Polluters Pay More If They Don’t Keep Water Clean.
The days of a “slap on the wrist” are a thing of the past with seven figure penalties being assessed even against companies that inadvertently contribute to water pollution.
- By Isaac Rudik
Along with acting against other pollution issues, the federal and provincial governments are cracking down on water contamination caused by industrial, agricultural and municipal sources. Not only is Ottawa pouring more money into dealing with water pollution, it’s nearly doubling the number of inspectors and enforcement officers to more than 320.
Unlike water itself, it is increasingly difficult for businesses to drip through the cracks as anti-pollution laws and regulations covering water get tougher – and fines get steeper. The days of a “slap on the wrist” are a thing of the past with seven figure penalties being assessed even against companies that inadvertently contribute to water pollution.
It’s happening because environmental experts agree that the best way to tackle pollution is through something called “polluter pays.”
Basically, this means that whoever causes pollution pays for the clean up, in numerous ways:
• Tanker owners must buy insurance covering the cost of any oil spill cleanup.
• Factories using rivers must have water inlet pipes downstream of their effluent outflow pipes, so if they cause pollution they are the first to suffer.
• Even shoppers pay, being charged for plastic grocery bags – now required in Toronto – to encourage recycling and minimize waste.
Ultimately, polluter pays is designed to deter people from polluting by making it less expensive for them to be green.
Examples Large And Small
There are countless examples of how companies are getting hit hard for causing water contamination.
For instance, while transferring acetone from an aboveground storage tank to a trailer, the employee monitoring the process fell asleep. When the tanker reached capacity, acetone spilled onto the facility’s floor. When the spill was first discovered, it was believed to be minimal and contained.
But several hours later, when a team arrived to complete the cleanup, the acetone was gone. Approximately 1,300 gallons had escaped the containment area because a valve had been left open. The release impacted soil and marshy areas on the property in addition to a nearby swamp. Officials determined the company had responsibility for paying for the problem, resulting in total costs of more than $1-million.
Or take the case of a company that planned to buy and develop a city-owned site, including a state-of-the-art facility that would create more than 100 jobs. Formerly a so-called “Brownfield” property, the site was designated "clean" by regulators.
After lengthy negotiations, the company and city sealed the deal and construction began. Shortly after breaking ground, a bulldozer uncovered several barrels of chemicals, probably buried long in the past. While removing the barrels, one of them spilled. The chemicals flowed into an unprotected drainage pipe that dumped into a nearby river. A few days later, neighbors called local authorities and complained about unpleasant odors.
An investigation linked the odors to the chemical spill. Ten households alleged bodily injury and property damage and sued the company. A court ordered the company to clean up the river, which cost the company $450,000.
Cheap To Prevent, Costly To Fix
While it’s easy to dismiss these examples as being unlikely to happen in a well-operated organisation, the fact is any industrial, agricultural or municipal facility may unwittingly let pollutants enter the water system. Most of these problems are very costly to repair but they are relatively inexpensive to prevent.
For example, spill kits for oil only and those providing universal application run as low as $115 per kit. Outdoor storage containers cost less than $1,100. Modular workstations that can isolate a facility from where a potential pollution hazard is used cost as little as $127. And starting at $350, spill containment pallets are an easy, cost-effective way to prevent spills from seeping into ground or fresh water sources.
Avoiding costly solutions involving lengthy clean ups is easy, and economically priced products exist that cost countless fewer dollars compared to the cost of becoming involved with large lawsuits, ministry fines and consultants.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Health Care Facilities Conserve Budgets And The Environment By Conserving Water.
Health Care Facilities Conserve Budgets And The Environment By Conserving Water.
Institutional practices waste far more water than other countries thanks to a series of bad choices. As important as is conserving water, a sound water use policy brings significant savings. – By Isaac Rudik
When you think of it, no one should really be surprised that hospitals, nursing homes, extended care facilities and other health care providers are among the country’s largest users of water.
Beyond the obvious such as a significant number of people simply drinking water there is – hopefully – frequent hand washing by doctors, nurses and other employees, washing enormous quantities of bed linens and patient gowns or pyjamas every day as well as cleaning floors, walls and rooms in large buildings, preparing meals and cleaning dishes, and using water in various lab tests and other procedures.
Even a relatively small hospital in a remote community may consume a disproportionately large amount of H2O given its size and the population base it serves.
The fact is that reducing the amount of water a health care facility uses can lead to major savings by reducing both lower water and sewer bills. Moreover, many simple water conservation steps can be linked directly to reduced energy usage, resulting in even greater cost savings.
Preserve And Protect
Fresh water is one of Canada’s most-highly valuable national resources. A reliable supply of clean water is necessary to both sustain our population and our way of life.
Yet our industrial and institutional practices are far more wasteful than other countries thanks to a series of bad choices based on the erroneous perception that fresh water would always be available in unlimited supplies no matter how large the population grew or how much water society would demand.
