Containment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered more permanent solutions be found for the rememdiation of the Cass Lake Superfund site near Bemidji, Minnesota. Temporary solutions, such as contaminated soil removal, have been performed; but long-term corrections are needed. A feasibility study is planned to be released next year. Learn more here.;

Maryland Environmental Service (MES) owns and maintains the Midshore Regional Solid Waste System in a region that serves 140,000 residents on the eastern shore of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. The...

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that for 19 years, a coal ash storage pond owned by the power company Ameren. The unlined pond in Labadie has never been linked to groundwater contamination, but a slow and steady leak from the site has been known of by Ameren and Missouri state regulators for nearly two decades. Similar ponds in Venice, Illinois are most likely to be capped (by state requirement), and a similar strategy may come to Labadie. Learn more here.;

It is very rich and prestigious the audience of stakeholders who will take part in RemTech Expo (www.remtechexpo.com), the most specialized event in Italy on the remediation of contaminated...

Inland Tarp & Liner (ITL®), LLC has revealed news that many in the geosynthetics manufacturing sector had been looking for: an acquisition involving Brawler Industries. Inland released a notice...

When ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics meets in San Antonio, Texas (27-29 January 2010), the gathering will include a Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI)/D35 joint workshop on durability. The workshop--"Geosynthetic Material Durability: Field and Laboratory Experiences"--will be held on 29 January (8:00 am - 5:00 pm). The topics to be presented are as follows: (Read more)

Louisiana officials say the Army Corps of Engineers does not have adequate funds to finish the levee system that would protect New Orleans from storm surges during a major hurricane. But a Corps official argued that the agency could pool the money from surplus funds for other projects. Meanwhile, a coalition of landowners is opposing the Corps' remediation plan for three outfall canals in the city. Learn more here.;

The city of Cleveland is seeking $219 million to permanently fix a crumbling slope above the Cuyahoga River that threatens the waterway's vital shipping traffic, a major sewer line, two roads, and several buildings. Learn more here.;

Jessica Barran's piece at the University for Peace website is firmly against the mining of gold in Costa Rica's northern Crusitas mine, but it may be worth reading for understanding the ways in which communities where resources lay do not see their presence as welcomed. The environmental concerns are real and should be heard--but so should decent science and technology. The right containment materials, facility design, operations and environmental remediation plan can be done responsible. Just as a failure in one country can be cited, so too can a great many successfully managed sites. Learn more here.;

TenCate Geosynthetics Asia has secured an order at Huntsman Tioxide in Teluk Kalong (Malaysia) for the supply of 105 TenCate Geotube® systems. These systems will be used in Malaysia as an environmentally-friendly solution for the dewatering and storage of calcium sulfate. The TenCate Geotube® containers will be produced by Ten Cate Industrial Zhuhai (China) and supplied through Ashland, a company that is involved in among other things the field of waste water treatment. Deliveries started in October and will continue for nine months.

Today's unsettled polymer markets have made the process of understanding our future opportunities ever more difficult while at the same time the challenges facing the plastics industry have never been greater. To provide companies with the best tools to achieve future success AMI has revised all its forecasts and trend analysis on a worldwide basis. This data will be presented exclusively to attendees at the "Plastics Industry Strategy Seminar 2010: the Future of the Global Plastics Industry" on 20 May 2010 in Brussels, Belgium. Learn more.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released action plans developed by 22 electric utility facilities with coal ash impoundments, describing the measures the facilities are taking to make their impoundments safer. In addition to the action plans released today, EPA is also releasing assessment reports on the structural integrity of an additional 40 coal ash impoundments at 16 facilities across the country. Most of the 40 impoundments have a rating of "high" or "significant" hazard potential, indicating the potential for harm in the event of impoundment failure. Read more.

