Pollution solutions Governor's Awards for Pollution Prevention honor companies saving money and the environment.

• Author: Skertic, Mark
• Position: Environment

For years, Flexible Foam Products had a dubious annual accomplishment when it placed high on the state's toxic release list for the 600,000-plus pounds of airborne chemicals it let into the atmosphere each year.

Cancer-causing methylene chloride was released during the foam-production process, but not any more. "Since October we've been methylene-free," says Jerry Eagon, Flexible Foam general manager. "And the material we produce now is better than with the old method."

The company, which employs about 110 in Elkhart, can make that boast because it has switched from the industry-standard methylene-chioride manufacturing process to one that uses toxin-free carbon dioxide.

Flexible Foam was among several Indiana businesses recognized in the latest round of the Governor's Awards for Excellence in Pollution Prevention. The awards "help us acknowledge those organizations that have accepted the challenge to help protect Indiana's environment from pollution," Gov. Frank O'Bannon says.

But it frequently isn't just the environment that benefits. Eliminating methylene chloride has improved the company's product, Eagon says. "Tensile, tear strength, elasticity-all those tests we do, with GO, it's superior," he says. "There's a more pliable feel to it."

Reilly Industries in Indianapolis also discovered more than environmental benefits when it tackled the environmental challenge that won it the governor's recognition. Reilly, which makes pyridine, a liquid used in feed stock, went after the collection and return of steam condensation at its production units on the city's southwest side, Escaping steam had been a sign that the company needed to improve energy efficiency.

"Prior to this, the steam was allowed to vent to the atmosphere or drain to the sewers," says John Jones, pollution prevention code steward. Engineers figured out how to trap the escaping moisture and return it to the plant.

The job involved far more than plugging a few holes. "As old and established as this plant is, we had probably a thousand points where steam escaped," Jones says. There was also the problem of dealing with water that before had just escaped into the atmosphere. "Once you start returning the condensation, then you've got to worry about freezing because now you've got water sitting in pipes above the ground," Jones says.

The state says Reilly's work "resulted in almost 33 million gallons per year reduction in city water use and wastewater discharge." The $2.25 million...