Features


Product Stewardship Part 1

The following is the first part in a two-part series that examines the subject of product stewardship. This issue is taking on a whole new significance in light of emerging global regulations based on the precautionary principle and management's push to develop new products in expanded markets.

This article originally appeared in the 11/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

(H+)eir Apparent

It took years and years of designing, planning, and problem-solving before a vehicle that wasn't powered by a gasoline engine actually made it onto the market in quantities sufficient to satisfy more than the most adventurous or environmentally conscious of consumers.

This article originally appeared in the 11/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Reuse, Reclaim, Recycle

Water reuse has gone from being a positive environmental alternative to a growing necessity. Reusing wastewater saves money and the environment, but it can be expensive to pipe treated water through miles of distribution lines from a centralized reclamation facility to where it is needed.

This article originally appeared in the 11/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Scaling Back the Mineral Problem

Physical water treatment (PWT) is a general term that refers to non-chemical methods of controlling or preventing fouling, especially mineral fouling or scale. PWT technologies use the laws of physics to impact water chemistries and mitigate scale without the use of chemical additives. Such technologies target lime scale, an extremely adhesive crystalline precipitate of calcium carbonate, which is responsible for the majority of scaling problems. Calcium carbonate also traps other minerals, such as magnesium, to form combined scales, just as it traps soap in residential sinks and bathtubs to form so-called "soap scum."

This article originally appeared in the 11/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Taking the Lead

We are proud to showcase the five winners of our tenth annual Facilities of the Year Competition. These facilities represent a wide variety of industrial sectors and geographical locations.

This article originally appeared in the 10/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

A Profitable Arrangement

Attention is typically given to regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) performance only when a specific problem or fault shuts the system down or when the system is out of compliance.

This article originally appeared in the 10/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Reaching Out

Water is the hot issue of the next 25 years. You know it, I know, but the American public doesn't. Why should they? American households spend less than any other industrialized nation for their water use. In fact, every year they spend nearly twice as much on carbonated and caffeinated beverages as they do on treating drinking and wastewater.

This article originally appeared in the 10/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Engagement at the Top

The accounting scandals, perp walks to prison, and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) have sent shock waves throughout the ranks of boards and executives. Has this significantly improved environmental, health, and safety (EHS) and social responsibility governance at the top? Unlikely. What will it take to get executives and the board fully engaged?

This article originally appeared in the 10/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.



Water Quality Management 101

Over the past few decades there has been an increased awareness of the importance of water quality. Many municipalities and industrial facilities have upgraded or installed new technologies to meet the demand for clean water. Advances in water quality science show that further improvements are needed to ensure a plentiful water supply and to protect the natural environment.

This article originally appeared in the 10/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Back to the Basics

Despite the very best in design, there does come a time in every wastewater lagoon system when sludge must be removed.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Highlighting UV's Growing Legal Impact

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is a proven disinfection technology that has been used for almost a century. The technology is used to disinfect drinking water (municipal and consumer), wastewater (discharge and water reuse), indoor air, swimming pools, and industrial effluents from the food and beverage industries, cooling towers, fish hatcheries, ballast water, semiconductor fabricators, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Moving From P2 to P4

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce or prevent pollution at its source, before it's generated.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

The Earth Day Senator

n the July/August edition of Water & Wasterwater Products, the first appearance of this column, I referred to my first "real" job: a 1974 internship in the office of the U.S. Senator from Wisconsin who died recently at the age of 89.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Manager's Notebook: Act Locally; Benchmark Globally

Companies devote a lot of resources to benchmarking, and for good reason; the return on investment can be enormous. Why reinvent the wheel when battle-tested best practices are free for the asking? The United States has dominated environmental, health, and safety best practices for decades, but that is changing rapidly. Prescriptive regulations and fears of legal liability may be holding back U.S.-headquartered corporations from developing the next generation of corporate social responsibility best practices.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Classroom Vision

Students enjoy the visible bounty of the Biosphere without a clue of the wondrous invisible world that embraces them. This invisible world indeed sustains their very lives, for within this microcosm exists not only the supply of life-preserving oxygen, but also potentially life-destroying microbes and toxic gases.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Finding the Better Way

I've been an environmental consultant for almost 20 years, and I've owned my own company for 10. Over the years, "Environmental Compliance Audits" have been one of the hardest products to sell to industrial customers.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Lurking in the Sewer

Web-based software helps predict sewer failure and overflows by monitoring flow data

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

A Fresh Coat

Virtually all metal product manufacturers insist that their products perform well and look good. Often, a key factor in determining if these goals are met is the coating they receive before leaving the factory.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

A Different Kind of Water System

Water quality is intimately connected to quality of life. Although this fact of life has been understated for many years, water professionals have long known that clean water is an increasingly scarce and valuable commodity that cannot be taken for granted. The Clean Water Act brought about increased regulatory oversight, resulting in recent criminal charges and fines against violators, and environmental organizations are succeeding in bringing about public awareness of the need to protect water resources by encouraging businesses to include water stewardship and utilization in corporate sustainability reporting.

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.

Drying Out

By changing to a new sludge-drying technology, one Florida city is able to switch to Class A biosolids

This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.