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Two papers at Geo-Frontiers will review the relationship between containment geosynthetics and the transmission of VOCs. The first paper, "Diffusion of Volatile Organic Compounds through an HDPE Geomembrane," will be presented on Tuesday, March 15, by Nathalie Touze-Foltz of Cemagref. The paper will describe the findings of Cemagref research on this topic. The second paper, "Sorption and Diffusion of BTEX through Thin-Film EVOH," discusses the ability of modified film to block VOC diffusion. This is a timely subject as new geomembrane materials incorporating EVOH have recently been developed, the first of this kind is now being manufactured by Raven Industries. The second paper will be presented on Tuesday, March 15, between 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM in the "Geosynthetic Properties and Evaluation" track. It is authored by Rebecca S. McWatters and R. Kerry Rowe of Queen's University. Learn more here.;

From February 20-23, Granite Environmental, Inc., will be getting down and dirty with erosion control at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. This local company, specializing in erosion and pollution control product solutions, will be attending the world's largest soil and water event: The International Erosion Control Association's (IECA) 11th Annual Conference, Environmental Connection (EC11), featuring "Environmental Heroes" at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. The IECA calls this conference "the premier educational event for the erosion control, sediment control and stormwater industry."

Construction to fix voids underneath 500 feet of Route 422 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, near the wonderfully named town of King of Prussia, are about to begin. The $2.7 million project involves aspects such as filling sinkhole voides that have been detected and installing a geosynthetic liner to stop water from penetrating the surface of the grass median and further secure the roadway's integrity. Learn more here.;

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Protech Environmental South Inc., doing business as U.S. Erosion Control Products Inc., following an inspection that uncovered 46 alleged safety and health hazards including worker exposure to heavy accumulations of combustible dust. Proposed penalties total $55,250.

The city of Philadelphia recently completed construction on its first municipal-owned solar power plant. It joins a trend of situating solar farms near where population centers are, getting the power closer to the people.

There are many connections between the geomembrane and roofing membrane industries. A number of manufacturers make both materials; each industry informs the other on critical applications such as green roofing and exposed membrane performance; and both utilize similar panel welding equipment. Leister, a maker of welding equipment, reports that a Swiss team recently won the gold medal in an international competition for flat roof construction techniques. The world champions used Leister gear. Learn more.

In 20 to 40 years, using today's technology, 100% of the world's energy could come from renewable resources, a study by the University of California-Davis and Stanford University found. Wind and solar power, and electric and hydrogen fuel cells would all play roles. "This really involves a large-scale transformation," says Stanford researcher Mark Jacobson. "... But it is possible, without even having to go to new technologies." Learn more here.;

In the January/February 2011 issue of Drainage World from the FocusOn Group, a spotlight is thrown upon Huesker's Fortrac 3D Geogrid. This offering in the long-successful Fortrac series is used for slope stabilization, veneer stability and turf reinforcement. Fortrac 3D® is a flexible, three-dimensional reinforcement grid manufactured from high-tensile strength, creep resistant yarns with a three dimensional structure that enhances its interaction with soil. Learn more. Learn more here.;

The historical success of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) technology has given the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) plenty of data and reasons to promote the use of this quicker, more economical approach to bridge support construction. Reinforced soil foundations and abutments are now the focus of January 2011-published guide from FHWA, "Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge System Interim Implementation Guide." The 174-page publication is available here in PDF. Learn more here.;

When ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics convenes for its winter meeting in Baltimore, Maryland next week, Dr.Aigen Zhao (SynTec LLC) will be discussing geosynthetic drainage in various applications and possible future D35 standardization activities as they relate to these areas. This special discussion has just been announced. It will be held on Wednesday, February 2 from 5:00-6:30 pm in the Harbor D meeting room at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. Learn more. Learn more here.;

The Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) in California has launched a website to show the progress of the Upper Chiquita Reservoir's construction. The site will utilize geomembrane liners and covers from Burke Industries. See live and historical site photos online. Learn more here.;

Scientists from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have developed a process for making fully biodegradable, non-toxic and non-hazardous thermoset resins from readily available, low-cost plant materials. It's hoped that this new range of plastics could be used for panels such as MDF in the construction industry and replace polyurethane and polystyrene packaging ... all without increasing cost or production times. Learn more here.;

The Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) is set to unveil Asia's first testing and certification laboratory in geotextiles at its campus in Ahmedabad. Being set up in association with German lab, Geoscope. Learn more here.;

The proposal to recreate a Roman Villa/ Bath House on an English Heritage site at Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury, for Channel 4's 20 January 2011 programme 'Rome Wasn't Built in a Day', was made possible by constructing it on a reinforced concrete raft foundation over a rock mattress mechanically stabilised with Tensar's TriAx™ geogrid.

