URBANA, ILLINOIS --  The PVC Geomembrane Institute – Technology Program (PGI-TP) at the University of Illinois is offering a PVC Geomembrane Technical CD-ROM for distribution.  This CD contains a wealth of PVC geomembrane information to include past PGI Technical Bulletins, Quality Control Manual, Fabrication and Installation Document, 1197 Specification for PVC Geomembranes, and technical papers written by industry professionals. To receive your complimentary CD, please contact the PGI-TP at  (217) 333-3929 voice, (217) 244-2839 fax, or e-mail pgi-tp@uiuc.edu. This CD can also be downloaded from the PGI website at http://pgi-tp.ce.uiuc.edu using Adobe Acrobat Reader. The PGI-TP is dedicated to conducting research and educating engineers and specifies about the properties and uses of PVC geomembranes.  The PGI-TP conducts ongoing research in order to further the knowledge base of PVC geomembranes.

NAGS AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE FEBRUARY 14 2001 1. PAULSON INTRODUCED KAREN HENRY (INCOMING NAGS PRESIDENT AND FIRST WOMAN PRES) JOHN INTRODUCED THE NEW ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, TECHNICAL COMMITTEE, SESSION LEADERS AND PRESENTED EACH WITH A COPY OF “WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?”. The NAGS Board of Directors is: John Paulson, Past President; Karen Henry, President; David Suits, President Elect; Mark Meyers, Treasurer. Vice Presidents: Dean Sandri, Shobha Bhatia, Mark Sieracke and Mark Cadwallader 2. NATALIE TOUZE-FOLTZ – WAS PRESENTED WITH THE AWARD SHE WAS AWARDED LAST YEAR WHEN SHE WAS PREGNANT. (WHAT AWARD) 3. DAVID ELTON RECEIVED AN IGS AWARD OF SERVICE FOR THE FIVE YEARS HE WAS EDITOR OF THE IGS NEWSLETTER. KARINA LABINAZ IS THE NEW EDITOR. 4. STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION AWARD PRESENTED BY SHOBHA BHATIA TO DON SAUNDERS (CANADA) 5. MARK MEYERS PRESENTED THE ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD TO GEORGE ARMSTRONG FOR “INNOVATIVE HYBRID RECP-LINED DRAINAGE CHANNEL: DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE”. 6. SHOBHA BHATIA PRESENTED THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD TO JOE DOVE, MATTHEW ADAMS AND MAX JOHNSON FOR “MANUFACTURING VARIABILITY OF COEXTRUDED GEOMEMBRANE SURFACE TEXTURE”. 7. KAREN HENRY PRESENTED THE GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AWARD TO ANDREW VESSELY, NESTOR MIRAFUENTE AND WILLIAM SHALLENBERGER FOR “GEOMEMBRANE LINER FOR SPILLWAY APPROACH CANAL SEEPAGE REDUCTION”. 8. JOHN PAULSON PRESENTED THE STATE OF PRACTICE TECHNOLOGY AWARD TO JOHN BOVE AND JOHN BARNARD FOR “IT’S TIME TO UPDATE CQA TESTING OF GEOMEMBRANES”. 9. THE GRAND AWARD OF $10,000 WAS WON BY MARK GLEASON, MICHAEL HOULIHAN AND JEFFREY PALUTIS “EXPOSED GEOMEMBRANE COVER SYSTEMS: TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY”. (FIND OUT WHERE THEY WILL SEND THE AWARD) 10. DAVE SUITS CELEBRATED HIS 31ST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ON THIS DAY

The First-Ever Geosynthetics courses Over the Internet, The Geosynthetic Institute is delighted to announce four complete courses available at your convenience for 3-day time periods: Course #1 - Geosynthetics in Waste Containment, Course #2 - QC/QA of Geosynthetics, Course #3 - Geosynthetics in Transportation Applications, Course #4 - Geosynthetics in Private Project Development. You pick the 3-days according to your schedule and we will give you a password for the particular course selected. For more details contact Marilyn Ashley at +1-610-522-8440, Marilyn.ashley@coe.drexel.edu or go to http://www.geosynthetic-institute.org under the heading of "Internet Courses"

