moderate a panel discussion during the National Association of Workforce Boards' Spring 2005 Forum, to be held March 3-5, in Washington, DC. The workshop session, "Incumbent Worker Training in an Advanced Manufacturing Environment," will bring together representatives from two Workforce Investment Boards, a national trade association (SPI) and the corporate trainer from a manufacturing company to discuss lessons learned from incumbent worker training projects in the plastics, food, powdered metals and cabinet industries. Special emphasis will be placed on the measurement of performance outcomes and company return on investment. Developed by Barbara Darby, SPI's manager of workforce development, the program was chosen from more than 150 proposals submitted to NAWB for use at the conference. Darby will moderate the panel, which includes David Outlaw, technical training director for SPI member Precise Technologies. For more information or to learn about SPI's workforce development programs, contact Barbara Darby, (864) 239-2939; e-mail bdarby@socplas.org. Time is Running Out to Answer Member Survey . . . The February 18 deadline to respond to SPI's annual Customer Satisfaction Survey is just days away. Don't miss this unique opportunity to provide your feedback about SPI's programs and services. Designed to evaluate the association's response to the changing priorities and concerns of its diverse membership, the survey will help SPI provide added value to its membership by determining the public policy issues that are of greatest concern to members. The findings of the survey also will help SPI to identify and develop new or upgraded programs and products that best meet members' needs. All members who participate in SPI activities or use SPI products and services are encouraged to take part, and more than one individual from a member company may complete the survey; in fact, multiple responses will help provide a comprehensive view of members' interactions with SPI. Please take a few moments today to respond to the online survey at http://websurveyor.net/wsb.dll/6646/spi2005survey.htm. For more information, contact Charles LaGrange, (202) 974-5211; e-mail clagrang@socplas.org.
For more information about SPI Link, mailing list additions/deletions, or to receive the publication by e-mail, contact Paula Weis, (202) 974-5282; e-mail pweis@socplas.org. More About SPI: Vision and Mission . Membership . Business Units . Regional Offices . News and Publications . Calendar of Events . Terms and Conditions of Use |
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SPI Plan Commended by EPA . . . SPI President Don Duncan recently delivered good news to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), reporting on progress made in ongoing research regarding an essential fluoropolymer polymerization aid. Representing SPI and its Fluoropolymer Manufacturers and Fluoropolymer Processors groups (FMG and FPG) at an open meeting at the Agency, Duncan reported on the completion of a comprehensive Dispersion Processors Material Balance Study. The study was designed to increase understanding of how the processing aid (ammonium perfluorooctanoate, or APFO) contained in aqueous fluoropolymer dispersions (AFDs) that are used in processing plants might find its way into the environment. (APFO is a salt of perfluoroctanoic acid, or PFOA. In the ongoing EPA process, the PFOA acronym has been used to denote both substances.) Duncan also walked the 70-plus persons in attendance through the commitments FMG companies have made toward the goal of reducing APFO content in their aqueous dispersion-based products. Following Duncan's presentation, which included a commitment from FPG companies to utilize low-APFO AFDS as soon as they are commercially available, EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics Charlie Auer called the industry's plan a "wonderful development" and applauded its efforts. For more information, contact Bonnie Limbach, (202) 974-5210; e-mail 
Turn the "China Challenge" Into an Opportunity . . . SPI's Global Business Council (GBC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce will collaborate again this year to sponsor a U.S. plastics industry trade mission to China. To be held June 15 - June 22, 2005, the mission will begin in Shanghai and end in Guangzhou, with a trip to ChinaPlas 2005, Asia's most influential rubber and plastics trade fair this year. Open to both SPI members and non-members, the trade mission is designed to educate participants about the competitive forces driving the rapidly expanding Chinese plastics market and to explore potential export opportunities there. The mission will include plant tours, customized market research and industry briefings, "matchmaking" meetings with pre-screened potential customers, as well as admission to ChinaPlas. For more information about the 2005 China Trade Mission, link to the Web at 
Plastics and Disney: A Match Made in Epcot ® . . . SPI would like to thank the ever-growing list of companies and groups that are helping us bring the magic of plastics to the world at our "Fantastic Plastics Works" showcase at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot ® at the Walt Disney World ® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL. They are: DuPont; GE Advanced Materials; American Plastics Council, Plastics News; Basell, Demag Plastics Group; Intralox, Inc., Daikin-America; Nypro; Bemis Manufacturing Company; The Conair Group, Inc.; FANUC Robotics; INCOE Corporation; Thermalcare; Ampacet; DVT Corporation; Royce Associates; United Southern Industries: The SPI Machinery Division; The SPI Molders Division; The SPI Moldmakers Division; Bekum America Corporation; ISO Poly Films, Inc.; SPI West; Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp.; Novatec, Inc.; Steinwall Inc.; Jatco, Inc.; Milliken & Co.; Norac, Inc.; Faztek, LLC; Modern Plastics, Inc.; Prestige Mold, Inc.; Coeur, Inc.; SuperFos Packaging, Inc.; Colors, Inc.; Mid-South Extrusion, Inc.; Leistritz Extruder Corp.; UPM, Inc.; and Plastics Technology magazine. Sponsored by SPI and anchored by SPI members DuPont and GE Advanced Materials, the more than 5,000-sq.-ft. exhibit showcases the full scope of the plastics industry, from chemistry to design to manufacturing and products, with a healthy nod to human ingenuity and creativity. Among special features are a computerized robot design and race game and a free toy, the parts of which are molded on-site. A companion Web site,