At the Yokkaichi Plant, which generates its own power, we installed flue gas desulfurization Equipment to reduce emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx). We also substantially cut emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by installing burners with low NOx emissions and denitrification equipment. In FY2013, the fuel conversion (from heavy oil to public utility gas) change implemented at the Kashima Plant (Kashima Joint Power Generator) resulted in a reduction of both SOx and NOx emissions, an achievement that was maintained in FY2016.
JSR will continue to adopt the best emissions reduction technologies, and will continue to make improvements.
Having set a high voluntary goal for the reduction of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by 75% from FY2000 levels, JSR undertook large-scale investment between FY2006 and FY2009 to install five dried-synthetic rubber waste incinerators in three plants. We also carried out meticulous maintenance and management activities, including enhancing the airtightness of release points, improving the working method by adopting a closed system for chemical sampling and preventing leakage from bulbs. As a result, our VOCs emissions in FY2016 were 996 tons (76% reduction as compared to FY2000), in so doing, we reached our internal target. As we ramp up our production volume, we will maintain the level of the current voluntary goal (75% reduction from FY2000) without large-scale investment by ensuring the proper operation of dried-synthetic rubber waste incinerators and finely tuned maintenance and management.
*1 VOCs = Volatile Organic Compounds.
As part of compliance with the Act on Rational Use and Proper Management of Fluorocarbons established in April of 2015, all businesses that use designated products, including industrial air conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers, must perform basic inspections, periodic maintenance, and create inspection records. A total annual leakage of 1,000 t or more of CO2 must be reported to the acting minister.
For this reason, JSR has created management standards for devices that use freon and has mandated a policy that such devices be managed in accordance with these standards. The amount of freon leakage in FY2016 was 548t of CO2.
Based on the Act on Confirmation, etc. of Release Amounts of Specific Chemical Substances in the Environment and Promotion of Improvements to the Management Thereof, JSR aggregates the amount of designated chemical substances emitted into the environment (atmosphere, water and soil), transferred by manufacturing, or used in the previous year, and notifies the government of Japan of the results. We have systematically implemented a range of measures primarily for substances that are emitted in significant amounts and have a great impact on the environment. Such measures include enhancing the airtightness of substance release sources, rendering substances harmless by incineration, and improving manufacturing processes. In FY2016, as a result of taking such measures, we reduced emissions of the substances designated by the PRTR (273 tons) by 90% from the FY1995 level.
*2 Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR): A system for registering the emission and transport of environmental pollutants
Outline of PRTR is shown in Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry web site;
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/chemical_management/english/prtr.html
(Including Techno Polymer Co., Ltd. KRATON JSR ELASTOMERS K.K. Japan Butyl Co., Ltd. Kashima Plant)
| Ordinance designated number | Substance | Amounts handled*3 (t) |
Atmospheric emissions (t) |
Water discharged (t) |
Transfers*4 (t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zinc compounds (water-soluble) | 1.4 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 0.0 |
| 2 | Acrylamide | 95.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 4 | Acrylic acid and its water-soluble salts | 1,372.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 7 | n-Butyl acrylate | 1,898.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| 9 | Acrylonitrile | 41,628.0 | 9.5 | 0.0 | 4.8 |
| 13 | Acetonitrile | 124.7 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 14.4 |
| 20 | 2-Aminoethanol | 4.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 28 | Allyl alcohol | 6.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.5 |
| 30 | n-Alkylbenzensulfonic acid and its salts (limited to those with 10 to 14 alkyl group carbons and their mixtures) | 1,103.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 36 | Isoprene | 85,640.9 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| 71 | Ferric chloride | 19.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 80 | Xylene | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 83 | Cumene | 19.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 86 | Cresol | 5.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 150 | 1,4-Dioxane | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| 186 | Dichloromethane | 28.1 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 22.1 |
