9625840 Quintana This research planning grant involves planning for research to determine production strategies that minimize hazardous waste generation for a particular family of products. The goal is to develop a state-of-the-art audit which can be readily utilized by manufacturers to determine the production system which minimizes waste for their given production lines. Planning for this research includes (1) an extensive literature search, (2) detailed analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency's waste management auditing procedures, (3) database development containing manufacturer information, products manufactured, hazardous materials and amounts used, (4) identification of production systems to be used in the research, (5) identification of possible measures of effectiveness and performance, (6) identification of feasible methodologies for grouping product families with respect to hazardous materials and manufacturing processes used, (7) identification of feasible models that can be used for comparative analyses, (8) identification and solicitation of industry and government contacts for support and (9) planning for integration of research results into the classroom. Industry is becoming increasingly responsible for mitigating the hazardous effects of production on the environment. It is therefore useful to understand the impact of particular production processes on the environment. The proximity and availability of a diverse array of modern manufacturing facilities - over 350 industrial factories known collectively as the maquiladoras - provide a unique opportunity for the university research team to conclusively deduce firm relationships between production system and waste generation for specific families of product lines.
