Corning Incorporated has received the New York State Governor“s Award for Pollution Prevention for its voluntary redesign of an existing technological process that has resulted in a significant reduc…
Corning Incorporated has received the New York State Governor“s Award for Pollution Prevention for its voluntary redesign of an existing technological process that has resulted in a significant reduction of air emissions. The process was redesigned by Corning scientists and engineers for the company“s Canton, New York plant, a supplier of high purity fused silica (HPFS(R)), an ultra-pure glass used in the semiconductor industry. As a result, the Canton, New York, plant was able to completely eliminate its hydrogen chloride emissions from the forming process while still producing the same quality HPFS(R) glass it had produced before the process redesign. Prior to this process redesign, the plant was emitting more than 600 tons of hydrogen chloride (HCl) per year. “We invested millions of dollars in this project, because we are committed to improving our environmental performance whenever possible,” said Randall D. Price, executive vice president, Advanced Materials. “Our efforts, and the cooperation from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, resulted in a win-win situation. There is a positive impact on the community, and Corning is able to continue to produce the same high-quality, high-technology products.” According to Corning, HPFS(R) glass, and other products made at the plant, are highly technical and have extremely rigorous production standards. Moreover, said the company, the plant was undergoing a significant expansion at the same time the process was being redesigned. In addition to the HCl emissions, the plant was also able to reduce its particulate emissions by approximately 98% through the installation of state-of-the-art baghouses. The non-hazardous particulate collected in these baghouses is then sold and used as a raw material in another industry. Capturing and recycling the particulate from the manufacturing process prevents a large volume of material from being landfilled. The award was presented to Corning by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Deputy Commissioner Carl Johnson at the 12th-annual Pollution Prevention Conference in Rochester, New York. The Governor“s Award recognizes pollution-prevention practices that exceed the legal requirements of environmental protection and successfully reduce or eliminate the generation of pollution at its source. The Canton, New York plant employs approximately 300 workers and manufactures high-technology glass. The advanced materials are used as lenses in microlithography equipment for the semiconductor industry, mirrors for land and space-based telescopes, and windows for NASA“s Space Shuttle and the International Space Laboratory.