The fact is, health care – let alone government and businesses – have not invested in efficient equipment and many institutional habits and practices still reflect the wasteful attitudes of decades ago.
Rinsing and cleaning supplies, materials, equipment and food tend to use the most amount of water. While these procedures are necessary, it’s very wasteful as currently done. While there aren’t fines for running the tap too long, water conservation and responsible environmental policies to reduce water usage avoids wasting fresh water.
As important as the inherent value of conserving water, a sound water use policy brings significant savings back into an organization, whether it’s in the private or public sector.
One Small Step
A simple way for hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers to start is by making an easy, inexpensive fix to how devices from dinner plates to lab equipment is rinsed.
The Niagara Commercial Pre-Rinse Sprayer is endorsed by the Green Restaurant Assn. This commercial "power spray" washer in stainless steel boasts a vigorous spray pattern that significantly increases performance and water-saving efficiency.
Among its many features, the sprayer boasts that:
• It provides high performance and hot water savings by using only 1.28gpm at 60 psi compared to the standard 2-to-6gpm.
• It is certified by the Food Service Technology Center (FSTC).
• Reduces water use by up to 80%.
• Offers savings of up to $1,300 per year per unit.
• Passes the FSTC Cleanability Test using 16% less water than all other low-flow valves tested.
• Solid brass fittings mean no leaks.
For example, if a hospital has 10 power sprayers installed around the facility – and large city hospitals are likely to have many more – it will save as much as $13,000 annually simply by updating this one piece of widely-used equipment. The up-front investment is only around $1,000 for the 10 sprayers, a substantial return-on-investment.
New advances in equipment means that it is now as easy to keep Canada green as it is to keep it clean.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Institutional practices waste far more water than other countries thanks to a series of bad choices. As important as is conserving water, a sound water use policy brings significant savings. – By Isaac Rudik
When you think of it, no one should really be surprised that hospitals, nursing homes, extended care facilities and other health care providers are among the country’s largest users of water.
Beyond the obvious such as a significant number of people simply drinking water there is – hopefully – frequent hand washing by doctors, nurses and other employees, washing enormous quantities of bed linens and patient gowns or pyjamas every day as well as cleaning floors, walls and rooms in large buildings, preparing meals and cleaning dishes, and using water in various lab tests and other procedures.
Even a relatively small hospital in a remote community may consume a disproportionately large amount of H2O given its size and the population base it serves.
The fact is that reducing the amount of water a health care facility uses can lead to major savings by reducing both lower water and sewer bills. Moreover, many simple water conservation steps can be linked directly to reduced energy usage, resulting in even greater cost savings.
Preserve And Protect
Fresh water is one of Canada’s most-highly valuable national resources. A reliable supply of clean water is necessary to both sustain our population and our way of life.
Yet our industrial and institutional practices are far more wasteful than other countries thanks to a series of bad choices based on the erroneous perception that fresh water would always be available in unlimited supplies no matter how large the population grew or how much water society would demand.
The fact is, health care – let alone government and businesses – have not invested in efficient equipment and many institutional habits and practices still reflect the wasteful attitudes of decades ago.
Rinsing and cleaning supplies, materials, equipment and food tend to use the most amount of water. While these procedures are necessary, it’s very wasteful as currently done. While there aren’t fines for running the tap too long, water conservation and responsible environmental policies to reduce water usage avoids wasting fresh water.
As important as the inherent value of conserving water, a sound water use policy brings significant savings back into an organization, whether it’s in the private or public sector.
One Small Step
A simple way for hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers to start is by making an easy, inexpensive fix to how devices from dinner plates to lab equipment is rinsed.
The Niagara Commercial Pre-Rinse Sprayer is endorsed by the Green Restaurant Assn. This commercial "power spray" washer in stainless steel boasts a vigorous spray pattern that significantly increases performance and water-saving efficiency.
Among its many features, the sprayer boasts that:
• It provides high performance and hot water savings by using only 1.28gpm at 60 psi compared to the standard 2-to-6gpm.
• It is certified by the Food Service Technology Center (FSTC).
• Reduces water use by up to 80%.
• Offers savings of up to $1,300 per year per unit.
• Passes the FSTC Cleanability Test using 16% less water than all other low-flow valves tested.
• Solid brass fittings mean no leaks.
For example, if a hospital has 10 power sprayers installed around the facility – and large city hospitals are likely to have many more – it will save as much as $13,000 annually simply by updating this one piece of widely-used equipment. The up-front investment is only around $1,000 for the 10 sprayers, a substantial return-on-investment.
New advances in equipment means that it is now as easy to keep Canada green as it is to keep it clean.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Don’t Drink The Untested Water
Don’t Drink The Untested Water
Even without neglect, cost-cutting or carelessness, a private company or government body can get enmeshed in accidental water pollution. Nearly every organisation using water for more than drinking is at risk of causing environmentally damaging water pollution.
