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  • Chemical substances management

    • 1.Chemical substances management
    Chemical substances are indispensable for daily life but must be appropriately used and managed, otherwise they have a serious effect on the environment. To control the amount of use of chemical substances, we classify chemical substances used for production and chemical substances contained in products into "forbidden substances" and "voluntarily controlled substances" according to the degree of influence on the environment.

    Chemical substances management
    Classification No. of substances Management method Example
    Forbidden substances 46 Use is forbidden Trichloroethylene, tetrachloriethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, CFC, halon, etc.
    Voluntarily controlled substances 114 Make efforts to be informed and decrease of use and content Substances controlled by environmental laws Voluntarily controlling substances in industry Cancerating substances, etc.

    2.PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers) system
    The PRTR system began as a method to understand the status of chemical substances released into the environment. In Japan, the Agency of Environment attempted to use this system in some areas in 1997, and the Federation of Economic Organizations and Industrial Organizations issued PRTR guidelines in 1998. Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd. is controlling chemical substances adhering to these guidelines. As a result, the amount of chemical substances according to PRTR guidelines that we handle
    decreased by 24% in 1998 compared with fiscal 1997.

    PRTR achievements (including major production companies in OKI Group)
    (Unit: tons)
    Sub-stance Amount
    used    		 Amount
    release
    d to air    		 Amount
    release
    d to water    		 Consumtion Removal Transfer
    of waste    		 Recycl-
    ing
    Ethanolamine 54.07 11.20 0 0 0 18.38 24.49
    Aluminum compound 46.31 0 0.93 0 0 30.98 14.40
    Xylene 42.93 3.80 0 0 0 1.78 37.35
    PFC 19.90 5.14 4.49 0 9.71 0.56 0
    Lead solder 14.77 0 0 7.07 0 0.11 7.59
    Hydrogen chloride 10.19 0.24 4.30 0 5.03 0.62 0
    Nickel compound 9.66 0 0 1.64 0 0 8.02
    Tolune 4.58 3.36 0 0 0 1.22 0
    Sulfur hexafluoride 4.20 1.70 0 0 2.12 0.38 0
    Chlorine 2.82 0.01 1.06 0 0 1.75 0
    Cellosolve acetate 2.67 0 0 0 0 0 2.67
    HFC 2.17 0.79 0 0 1.14 0.24 0
    HCFC 0.83 0.71 0 0 0.12 0 0
    Tungsten compound 0.76 0 0 0 0.76 0 0
    Fluorine compound 0.34 0.02 0 0 0.32 0 0
    Boron compound 0.01 0 0 0 0.01 0 0
    Arsenic compound 0.01 0 0 0 0.01 0 0
    Total 216.22 26.97 10.78 8.71 19.22 56.02 94.52

    3.Air pollution control
    Dioxin is a toxin which may cause cancer and deformation in humans and animals. Dioxin is largely generated by waste incinerators and is subject to the Air Pollution Control Law.
    At one time OKI decreased the volume of waste by incineration, but has since abolished this practice to control dioxin. The volume of such waste is now decreased by using volume reduction machines and by recycling as much as possible.

    4.Abolishing ozone layer destroying substances
    Ozone layer destroying substances, including freon and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, are regulated by the Montreal Protocol. In 1993 OKI totally abolished designated freon and 1,1,1-trichloroethane in production processes. For designated freon used in air conditioners and designated halon used in fire extinguishers, we will switch to new methods when our systems are upgraded.

    5.Ground water pollution control
    Ground water makes up 1/3 of city water. Recently, ground water pollution by chlorinated organic solvents discharged from factories has become a problem, and the health of residents has raised concerns. Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd. forbade the use of 1,1,1-trichloroethane in 1993, and trichloroethylene and dichloromethane in 1997 in production processes, thus totally abolishing chlorinated organic solvents.

    6.Chemical substances management during emergencies
    The leakage of chemical substances may cause accidents during emergencies, natural disasters, such as earthquakes and typhoons, fires, and emergencies caused by equipment failures and operation errors.
    Therefore we established "Emergency handling standards" and are educating and training operators. Waste water treatment tanks are enclosed by concrete frames, as shown in the photo to the right, as a countermeasure to a worst case leakage of chemical substances. Pipes are installed above ground so that they can be visually inspected.     		Concrete frame enclosing waste water treatment tanks
    Concrete frame enclosing waste water treatment tanks


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