| 190 | Dicyclopentadiene | 13,213.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 29.8 |
| 202 | Divinylbenzene | 32.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 203 | Diphenylamine | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 207 | 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-cresol | 771.2 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 15.9 |
| 220 | Water-soluble salts of dimethyldithiocarbamic acid | 69.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 230 | N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine | 271.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 234 | Bromine | 1,584.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 240 | Styrene | 124,260.0 | 14.5 | 0.0 | 7.1 |
| 274 | Tert-dodecanethiol | 983.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| 276 | 3, 6, 9-triazaundecane-1, 11-diamine (also known as tetraethylenepentamine) | 9.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| 300 | Toluene | 2,142.6 | 66.5 | 0.1 | 109.9 |
| 309 | Nickel compounds | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| 321 | Vanadium compounds | 37.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36.7 |
| 330 | Bis (1-methyl-1-phenylethyl) peroxide | 12.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| 337 | 4-Vinyl-1-cyclohexene | 108.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| 351 | 1, 3-Butadiene | 590,012.3 | 9.6 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| 355 | Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate | 54.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| 366 | Tert-butyl hydroperoxide | 7.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 392 | n-Hexane | 1,074.9 | 163.1 | 0.0 | 77.3 |
| 395 | Water-soluble salts of peroxodisulfuric acid | 559.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 405 | Boron compounds | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| 406 | Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| 411 | Formaldehyde | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 415 | Methacrylic acid | 85.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| 417 | 2, 3-Epoxypropyl methacrylate | 9.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 420 | Methyl methacrylate | 3,267.0 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| 436 | α-Methylstyrene | 10,186.8 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| 440 | 1- Methyl-1-phenylethyl hydroperoxide | 101.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| 448 | Methylenebis (4,1-phenylene) = diisocyanate (MDI) | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 880,814.4 | 272.9 | 2.6 | 342.0 | |
| 243 | Polychlorinated-dibenzo-p-dioxins*5 | − | 0.2812 | 0.0577 | 0.0000 |
*3 The handling amount represents the value after base deduction (1 ton/year per place of business)
*4 The transfer amount is the amount committed to intermediate waste service companies plus the amount discharged into public sewers
*5 Dioxin category unit: mg-TEQ
JSR performs rigorous wastewater management at all of its plants, and strives to maintain and improve water quality. JSR is in full compliance with the 7th Total Pollutant Load Control that was put into operation in April 2012. We will continue to strictly monitor water quality and strive to further reduce our impact on water.
Groundwater (Environmental Quality Standards for Groundwater Pollution) and soil (major items regulated under environmental standards) at all three of our plants are periodically inspected. As in previous years, no problems were found in FY2016.
In accordance with the Ordinance on Prevention of Hazards due to Asbestos, JSR has conducted checks at all of its facilities (office, manufacturing, R&D and employee amenity areas), including those of all Group companies, where asbestos containing materials have been sprayed. Subsequently, at locations in plants where asbestos was found, we completed removal and enclosure projects in FY2006. In addition, we are investigating the replacement of asbestos containing gaskets with non-asbestos containing types and are progressively carrying out replacements when the safety of their use in production has been confirmed.
We will continue to act properly to prevent workers engaged in building demolition work from acquiring health problems caused by asbestos exposure in accordance with air pollution prevention laws and asbestos disability prevention regulations.
In order to accommodate requests from the Labour Standards Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to thoroughly inform our employees of various systems, including the issuance of the asbestos-related health care handbook and the provision of special benefits as industrial workers' compensation for bereaved families, we introduced the relevant leaflet released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on our website.
JSR stores and manages PCB waste in an appropriate manner in accordance with the "Act on Special Measures concerning Promotion of Proper Treatment of PCB Wastes" and subsequently carries out detoxication treatment in accordance with the law.