The Moscow Times has published an article on how difficult it can be for foreign companies to work in the Russian market. The paper notes how companies that have the most success have people on the ground, rather than try to participate from afar. A key example is Tensar, the paper writes. Tensar's UK office worked with a UK-Russia trade organization to establish a presence, and it has lead to projects in oil, gas and mining as well as work on development for the 2014 winter Olympics. Learn more here.;

Levee projects costing more than $250 million are expected to start this year to upgrade the flood protection system in Louisiana's Terrebonne Parish. The projects, including floodgates and levees, are designed to create a double form of protection against storm surges, according to a local official. Learn more here.;

In an article published in the Pacific Northwest Inlander, Spokane Street Director Mark Serbousek discusses ways the city has learned to improve road performance. The city adjusts technologies to the particular sub-soil conditions. For example, he notes, geotextile structural fabric bases are installed in the sub-base of clay-soil zones. Learn more here.;

ASTM International Committee F17 on Plastic Piping Systems has revised standard F2648/F2648M, "Standard Specification for 2 to 60 inch [50 to 1500 mm] Annular Corrugated Profile Wall Polyethylene (PE) Pipe and Fittings for Land Drainage Applications" as F2648/F2648M-10. These pipes and fittings are suitable for underground use in subsurface and land drainage systems, which do not operate under surcharge pressure heads. Learn more here.;

Research being conducted at Queen's Royal Military College in Canada has produced a new earthquake mitigation geosynthetic that appears to be a combination of geofoam and geogrids. It has been developed by Dr. Richard Bathurst and graduate student Saman Zarnani and is intended to stabilze structures against earthquakes. Shake table tests have been very positive. Learn more here.;

The Lovell Chronicle, a newspaper based in Wyoming, which is the source of much of the world's most notable bentonite supplies, reports that local production has increased. The trend has continued from 2010 into 2011. CETCO plant manager Steve Wilkerson said the plant produced twice as much bentonite in 2010 as it did in 2009. Current projections are even better for 2011. Among its many products, CETCO produces geosynthetic clay liners, which utilize a bentonite core. Learn more here.;

Tennessee-based Propex Operating Company today announced the completion of a ready-mix industry survey on the benefits of using synthetic fibers in concrete construction. The anonymous and completely confidential survey targeted more than 5,000 concrete producers in the U.S. and was conducted over a six-week period on the Propex Concrete Solutions website at Fibermesh.com. The survey was completed by 1,300 respondents, which is a very high percentage rate of response.

R. Baker and Son All Industrial Services, Inc., a specialized contractor providing total plant dismantlement, demolition and decommissioning services, recently completed an eight phase, highly technical, demolition and environmental remediation project at Kings County Hospital located in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to underground tank removal, the project involved slab and foundation removal followed by geotextile installation and clean fill.

Debris landfills offer a cheap way to bury the millions of tons of splintered lumber, crushed drywall and cracked masonry created each year at Ohio construction and demolition sites. Draft rules proposed yesterday by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency could take "cheap" out of the equation, making new debris landfills install plastic liners and monitor wells to help protect groundwater from pollution. Learn more here.;

Fiberweb, Inc.'s Defencell™ Force Protection Systems, which are also known as TYPAR® Geocell, utilize high-strength geotextiles to create a dual-purpose protection system. Not only is it a lightweight ballistic and blast barrier solution that offers weight and space savings over existing protective barriers, it has also proven to be an exceptional flood barrier. Defencell™ was created exclusively for US military personnel, but it is finding significant application as well in the civilian market. To help explain the system's functionality and advantages, a white paper was drafted for the National Guard.

The Donzi Lane Landfill in Atlanta, Georgia was near capacity but the need for landfill space was urgently increasing due to population growth and development. There was no additional land to expand the landfill outward. A new landfill would be too costly and take too long to develop. The Donzi Landfill needed an innovative way to expand, quickly. The answer was to build up. Read about how they did it.