In the Heart of Europe - The Dow Chemical Company

The SAFE-TAINER TM Closed Loop System
SAFE-TAINER Closed cleaning SAFE-TAINER
with fresh solvent machine with used solvent
Continuous
internal
recycling
No ground pollution
External recycling
Return of vapour
Used solvent
Closed Loop Recycling Management
Avoid, reduce, recycle: this priority
ranking of alternate options applies
to the waste streams of each manufacturing
process. This also makes sense
from an economic perspective since –
through the eyes of the chemical industry
– waste is always lost material.
An incisive example of closed loop
recycling management, driven by the
spirit of Responsible Care ® , is provided
by Dow subsidiary SAFECHEM. Since
1992, the company has specialized in
the safe management of chemicals.
SAFECHEM enables the safe handling of
highly efficient chlorinated solvents e.g.
in the automotive and aerospace industries.
A successful risk management is at
the center of it all: the SAFE-TAINER TM -
system, a closed loop system for the safe
supply and handling of fresh solvents as
well as the return and treatment of used
solvents.
Ecological Change
When the restructuring process of the
Central German Dow locations only
begins in 1995, occupational safety,
health and environmental protection
are an integral part of the operational
change process. Armed with new systems
and technology, the opportunity is
seized for setting innovative standards
from which Dow also benefits globally.
In cooperation with the authorities,
Dow creates environmentally favorable
construction planning guidelines which
simultaneously take into account the
economic development of the company
as well as the interests of the communities
and the neighborhood.
The clean-up of the soil after a
decade-long injection of chemicals
poses a particular challenge. Starting in
1995, Dow implements a program for
the remediation of contaminated locations.
In Schkopau, it focuses in particular
on the comprehensive remediation
of chlorinated hydrocarbons and mercury
contaminated soil. In Böhlen, areas
must be decontaminated from mineral
oils and aromatic hydrocarbons. The
decontamination program successfully
concludes in 2002.
A task of much greater dimension is
the ground water decontamination at
the Schkopau location, which starts in
2002. Perimeter wells outside the industrial
premises and defense wells at the
former center of contamination shall
In 2005, members of the Planning and Site
Development Association of the Böhlen-Lippendorf
industrial site present the result of their joint
construction planning efforts.