Auto-body shops in ÁùºÏ±¦µä will reduce the environmental impact of their operations through a portion of a $350,000 grant to the in the College of Business at the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno.
The newly announced grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is part of a nationwide initiative to reduce pollution by limiting it at its sources. The ÁùºÏ±¦µä Business Environmental Program is one of 48 agencies nationally that received a total of nearly $19 million for pollution-prevention projects, and the $350,000 grant to the ÁùºÏ±¦µä program is among the largest.
Chris Lynch, director of BEP, said a majority of the funds will support initiatives to reduce the pollution that results from auto body repairs. BEP will provide auto-body technicians with skills to spray paint more efficiently, apply new base coats that are more environmentally friendly than existing products and use new products and techniques to reduce dust from sanding and surface preparation.
The new products and techniques will save money for shop owners who will need to buy less paint while also reducing health risks to workers.
The grant also will support two national pollution-prevention conferences co-sponsored by BEP and the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center. The first of the conferences is planned for the Seattle area in 2025; the second at Lake Tahoe in 2026.
The University’s ability to win the grant, Lynch said, reflects well on the nationally respected expertise of BEP, which has been part of the College of Business since 1988.
Lynch, for example, is the chair of the National Steering Committee of the and is on the board of directors of the .
Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law approved by Congress in 2021, the EPA’s pollution-prevention grant doesn’t require a match from BEP.
