Containment

With its long history of industry, New Jersey has perhaps an unavoidably high number of polluted sites. Capping systems, such as geosynthetic caps, have become not only for environmental containment but for new development. Plenty of debate continues about the point when redevelopment should be denied, or when greater cleanup is needed. But as it stands, New Jersey has had many capping successes. Click the link below to read the article or cut and paste the following URL to view the chart displaying New Jersey's successful capping sites: http://www.northjersey.com/caps/ Learn more here.;

When EuroGeo 2016 opens in Ljubljana, Slovenia this month, Concrete Canvas® will showcase its new barrier material: CC Hydro™. The product features a chemically resistant geomembrane backing. EuroGeo...

Last month, Solmax announced a new multi-day conductive geomembrane training program. Now, the company has furthered its information offerings in the field with the release of a new...

While the American dam infrastructure is normally in the news only with the help of ASCE or ASDSO, this week it has caught the attention of WIRED magazine. After the failure of a hydroelectric dam in Russia, more people are turning their attention (seriously, this time) to the hundreds of dams in the United States in need of maintenance or replacement. Read Alexis Madrigal's article "Old American Dams Quietly Become a Multibillion-Dollar Threat." Learn more here.;

Testimonials from the people using a company's products and services are often one of the strongest ways to highlight the value and strengths in that company's offerings. Bill Johnson, a field technical engineer with Firestone Specialty Products, has shared a comment on Demtech Services Inc., a maker of welding equipment and other materials used in the installation of geosynthetics, such as the geomembranes produced by Firestone. Addressing Demtech's "Demo Dave" McLaury, Johnson commented: "Demtech equipment is innovative and your energy is infectious. Those of us who benefit from your continual strides forward appreciate all you do for our industry." Learn more here.;

For developing nations, meeting the environmental requirements of the international community can be difficult. The island nation of Malta is experiencing those pains in the waste sector. Landfills were closed to meet European Union accession demands, and the resulting disposal conundrum has caused environmental damage. Geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) are now being used to provide needed capping systems. Learn more here.;

Just in time for the holidays, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delayed its decision on coal ash storage and facility design. It was anticipated that a rule would have been proposed in 2009, but the agency has asked for a bit more time. One of the solutions that many are hoping for is a requirement for geosynthetic lining systems. With landfills, required lining systems have made waste management the United States' best-rated infrastructure zone. Coal ash disposal would benefit from that care.

TRI/Environmental, Inc. (TRI) has achieved independent, third party accreditation for its large scale erosion control testing and research laboratory by the Geosynthetic Accreditation Institute (GAI), which is part of the Folsom, Pennsylvania-based Geosynthetic Institute (GSI). This TRI facility, in upstate South Carolina at the Denver Downs Research Facility (DDRF), compliments TRI's industry-leading index and bench-scale erosion and sediment control testing capabilities. With over 1.2 sq. km of working area, this research farm employs various sloping terrain and water from four ponds. Additionally, DDRF has numerous structures housing covered research and testing, and material and equipment storage. Read more about this industry first.

How do construction industry companies and associations stack up against one another in lobbying dollars? Building Green has published a list of money going to lobbying groups in Washington DC. While the money involved means that lobbyists and lawyers aren't going to be held in high regard by the average person anytime soon--favoritism is, of course, a major concern--their work is crucial to communication between industries and legislative committees. This includes bringing technologies and options to the attention of legislators. For example, the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) has worked with lobbyists to introduce geosynthetic technologies water infrastructure legislative influencers. Learn more here.;

The Freedonia Group's latest study on the geosynthetics market forecasts a 4% growth between 2006 and 2011 with the greatest expansion being in waste management and erosion control. Learn more here.;

The March 2011 Geosynthetic Institute conference (GRI-24) operated under the theme "Optimizing Sustainability Using Geosynthetics." These papers addressed pavement preservation, the reduction of climate-damaging gases, and much more--including biofuels. Drexel University's Prof. Grace Hsuan, writing with four others, focused on "The Roles Geomembranes in Algae Production at Landfills." The waste management sector, it turns out, could become an important player in algae biofuel production.

