UNH interns prove pollution prevention is good business
Interns and sponsors honored for cutting pollution

DURHAM, N.H.—The University of New Hampshire recently recognized five interns and their sponsors for their money-saving pollution prevention work.

Unique in New England, the UNH Pollution Prevention Internship (P2I) program pairs students with local businesses and government agencies. After receiving special training, the engineering students spent their summer saving the environment—and money—by designing ways to reduce the amount of pollution generated by their sponsors.

Stephanie Grainger of Londonderry helped Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials in Marlboro, Mass. reduce the amount of acetone it uses in its cleaning processes. For one product, she found the solvent could be reused for multiple batches before being discharged as waste.

Jessica Erickson of Concord did a variety of tasks for the N.H. Department of Environmental Services, including visiting marinas throughout the state to help prevent discharge violations at boat washing stations, working on mercury outreach projects and helping with the state's Clean Fleet initiative. As the UNH P2 liaison, she also assisted other interns.

Michael Snowball of Newmarket did an in-depth analysis of the waste streams generated by six wash/rinse machines at Freudenberg-NOK in Bristol. He also helped the company develop reduction plans for filter use, sludge discharge and electricity.

Jingyan Li (Leo) of Alton mapped the waste stream for Central Metal Finishing at two of its locations, in Windham and North Andover, Mass. He also helped the company conserve energy by tracking what used the most electricity at the facilities and identifying ways to cut usage. In one case, he was able to save energy by changing the setting of an air compressor so that it would run on demand, rather than constantly.

Brian Hess of Atlanta, Ga. compiled waste recycling surveys for the USPS in Portsmouth. He followed up with phone calls and visits to post offices throughout the New Hampshire/Vermont district. He found that postmasters most frequently needed assistance with recycling fluorescent lamps and batteries, and that the more remote a post office, the more difficulties it had recycling paper. He was assisted by UNH graduate business student Neshe Gafuri.

Established in 1994 through cooperative efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency, NHDES , and UNH, the P2I program has placed more than 100 interns at more than 50 facilities. The program is now saving participating companies an estimated $3.2 million per year.

“The goal of the program,” says Ihab Farag, professor of chemical engineering and director of the program, “is to provide students with hands-on experience at real-world manufacturing sites and to foster a new pollution-prevention ethic. We are training a new breed of informed professionals who are well prepared to enter the work force and to address the challenges of greener production.”

PHOTO CAPTION
Pollution Fighters: Stephanie Grainger, Michael Snowball, Brian Hess, and Jingyan Li (Leo).

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