Russian polymer producer Sibur Holding has ventured downstream into film manufacturing with its agreement to buy a stake in a leading national supplier of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films. Read more in Plastics and Rubber World (PRW.com). Learn more here.;

The week opens with two work item announcements from ASTM International. Both items are revision proposals from Committee D18 on Soil and Rock and are related to rolled erosion control products: WK24125, Revision of D6459-07 Standard Test Method for Determination of Rolled Erosion Control Product (RECP) Performance in Protecting Hillslopes from Rainfall-Induced Erosion; and WK24126, Revision of D6460-07 Standard Test Method for Determination of Rolled Erosion Control Product (RECP) Performance in Protecting Earthen Channels from Stormwater-Induced Erosion. Track the latest on our ASTM Update page.

For the first quarter of 2011, AMCOL International Corporation (NYSE: ACO) nearly doubled its diluted earnings per share attributable to its shareholders to $0.38 per share versus $0.20 per share in the prior year's quarter. Net sales increased 27.1% to $222.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, compared to $175.0 million for the 2010 period. AMCOL is the parent company of geosynthetics manufacturer CETCO.

Raven Industries boasts a strong track record of manufacturing innovations and especially in regard to multi-layer barrier materials for geotechnical applications. The company has announced another advance in 7-layer extrusion....

An inflatable dam has been set up to allow engineers to inspect a quake-damaged bridge in New Zealand. The 50m-long dam is filled with river water and holds back water from the bridge foundations. RST Environmental Solutions project manager Graham Brown said it was only the third time this particular product (the Aquadam) has been used in New Zealand. His company brought the technology from the United States in 2009. Learn more here.;

The Gulf region is growing as the world's hub for plastics development with the right ingredients of location between current and future large plastics demand centers, the hydrocarbon resource base and proximity to markets, a senior industry official said recently. Learn more here.;

Raven Engineered Films' Quality Assurance Laboratory has been granted accreditation from the Geosynthetic Institute for designated geosynthetic test methods in accordance with the Geosynthetic Accreditation Institute – Laboratory Accreditation Program (GAI-LAP). Raven is one of only 49 laboratories currently granted with the "GAI-LAP" accreditation worldwide. Please visit geosynthetic-institute.org/gai.htm for complete details regarding the Laboratory Accreditation Program (GAI-LAP). Learn more here.;

A large fire destroyed a facility owned by Martek Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Among the many products carried by Martek are erosion control blankets and geotextiles. Fire officials noted that the size and intensity of the fire was in part fed by the straw and coconut fibers in the ECBs. The polypropylene fibers in some geotextile products also proved to burn quickly. Investigators are still determining what started the blaze. The type of materials stored, however, may indicate that spontaneous combustion played a role. The natural materials present in the construction products mirror those found in barns that experience the same type of sudden fires. Learn more here.;

ASTM Committee D35 will meet 8-11 June 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. The current schedule includes the second meeting on geocells, reinforced geomembrane seams, asperity height, GCL design guidance, and much much more. Participants are reminded that the cut-off date for hotel registration is April 29. The cut-off date for pre-registration is June 2. Visit the D35 page for registration information. Learn more here.;

A link to a discussion forum on horse paddock construction with geotextiles, porous pavers/blocks, and other techniques. Numerous links to small site photos are included. Learn more here.;

Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states. An Associated Press analysis of the most recent Energy Department data found that 156 coal-fired power plants store ash in surface ponds similar to one that ruptured last month in Tennessee. On Friday, a pond at a northeastern Alabama power plant spilled a different material. Read more. Learn more here.;

Danosa, a leading Spanish producer of geotextiles, waterproofing and insulation materials, is rapidly expanding its foreign business with export sales up by 35% so far this year. Danosa products include non-woven polyester geotextiles, flat-roof synthetic PVC water proofing membrane, flexible noise insulation membranes of non-foamed reticulated PE and high density polyethylene nodular sheet for wall and floor drainage. The company has entered the renewable energy field, developing a product range dedicated to solar energy. Learn more here.;

At the Geo-Frontiers 2011 conference, there will be a technical session on Concrete Protection Liners co-chaired by Ian D. Peggs (icorp@geosynthetic.com) and Peter Dimaio (peterd@aks.co.za). All those working on tunnels, wastewater treatment basins, process chemical containment, or any other aspect of concrete protection using geomembranes or thicker polymeric sheet products, are invited to submit abstracts through 8 March 2010. Learn more.