Soil Reinforcement

In 2003, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) rejected more costly solutions to fix the coal-ash landfill at TVA's power plant in Kingston, Tennessee. These solutions would have included the types of walls and containment liners used in other waste facilities but which are not required in most states for fly ash. After rejecting options that cost up to $25 million, the TVA installed trenches and other drainage mechanisms in an attempt to relieve the water pressure. Last month, the walls burst and flooded 300 acres of land with contaminated coal ash. Learn more here.;

The Industrial Fabrics Association International's (IFAI) annual International Achievement Awards (IAA) competition is accepting submissions through 15 June 2009. Among the 28 entry categories, you'll find "Geosynthetics." One change to this year's competition is an entry fee, but it is a nominal fee. We encourage you to look into this event and share your projects and experience with the larger industry. Need help with preparing your submission or writing about your project? Contact the writers and editors at geosynthetica.net. Download the competition PDF. Learn more here.;

Huesker has released a new image brochure. Get a copy here (PDF).

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) has appointed Willem (Wim) De Vos as its new Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Susan Oderwald, who left SPE in December. Willem De Vos comes to SPE after serving as CEO of the Vitalo Group, a global supplier of plastic packaging and thermoformed products. Previously he managed compounding and processing units of Recticel, an international producer of polyurethane automotive components. He entered the industry in 1991 with technical and sales positions at Eurocompound, a supplier to the textile and automotive industries.

ATLANTA – Tensar International, the leader in geosynthetic soil reinforcement, recently extended its partnership with GeoSolutions, Inc. into the Oklahoma market. GeoSolutions, a full-line distributor of geosynthetics that specializes in full-service roadway...

North American Green has relaunched its website with a new look and a number of new pages, including a wonderfully expanded technical resources portion. Also of note: the hydraulically applied erosion control products (HydraMatriCx) section and the composite turf reinforcement mats (Vmax3) pages. Learn more here.;

On Wednesday, 8 February 2012, Maccaferri will host a webinar on High Energy Impact Embankment Systems. Key aspects of the presentation include: Rockfall embankment uses, styles and characteristics; Differences between embankments and rockfall fence barriers; and Rockfall embankment design procedures. The presentation will offer a non-credit 0.15 CEU certificate. Visit the registration page/invite and sign up.

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) will hold a number of full-day courses on February 25 during Environmental Connection 2014. The full conference takes place 25-28 February 2014 in...

Johannesburg, South Africa's only food-grade plastic recycling plant is run by Extrupet, a company that also operates non-food grade division. The non-food grade division, established in 2005, converts plastic bottles into components, such as fibers, that have been used in road stabilization and separation geotextiles. The company's latest expansion into food-grade recycled products is in response to a spike in demand for recycled content in new products. Learn more here.;

Erosion Control magazine has relaunched its website with greater interactivity built in. It's a big step for the 15-year-old publication. In the release about the site's interactivity, editor Janice Kasperson says, "We hope readers will think of the magazine in a new way -- not as a one-way delivery of articles and information, but as a community." Learn more here.;

EcoInform has announced dates for the 7th Cooperation for Waste Issues forum. It will be held 7-8 April 2010 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Papers are being solicited through 1 December 2009. Key topics sought include environmental issues of waste management, new technologies, landfill construction and operation, sludge management, waste to energy, and more. Learn more at the conference website. Learn more here.;

SKZ, with scientific committee support from Cemagref and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), will host the 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GBR-C 2k10) 15-16 September 2010 at the Fortress Marienberg in Würzburg, Germany. Technical sessions will address shear and mechanical behaviour of GCLs, chemical resistance of GCLs, testing of GCLs under unsaturated conditions, behaviour of GCLs in landfill covers (case studies), regulations, new concepts and developments in the use of GCLs, and GCLs for hydraulic and construction applications. Learn more.

The Geosynthetic Certification Institute (GCI) has announced a NEW Inspector Certification Program (ICP) for Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls, Berms and Slopes Using Geosynthetic Reinforcement. A 14 March 2012 one-day short course has been announced in support of this certification opportunity. The course shall be focused on the inspection, monitoring and maintenance of MSE walls, berms and slopes reinforced with geogrids and geotextiles. Read more from Jamie Koerner.

By Chris Kelsey – The Bakken Oil Boom has been great for America as a whole. The boom has employed thousands with good paying jobs, revitalized towns with new...

One of the behind-the-scenes luminaries of geosynthetics has passed. Dr. Joseph Scott Thornton, Jr. died peacefully at his home on 23 November 2014 in Austin, Texas at the age...

As hearings continued through September 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks comments regarding the regulation of coal ash containment sites. The Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) was among the first in line to address the issue Aug. 30 at the initial hearing in Arlington, Va. Read more, including remarks from GMA Members. Learn more here.;

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has established multiple technical committees to facilitate even stronger exchange of information between its global members. The IGS Technical Committee on Filtration has issued...

Geosynthetics were a prominent part of ASCE Geo-Institute's GeoChicago 2016 conference, which was held August 14 – 18 at the Sheraton Grand in downtown Chicago. The riverfront location, just...

The June 2015 issue of GIGSA News is available. The newsletter is published by the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa, one of the International Geosynthetics Society’s (IGS) 43...

Geosintec Iberia 1 will be held 5-6 November 2013 in Seville, Spain. Taking place under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), the event will launch a new biennial series...

J&S Franklin Limited, manufacturers of DefenCell, will be exhibiting at Military Engineering 2010, and offer any of their customers a 15% discount on their Conference Registration Fee. Demonstrations of DefenCell, a multi purpose force protection system, will take place in the Display Area at Military Engineering 2010, which is due to be held at Bayerischer Hof, Munich, Germany, from the 26th to the 28th January 2010. DefenCell's cellular design, combined with the latest geotextile construction technology provides strength, versatility and simplicity.

A team from the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, supported by the National Science Foundation, is mobilizing to collect information on the effects of a landslide that occurred...

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."

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson shares her memo to the agency regarding her first year at the helm and the now-expanded list of priorities for going forward.

The cover story for the June 2011 issue of Arab Construction World comes from Geosynthetica's Chris Kelsey. "Greener Infrastructures with Geosynthetics" looks at gas barrier improvements with EVOH layer incorporation and growth and opportunities in the region. Companies of note in the article include Leister Process Technologies, Kuraray, Raven Industries, I-CORP International, Sika, Mattex and BMC. Download the issue in PDF here.