Irvine to Seek Firms Interested in Cutting Use of Hazardous Chemicals : Industry: Plants wanting to locate in the city would be referred to a technical adviser, who would suggest methods to minimize toxic waste.

The city that received nationwide publicity in 1989 for its effort to reduce the use of ozone-eating chlorofluorocarbons will soon take aim at reducing industrial solvents and other hazardous chemicals used by manufacturers.

Using a $25,000 state grant, Irvine will become the first Orange County city to seek businesses interested in lowering their use of toxic chemicals. Companies would be referred, at no charge, to a technical adviser that the city plans to hire early next year.

Irvine city planners and inspectors will begin receiving training this week to recognize common manufacturing processes that use toxic chemicals and some of the recently developed, less-toxic alternatives, according to Michael S. Brown, manager of environmental programs.

The goal is for planners to be able to refer a manufacturer to the technical adviser as its building plans are being reviewed, Brown said. Building inspectors would offer information to operating businesses during routine inspections, he said.

Irvine will target mostly small electronic-component manufacturers, aerospace companies, and metal-plating and finishing businesses.

“Those are the kinds of companies that could probably best use our help, because they usually don’t have a lot of resources,” Brown said.

Irvine has one of the county’s largest concentrations of manufacturers that use toxic chemicals, Brown said, many employing fewer than 100 workers. Most are located in the Irvine Business Complex near John Wayne Airport or in the Irvine Spectrum near the intersection of the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways.

Under the city’s program, no business will be required to use the city’s technical assistance and those that do ask for technical help or information will not be obliged to act, Brown said.

The city’s no-cost, voluntary program is designed to persuade businesses of the environmental advantages and long-term cost savings possible in reducing the use of toxics, he said.

Sometimes, information is all it takes to get manufacturers to reduce their use of hazardous chemicals, said Terry Escarda, a waste-management engineer for the state Environmental Protection Agency’s alternative technology division.

Smaller businesses often stick to older manufacturing techniques because they don’t have the money or staff to investigate newer processes that produce less toxic waste, he said. State and federal regulatory agencies would like to get companies to reduce those wastes but don’t have sufficient staff, he said.

One purpose of the Irvine grant is to determine if reaching the smaller manufacturers can be done effectively at the local level, Escarda said.

If Irvine’s program works, other cities could use it as a model, he noted. The grant requires the city to submit monthly progress reports and a final report to the state EPA.

When the grant runs out next year, Brown said, he will encourage the City Council to continue paying for the program if it is successful.

The program will allow planners to refer businesses to a technical adviser while plans for manufacturing plants are being reviewed, said Sheri Vander Dussen, Irvine’s manager of development services.

“By making us more sensitive to the kinds of people we can help, we’ll be able to make some referrals at an early enough stage where it can make an impact,” Vander Dussen said. “If we wait until the building-permit stage, they’ve already designed their system.”

City planners review two to four requests each month from businesses that use hazardous chemicals and want to open a plant in Irvine, she said.

Building inspectors, on the other hand, will be able to offer referrals and literature on alternative technologies to currently operating businesses, said Robert Storchheim, manager of building, safety and engineering.

Although business opting for new manufacturing processes could end up paying more at first, Brown said, the new technology could end up saving money overall.

Studies have shown that switching to alternate technologies pays for itself in from six months to two years, said Donna Toy-Chen, director of Los Angeles’ hazardous and toxic materials office. Los Angeles is one of the few cities in Southern California with similar program.