– by Isaac Rudik
It seems that every week, the news media carries another report of how either a community water treatment facility or an industrial plant discharge contaminated water either because of equipment failure, improper or inadequate treatment and inspection, or simple carelessness.
The tragic story of what happened in Walkerton, Ontario is a case study on how to do everything wrong. But even without neglect, cost-cutting or carelessness, a private company or public organisation can become enmeshed in creating water pollution by accident.
Take the case of Beaverlodge, British Columbia, a small town not far from Whistler.
It was fined $20,000 after more than 12,000 fish died when an algal bloom feeding on the town's sewage outflow contaminated a stream. In addition, the community was required to install an aeration system at a cost of over $1-million. The algal bloom went unnoticed during regularly scheduled inspections and maintenance.
Likewise, an Ontario food manufacturing plant was fined after accidentally discharging by-products from disinfectants used in the processing line into a sewage system. At the same time, provincial inspectors found that waste left over during processing also were being disposed of improperly, creating an additional water pollution risk.
In fact, nearly every business or government body that uses water for more than drinking is at risk of causing environmentally damaging water pollution. And although clean-up can be costly, complex and lengthy, preventing the problem from occurring is relatively inexpensive, easy and readily do-able.
Multisource Problems
So many organic and inorganic compounds can cause water pollution that they can be easy to overlook.
Organic water pollutants include:
· Detergents;
· Disinfection by-products;
· Food processing waste;
· Insecticides and herbicides;
· Petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels and lubricants;
· Industrial solvents;
· Chlorinated solvents; and
· Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products
As if this isn’t a long enough list, a raft of inorganic water pollutants also pose a hazard:
· Acidity caused by industrial discharge;
· Ammonia from food processing waste;
· Chemical waste as industrial by-products;
· Fertilizers; and
· Heavy metals from motor vehicles.
Yet simple sampling and testing can detect potential hazards although the most-common form – so-called “grab sampling” – is considered unreliable by scientists. Scientists gathering this type of data often employ auto-sampler devices that pump increments of water at either time or discharge intervals.
Other common sampling methods include biological testing, checking water temperature and the concentration of solid material, as well as checking for pH levels, nutrients in the water, metals, oil and grease, pesticides and hydrocarbons.
Cost-Effective Avoidance
Many basic tests are available in kit form. While not always conclusive, they do provide a kind of early warning on any problems that might be emerging.
At the same time, industrial facilities can reduce the risks by installing safe storage containers for compounds that can cause pollution if they leak. Safe handling procedures are a must as is training employees on the proper way to work with potential contaminants. Spill containment devices are both effective and inexpensive – especially when compared to the cost of fines and lawsuits. Finally, it’s incumbent on plant safety officers to monitor spills, report them immediately if one occurs and take fast action to keep a spill from trickling out of control.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Even without neglect, cost-cutting or carelessness, a private company or government body can get enmeshed in accidental water pollution. Nearly every organisation using water for more than drinking is at risk of causing environmentally damaging water pollution.
– by Isaac Rudik
It seems that every week, the news media carries another report of how either a community water treatment facility or an industrial plant discharge contaminated water either because of equipment failure, improper or inadequate treatment and inspection, or simple carelessness.
The tragic story of what happened in Walkerton, Ontario is a case study on how to do everything wrong. But even without neglect, cost-cutting or carelessness, a private company or public organisation can become enmeshed in creating water pollution by accident.
Take the case of Beaverlodge, British Columbia, a small town not far from Whistler.
It was fined $20,000 after more than 12,000 fish died when an algal bloom feeding on the town's sewage outflow contaminated a stream. In addition, the community was required to install an aeration system at a cost of over $1-million. The algal bloom went unnoticed during regularly scheduled inspections and maintenance.
Likewise, an Ontario food manufacturing plant was fined after accidentally discharging by-products from disinfectants used in the processing line into a sewage system. At the same time, provincial inspectors found that waste left over during processing also were being disposed of improperly, creating an additional water pollution risk.
In fact, nearly every business or government body that uses water for more than drinking is at risk of causing environmentally damaging water pollution. And although clean-up can be costly, complex and lengthy, preventing the problem from occurring is relatively inexpensive, easy and readily do-able.
Multisource Problems
So many organic and inorganic compounds can cause water pollution that they can be easy to overlook.
Organic water pollutants include:
· Detergents;
· Disinfection by-products;
· Food processing waste;
· Insecticides and herbicides;
· Petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels and lubricants;
· Industrial solvents;
· Chlorinated solvents; and
· Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products
As if this isn’t a long enough list, a raft of inorganic water pollutants also pose a hazard:
· Acidity caused by industrial discharge;
· Ammonia from food processing waste;
· Chemical waste as industrial by-products;
· Fertilizers; and
· Heavy metals from motor vehicles.
Yet simple sampling and testing can detect potential hazards although the most-common form – so-called “grab sampling” – is considered unreliable by scientists. Scientists gathering this type of data often employ auto-sampler devices that pump increments of water at either time or discharge intervals.