| Electrical devices | Number of devices | Oil containing PCB (liter) |
|---|---|---|
| Devices in storage (not in use) | 12 | 17,222 |
| Devices in operation | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 12 | 17,222 |
| Current treatment status (%) | 296 （96.1） |
167,711 （90.7） |
As of March 31, 2017
JSR introduced environmental accounting in FY1999 with the following two objectives
JSR Corporation - JSR Head Office, Yokkaichi Plant, Chiba Plant, Kashima Plant and Research Laboratories
April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017
* Units of one million yen
* Abbreviations - YP: Yokkaichi Plant, KP: Kashima Plant, CP: Chiba Plant
| Category | Investment*6 | Expense | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | FY2016 | FY2015 | FY2016 | ||
(1) Business area costs |
549 | 291 | 4,540 | 4,228 | |
| Breakdown | (1) -1 Pollution prevention costs |
302 | 197 Investments: |
1,866 | 1,773 Expenses: |
| (1) -2 Global environmental protection costs |
157 | 45 Investments: |
1,014 | 866 Expenses: |
|
| (1) -3 Resource circulation costs |
90 | 49 Investments: |
1,660 | 1,589 Expenses: |
|
(2) Upstream/downstream costs |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
(3) Management activity costs |
6 | 4 | 493 | 523 Expenses: |
|
(4) Research and development costs |
0 | 0 | 1,550 | 1,380 Expenses: |
|
(5) Social activity costs |
0 | 0 | 43 | 41 Expenses: |
|
(6) Environmental pollution response costs |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 555 | 295 | 6,626 | 6,172 | |
*6 Refers to the amount of the orders placed
| Effect | Index | Unit | FY2015 | FY2016 | Difference*7 | Related information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental effects related to resources used in business activities | Total energy consumption (crude oil equivalent) | kL | 268,100 | 267,500 | -600 | For more information |
| Use of resources designated under PRTR Act | tons | 851,004 | 880,814 | 29,810 | For more information | |
| Water consumption | 1,000m3 | 14,600 | 14,400 | -200 | For more information | |
| Environmental protection effects related to environmental impact and waste emitted from business activities | CO2 emissions | tons | 650,900 | 657,400 | 6,500 | For more information |
| SOx emissions | tons | 4 | 5 | 1 | For more information | |
| NOx emissions | tons | 342 | 305 | -37 | For more information | |
| PRTR substance emissions | tons | 287 | 303 | 16 | For more information | |
| Total amount of waste water | 1,000m3 | 11,755 | 11,934 | 179 | For more information | |
| Chemical Oxygen Demand emissions | tons | 444 | 459 | 15 | For more information | |
| Total nitrogen emissions | tons | 148 | 139 | -9 | For more information | |
| Total phosphorus emissions | tons | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | For more information | |
| Waste materials from plants | tons | 23,874 | 24,394 | 520 | For more information | |
| Off-site recycling | tons | 23,548 | 23,977 | 429 | For more information | |
| Reduced volume of waste treated off-site | tons | 326 | 417 | 91 | For more information | |
| Waste materials from plants disposed of by landfill | tons | 0 | 0 | 0 | For more information | |
| PRTR materials transported | tons | 430 | 342 | -88 | For more information | |
| Other environmental effects | Products transported | million ton-kilometer | 511 | 562 | 51 | For more information |
| During transport CO2 emissions | tons | 23,333 | 25,495 | 2,162 | For more information | |
| Number of environmental complaints (Odor, noise, and vibration) | cases | 0 | 0 | 0 | For more information |
*7 Improvement from previous years has not been corrected in terms of the production volume.
| Effect (for one year) | Benefit | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | FY2016 | ||
| Cost reduction | By saving energy | 33 | 64 |
| By saving resources | 46 | 130 | |
| By treating waste on-site | 475 | 588 | |
| Total | 554 | 782 | |
*8 The economic effects of energy and resource saving compared to the previous year.
| Investments | Expense | Benefit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | FY2016 | FY2015 | FY2016 | FY2015 | FY2016 | |
| JSR | 555 | 295 | 6,626 | 6,172 | 554 | 782 |
| Total of 13 Group companies*9 | 99 | 102 | 2,422 | 2,216 | 509 | 428 |
| Total | 654 | 397 | 9,048 | 8,388 | 1,063 | 1,210 |
*9 Excludes JSR Optech Tsukuba Co., Ltd.
JSR makes continuous investments in the environment and safety. Investments made in FY2016 reached 7.3 billion yen. This consisted of plant and facility investment aimed at various environmental improvements such as energy-saving equipment, and safety improvements such as workplace accident prevention. JSR will continue to make ambitious investments to maintain and improve the environmental, safety, and health aspects of operations in accordance with its medium-term capital investment plan.
Led by its Process Development Center, JSR is actively engaged in the development of new technologies to promote environmental protection. The following are recent themes in technological development approached by JSR. We deploy technologies as they are developed.
JSR values the opinions of local residents and considers high transparency of plant operations to be the key to improve the local environment. With this in mind, we have strived to improve the local environment by implementing monitoring and tours of environmental equipment at regular intervals. In FY2006 and FY2007, we installed equipment to incinerate dry synthetic rubber dry exhaust (RTO*10) at the Yokkaichi, Kashima, and Chiba plants to prevent foul odors. In FY2008, a ground flare was installed at the Yokkaichi Plant to prevent noise and flashes. As a result, there have been no environmental complaints from FY2008 to FY2016.
We will continue striving to maintain our basic policy of improving the local environment.
*10 RTO (Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer): A device that combusts breaks down VOCs into water and CO2 to make emissions clear
Dried-synthetic rubber waste incinerator
(Kashima Plant)
Ground flare
(Yokkaichi Plant)
* Only Japanese version available.
