Features


Don't Waste Your Waste

Now that you know the benefits of recycling industrial solid waste after reading the cover story “Renewable Refuse” in our magazine’s May 2007 issue, where do you start? Who should be involved? How do you implement recycling? So many questions… here are a few suggestions on how to effectively implement pollution prevention (P2) in your operations. Start now, make a plan, and make a difference.

This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Know Your Enemy

Regenerativer thermal oxidizers (RTOs) that control volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by a wide variety of industrial processes are widely accepted. As a general rule, RTO technology has been very successful with most installations, operating trouble-free for extended periods. In some cases, however, operation has been troublesome, and a good proportion of these problem applications have been on biomass dryers.

This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

History and Hot Buttons

If anything has lasting interest or value that would be water. Perhaps that realization is why more cities are putting water on display at museums and making the most of the opportunity to educate young minds about the future.

This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

ABCs of CWT

As a part of the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to provide effluent guidelines to particular industries, whether they discharge wastewater to surface water or publicly owned treatment works (POTW).

This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Germ Warfare

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, in one of its most ambitious programs to date, proposes to set up rules that will reduce bacteria in stormwater runoff that flows to the coastline.

This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Keeping Watch : Effectively

Municipalities across the country are realizing that protection of water resources deserves an increased priority and focus. The cost and consequences of contamination as a result of a mischievous child, a vagrant wandering onto the property, or a terrorist looking to inflict maximum harm can be catastrophic.

This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

The Right MAP Will Get You There

Utility performance has been the subject of many benchmarking tools over the last decade. Professional water and wastewater associations have offered programs to their members to fill this need, focusing on various indicators. Typically, the measures are broad and all-encompassing at higher levels of management and more specific and narrow at the lower levels of an organization.

This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Taking It to the Field

All of us are concerned with the global impact of adverse environmental issues. Since early times, humans have known that some of the most useful metals, such as lead and arsenic, are also very toxic and need to be controlled and contained.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.



Economic Survival in a Warming Market

Economic prosperity is in the best interest of every United States citizen. Climate change due to human-caused greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may threaten the economic survival of this nation.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

On the Lookout

Many facility environmental managers believe that their wastewater compliance requirements are properly managed when discharges from “production-related operations and equipment” are permitted. However, other discharge sources, such as building- or facility-related utilities that provide support to company operations, may require permitting or be subject to other regulatory requirements.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Cleanup Cost-cutter

Unfortunately, many of the advances in our industrialized world have come at great expense to our environment. Currently, one of the biggest environmental problems in the United States and other developed nations is the contamination of soil and groundwater caused by accidental releases of hazardous chemicals and petroleum hydrocarbons.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Poland's Progress

Since the demise of communism in 1989, many eastern European countries have invested heavily in environmental technologies and cleaner production facilities. The primary factors driving this growth have been the accession to the European Union (EU) and its commitment to integrating member country economies.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Mercury's Rising Impact

Mercury is getting a lot of attention, both in the popular press and in state and federal regulatory agencies. Combustion systems, like coal-fired power plants, industrial boilers, incinerators, and cement kilns, are sources of mercury emissions to the air. This article outlines the mercury emission regulations that apply to different combustion systems and the best demonstrated means to control these emissions from combustion sources. This article focuses on utility and industrial combustion systems because they are the highest emitters and face the greatest reductions and tightest scrutiny.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Lighting the Future

An analysis of the lighting industry shows a significant shift from the use of incandescent bulbs to fluorescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs use more fossil fuel energy, cost more and are less effective than fluorescent bulbs, which produce more lumens.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Renewable Refuse

More than 7.6 billion tons of industrial solid waste are generated annually in the United States. That’s the equivalent of more than 8,500 Golden Gate Bridges, more than 2,000 Empire State Buildings, or 1,200 Hoover Dams.

This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

The Greening of U.S. Industry

This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Pesticide Terminator

As urban centers grow in size, substantial areas of agricultural and industrial land are being converted to residential use. One of the issues frequently encountered when such a change in land use is implemented is the presence of elevated concentrations of chlorinated pesticides and herbicides historically used in agricultural crop production.

This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

One Fine Mess

On Sept. 21, 2006, Stephen Johnson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), signed the latest revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM), also known as PM-2.5.

This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

Taking Cities by Storm

If Buddy Holly, the 1950s rock musician, helped put Lubbock, Texas, on the map, heavy rains and flooding have done their best to take it off. So, when a warning like the one quoted below is published, this major city located in the Texas Panhandle takes it very seriously.

This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.

The Path of Progress

During my confirmation hearing in the Senate in 1989, I became aware how deep were concerns in the Democratic-controlled Congress that a Republican appointee for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator would not vigorously enforce environmental laws against business.

This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.