Other common sampling methods include biological testing, checking water temperature and the concentration of solid material, as well as checking for pH levels, nutrients in the water, metals, oil and grease, pesticides and hydrocarbons.
Cost-Effective Avoidance
Many basic tests are available in kit form. While not always conclusive, they do provide a kind of early warning on any problems that might be emerging.
At the same time, industrial facilities can reduce the risks by installing safe storage containers for compounds that can cause pollution if they leak. Safe handling procedures are a must as is training employees on the proper way to work with potential contaminants. Spill containment devices are both effective and inexpensive – especially when compared to the cost of fines and lawsuits. Finally, it’s incumbent on plant safety officers to monitor spills, report them immediately if one occurs and take fast action to keep a spill from trickling out of control.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Cancer In The Workplace: Water Pollution Poses A Threat To Workers And The Community.
Cancer In The Workplace: Water Pollution Poses A Threat To Workers And The Community.
This is the second in our series on how workplace health and safety can elevate cancer risks, and how to control potential problems. This article focuses on water pollution.
– by Isaac Rudik
For years, industries facing the problem of exposing workers to high levels of benzene have been doing a lot to prevent inhalation. For example, the problem is a serious risk to coke oven workers in the steel industry, printers, rubber workers, shoe makers, laboratory technicians, firefighters and gas station employees and a massive effort was needed to reduce the risk of contamination.
But benzene poses risks in other ways, as well, and companies need to begin looking at preventing the compound from contaminating water, a common way for benzene to spread the risk of cancer beyond the factory walls.
Benzene enters the local water supply through rain, snow, the air and even humidity. Ironically, taking a shower after work allows benzene contamination to hit local water supplies. Scientists say this is even more dangerous than “working protected” with benzene because the shower mist is both easily inhaled in workers –penetrating the lungs deeply – before running off in drain water and entering a community water supply cycle.
Massive Legal Exposure
Benzene water and soil contamination are serious concerns.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that there are more than 100,000 sites across the country dealing with some type of benzene soil or groundwater contamination as a result of industrial seepage. Proportionately, the problem is believed to be about as great in Canada.
Ingesting Benzene shows up in a number of serious effects, including vomiting, nausea, stomach irritation, sleepiness, dizziness, convulsions and even death.
Companies dealing with benzene or benzene-laden materials not only must ensure the safety of their employees, they have a proactive legal responsibility to ensure that the community’s water supply is kept safe from contamination. Failing to take adequate steps is considered negligence, resulting in enormous provincial fines as well as liability in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. The potential legal exposure is massive and the ensuing bad publicity can be even more damaging to a business.
Pounds Of Prevention
Controlling benzene contamination in the workplace and the surrounding community can be a complex problem. Unlike, say, a powdered carcinogen that can be confined to a small area that is readily isolated, benzene can escape into the atmosphere just by a window being open on a muggy day or the shower drain in an employee locker room.
Still, there are ways to minimize and even eliminate the risks:
· Install a self-contained treatment filter to capture drain water from showers and wash basins, removing benzene from water before it re-enters a community’s treatment and supply system.
· Contain benzene and other liquid carcinogens that generate aerosols in a suitable containment device such as a fume hood.
· Capture vapours or aerosols produced by analytical instruments through local exhaust ventilation at the production site in a Class I biological safety cabinet.
Some of this is simply common-sense, some is already required by law and some – such as installing osmosis water treatment at the plant site – is under serious consideration by regulators. An audit of a workplace where there might be a benzene risk will reveal ways to minimize the risk.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
This is the second in our series on how workplace health and safety can elevate cancer risks, and how to control potential problems. This article focuses on water pollution.
– by Isaac Rudik
For years, industries facing the problem of exposing workers to high levels of benzene have been doing a lot to prevent inhalation. For example, the problem is a serious risk to coke oven workers in the steel industry, printers, rubber workers, shoe makers, laboratory technicians, firefighters and gas station employees and a massive effort was needed to reduce the risk of contamination.
But benzene poses risks in other ways, as well, and companies need to begin looking at preventing the compound from contaminating water, a common way for benzene to spread the risk of cancer beyond the factory walls.
Benzene enters the local water supply through rain, snow, the air and even humidity. Ironically, taking a shower after work allows benzene contamination to hit local water supplies. Scientists say this is even more dangerous than “working protected” with benzene because the shower mist is both easily inhaled in workers –penetrating the lungs deeply – before running off in drain water and entering a community water supply cycle.
Massive Legal Exposure
Benzene water and soil contamination are serious concerns.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that there are more than 100,000 sites across the country dealing with some type of benzene soil or groundwater contamination as a result of industrial seepage. Proportionately, the problem is believed to be about as great in Canada.
Ingesting Benzene shows up in a number of serious effects, including vomiting, nausea, stomach irritation, sleepiness, dizziness, convulsions and even death.
