Containment

The term "Film Tearing Bond (FTB)" for qualifying welded geomembrane seams essentially disappeared from the waste containment sector several years ago, but it still remains in the potable water sector. Ian Peggs, I-CORP INTERNATIONAL, authors a tech note proposing "that we forever banish FTB."

The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 5th National Conference for Nonpoint Source and Stormwater Outreach seeks abstract and workshop proposals through 30 January 2009. The event will provide practitioners from around the country the opportunity to learn and share ideas on developing and implementing nonpoint source and stormwater outreach strategies that produce positive, measurable outcomes, comply with NPDES requirements, and can be successfully implemented with modest budgets. The conference will take place 11-14 May 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Learn more in the call and conference PDF. Learn more here.;

Federal environmental officials say they believe the amount of contaminated sediment that will need to be dredged from the Hudson River will be "significantly higher" than initially expected. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has released a preliminary evaluation of last year's dredging of PCB "hot spots" north of Albany. The dredging was a test run for the far larger Phase 2 of the cleanup, which regulators want to start in 2011. Learn more here.;

Roger E. Stoller, Ph.D., is the 2010 chairman of the ASTM International board of directors. Stoller is a distinguished research staff member and the program manager for fusion reactor materials in the Materials Science and Technology Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The January/February 2010 issue of ASTM Standardization News includes a profile. Learn more here.;

Geosynthetic Cementitious Composite Mat (GCCM) materials have grown quickly in adoption around the world in a large variety of containment applications. Bund lining has been one of the most...

Since 1977, the time of the first geosynthetics conference in Paris, geosynthetics have emerged as exciting engineering materials in a wide array of civil engineering applications, e.g., transportation, geotechnical, geoenvironmental, hydraulics, and private development. To provide a deeper understanding of this subject matter, author Robert M. Koerner presents Designing with Geosynthetics - 6th Edition, which contains two volumes, released through Xlibris.

Applied Market Information (AMI) is offering a seminar titled "The World Plastics Industry" in Brussels, Belgium on 15 September 2009. The seminar will address global prospects, production rates, market conditions and more. AMI research director Andrew Reynolds writes on the event here.

Dr. Ian Peggs, PE, PEng, started an international print newsletter in the 1990s. That publication, Industry Insight, evolved out of its print format and into the digital publication Geosynthetica....

During the recent ASTM International Committee Week meetings in Indianapolis (12-14 June 2013), George Koerner, Ph.D., P.E., CQA of the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) was honored with the "Award of...

In a 1 December 2011 release, the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) announced that it is postponing its IFAI Expo Asia 2012 event, originally scheduled to be held in late June 2012 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. However, construction on the Suntec Center may not in fact be completed by June to ensure the full success of the event and the association cites the softness of the global economy as another primary reason for the event's postponement. Two geosynthetics sessions were to be held at the event.

EPA has awarded $520,400 to Wayne, Nebraska, for improvements to its wastewater treatment plant project. Wayne's existing 25-year-old facility continues to generate odor complaints regarding the sludge treatment system. The grant will help construct a wastewater treatment plant which will address odor concerns.

Plexmar Resources Inc. announces that from February to the end of June, the production at the Malin plant was limited to small quantities of polymetallic ores as a result of delays to receive the permits for transport and storing of chemicals. These have now been issued by the Regional Government. All licenses have now been received and the plant is operating on a continuous basis. During that period, two additional tailing ponds with a capacity of 12,000 cubic meters were built and 4,800 m2 of geomembrane were installed and certified as compliant by local government officials.

Waterproof Membranes 2015 will be held 17 – 19 November 2015 in Bonn, Germany at the Maritim Hotel. This annual event draws an international audience of manufacturers, welding...

On his recent trip to Abu Dhabi, where he attended (and spoke at) the 4th Geosynthetics Middle East conference, Ian Peggs learned not only that a Canadian passport will not get you a visa to the UAE but that the constraints and barriers to geosynthetics continue to drop and understanding continues to grow. It's all part of an international dialogue. Read his latest contribution from the field.