GSI's Continuing Education Short Courses will be offered as follows: Course #1 - Thursday, April 5, 2001 - Geosynthetics in Waste Containment, Course #2 - Friday April 6, 2001 - QC/QA of Geosynthetics, Course #3 - Thursday, April 12, 2001 - Geosynthetics in Transp./Geotech., Course #4 - Friday, April 13, 2001 - Geosynthetics in Private Development. Location for all 4 courses: Geosynthetic Institute, 475 Kedron Avenue, Folsom, PA 19033, +1-610-522-8440 (vox), 8441 (fax)

Written Portion IAGI will score the written portion of the certification exam. The passing criteria as determined based on the data collected from the pilot test. The candidate will be notified of a pass/fail score. The actual scores will not be released to the candidate. Hands-on Portion The hands-on portion will be a pass/fail criteria based on industry accepted standards. The sample will be tested for peel and shear. The passing score for HDPE is determined by the specifications set by IAGI – see IAGI specification. The test value must exceed the standard and achieve film tear bond (FTB). The VFPE/LLDPE score for passing seams was set by the IAGI Certification Committee. The values for 40-mil smooth VFPE/LLDPE are 50 lbs/inch for shear and 45 lbs/inch for peel. These values will be used until an industry accepted standard is produced. These numbers were the average of the numbers published by the manufacturers. Only 40-mil smooth can be used for VFPE/LLDPE hands-on section. A third party testing lab, as approved by IAGI Board of Directors, will test these samples and the results will be sent to IAGI. The candidate must pass all samples to pass the hands-on portion of the test. Passing the Test The candidate must pass the written portion and the hands-on portion to become a Certified Welding Technician.

Golden Software announces the release of Grapher 3, a graphing package designed for Windows 95/98, Windows NT 4, and Windows 2000. Grapher 3 has an easy to use interface that makes graphing effortless. Easily produce Line/Symbol, Step, Bubble, Function, Hi-Low-Close and Polar plots, Bar charts, Floating Bar charts, Rose or Ternary diagrams, Pie charts, Histograms and Box-Whisker plots. Create publication quality graphs in an instant with Grapher 3. Graphers 3 is available from Golden Software, Inc. for $299. You can place your order by going to http://goldensoftware.com/frames/grapherframe.htm or calling +1-800-972-1021.

The IAGI Certification Program recognizes individuals who have hands-on skills, knowledge and experience in the welding and installation of polyethelene (PE) geomembranes. The certification program’s goal is to promote the professionalism of the industry. Certification encourages generally acceptable installation methods and it provides a reward to individuals who have developed a certain level of expertise and professionalism. This program will be helpful to those regulators and engineers on job sites who want to verify that the installation personnel working on their jobs are qualified to do the work. We have completed the Pilot Test for the Certification Program. At this point, we are scoring the test to determine our first group of IAGI Certified Welding Technicians. The test is also being reviewed and a few minor adjustments are being made to the written and hands on portion of the test. Please be sure to read the Industry News in the next GFR to find out who are the IAGI Certified Welding Technicians. If you would like further information on the IAGI Certification Program, would like to take the certification test or would like to be a registered proctor of the test please contact Beth Landen, IAGI Managing Director via phone at 651.225.6952 or via e-mail at melanden@ifai.com.

Call for Papers - Sustainable Services & Systems: Transition towards Sustainability, October 29 - 30th, De Rode Hoed, Amsterdam, Netherlands. For more information see "Sustainable Services & Systems" at www.cfsd.org.uk

The December 2000/January 2001 issue of Waste Age Product News contains Liner and Geosynthetic Specifications - it includes Donnelly Fabricators, Cetco, Colbond Geosynthetics, SI Geosolutions, Agru America Inc., GSE Lining Technology, Huesker Inc., Poly-Flex Inc. and Serrot International Inc.

IGS Welcomes New Spanish Chapter The Spanish IGS Chapter was formed in the fall of 1999 and the Chapter Council Members are: President-Mr. Vicente Cuellar, Vice President-Mr. Angel Leior, Treasurer-Mr. Julio Garcia-Mina, Council Member-Mr. Mario Garcia. Two committees have been created to report on: Landfill Capping: Design Alternatives and Reinforcement Materials: Reduction Factors. Four more chapter members are working on: Geotextiles: Filtration, Separation and Protection, Geomembranes, GCLs, and other Geosynthetic Liners, Reinforcement Geosynthetics, and Drainage and Erosion Control Geosynthetics.