Companies dealing with benzene or benzene-laden materials not only must ensure the safety of their employees, they have a proactive legal responsibility to ensure that the community’s water supply is kept safe from contamination. Failing to take adequate steps is considered negligence, resulting in enormous provincial fines as well as liability in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. The potential legal exposure is massive and the ensuing bad publicity can be even more damaging to a business.
Pounds Of Prevention
Controlling benzene contamination in the workplace and the surrounding community can be a complex problem. Unlike, say, a powdered carcinogen that can be confined to a small area that is readily isolated, benzene can escape into the atmosphere just by a window being open on a muggy day or the shower drain in an employee locker room.
Still, there are ways to minimize and even eliminate the risks:
· Install a self-contained treatment filter to capture drain water from showers and wash basins, removing benzene from water before it re-enters a community’s treatment and supply system.
· Contain benzene and other liquid carcinogens that generate aerosols in a suitable containment device such as a fume hood.
· Capture vapours or aerosols produced by analytical instruments through local exhaust ventilation at the production site in a Class I biological safety cabinet.
Some of this is simply common-sense, some is already required by law and some – such as installing osmosis water treatment at the plant site – is under serious consideration by regulators. An audit of a workplace where there might be a benzene risk will reveal ways to minimize the risk.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
When Industry Pollutes Water, Nature Can Help Clean Up The Problem.
When Industry Pollutes Water, Nature Can Help Clean Up The Problem.
When a company causes water pollution, it can face heavy fines. Yet there are low cost, ways for businesses to clean up dirty water before sending it into a sewer or the ground. The process is effective and environmentally sound because it uses nature to scrub nature.
- By Isaac Rudik
Not only is the world starting to slowly run out of fresh water, the water that’s available for drinking, washing and other sanitary uses is increasingly polluted and dirty. Municipalities and regions are finding growing pressure being put on their waste water treatment facilities thanks to a combination of manufacturing, agriculture, food processing, soft drink bottling and the general growth in the number of people consuming water.
Even more distressing is that contaminated water is seeping into aquifers and other sources of fresh water.
Scrubbing Bubbles
Companies need to clean contaminated water both for their own processes and before offloading it into the sewers. But it’s not necessary to install acres of costly equipment to do the clean up because nature provides biological products to do the work.
A partial list of available bio-based solutions includes:
· Aqua-One™ eliminates or prevents the most common problems associated with pond and aquarium water quality.
· Bio-One™ cleans up specific hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon-related contaminants.
· Hydro-One Blue™ degrades components in food processing, textile, pulp, paper, wood processing, municipal waste treatment systems, lagoons, RVs, and septic tank wastewater.
· MicroClean-One™ removes grease, oil, or other hydrocarbon surface contamination.
· Safe-One™ reduces odours in feed lot, dairy, swine, and poultry waste treatment processes.
· GreaseClean-One™ digests grease, oil, or other food wastes in pipes, traps, sewers and lift stations.
· Terra-One™ stimulates plant root growth and reduces thatch.
Using biological decontamination products such as these reduces water and operating costs while using a natural “scrubbing bubble” to save the environment and avoid costly clean-ups.
Widespread Problem
A substantial portion of waste entering our water comes from sources such as industrial discharge pipes and municipal sewer outlets or pollutants carried in the atmosphere. Up to 54% of the 170 direct dischargers in Ontario exceed their allowed monthly pollution limits.
Moreover, many industries use municipal sewers and treatment facilities to deal with wastewater and this can overwhelm treatment facilities. This is one of the most serious problems facing the municipal water industry. Worse, municipal facilities may not treat toxic industrial contaminants and it is almost impossible to police sewage discharges.
When dirty water contamination is left for a government facility to “clean up,” large amounts of water are wasted. With ever tighter legislation and the need to save costs cleaning it by yourself is much cheaper and less risky.
Fortunately, new bio-technology makes it easier and cheaper for companies to manage potential problems with bad water damaging the environment while reducing own operating costs.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
When a company causes water pollution, it can face heavy fines. Yet there are low cost, ways for businesses to clean up dirty water before sending it into a sewer or the ground. The process is effective and environmentally sound because it uses nature to scrub nature.
- By Isaac Rudik
Not only is the world starting to slowly run out of fresh water, the water that’s available for drinking, washing and other sanitary uses is increasingly polluted and dirty. Municipalities and regions are finding growing pressure being put on their waste water treatment facilities thanks to a combination of manufacturing, agriculture, food processing, soft drink bottling and the general growth in the number of people consuming water.
Even more distressing is that contaminated water is seeping into aquifers and other sources of fresh water.
Scrubbing Bubbles
Companies need to clean contaminated water both for their own processes and before offloading it into the sewers. But it’s not necessary to install acres of costly equipment to do the clean up because nature provides biological products to do the work.
A partial list of available bio-based solutions includes:
· Aqua-One™ eliminates or prevents the most common problems associated with pond and aquarium water quality.
· Bio-One™ cleans up specific hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon-related contaminants.
