Background Organic solvents are used in a large number of industrial processes and due to their volatility they are emitted either directly or indirectly into the air in many of these processes. Many solvents undergo complex chemical reactions in the atmosphere and may cause a number of indirect effects, in particular the formation of photochemical oxidants and their main constituent, ozone. High concentrations of ozone in ground-level air can impair human health – vulnerable members of the population such as children and elderly individuals can experience symptoms such as sore eyes, sore throats or even serious respiratory problems – and can damage vegetation and crops. Moreover, ozone is a potent greenhouse gas. Some organic solvents – containing carcinogenic, mutagen and reprotoxic substances - are directly harmful to health. Directive 1999/13/EC on the limitation of emissions of volatile organic compounds due to the use of organic solvents in certain activities and installations (the so-called Solvents Directive) is the main instrument for the reduction of VOC emissions in the European Community. The Directive sets emission limit values. Industrial operators can choose the most cost-effective way to achieve the required reductions: either by the use of abatement technology, or by substituting high-solvent products by low-solvent or solvent-free products. It is estimated that solvent emission through paint application is 9% of the total European emission of non Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOC), the biggest source being passenger cars with 16% (source: European Environment Agency (EEA), Corinair 1990, topic report 8/1996). Emissions of NMVOC in the EU fell by 22% from 1990 to 1998. This was in particular due to the introduction of exhaust catalysts, and reduced emissions from the use of solvents and manufacturing processes through best practice schemes, substitution with water-based products and abatement technology (Source: EEA, Environment Signals 2001). However, further substantial reductions are required to achieve the proposed NECD targets or even the less strict CLRTAP targets (respectively 62% and 59% reduction by 2010). Objectives This LIFE project was about the installation of a new coating line at KONI BV in order to paint KONI’s shock absorbers with water-based 3-components epoxy lacquers instead of solvent-based lacquers. It was reportedly the first application of such lacquers in the metal products sector, where the requirements are very demanding. The objective of the project was threefold: 1) Full scale demonstration of a zero emission three component lacquer applicable for the metallurgic industry; 2) Immediate improvement of the environmental performance of the product processes and of the working conditions and; 3) Active dissemination of the project results in the European target markets, the metallurgic sectors in Europe and the European paint production sector as a whole. Results KONI BV has invested € 2.5 million in a new coating line in order to meet emission requirements and to reduce the odour nuisance for the surrounding area. The company has introduced a special waterborne epoxy coating, which was developed by Hasco Lakfabrieken BV, Tiel. The new coating has a content of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of less than one percent, which is an important innovation in the field of waterborne coating systems. The new coating system is expected to clear the way for a wide-ranging application of solvent-free coating systems in the metal industry. On the coating line that was operational since 1985, KONI used the conventional coating types, with solvent contents up to 85%. Although the limits of the Dutch emission guidelines were not exceeded, the people living in the surrounding area complained more and more often about the odour nuisance they experienced. Efforts to reduce the emissions proved fruitless. In 1998 KONI decided that drastic revisions or even a completely new coating line would be necessary to realize a substantial reduction of the use of volatile organic compounds in the coating process. KONI decided that the coating to be used not only had to be low-solvent, but also lead- and chromate-free. Also the passivization pre-treatment had to be chromate-free. In search of an alternative coating system KONI started off four parallel lines of development. Tests were conducted on powder coatings, autoforesis coatings, single waterborne coatings and waterborne epoxy coatings. Waterborne epoxy coatings proved to be the best option for KONI. KONI invited five suppliers of coating systems to develop such a system. Remarkably, it was the relatively small Dutch coating manufacturer Hasco that came up with the most attractive coating system. Hasco developed an entirely new coating, a 3-components waterborne epoxy lacquer, with a beautiful shine and excellent covering capacity. Even for the yellow RAL 1007 KONI colour a single coat, with a thickness of a mere 50 μm, was sufficient. The coating systems suggested by the other manufacturers required layers twice as thick, and sometimes even two-fold application. In order to introduce the new waterborne coating system, an entirely new coating plant had to be built. The foundation stone was laid on 2nd March 2001. The Dutch company EPS from Ochten started construction work in October 2001. By the end of 2002 the new coating plant was in full operation. During the course of 2003, all the project objectives were met: the full-scale installation was operational. All the major problems with the new lacquer were resolved, the environmental benefits were impressive (99,5% reduction of solvent emissions) and were confirmed by emission monitoring, active dissemination had taken place and the business community showed an interest in the new lacquer. KONI considers the new coating system as a success. The solvent emission dropped from 46.871 to 251 kg/a and there are no odour complaints anymore. The working conditions improved significantly. Paint sprayers do not have to wear masks because there are no hazardous components in the paint and there is no harmful smell of this paint, except in case of an intensive hand spray jobs. Recent figures show a slight decrease in the number of days absence due to illness in the paint shop, however it is premature to state this as permanent. Reportedly, the new paint would be used all over the world for coating metals. The only restriction is extensive exposure to ultra-violet light. Only minor, low budget, modifications are necessary for starting with this new paint, however this depends on the scale of use, and the technical specifications of the products. The beneficiary has estimated that it would be possible to replace at least 1/3 of the total use of epoxy lacquers in the metal industry by this new paint. The new paint could also replace one and two components of solvent based paint systems. According to the beneficiary, it would be easy to use the new paint with applications other than a high-speed disk, for example paint pistols, brushes, high-speed bells etc. However, it must be kept in mind that the components have to be stirred and mixed thoroughly before the water is put in, and stirred and mixed thoroughly again after adding water. If this is not done thoroughly, the gloss will be insufficient. The new paint is more expensive than the conventional solvent borne 1-component paint that KONI used before. However, the overall costs of the waterborne paint (200k€/year) are lower than in the former situation taking the costs of both paint and solvents into account. The personnel costs are the same as before, KONI still has 11 operators in the paint shop. State-of-the-art in lacquering technology in metal processing still consists in many cases of well-known hydrocarbon based lacquers and techniques. The general expectation was that it would not take long to develop a water-based lacquer that could stand up to the high demands in the metal processing industry. However the final development of this type of lacquer was much more complicated than expected. The beneficiary has now demonstrated that the new water-based lacquer is fit for use while operational costs are lower than in the former situation. The demonstration value is high because of the good results of the project, and also because KONI is an eminent player in the metal products industry with a famous product. The project might lead to a breakthrough in this sector. The results are furthermore valuable wirh regard to the implementation of two European Directives: (i) the results of this LIFE project are a useful input for the information exchange process about substitutions of high-solvent products under the Solvents Directive, and (ii) the new lacquer can be considered as a candidate to BAT under the IPPC Directive. Dissemination was implemented according to plan with guided tours, new product brochures, a seminar and publications in international and Dutch sector magazines (Journal für Oberflächentechnik, June 2003 and Metaal en Kunststof, 05/05/03). Several metal products manufacturers have also shown their interest and asked KONI and Hasco for more information. . In summary, according to a report featured in the LIFE Focus publication, "Industrial pollution, European solutions: clean technologies" (2004), the project, whose results have been widely disseminated, undoubtedly paved the way to eliminating VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions from industrial painting processes in Europe. It also prevented the relocation of the site, which was under consideration, due to concern by the local population. Following on from this initiative, the number of complaints from local residents diminished by 100%.