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Press
Release Archives: 07/09/2002
Itronics
Says `Capture At the Source' Can Reduce Environmental
Concerns With Sewer Sludge, Which is Called a National
Problem
RENO,
Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 2002--Itronics Inc. (ITRO
- news) President Dr. John Whitney today said a major,
new National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on sewer
sludge illustrates the need to capture environmentally
hazardous waste at the source, before it is allowed
to cause illness or other problems to the population.
Itronics' proprietary beneficial use recycling technology
can play a major role in substantially reducing this
pollution from our environment.
The
study says that sewage sludge, the mud-like material
that remains after treatment of the wastes that flow
into local sewage treatment plants, may cause illnesses
when it is used to fertilize gardens, golf courses and
farms in the U.S. The NAS panel determined that the
millions of tons of sludge used in the U.S. annually
might contain chemicals, which could affect water quality,
or particulates, which could wash into ground water
or be blown by the wind into homes near farms that use
large amounts of sewer sludge.
"In
the early 1990's, the Federal Environmental Protection
Agency estimated that there are approximately 100 million
gallons of silver-bearing photochemical waste generated
in the U.S. annually. We estimate that 70 percent of
this is partially treated and disposed into our nation's
sewer systems where the chemicals in the waste stream
end up in sewer sludge, used subsequently as fertilizer.
Our technology effectively strips out most of these
potentially harmful chemicals including toxic heavy
metals," Dr. Whitney said. "If the photochemical
wastes, and other industrial liquid wastes that contaminate
sewer sludge, were captured at the source and treated
by our technology we could avoid having these harmful
elements ever reaching the sewer plant."
Dr.
Whitney also announced that Itronics has shown, through
evaluation work at its Reno, Nevada facility, that its
technology can treat waste streams other than used photochemicals.
"There are a number of manufacturing hazardous
waste streams that we have determined can be captured
and processed at the source to convert them to a form
suitable for GOLD'n GRO products. There have been concerns
that a switch to digital photography will reduce the
quantities of photochemical wastes needed to produce
our fertilizers. However, there are 1.15 billion conventional
cameras in the world compared to less than 60 million
digital cameras, and conventional camera use continues
to grow, meaning the volume of photochemical wastes
should continue to grow as well. In addition, we now
have important options for raw material sourcing for
our GOLD'n GRO fertilizer program which had not been
previously identified," Dr. Whitney said.
"Because
of our successful research efforts, Itronics can now
begin to diversify its raw material sourcing and play
a much broader role for our country's environment by
reducing hazardous waste through our beneficial use
recycling program," Dr. Whitney said.
Itronics,
through its subsidiary, Itronics Metallurgical, Inc.,
is the only company in the world with the technology
to extract more than 99 percent of the silver and virtually
all the other toxic heavy metals from photowaste and
to convert the resulting liquid into environmentally
beneficial, chelated, multinutrient liquid fertilizer
products sold under the trademark GOLD'n GRO. These
liquid fertilizers, which also can be used for lawns
and houseplants, and the popular Silver Nevada Miner
bars, a souvenir of the Silver State, are available
at the Company's Web site: http://www.itronics.com.
Itronics
Inc. is one of Nevada's leading process technology development
companies and a world leader in photochemical recycling.
Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, it specializes in recycling
technology development, photobyproduct recycling, silver
refining, and technical services for the mining and
recycling industries. Dr. John Whitney, Itronics President,
was selected as Nevada's Inventor of the Year for 2000
and is a member of the Inventor's Hall of Fame at the
University of Nevada, Reno. Itronics was one of five
finalists for the 2001 Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering
Award, the most prestigious worldwide award in chemical
engineering technologies.
VISIT
OUR WEB SITE: www.itronics.com
(The
statements in this news release that are not historical
facts or statements of current status are forward-looking
statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 that involve risk and uncertainties.
Actual results may differ materially.)
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