Freecycling is the act of recycling what is destined for a landfill by giving it away to those who can still utilize the original materials. For the manufacture of geosynthetics, this may represent a huge opportunity to reduce the amount of material that is landfilled simply by default of being "waste" from the perspective of the conventional manufacturing, shipping, and storage side of the business. Geofabrics Australasia recently engaged in a highly successful freecycling trial in the Albury/Wodonga area of New South Wales, thanks to a strong freecycling organization and the dedicated efforts of a Geofabrics employee.

The state of Minnesota and 3M corporation have embarked on a historic $20 million project to reverse three decades of landfill pollution. Long ago, chemicals from 3M's manufacturing were buried in the unlined cell. Since then, pollution has been detected and regulations now require liners. A significant amount of waste (30 acres) is being exhumed and reburied on the same site after the modern lining system installation is completed. Learn more here.;

By NAUE Geosynthetics - As part of the Deutsche Einheit (German Unification) Traffic Project 8.1, the Deutsche Bahn Netz AG (German Railways) ordered the construction of the Höhnberg and...

Canada's wealth of oil is considered the world's second largest supply by many measurements, but the lionshare of it is trapped in sand and rock. Oil sands extraction and conversion is energy intensive and, especially in the suddenly affordable oil market, costly. But oil will remain a high demand item, and oil sands are a major extraction point for the future--and that means significantly better environmental controls are needed. A report released by the Canadian non-profit group Environment Defense indicates that 11 million liters leaks from oil sands tailings pits and processing cycles each day. If the major planned sites go online, that daily rate could rise to 72 million liters per day. Learn more here.;

During the Bernard Myles Memorial Session, TenCate Geosynthetics' Tom Stephens delivered both an entertaining story of Bernard going for an unexpectedly very long run in Vicksburg, Mississippi many years ago and a sweeping look at how far geosynthetic tube technology has come since those early pilot projects in Vicksburg. It was fascinating to see how the utilization of products has grown, from early small-scale hanging bag test to better understand the dewatering performance to massive installations for beachfront protection and wastewater treatment. Learn more about TenCate technologies on the company's website. Learn more here.;

If you can't win the lottery, you might as well apply for its funds. Villagers in Wrexham, United Kingdom, secured a £10,000 grant from The Big Lottery Fund's "Breathing Spaces" program. The money has been used to restore and line a local pond. Learn more here.;

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has named David B. LaFrance as its new executive director. He will join the staff in May. LaFrance, 46, has served as director of finance for Denver Water for the past 12 years and is a respected industry leader in the areas of utility economics and water rates. LaFrance was selected by the AWWA Board of Directors after unanimous recommendations from a Transition Committee and the Executive Committee, both comprised of AWWA volunteer leaders. He succeeds Gary Zimmerman, who resigned in March 2009.

The EcoPerspectives blog on the French nuclear industry has published a piece about La Manche Storage Center (CSM) for essentially short-lived waste of “low”- and intermediate-level radioactivity. One of the reports was on the advisability of installing a more durable cover over the waste. The next annual surveillance reports must evaluate the rate of infiltration through the geomembrane now over the waste. Read more. Learn more here.;

The French construction publication, BTP, has posted an article about the importance of geotextiles and geocomposites in roadway improvement, such as for the reduction of reflective cracking and subgrade improvement through reducing water incursion and the mixing of fines. In particular, the publication cites TenCate's products currently being used in the French market. Read the article today (in French only). Learn more here.;

We would like to thank all of our viewers for your patience with gsa regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Frances. Power was restored to our offices on Wednesday, Sept 15, and we are very pleased to be able to update the site for you as of today. Feel free to contact us with items of interest - specifications (material, installation), employment opportunities, technical articles, products, projects, news, etc. for inclusion on geosynthetica.

The Organizing Committee of Cobramseg and the the 7th Brazilian Symposium on Rock Mechanics (SBMR) have assembled a strong short course program. These courses will be held on October...

By Bruno Pedroni – The Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) is one of the most prestigious engineering institute’s in Brazil. The Institute's geosynthetics group (GGGAITA) is celebrating its...

From the arrival of the Romans to the Saxons and Normans clashing upon the shore, and from the Spanish Armada to Napolean and two World Wars, England has a...

Solmax continues a trend of big moves, this time announcing that industry veteran Eric Blond is the company’s new Global Technical Director. Blond brings nearly 25 years of geotechnical...