The Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA), a chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), has announced that founding member and industry veteran Kim Barnard has passed away. Learn more here.;

Call for Papers for the International Symposium on Clay Geosynthetic Barriers, April 16-17, 2002, in Nuremberg, Bavaria. The abstracts must be sufficiently detailed to allow the experts to assess the scientific and technical merit of the proposed paper; especially the relevance of the results obtained and the contribution they make towards advances in the application of Clay Geosynthetic Barriers and the related system in which they function. These papers must be related to original, previously unpublished work and must not be of commercial nature. Papers are to be written in English. Deadline for receiving abstracts: August 21, 2001, Decision of Organizing Committee sent to authors: September 30, 2001, and Deadline for receiving completed papers: December 15, 2001. The aims of this International Symposium on Clay Geosynthetic Barriers is to offer an opportunity for exchanges on a high scientific and technical level between experts in the various disciplines related to Clay Geosynthetic Barriers., The conference will be the ideal occasion to obtain on overview of the multiple applications of Clay Geosynthetic Barriers in all fields of use.

The worldwide industrial nonwoven business and manufacturing units of BBA Nonwovens have been integrated to form the Industrial Nonwovens Division, which will be based in Old Hickory, TN. The six global business units within the new division include Construction and Agricultural Products; Industrial Products; and Technical Specialties and Filtration. BBA will focus its industrial operations and more effectively exploit its synergies and global opportunities in the industrial nonwovens area. BBA Industrial Nonwovens GmbH, part of BBA Nonwovens, has expanded its line of filtration media. The "UltraFlo" range of filtration media now includes new melt blown offline SMS, offline TMS (Typar/Tekton, melt blown, spunbond) and pure high quality spunbond products. Also new are needlefelt nonwovens and high electrical conductivity products.

One of the earliest environmental developments of our profession, is that of geosynthetic design within the waste industry. It is fair to say that we have a long history of both design, and component development in landfill engineering. War against pollution has led to the development of geosynthetic products and a whole genus of landfill engineering. As an industry, however, are we becoming complacent? During the 70s and 80s, as landfills were developed to stricter standards, materials were designed and improved, and ways of testing and ensuring quality were developed. In those halcyon days it seemed that we were all united against one common enemy - pollution. We had all seen the dire results of poorly designed tips and despite the ever-present legislature (in the form of the pre-EA regulatory bodies). I believe that as an industry we were as innovative and forward thinking as any. Why are we too frightened to continue in the same way? Is it because the level of development in the manufacturing industry has reduced? This may be, but one thing is sure, this is only because the market place is not as demanding. It is a fear of being innovative that concerns me. As engineers, we are supposed to push forward the frontier of our industry. To develop better ways of doing things, we do not take risks, but experiment in a controlled way to improve our understanding and ultimately reduce risk. We are not setting new and exacting standards, but allowing the commercial practitioners to control specification and markets for pre-existing products. In this environment 'recyclable' is still seen as somewhat poor and second-rate. How are we to recover the innovative days of the 70s and 80s. We need to develop an environment of development, of openness to new ideas and, above all, to insist that we have not solved the problem. We are frightened, that, to admit that we can do better will brand us as unprofessional in what we did ten years ago. Whilst a site license issued in the 80s might has insisted on a particular specification, it is nonsense to limit ourselves to historical engineering detail. Whilst a fear of litigation is probably at the root of most risk avoidance strategies, we should look at the USA (a highly limitative environment). Many use geosynthetic products from the USA - a market not afraid to continue the development of better, if more expensive solutions. Two things are destined to destroy our industry: the fear of innovation and "value" engineering. The first prevents the development of new ideas: the latter continually reduces prices and quality. Perceived quality can remain the same in a static market, but the actual quality reduces.

ASTM's Proficiency Test Program for Plastics Testing (Polyethylene). The polyethylene testing program is conducted biannually with testing conducted in September 2001 and March 2002. Melt Index, Density, Ash and Color. Participate in the 2001 - 2002 Programs. Provide your labe with a statistical quality assurance tool to improve and maintain lab testing performance. Provide a consistant foundation of performance that your customers and data users can rely on. Compare your results with other labs worldwide. Samples, test instructions and data report sheets are distributed during the beginning of each test month. Labs are given approximately five weeks to conduct tests and return data to ASTM. Final summary reports are mailed to participants approximately one month following the receipt deadline of test data. For More Information of for Mid-Year Registration contact: Anne McKlindon or Helen Maguire at (610) 832-9682, or fax (610) 832-9668 or visit http://www.astm.org/statqa/

There continue to be a number of instances where there is a misunderstanding between installer and contractor or contractor and owner about the amount of geomembrane that should be paid for in a lining system. This should be clearly spelled out in the project specifications. The installer should be paid for all material used to make the installation, including seam overlaps, anchor trench material, repair patches, penetration boots, destructive samples and patches, and trial seaming material. The easiest way to do this is to determine the amount of material delivered to the site and to subtract the amount of useful material removed from the site. The next simplest is to measure the accumulated length of each panel removed from a roll. The CQA firm can keep such records in conjunction with the installer. However the most common method is to reference the area of the horizontal projection at a specific level of the facility, typically the top of slope. It then is the responsibility of the installer to incorporate factors for the anchor trench and the other items. The horizontal projection should be surveyed at the start of the project for initial estimates of cost. A final survey of the installed liner would also be appropriate. The anchor trench material can easily be calculated with material from the top of slope to the front of the trench, down the trench, and across the bottom. Material should not be folded in the bottom of the trench. The CQA firm should ensure that material is not billed up the back of the trench but only installed to the bottom of the trench. The anchorage of the liner in the trench is a critical part of a properly designed lining system. A waste factor of 10 to 12% might be allowed for a typical rectangular facility with slopes of 10%. Both anchor trench and seam overlaps will account for about 3% each, slope gain for 1 to 3% and 2 to 5% for the remainder. More complex shapes will require larger waste factors. If horizontal seams are not allowed on slopes the waste factor could be as high as 20 to 30%. Clearly, the answer to the problem is make sure that all parties understand the basis of measurement, so that an appropriate bid can be placed by the installer, and so that all understand on what area payment will finally be made. Installers should not assume that if they put qualifying statements in their bid others will take note of them. Confirm that a statement such as "area of material laid" does or does not include overlap and patches etc. Remember, the person who wrote the specifications or the contract probably does not appreciate the finer details of liner installation.

The Gas Technology Institute (Gas Research Institute) has moved. The new address is 1700 S. Mount Prospect Road, Des Plaines, IL 60018-1804. This is a good resource for information on the performance of HDPE: material, different HDPEs, welds, lifetime, causes of failures. Http://www.gastechnology.org (some fees may apply)

GEOTrac Rapide is working on a test method to evaluate all of the impressions on test surface from the cylinder test, in order to avoid subjectivity in visually identifying the three deepest impressions for measurement. Russ Tebay also has equipment to measure the hydraulic conductivity of GCLs under a confining pressure and high water pressures.

Stuart McMutrie has left Nylex to pursue a new life as the Marketing Manager of a leading semi-trailer manufacturer in Melbourne.

I-CORP INTERNATIONAL has been awarded a contract by the Portland Classical Chinese Garden in Portland, ME, to locate leaks in the GCL-only liner of its 8,000 ft2 ornamental lake. Using new technology I-CORP will perform what is believed to be only the second comprehensive leak survey on a non-geomembrane lined pond while covered with water. I-CORP is also working on pitch-scan noncontact ultrasonics for nondestructively assessing the bond strength of every millimeter of geomembrane seams