Containment

New Civil Engineers' (NCE) coverage of the Tensar flood damage response in Cumbria. Learn more here.;

Providing the Canary Islands with fresh water may someday involve Greenland and geotextiles. Three-dimensional modeling is being used to determine the feasibility of towing an iceberg to the Canary Islands. One criterion identified by scientists includes the utilization of a geotextile cover on the iceberg during towing to slow melting. Already, geotextile covers are used on mountain peaks to prevent snow pack loss. Learn more here.;

After 28 years, the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) may be on the verge of a name change. The organization, which is a chapter of the International...

The lake in Rymill Park, Adelaide, Australia, is dry after a combination of drought, leaks in the lakebed, and, most importantly, a local decision to drain it. But the draining of the lake has been done only to allow contractors to install a geosynthetic containment liner to stop the leakage. And, encouragingly, the project has been delayed--by rain. Looks like things are turning up Down Under. Learn more here.;

At its peak and not long before it made landfall in Rockport, Texas, Hurricane Harvey was rated a Category 4 storm. It was the first major hurricane to make...

The Canadian Geotechnical Society’s annual conference was to be held in Calgary this September, but the local organizing committee made the decision to reschedule the in-person GeoCalgary for 2022....

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has grown substantially in chapters, corporate members and international breadth in the past four years. There are now more than 40 chapters, and one...

The former GAF shingle factory steadily expanded on Erie, Pennsylvania's bayfront. As it grew, workers dumped construction debris, asbestos, tar, shingle trimmings and other industrial waste into the water and erected new buildings on the fill. Now, to remediate and redevelop the 12.5-acre site, significant containment will be needed. Two-thirds of the site will most likely require the installation of a two-foot-thick cover layer. Learn more here.;

For the third time this year, Solmax International has made a major product line extension. This time it is the development of two new series that offer prefabricated geomembrane designs for applications such as silo covers, oil pits and similar containment applications. The thinner geomembranes come reinforced or non-reinforced. Read more about them.

Operators of the RMU-1 hazardous waste landfill near Niagra Falls, New York have abandoned their request for a height expansion on the current cell in favor of having a geosynthetic lining system approved for a future RMU-2 cell. The use of geosynthetics over a simple (and rather thick) clay-only liner would save considerable space, thus adding the volume the old design did not possess. Learn more here.;

On September 15, 2010, Propex Operating Company, LLC filed suit against Western Excelsior Corporation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The lawsuit filed alleges both Patent and Trade dress infringement as well as Unfair Competition by Western Excelsior. Propex is seeking an injunction and damages.

The latest issue of Txtures (Spring 2010) is available. The wide-ranging publication comes from TenCate, a manufacturer of various materials, including geosynthetics and synthetic grass systems. Geosynthetic content includes involvement in mining in the Atacama Desert in Chile, Geotubes for mining tailings, the introduction of TenCate GeoDetect in North America and intelligent monitoring of dykes, avalanche proofing in Austria, and sludge dewatering in Rio de Janeiro. Read Txtures in PDF here.

On March 4, HUESKER will host a free greenroofs and geocomposites webinar. The core focus will be on the use of Ultimat® TGS geocomposites and how these geosynthetic materials...

Waste cells in the Bay Area of California seem to have only two options left: close or expand. The Mecham Road Landfill in Sonoma County, for example, has been an issue of contention as trash must now be hauled 60 miles away since the site's expansion has been blocked for the last four years. Other key burial sites have been put on hold while a handful of sites have expanded considerably to accommodate all the waste being blocked from closer landfill sites. Learn more here.;

While we await the open of Geosynthetics 2009 and to report all the news and innovations that are revealed from the gathering, we want to take a moment to remind our readers of a number of key opportunities coming up in the geosynthetics community. Of note, the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) is holding another GMA Lobby Day in Washington DC; T-CLIC returns with more training, short course, and certification events; and the Geosynthetic Institute is offering public and private-focused infrastructure courses.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – HUESKER inc., an international manufacturer of geosynthetics, is proud to announce the addition of Lilma "Lilly" Schimmel, MSCE, P.E., to its US-based staff. Schimmel's hiring represents...