· Hydro-One Blue™ degrades components in food processing, textile, pulp, paper, wood processing, municipal waste treatment systems, lagoons, RVs, and septic tank wastewater.
· MicroClean-One™ removes grease, oil, or other hydrocarbon surface contamination.
· Safe-One™ reduces odours in feed lot, dairy, swine, and poultry waste treatment processes.
· GreaseClean-One™ digests grease, oil, or other food wastes in pipes, traps, sewers and lift stations.
· Terra-One™ stimulates plant root growth and reduces thatch.
Using biological decontamination products such as these reduces water and operating costs while using a natural “scrubbing bubble” to save the environment and avoid costly clean-ups.
Widespread Problem
A substantial portion of waste entering our water comes from sources such as industrial discharge pipes and municipal sewer outlets or pollutants carried in the atmosphere. Up to 54% of the 170 direct dischargers in Ontario exceed their allowed monthly pollution limits.
Moreover, many industries use municipal sewers and treatment facilities to deal with wastewater and this can overwhelm treatment facilities. This is one of the most serious problems facing the municipal water industry. Worse, municipal facilities may not treat toxic industrial contaminants and it is almost impossible to police sewage discharges.
When dirty water contamination is left for a government facility to “clean up,” large amounts of water are wasted. With ever tighter legislation and the need to save costs cleaning it by yourself is much cheaper and less risky.
Fortunately, new bio-technology makes it easier and cheaper for companies to manage potential problems with bad water damaging the environment while reducing own operating costs.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Even Empty Barrels Need Tender, Loving Storage.
Even Empty Barrels Need Tender, Loving Storage.
Supposedly empty barrels and used batteries pose a potentially huge risk – and cost – to companies as they await collection for disposal or re-conditioning.
-By Isaac Rudik
We’ve all seen them as we drive along the expressway or down an industrial street. At the rear of a parking lot next to a factory or warehouse sit a forlorn group of empty barrels, sometimes stacked to the sky, awaiting pickup for disposal or re-conditioning. Yet those empty barrels aren’t truly empty for they all contain the residue of the liquid or vapour product they once contained.
In fact, supposedly empty barrels are anything but and pose a potentially huge risk – and cost – to companies as they sit, alone and forgotten, awaiting collection. The reality is that even “empty” barrels need tender, loving storage. At the same time, useless old batteries waiting for pick-up pose a hazard to a business, the surrounding community and the environment.
Some 90% of the residue in both empty barrels and used batteries are toxic and pose a serious hazard. Improper storage – even the weather – can result in leaks of the residue material into the ground. If it happens, the resulting expense to the facility in cleanup and fines can run into six figures.
Ignoring Hazards
Too many companies ignore the potential hazard posed by seemingly empty barrels.
For example, two years ago a manufacturer east of Toronto was engulfed in flames that sent three employees to hospital and took fire fighters more than six hours to extinguish. The blaze started when a worker was using a welding torch to cut supposedly empty barrels in half to prepare them for pickup. For nearly a decade, the business had been cutting barrels to reduce the storage space needed while they waited for a monthly collection without a problem.
But then luck ran out.
The welding torch’s intense heat coupled with a week of hot weather set off a spark, igniting built-up fumes inside a barrel which had been sitting outside, unprotected from the unrelenting, scorching sun beating down. The blaze ignited other barrels and before the fire department arrived on the scene, the factory itself caught fire. The place was totalled.
While insurance covered much of the cost of cleaning up the remains and re-building the facility, the process took seven months which meant being out of business for more than a half-year. What wasn’t covered, though, were the hefty fines levied by the province for improperly storing hazardous material and exposing workers to a serious health risk. Legal fees for negotiating with the government, settling suits brought by injured workers, and paying nearby businesses for lost revenue that were forced to shutter their doors for a few days during and after the fire added to the total cost of improper storage.
Yet even without a fire, used barrels and old batteries can cause problems for a business. They can easily leak, causing residue material to seep into the ground which will lead to costly soil remediation projects with the possibility to sample and test nearby potable water sources for contamination and clean up.
Proper Storage and Disposal
As the fire-ravaged factory learned, there is no such thing as an “empty” container. Drums should be completely drained, properly bunged and promptly returned to a drum re-conditioner or properly disposed of quickly. Moreover, they should not be kept under pressure, cut, welded, brazed, soldered, drilled, ground or exposed to heat, sparks, static electricity and other potential ignition triggers.
Here’s the good news.
There is a smart and cost-effective way to protect against potential problems caused by storing empty barrels and old batteries improperly: Modular spill containment platforms are one type of solution which captures leakage risk and avoids unforeseen events or accidents causing a problem. Better still, these solutions cost a fraction of the cost of fines, which can hit upwards of $250,000.00, and possible worker comp claims and lawsuits – and that’s before adding in clean-up costs which will be even greater.
