Protecting Water Quality Through Prevention at the Source
Kuraray America, Inc. (KAI) Texas sites employ site-specific controls and procedures designed to reduce the potential for nurdles, powders, and other materials to enter stormwater systems or nearby waterways. During National Water Quality Month, we are taking the opportunity to share some of the work happening every day across our sites and highlighting the people behind it.
Nurdles, the small plastic resin pellets used across the plastics industry as raw material, are a focus of some of KAI’s water protection work. Across KAI’s Texas facilities, site teams rely on a combination of
- engineering controls,
- routine inspections,
- cleanup procedures,
- stormwater management, and
- wastewater treatment
to reduce the risk of nurdles and other materials from entering local waterways.
This work reflects KAI’s commitment to American Chemistry Council Responsible Care®, which integrates environmental protection, pollution prevention, and continual improvement into everyday operations. Through Responsible Care®, our sites routinely evaluate their practices and strengthen controls to reduce potential impacts on employees, communities, and the environment.
Moving Prevention Closer to the Process
At our EVAL site in Pasadena, TX, much of the work focuses on containing ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer nurdles, defined as particles between 1 and 5 millimeters, with site controls intended to help contain these materials and minimize potential releases.
The site’s Chip Containment Initiative (CCI), launched in 2023, is currently led by Process Engineer Sonya Ortiz. Each month, the initiative brings employees together to review field observations, identify potential issues, and implement improvements that keep nurdles within the process.
EVAL adopted the fence-line approach to address identified containment risks and to support compliance with applicable requirements; the site’s shift toward process-level containment is staying ahead of that same curve.
Recent projects reflect that shift. The team installed new valves and updated discharge piping on the site’s sorter and reject lines, changes that protect against product loss and spills by directing nurdles into designated collection containers.
EVAL also modified its control system to help keep nurdles contained within equipment, and employees are now evaluating industrial vacuum systems to strengthen nurdle recovery with even greater precision.
Drain protection adds another layer. EVAL uses Litta Traps, screens, and socks on storm gutters to allow water to flow while capturing nurdles before they enter the stormwater system. Employees routinely inspect these controls and check them again after rainfall to confirm they remain clear, secure, and effective.
A Site-by-Site Approach
Because every KAI site handles different materials, site teams tailor containment controls accordingly.
The Kuraray Plantic & Compounding Manufacturing (KPAC) site uses drain protection similar to EVAL’s because the site handles nurdle-sized material supplied by EVAL. Employees inspect and clean those controls on a routine schedule, monthly or as needed, and again after rain.
At the SEPTON site, the finished product is a crumb smaller than the 1-to-5-millimeter size associated with nurdles. Although the material itself doesn't qualify as a nurdle, SEPTON applies the same commitment to responsible material management and waterway protection. The facility operates to keep materials contained throughout the production process. In alignment with this, all production areas are connected to the site’s wastewater collection system to provide a secondary containment system for any material that may be unintentionally displaced during operations.
At KAI’s polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) production sites, La Porte and Bayport, processes center on powder rather than pellets, requiring careful material handling and containment practices.
- At the La Porte site, operators follow checklists in material unloading areas and continually sweep loose powder into designated disposal containers.
- At the Bayport site, containment systems keep PVOH and other materials out of stormwater, routing any affected water to the wastewater system instead.
Danica McGuire-Baker, La Porte HSES Specialist, works with the PVOH site teams to match controls to their materials and processes, since each facility’s products call for its own approach.
Managing Stormwater and Wastewater
KAI’s teams manage stormwater and process wastewater as two separate, carefully monitored systems.
- Wastewater is generated within process areas,
- Stormwater originates outside process areas, primarily as rainfall on concrete surfaces that drain toward a drainage ditch and, eventually, an outfall to a local waterway.
Each facility follows a site-specific Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and manages runoff through inspections, testing and retention systems.
At EVAL, employees complete visual checks and routine monitoring before opening a stormwater gate, and perimeter walks help the team look for oil sheens, foam or other unusual conditions in drainage areas, including conditions that may originate outside KAI’s property. Employees follow a “see it, report it” approach, promptly raising potential issues so they can be investigated and addressed.
Process wastewater follows a different path. Once EVAL, SEPTON, and Bayport have used water within production, they send it to Gulf Coast Authority, a treatment facility that operates under its own environmental permits and testing program, for treatment before discharge.
At La Porte, employees test water before it is released through a permitted outfall, routing it back through the site’s system until every required parameter is met rather than discharging it early.
Tracking Progress Through Inspections and Improvements
KAI’s site teams track progress through field audits, routine inspections, and reviews of containment projects. At EVAL, employees conduct monthly field audits, and the CCI team reviews the findings, identifies maintenance or operational needs, and evaluates potential engineering projects.
Continued inspection, prompt attention to findings and preparation for conditions such as heavy rainfall support containment efforts at EVAL and KPAC. To date, there have been no known incidents of nurdles from either site reaching nearby waterways.
The shift from fence-line containment toward process-level containment reflects that same discipline, since the earlier a nurdle is contained, the more effectively it stays within the process.
The People Behind the Process
Behind these procedures is KAI’s Corporate Environmental team, led by Environmental Manager Soncirae Li together with HSES Specialist Alex Berry, Danica McGuire-Baker and David Karl, who work directly with employees at each facility to share guidance, review practices and identify opportunities for improvement.
Water protection depends on more than any single control or inspection. It depends on employees who understand how materials move through their work areas, follow established procedures and speak up when they notice something that needs attention.
By keeping nurdles and other materials contained as close to their source as possible, KAI’s teams work every day to protect local waterways.