Reducing Hazardous Chemical Substances
In-keeping with the provision of Environmentally-friendly products, we continue to implement initiatives aimed at eliminating, reducing or replacing hazardous chemical substances as part of production processes, both at home and overseas.
Reducing Usage of Hazardous Chemical Substances
Having started to work on reducing the use of substances such as chlorinated organic solvents and chlorofluorocarbon alternatives (HCFCs) in fiscal 2003, we managed to entirely eliminate all such substances in 2008. The table below summarizes PRTR substances reported by the Citizen Group as a whole during fiscal 2009. We used four substances that are subject to reporting requirements and handled approximately 33 tons in total, a reduction of 8 tons compared to fiscal 2008. The total volume of substances discharged or transferred during fiscal 2009 came to 22 tons, representing a 92% reduction compared to levels in fiscal 2004 (258 tons).
Compliance with the PRTR Law*
Amount of PRTR substances released and transferred in fiscal 2009
(t)
| Chemical substance |
Amount handled |
Amount released | Amount transferred | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Released into atmosphere |
Released into public waters |
Released into soil at business premises |
Disposed of by landfill at business premises |
Transferred to sewage system |
Transferred offsite |
||
| Xylene | 13.8 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| Nickel compounds | 9.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.2 |
| Hydrogen fluoride and water soluble salts |
8.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.1 |
| Inorganic cyanide compounds |
1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 32.6 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 19.0 |
*The Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) Law requires the government, businesses and other entities to monitor, tabulate and declare data relating to the source and volume of hazardous chemical substances released into the environment and the volume of such substances contained in waste transferred from business premises.
Amount of PRTR Substances Discharged and Transported
Example Initiative
Citizen Tohoku
Efforts to reduce cyanide usage at Citizen Tohoku
Finding replacements for cyanide compounds is one of our top priorities in terms of chemical management. We are therefore working to reduce cyanide usage throughout the Citizen Group. Despite practical applications as part of processes such as surface treatment and plating, cyanide, or hydrocyanic acid, is also highly toxic.
At Citizen Tohoku, we use cyanide as part of the process of dissolving tiny copper balls used to remove burrs (offcuts) from watch components or dirt from surfaces and also as part of the process of removing coatings from watch components and external components prior to plating. We started reducing cyanide usage in fiscal 2008 and began switching to replacement substances in fiscal 2009. Compared to fiscal 2008 levels, cyanide usage fell by 53% during fiscal 2009.
Example Initiative
Citizen Seimitsu
Efforts to reduce cyanide usage at Citizen Seimitsu
At Citizen Seimitsu, we used approximately 300kg of cyanide compounds this year for the purpose of pretreating metal watch faces at the external parts plant operated by Walop in China. As we finished replacing cyanide as part of all pretreatment processes at Citizen Seimitsu’s Head Office Factory in Japan in fiscal 2008, we set out plans to use the same technical expertise to find replacements to cyanide at our plant in China during fiscal 2009. We began wastewater alterations and other preparations to enable the replacement of operational processes, under the supervision of two members of support staff from our Head Office Factory, in March 2010 and are currently running checks on quality levels and revised operating procedures. We intend to work on reducing cyanide usage at the external parts plant in China in the future through the initiative taken by new company Citizen Watch Kawaguchiko. As part of our program of environmental capital investment at Citizen Seimitsu’s Head Office Factory meanwhile, we are planning to establish cyanide-free processing for all automotive components by the end of fiscal 2010.
Example Initiative
Citizen Seimitsu
Launching COD Removal Facilities at Chinese Plant
Chemical treatment COD removal facilities
The Chinese plant operated by Citizen Seimitsu subsidiary Walop Ltd. manufactures items such as watch components, HDD glass and liquid crystal components. This means that it has to treat wastewater from plating, grinding and cleaning processes amongst others. With wastewater standards becoming increasingly strict in China with every passing year, we were concerned that COD (chemical oxygen demand) emissions might not meet statutory requirements as a result of revisions to the law during fiscal 2008.
Given the limitations of our existing deposit removal facilities, we responded to revised legislation by expanding chemical treatment COD removal facilities to enable us to comply with the statutory requirement of 90ppm.
Of the 30 companies performing wastewater treatment operations in the area during fiscal 2009, we were chosen as one of the best three.
Example Initiative
Citizen Micro
Reusing solvents
Ultrasonic cleaner
At Citizen Micro’s Sayama Works, we carry out ultrasonic cleaning in order to remove cutting oil, which is deposited during the watch component manufacturing process. Having started to recycle the oil-based cleaning fluid used during the relevant process, we have successfully reduced environmental impact by using recycled cleaning fluid instead of new cleaning fluid, as previously, and have also reduced our running costs by approximately ¥40,000 a month.