The majority of wastes generated during vehicle assembly are the result of painting and coating operations. Estimates suggest that 90 percent of all air releases (or approximately 40 million pounds) and 46 percent of all hazardous wastes (or approximately 24 million pounds) originate from these processes. Significant improvements can be achieved if pollution prevention options are applied to painting and coating operations.
As a result of manufacturing steel, every hour of every day thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals are released into the air, water, and land, and dust particles and greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere.