Special Series

The online content service of publisher John Wiley & Sons has launched the Wiley Database of Polymer Properties. Learn more here.;

View the topics of next year's issues and contact editor Christopher Kelsey for information on how to contribute to GFR 2004.

Read about the project which was conceived by Prof. John S. Horvath, Ph.D., P.E. of the Manhattan College Civil Engineering Department in 1988 to explore innovative materials for use in geotechnical engineering. Learn more here.;

When a company is seeking competitive insurance proposals, it is a common practice for one or more of the agents to lock up the marketplace by quickly approaching numerous insurers about the account, including insurers the agent does not intend to use. Once approached by one agent, most insurers will not quote the account through another agent, which quells competition. To keep this from occurring, it is wise to seek proposals from a limited number of qualified agents and assign insurers to them. This is done by asking each agent for a prioritized list of the companies he/she wishes to work with and advising them not to approach any markets until the markets are assigned. Then use the prioritized list to assign each insurer to only one agency, attempting to give each agency its first or second choice and working down from there. Advise all agents of the markets they may approach and inform them that they will be disqualified if they approach any others. The result is a coordinated approach to the marketplace that will maximize the competitive process. Source: Derived from one of the recommendations in "101 Ways To Cut Business Insurance Costs" http://www.irmi.com/products/bookdescriptions/101ways.asp

Twenty-two top executives representing the national standards bodies of the Asia/Pacific region convened at ASTM International for a two-day Open House. The event, held September 22 and 23, was an open forum for frank and stimulating discussion regarding today's changing world of international standardization. The countries participating in the dialogue included: Australia, Chinese Taipei, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the People's Republic of China, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam. The Chairman of the World Trade Organization's Technical Barriers to Trade Committee, Juan Antonio Dorantes, via conference call, addressed the subject of international standards, namely standards that are transparent, coherent, and impartial. A reoccurring theme during the event was the need for international standards to be inclusive as opposed to exclusive. Attendees learned firsthand that they have the opportunity and freedom to use U.S.- generated international standards while still honoring the intent of the World Trade Organization's obligations to use international standards. Other discussion points focused on the standardization needs of developing nations, the need for flexibility within the global standards system, and support for small businesses. The guests also challenged their hosts to provide a vision for their organizations in the year 2013, further adding to the meaningful exchange. The Open House was co-sponsored by ASME International, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., and ASTM International, in cooperation with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). During the Open House, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Philippines' Bureau of Product Standards and ASTM International. "The influence of ASTM standards is greatly felt in the Philippines," noted Jesus L. Motoomull, Director of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, Bureau of Product Standards, at the signing. He went on to explain that 90% of the references to ASTM standards deal with the safety of products in the Philippine market. In his remarks to the audience, ASTM President Jim Thomas described the event as history making for ASTM International and as an opportunity to hear different viewpoints, share ideas, and to learn from each other. About his own organization, Thomas explained, "The process for the development of standards at ASTM International is unlike others in the world. Our participation is direct-no delegations, no prerequisites."

The Manhattan College School of Engineering Center for Geotechnology (CGT) web site has much information on geofoam and geocombs. Learn more here.;

Testing Installation Damage of Geosynthetic Reinforcement - an article written by C. Joel Sprague and Sam Allen. Proper testing procedures lead to proper installation techniques—yielding stronger performance of materials in the field. full article (.pdf 210 KB)

A complete list of accepted papers for EuroGeo3 in Munich, Germany, 1-4 March, 2004. Learn more here.;

For up to date Canadian Waste & Recycling news & editorials, see www.solidwastemag.com. Learn more here.;

McCleery Yarns, Ciba Specialty Chemicals and Constab Additive Ploymers (UK) Ltd. have cooperated to produce a polypropylene yarn that is resistant to UV radiation and offers protection against fire.

Since 1984, ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has developed standards for materials used in roadway stabilization and repair, erosion control, soil drainage/reinforcement, waste management, and more. In addition to its nearly 100 approved standards, the committee is proposing a Specification for Geosynthetic Alternate Daily Covers to evaluate products that cover landfills. Currently on ballot at ASTM, this draft specification describes requirements for a variety of reusable and disposable geosynthetic alternate daily covers (ADCs) used on the working face of municipal solid-waste landfills. "The alternate daily cover is thin plastic sheeting that's left in place to keep down the odor, keep litter from blowing away, and keep birds from getting in. It also allows the landfill to take in more trash," says Gary M. Kolbasuk, Product Development engineer; Engineered Films Division, Raven Industries, Sioux Falls, S.D. The proposed specification will help end users select ADCs sold in various forms, such as reinforced/unreinforced film, reinforced/unreinforced sheet, and coated/uncoated fabric. In plastics 25 years, Kolbasuk is leading a task group of Subcommittee D35.03 on Permeability and Filtration that is developing, through voluntary consensus, a set of standard requirements for ADCs. As they develop the requirements, the group of geotextile professionals from academia, manufacturing, and commercial laboratory testing welcomes participation from ADC producers and fabricators. Contact Kolbasuk to participate in this activity, or to obtain further technical information (phone: 605/331-0324; gary.kolbasuk@ravenind.com). For ASTM meeting or membership details, contact Christine Sierk, manager, Technical Committee Operations, ASTM International (610/832-9728; csierk@astm.org). Committee D35 meets Jan. 15-16 in Tampa, Fla. Visit www.astm.org/COMMIT/D35.htm.

ASTM Subcommittee D35.10 on Geomembranes in ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics is developing standard test methods for strip and grab tensile properties of reinforced geomembranes as quality tests of materials that line or cover landfills. "Grab and strip tensile are index tests," says subcommittee member Gary M. Kolbasuk, Product Development engineer; Engineered Films Division, Raven Industries, Sioux Falls, S.D. Geomembrane material is defined by the type of strength that it gets in a strip tensile, or by grabbing a one-inch (2.54 cm) strip and pulling it to measure how far it elongates before it breaks. "That allows manufacturers a way of comparing different materials as well as its use as a quality control test," he says. The test methods appear in ASTM D 751, Properties of Test Methods for Reinforced Rubber Products, which is a compilation of 20 or more tests containing several tensile tests. According to Kolbasuk, geosynthetics professionals have used the methods for about three decades. Since the test methods in D 751 are not written for geosynthetics, a subcommittee task group, led by Kolbasuk, is developing separate test methods with updated procedures and properties. ASTM standards are available from Customer Service (phone: 610/832-9585; service@astm.org) or www.astm.org. Contact Kolbasuk to participate in these activities, or for further technical information (phone: 605/331-0324; gary.kolbasuk@ravenind.com). For ASTM meeting or membership details, contact Christine Sierk, manager, Technical Committee Operations, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9728; csierk@astm.org). Committee D35 meets Jan. 15-16 in Tampa, Fla. Visit www.astm.org/COMMIT/D35.htm.

To members of the IGS: The IGS bylaws prescribe that up to half of the Council be elected every two years. Therefore, a postal ballot election will be held in spring 2004 to elect eight Members to the IGS Council for a four-year term, starting in June 2004. The eight elected IGS Council Members, whose term expires in 2004 are: 1) J.W. Cowland (Hong Kong-China) 2) D.R. Fettig (USA) 3) M. Kamon (Japan) 4) J. Lafleur (Canada) 5) E.-S. Lee (South Korea) 6) M.-L. da Costa Lopes (Portugal) 7) B. Myles (United Kingdom) 8) J. Paul (United Kingdom). The IGS bylaws stipulate that a Council Member may serve two consecutive terms; hence, J.W. Cowland, D.R. Fettig, M. Kamon, E.-S. Lee, M.-L. da Costa Lopes, and B. Myles are eligible for re-election. They will have completed one, four-year term as Council Members by spring 2004. Among the elected IGS Council Members, therefore only J. Lafleur and J. Paul are not eligible: since now, I take this opportunity to thank both of them for their important effort, during the eight years of their mandate, for the development of our Society, and in particular I am very grateful to J. Paul, for his full dedication to the IGS, before as Chairman of the IGS Education Committee and more recently as Chairman of the IGS European Activities Committee. Moreover, there are two Co-opted IGS Council Members, whose four year term expires in 2004 as well, and they are: 1) V. Feodorov (Romania) 2) M. Sadlier (Australia). Therefore, I encourage you to stimulate discussion in your Chapter in order to select one IGS member, who is able to attend all IGS Council meetings, to consider standing for one of the Council positions. It is important in fact that all geographical regions are represented on the Council and that its Members reflect the scope of the geosynthetics discipline. Under the Bylaws of the IGS, only IGS Members are eligible for these positions. Candidates must be able to travel to and attend the IGS Council meetings, which are held usually once a year. Meetings of the IGS Council are generally held basically in conjunction with international and regional conferences. A signed letter of application together with a biographical note (not exceeding 12 lines) and a photograph should reach the IGS Secretary no later than 31 January 2004. Candidates must strictly adhere to the 12 line limit to ensure equal presentation space for all candidates. In their letter to the IGS Secretary, candidates must clearly identify their country of residence. Biographical notes will be published in the March 2004 issue of “IGS News” (with photo), on the IGS World Wide Web home page (www.geosyntheticssociety.org), and in the postal-ballot package sent to each IGS Member. Taking into account also some experiences of the past, my sincere suggestion is to coordinate the efforts in your Chapter in order to select not more than one candidate: this candidate, if supported unanimously from your Chapter membership, will have more chances to be elected. Should you need further information, don’t hesitate to contact me directly or the IGS Secretary Peter Stevenson (igspete@aol.com or igssec@aol.com ). - Daniele Cazzuffi, International Geosynthetics Society President

To members of the IGS: After the successful experiences of the year 2000 in Bologna (EuroGeo 2) and Kuala Lumpur (GeoAsia 2000) and of the year 2002 in Nice (7 IGC), the IGS will continue the IGS Student Award program with the third award period of 2003 to 2004. The IGS Student Awards will be assigned in the year 2004, and all successful candidates will attend the IGS regional conferences in 2004, i.e., EuroGeo 3 or GeoAsia 2004. I remind you that the IGS Student Awards were established to disseminate knowledge and to improve communication and understanding of geotextiles, geomembranes, related products, and associated technologies among young geotechnical and geoenvironmental student engineers around the world. An IGS Student Award will consist of a cheque of US$ 1,000 for each winner. This award amount must be used to cover conference participation costs (i.e., registration fee, travel, accommodation). An IGS Student Award will be assigned to only one student per Chapter; the selected student should be a M.Sc. Or Ph.D. student. Students must be no older than 35 in the year the award is granted. To ensure student representatives from each chapter participate in the program to the fullest extent possible, your Chapter must accomplish the following: 1) Chapter must hold a contest or conduct a nomination process to select the student candidate to represent them. 2) Chapter must notify the IGS of the name of the student selected by 31 January 2004. 3) The IGS will transfer US$ 750 to the student immediately upon receipt of your chapter notification. IGS Student Awards recipients will be asked to submit a written report to the IGS on the regional conference and on the IGS-related conference activities. Upon receipt of the report, which is due within 30 days after the conference, the remaining US$ 250 will be transferred to the student. To insure the maximum benefit to the winning students, the organisers of the c onferences (both EuroGeo 3 and GeoAsia 2004) must: 1) Provide a copy of the proceedings to the students. 2) Provide admission to the sessions for the students during the conference. 3) Organise a recognition event for the students. Therefore, I cordially invite you to select the student in your Chapter by 31 January 2004. I remind you that the students selected in European, African and South American Chapters will attend EuroGeo 3 in Munich (1-4 March 2004), while the students selected in Asian, Australian and North-American chapters will attend GeoAsia 2004 (Seoul, 21-24 June 2004). Should you need further information, don’t hesitate to contact me directly or the IGS Secretary (igspete@aol.com or igssec@aol.com). - Daniele Cazzuffi, International Geosynthetics Society President

Article from Delta Air Lines' BusinessElite® Menu & Vinum™ guide September 2003. "Have you ever wondered how your favorite white wine gets so clear and shiny? That brilliant sheen comes from removing large particles of protein and suspended solids that can cause a wine to go cloudy in the bottle, especially when the wine is exposed to heat. The winemaker actually adds bentonite to attract proteins and clarify the wine! The term used in winemaking is fining. It’s a cool process. Bentonite is a naturally found volcanic material that is mined for commercial use around the world. It is used to clarify many liquids other than wine. Its function is rather simple. Bentonite is electrostatic, meaning that it naturally has an electric charge. Its negative charge attracts all the positively charged protons in clumps and they fall to the bottom of the vat or barrel. The wine begins to clear once the bentonite collects and 'absorbs' all those positively charged particles. Bentonite is very fast-acting due to its electrostatic personality. It is usually effective within 30-60 seconds, because all it is doing is attracting opposite charges. How does a winemaker know how much to use? Great question! He or she has to do trials and see which level works best. Each harvest will bring a different grape composition to the winemaker, meaning different protein levels. Different grape varieties have higher protein levels than others. If you talk to a lot of home winemakers who work with Sauvignon Blanc, they will tell you that it is a more difficult wine to clarify. Are there more proteins present than usual? On the other hand some wines can have very little protein - which means less bentonite is needed. You can 'over-bentonite' a wine by using too much. The result is an earthy tasting wine with a dull color - bentonite can strip color when used in large amounts. All this is another good example of how good winemaking involves many critical decisions at every step."

Jane Harris is proud in her new position as Managing Director. “I’ve lived in Toronto, Ontario, for most of my life and now reside just 1 hr northwest of the city in Alliston, Ontario, current home of the NAGS Management Office. I was so pleased to have been nominated by the previous Director, Kelly Rojas, to “take over the reigns” since August of this year and am enjoying the experience immensely! For the past 9 yrs, I’d been involved as part of the Management team of a Second Cup Coffee franchise located in Toronto and have always been known as a “people friendly” person. That is why I am excited to be a part of this growing Society. My goal is to keep our Members happy and to encourage new sources from North America and beyond to join us and take advantage of the many benefits that NAGS members currently enjoy. A heartfelt thank you to the NAGS Board of Directors for welcoming me into their “world” with open arms…NAGS people are really a great bunch! Many thanks, also, to geosynthetica.net for their interest in NAGS and for the great service they provide for those in the Industry. Lara, Elizabeth, Lyn and Ian, it was great to meet you all for the first time at the Winnipeg Conference and on behalf of NAGS and myself, I look forward to our future sharing of information and resources. Keep up the great work!” To contact Jane with congratulations or questions call +1 (705) 434-0180, or mail janeharris@nagsigs.org.

Dr. R. Kerry Rowe was honored at the Legget Award Ceremony held September 29th, 2003 during the 56th Canadian Geotechncal Society Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. For those who couldn't attend in person, GSA brings you the introduction of the 2003 Legget Medal Winner by Dr.Richard J. Bathurst and Dr. Rowe's acceptance speech. Congratulations Dr. Rowe!

October issue of Nilex's newsletter.

A reminder to ASTM D35 members - officers are being nominated. The ballot will be open and accepting votes on the web from October 3–November 3.

E-Members of IECA and members associated with an overseas IECA Chapter. The 2003/2004 IECA Membership Directory is a quick and easy-to-use reference tool that allows you to find IECA members who can help solve your erosion and sediment control problems. This 96-page resource contains an alphabetical listing of more than 2,700 IECA members (those who joined up to May, 2003) and other important listings: Board of Directors, Committees, Chapter Regions and Officers, Administrative Staff and Technology Sections members. You also will find advertising of members and businesses that can help meet your erosion and sediment control needs. One copy of this resource is available to Professional, Corporate, Emerald and Cornerstone members as part of their member benefits package. Other IECA members may purchase the directory for $25 US. Non-members are not eligible to purchase the directory. Learn more here.;

Tenax has recently published several Technical Information Bulletins. TIB 1) Understanding GRI:GC8 Standard Guide for "Determination of the Allowable Flow Rate of a Drainage Geocomposite"; TIB 2) Understanding Technical Concerns for a Double Geonet System; TIB 3) Understanding Geonet Creep Reduction Factor; TIB 4) Specifying Drainage Product Transmissivity; and TIB 6) Geonet Chemical Resistance to Leachate Under High Temperature. Contact David Kirby for information at dkirby@tenax.com.

The Conductive Sensom Layer (CSL) has been developed in France jointly by TARKET SOMMER and SENSOR IEP (a geosynthetica.net underwriter). CSL is a composite of a needlepunched nonwoven geotextile impregnated with a proprietary conductive medium. TARKET SOMMER (Baisieux, France) is a manufacturer of geotextiles and multicomponent geocomposites. SENSOR IEP (Luxembourg) designs and installs monitoring systems to detect and locate leaks in geomembrane-lined containment facilities.

Are you going to the Sardinia landfill conference next week? If so please let us know so we can aim for a geosynthetics group dinner - it used to be a tradition. We believe that the following "geoanimals" are going: P. Davies, R. Ball, D. Viljoen, H-Y.Jeon, G. Richardson, I. Peggs, B. Wallace, N. Ikuta, V. Hruby, R. Jones, A. Palolahti, P. Novella, M. Bouazza, J. Davies, R. Marshall, E. Blond, A. Fourie, D. Cazzuffi, and A. Cancelli. There must be many more. Contact us at info@geosynthetica.net.

The newsletter includes: Report-Back on the GIGSA-SAICE Seminar: BS 8006 and Beyond!; an update on the Bellville South Landfill site; a reaction to Scott Lucas' article from Bob Trauger - and a response from Mr. Lucas; findings from the Rietfontein landfill site visit; and an article titled New Range of Geogrids Introduced to South Africa.

If you need to get bids for materials and services why not use geosynthetica.net? We will distribute your bid request in a timely fashion to our underwriters. Requirements sent to the appropriate people at the appropriate companies is the swiftest way to get your bid requests answered. Or need a quick answer to a problem? We'll send your question on to an appropriate consultant. A consultant fee may be charged. Contact us! "I was spending a lot of time sending information to the industry about our products and trying to get the word out … I asked GSA to do a small announcement and within HOURS I started getting e-mails asking for more information. The response has been amazing." - Mike Mathieson, WASEW