The deadline for abstract submission to Urban Water Management 2009 has been extended to 1 August 2008. This inaugural event from PennWell will be an annual conference focusing on stormwater BMPs, sustainable design, public works, NPDES, construction and more. The first gathering will be held in Overland Park, Kansas from 23-26 March 2009. Learn more here.;

ASTM International has been selected to provide certification for the U.S. Department of Agriculture biobased labeling program, a voluntary initiative to identify biobased products and to promote their sale among consumers seeking to purchase goods using renewable resources. As the selected provider, ASTM International will manage the Certification Program for Biobased Products, which will determine the product and package biobased content for manufacturers and vendors that choose to participate.

In 2003, the North American Geosynthetics Society's (NAGS) Award of Merit authorized research into the Use of Geosynthetics in Mining and Mineral Processing Industry. The Final Report that resulted from this research was submitted to NAGS in 2007. Recently, new requests for this research have come in. NAGS has shared the Executive Summary from that study. The full report is available for purchase ($50, CD) through NAGS. Contact Executive Director David Suits for more information: Nagsdirector@aol.com.

Noosa Woods and the Noosa Spit Beach along Australia's Sunshine Coast has been eaten away at by tidal erosion. Local officials are now evaluating a proposal for a combination rock groyne and submerged geotextile berm to deflect tidal forces and to better separate the boating channel from swimmers. An additonal, small groyne would be added to further trap sediment. Many people are skeptical about the plan's ability to win approval, however. Learn more here.;

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been distributing a draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding the proposed Blackfoot Bridge phosphate mine. Parent-company Monsanto and subsidiary P4 Production LLC intend to make the site one of the most environmentally advanced, with laminated geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) designed for covering selenium waste rock piles. But despite these measures, the recent discovery of 18 cattle found dead--and believed to have been poisoned by exposed selenium--threatens to slow the mine's acceptance. The Capital Press, an agriculture publication covering the American west, reports. Learn more here.;

Due to overwhelming demand, the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) has extended the deadline for abstract submittal to EC12 to June 17. If you are interested in presenting at EC12, submit your 400 word abstract on IECA's website. The event will be held 26-29 February 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Read more from IECA Education Director Jimmy Eanes.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Giroud, a key figure in the development of the geosynthetics, and notably geotextiles, industry, will attend Expo Hightex on Tuesday, 8 October 2009, at Montréal's Bonsecours Market. In the morning, Dr. Giroud will explain the innovation processes responsible for creating this market segment, along with the mechanisms the textile industry has developed to meet the needs of civil engineering, and in the afternoon of the same day, he will speak on geosynthetics' applications in road construction. Geosynthetics today generate billions of dollars annually and offer new possibilities for development, particularly in the textile industry.

Following a comprehensive relaunch, the RENOLIT company website is now online. The manufacturer of high-quality plastic films and products has now merged all existing websites in a standardized platform on www.renolit.com. The new structure of the company's website is now better aligned to the diverse application areas of RENOLIT products. It replaces the former alignment to business areas and greatly simplifies the search for information.

The latest issue of Geosynthetics International is now available. The current issue--volume 15, number 5--contains the following: "Best Geosynthetics International Paper for 2007"; "Performance of geosynthetic-reinforced alternative sub-ballast material in a railway track" by Fernandes, Palmeira and Gomes; " Liquefaction resistance of sand reinforced with geosynthetics" by Altun, Göktepe and Lav; "Seismic stability of reinforced slopes: failure mechanisms and displacements" by Huang, Horng and Charng; "Reinforcement design for construction of cover soil over soft sludge" by Espinoza and Sabatini; "Comparative study on performance and index tests simulating abrasion damage of a woven geotextile" by Huang; "Electrokinetic improvement of soft clay using electrical vertical drains" by Rittirong, Douglas, Shang and Lee; and a "Corrigendum."