When you leave work today, look out back at the barrels and batteries many industrial businesses find piling up awaiting collection. Remember that those empty barrels need tender, loving storage.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Supposedly empty barrels and used batteries pose a potentially huge risk – and cost – to companies as they await collection for disposal or re-conditioning.
-By Isaac Rudik
We’ve all seen them as we drive along the expressway or down an industrial street. At the rear of a parking lot next to a factory or warehouse sit a forlorn group of empty barrels, sometimes stacked to the sky, awaiting pickup for disposal or re-conditioning. Yet those empty barrels aren’t truly empty for they all contain the residue of the liquid or vapour product they once contained.
In fact, supposedly empty barrels are anything but and pose a potentially huge risk – and cost – to companies as they sit, alone and forgotten, awaiting collection. The reality is that even “empty” barrels need tender, loving storage. At the same time, useless old batteries waiting for pick-up pose a hazard to a business, the surrounding community and the environment.
Some 90% of the residue in both empty barrels and used batteries are toxic and pose a serious hazard. Improper storage – even the weather – can result in leaks of the residue material into the ground. If it happens, the resulting expense to the facility in cleanup and fines can run into six figures.
Ignoring Hazards
Too many companies ignore the potential hazard posed by seemingly empty barrels.
For example, two years ago a manufacturer east of Toronto was engulfed in flames that sent three employees to hospital and took fire fighters more than six hours to extinguish. The blaze started when a worker was using a welding torch to cut supposedly empty barrels in half to prepare them for pickup. For nearly a decade, the business had been cutting barrels to reduce the storage space needed while they waited for a monthly collection without a problem.
But then luck ran out.
The welding torch’s intense heat coupled with a week of hot weather set off a spark, igniting built-up fumes inside a barrel which had been sitting outside, unprotected from the unrelenting, scorching sun beating down. The blaze ignited other barrels and before the fire department arrived on the scene, the factory itself caught fire. The place was totalled.
While insurance covered much of the cost of cleaning up the remains and re-building the facility, the process took seven months which meant being out of business for more than a half-year. What wasn’t covered, though, were the hefty fines levied by the province for improperly storing hazardous material and exposing workers to a serious health risk. Legal fees for negotiating with the government, settling suits brought by injured workers, and paying nearby businesses for lost revenue that were forced to shutter their doors for a few days during and after the fire added to the total cost of improper storage.
Yet even without a fire, used barrels and old batteries can cause problems for a business. They can easily leak, causing residue material to seep into the ground which will lead to costly soil remediation projects with the possibility to sample and test nearby potable water sources for contamination and clean up.
Proper Storage and Disposal
As the fire-ravaged factory learned, there is no such thing as an “empty” container. Drums should be completely drained, properly bunged and promptly returned to a drum re-conditioner or properly disposed of quickly. Moreover, they should not be kept under pressure, cut, welded, brazed, soldered, drilled, ground or exposed to heat, sparks, static electricity and other potential ignition triggers.
Here’s the good news.
There is a smart and cost-effective way to protect against potential problems caused by storing empty barrels and old batteries improperly: Modular spill containment platforms are one type of solution which captures leakage risk and avoids unforeseen events or accidents causing a problem. Better still, these solutions cost a fraction of the cost of fines, which can hit upwards of $250,000.00, and possible worker comp claims and lawsuits – and that’s before adding in clean-up costs which will be even greater.
When you leave work today, look out back at the barrels and batteries many industrial businesses find piling up awaiting collection. Remember that those empty barrels need tender, loving storage.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Measuring Water Flow Reduces Costs And Helps Prevent Contamination.
Measuring Water Flow Reduces Costs And Helps Prevent Contamination.
Groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality: It is more widespread than realised and is cheaper to monitor than ever before.
– by Isaac Rudik
Unplug the cable or satellite cord from a television for a moment and then switch it on. A tiny fraction of the static on the screen is the remains of a radio signal that dates back to the Big Bang. Now turn on the faucet at the kitchen sink. Most of what is flowing out the tap is ground water and a tiny fraction it is nearly as old as the earth itself.
Until sometime during the 1970s, the purity and availability of ground water was taken for granted. After all, H20 has been around forever and what could possibly harm it? Much of ground water is held in aquifers buried deep beneath the surface; the rest saturates the tiny spaces between sand, gravel, silt and clay or the crevices and fractures in rocks.
But some 30 years ago, scientists were beginning to discover that man-made pollutants were seeping into ground water and, within the past five-to-10 years, academics realised to their horror that water was actually disappearing.
Clearly, groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality:
· Approximately one-third of industrial water needs are fulfilled by using groundwater.
· Scientists estimate that groundwater accounts for more than 95% of all available fresh water.
· Nearly 95% of rural residents rely on groundwater for their drinking supply.
· About half of all irrigated cropland uses groundwater.
· On average, about 40% of the flow of the nation’s rivers depends on groundwater.
Countless Threats
There are countless, serious threats to the purity of groundwater and scientists are discovering new ones on what seems like a weekly basis. They fall into one of several broad categories:
· Inorganic Compounds include all compounds that do not contain carbon. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals are two examples.
· Pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, have been credited with causing more than 50% of the waterborne disease outbreaks in the US.
· Organic Compounds include benzene, toluene, xylene, napthaline, phenol PCBs and pesticides.
They seep into ground water in numerous ways: Discharge from a pipe such as at a sewage treatment plant, factories, livestock farms and stockyards, and landfill. Point sources are easily identified because they usually come out of a "pipe." Examples include sewage treatment plants, large injection wells, industrial plants, livestock facilities, landfills, and others. At the same time, non-point sources like septic systems, cattle grazing, and everyday urban runoff spread seemingly insignificant amounts of pollutants which, cumulatively, threaten water quality and natural systems.
Other sources include underground petroleum storage systems, dry cleaners, restaurants, and auto repair shops. Although a large number of underground storage tanks have been removed or upgraded, a significant number remain. Businesses can threaten groundwater with a wide variety of potentially contaminating substances.
Easy Monitoring
It’s become relatively easy to monitor potential runoff problems, thanks to technology.
Indeed, water flow meters can measure open channels, tubes, partially filled pipes, streams, rivers, wastewater and industrial process waters among other places. Many water flow meters are designed for metering pump pacing or water treatment control, but they can aid in rain water runoff studies and sewer flow measurements, and measuring flows in bodies of water. In plumbing, water flow meters are used to measure the amount of fluid running through a tube for efficiency purposes. Industrial water flow meters are also available for larger-scale applications.
The best thing about the meters is they also provide quick information for simple flow monitoring. They are as convenient as they are lightweight, waterproof, and reliable.
Today’s new technology makes it easier to manage potential contamination and save water at affordable costs.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s leading provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, agricultural, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354
Groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality: It is more widespread than realised and is cheaper to monitor than ever before.
– by Isaac Rudik
Unplug the cable or satellite cord from a television for a moment and then switch it on. A tiny fraction of the static on the screen is the remains of a radio signal that dates back to the Big Bang. Now turn on the faucet at the kitchen sink. Most of what is flowing out the tap is ground water and a tiny fraction it is nearly as old as the earth itself.
Until sometime during the 1970s, the purity and availability of ground water was taken for granted. After all, H20 has been around forever and what could possibly harm it? Much of ground water is held in aquifers buried deep beneath the surface; the rest saturates the tiny spaces between sand, gravel, silt and clay or the crevices and fractures in rocks.
But some 30 years ago, scientists were beginning to discover that man-made pollutants were seeping into ground water and, within the past five-to-10 years, academics realised to their horror that water was actually disappearing.
Clearly, groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality:
· Approximately one-third of industrial water needs are fulfilled by using groundwater.
· Scientists estimate that groundwater accounts for more than 95% of all available fresh water.
· Nearly 95% of rural residents rely on groundwater for their drinking supply.
· About half of all irrigated cropland uses groundwater.
· On average, about 40% of the flow of the nation’s rivers depends on groundwater.
Countless Threats
There are countless, serious threats to the purity of groundwater and scientists are discovering new ones on what seems like a weekly basis. They fall into one of several broad categories:
· Inorganic Compounds include all compounds that do not contain carbon. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals are two examples.
· Pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, have been credited with causing more than 50% of the waterborne disease outbreaks in the US.
· Organic Compounds include benzene, toluene, xylene, napthaline, phenol PCBs and pesticides.
They seep into ground water in numerous ways: Discharge from a pipe such as at a sewage treatment plant, factories, livestock farms and stockyards, and landfill. Point sources are easily identified because they usually come out of a "pipe." Examples include sewage treatment plants, large injection wells, industrial plants, livestock facilities, landfills, and others. At the same time, non-point sources like septic systems, cattle grazing, and everyday urban runoff spread seemingly insignificant amounts of pollutants which, cumulatively, threaten water quality and natural systems.
Other sources include underground petroleum storage systems, dry cleaners, restaurants, and auto repair shops. Although a large number of underground storage tanks have been removed or upgraded, a significant number remain. Businesses can threaten groundwater with a wide variety of potentially contaminating substances.
Easy Monitoring
It’s become relatively easy to monitor potential runoff problems, thanks to technology.
Indeed, water flow meters can measure open channels, tubes, partially filled pipes, streams, rivers, wastewater and industrial process waters among other places. Many water flow meters are designed for metering pump pacing or water treatment control, but they can aid in rain water runoff studies and sewer flow measurements, and measuring flows in bodies of water. In plumbing, water flow meters are used to measure the amount of fluid running through a tube for efficiency purposes. Industrial water flow meters are also available for larger-scale applications.
The best thing about the meters is they also provide quick information for simple flow monitoring. They are as convenient as they are lightweight, waterproof, and reliable.
Today’s new technology makes it easier to manage potential contamination and save water at affordable costs.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s leading provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, agricultural, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)