Combining the efforts of two industry leaders in remediation technologies promises to provide increased value to the environmental remediation industry. CETCO Remediation Technologies proudly announces a signed agreement with Tensar International Corporation (TIC) granting exclusive distribution rights to the Triton® Marine Mattress System in the United States and Canada for subaqueous treatment of contaminated sediments. Read more in the release.

CSX Transportation is seeking permission to place caps over contaminants from the old Creosote Works that settled in the West Pascagoula River and Bayou Pierre in Gautier, according to company officials and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. The proposed cap will include layers of reactive core mat, silty sand isolation area, non-woven geotextile and poorly graded stone. The cap would be overlaid with a veneer of fine sand and indigenous wetland vegetation within the intertidal zone to mitigate the seven-tenths acre of tidal fringe wetlands that would be affected. Learn more here.;

Geosynthetic welcomes its newest underwriter, Brockton Equipment / Spilldam Inc. The company manufactures a wide range of oil containment booms and turbidity barriers for various applications in the marine environment, technologies which provide essential environmental protection for construction, mining, remediation, dewatering operations and many other applications. Learn more on Brockton's website. Learn more here.;

The latest report from Freedonia is called "Industrial Rubber Products to 2012." US demand for industrial rubber products is forecasted to advance 2.8 percent per annum to $18.6 billion. Growth in building construction expenditures will spur demand geomembrane products such as EPDM geomembranes. The study is currently available only for full purchase in print or by PDF, but within two months it will be available for chapter purchases. Learn more here.;

About 25 miles west of Yuma, across the Colorado River in California's sand-dunes country, construction crews work day and night on two gaping basins that will, inside of a year, add another piece to Arizona's increasingly complex water future. Learn more here.;

After 25 years of successful collaboration, Tensar International Corporation, and CONTECH Construction Products, Inc. have mutually agreed that Tensar will take on distribution responsibility for geogrid products in the United States. Under the terms of the agreement and effective 2 May 2011, Tensar International will assume CONTECH's geogrid distribution business, which includes exclusive distribution of both biaxial and triaxial geogrid products in the United States. The joint decision to modify the long-term distribution alliance comes as a result of strategic initiatives both companies are pursuing in their respective markets.

In an effort to enhance the online experiences of its Institutes, ASCE has launched new websites for the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) and the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI). Each site features improved navigation and easier access to the information and services members demand. Discover new research, follow the Institutes' news, track upcoming events, view job openings, and much more. Visit the EWRI website at http://asce.org/ewri. Learn more here.;

A group of former National Recycling Coalition presidents are making a run at saving the financially troubled organization. A total of 12 former presidents of the group sent a letter to the NRC board dated September 24 seeking reconsideration of a recent decision to filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Read more. Learn more here.;

Water has been in dwindling supply in Australia in recent years. Drought has ravished farms and rivers are drying up. Geosynthetic liners and floating covers have helped stem some water loss to seepage and evaporation. Officials now report that the month of October was the most successful month of water gain in 17 years. The long-term average of water levels in reservoirs is still 20% down; but the gaining of water at this difficult time is worth recognizing. Conservation technologies, smarter citizen use, and a bit of meteorological luck have combined to compel some needed change. Learn more here.;

In Columbia, Missouri, the 74-acre Crosscreek development has angered city council representatives who believe that the past two years worth of erosion at the site--which features steepened slopes--is unacceptable. One council member believes that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) standards are not strong enough. In this part of Missouri, for example, they are intended to guard against an inch of rain in 24 hours; but the site in question just suffered a two-inch rain event in a 24-hour period. This actually occurred twice in one week. Learn more here.;

This installment from the GeoAmericas Series is timely! The author, Glen W. Toepfer of CQA Solutions, Ltd., will lead an important, free, online discussion on March 27 at 1:00...