1/24/01

P.A. Moore, SLAC (650) 926-2605; xanadu@SLAC.Stanford.EDU

Menlo Park honors Stanford Linear Accelerator Center for near-zero emissions

The City of Menlo Park has given the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) a 2000 Environmental Quality Award in recognition of the center's success in reducing air pollution. Members of the Environment Commission presented the award, which recognized SLAC for "exceptional resource conservation," at the Jan. 23 City Council meeting.

Stanford University operates SLAC for the U.S. Department of Energy. Located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, SLAC is a basic research laboratory used by more than 3,000 scientists from around the world. To support its research mission, the lab employs a variety of highly advanced fabrication techniques, some of which utilize solvents to clean metal parts. Although SLAC at all times operated within the emissions limits specified by both local and federal regulations, the machining process resulted in the emission of several thousand pounds of chlorinated solvent per year into the atmosphere.

The phasing out of certain solvents mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act led SLAC to develop an alternative to solvent cleaning.

"This was a pioneering effort, since the alternative degreaser we chose had not previously been used in the state of California, and it was a considerable investment for the lab," said SLAC Director Jonathan Dorfan. The amount of chlorinated solvent air emissions dropped to almost zero in the year 2000, from a level of 2,000 pounds in 1999.

Representing SLAC at the award ceremony were Butch Byers from the Environment, Safety and Health Division and Ali Farvid from the Mechanical Fabrication Department. "I'm delighted that the efforts of our highly trained and dedicated staff members are being recognized by the community," said Dorfan. "Butch is our air quality program manager and Ali is the head of our plating shop. They are just two of the many talented people here at SLAC who have helped in this project."

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