Simple Steps Prevent Soil Contamination And Save Serious Money.
Canada has thousands of contaminated sites. Soil pollution is linked to water and air pollution, but it’s a problem that’s easy to avoid.
– By Isaac Rudik
While nearly every company and government organisation is trying to improve its environmental policies and practices, Alberta-based furniture maker LOGical Creations Ltd. couldn’t get much greener if someone used a crayon. And it finds that its close-to-zero-as-possible emissions and waste policy is paying off handsomely on the bottom line.
LOGical only uses dead trees and logs rather than cutting down living trees as raw material for its furniture. Wherever possible, handsaws and axes are used, reducing exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions from bulldozers, grapplers, chainsaws and mechanical peelers traditionally used in tree harvesting.
All logs are sun-dried, saving energy and electricity because it doesn’t use a kiln or drying lamps.
Then, furniture is hand finished rather than using electric sanders. Because it doesn’t use spray guns, the company closely monitors how much material is applied, eliminating over-sprays.
Finally, LOGical diverts recyclable matter from landfills by:
• Composting sawdust and wood shavings on-site;
• Sharing cut-off log ends with the community for firewood; and
• Using recycled newspapers as drop cloths when staining or lacquering.
As a result, LOGical significantly lower costs by avoiding buying, maintaining and operating large equipment to harvest trees. Moreover, the average drying kiln costs about $10,000 to buy and up to $5,000 to operate annually. Operating costs are further cut by self-harvesting dead trees rather than purchasing them from foresters.
Besides improving profitability, for its efforts the company has received numerous awards and accolades including the prestigious 2008 Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Pollution Prevention Award.
Readily Scalable
While this Canadian success story is a relatively small business in a specific industry, its practices are adaptable and scalable by other, larger companies and government agencies.
In addition to saving money, using LOGical’s approach can reduce the risk of contamination – especially soil. Soil becomes contaminated when man-made chemicals seep into the earth or other alterations are made to its natural environment, often by the release of chemicals or improperly disposing of hazardous waste.
Canada has tens of thousands of contaminated sites at factories, mines, military bases, airports, laboratories, historic landfills, lighthouse stations, harbours and other locations across the country. Concerns about soil pollution revolve around its major effect as a link to possible carcinogens. It also shares a link to water and air pollution.
Harmful substances may be introduced to the soil through water coming from waste run-off or dumping sites, and using chemicals on crops. No matter how it happens, soil pollution is difficult to fix, making it easier – and cheaper – to focus on the prevention.
Best Practices
Soil contamination comes from ways many of us don’t even think about it: Tossing batteries in with the trash, only to have battery acid leach into landfill soil. From there, the acid makes its way to ground water then into everyday life.
The Bullseye Trio helps prevent soil contamination as well as money. If waste can be pre-sorted, companies avoid paying for pick-ups on material that should be disposed of elsewhere. This covers everything from spent batteries to used ink cartridges, toners, replacement parts for machines treated with oil or chemicals, even used or broken computers and monitors. While enabling businesses to separate anything that breaks down and leaches before moving up the food chain, the Trio also reduces trash collection expenses.
An ounce of prevention is both an old saying and an environmental truism. As LOGical Concepts demonstrates, it’s possible to produce significant savings by greatly reducing the risk of soil contamination. Whether through reducing, recovering and reusing materials, preventing harmful releases, buying and using “green” products or cutting down on power needs, an organisation can “do well by doing good.”
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, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Industrial Discharges Are Expensive – And Unnecessary
Industrial Discharges Are Expensive – And Unnecessary
There’s always a chance that spills or leaks can happen when chemicals are used. Employers are responsible for developing appropriate procedures and ensuring that workers know how to use potentially hazardous products correctly. The best approach is following the rule of “The Three P’s.”
– By Isaac Rudik
It’s an all too-familiar story: A business doesn’t pay attention to potential hazard risks that fall under its control, a leak occurs and goes unnoticed, environmental damage results and courts levy hefty fines to cover both the clean-up and as a penalty.
It happened again in June after James Dietrich, a South Huron, Ontario, agribusiness owner, was slapped with a robust five figure fine plus clean-up costs when corn liquor runoff from large storage bins went unseen and unchecked, polluting the Ausable River two years earlier.
Dietrich’s problems began when someone complained to the Ministry of Environment that water in the creek next to their building suddenly turned black and foul smelling. An investigation revealed that corn silage liquor in a bunker silo on Dietrich’s property found its way to a nearby drain tile that flowed into the river.
The Three P’s
There is always a chance that a spill or leak can happen when chemicals are used in the workplace. All employers are responsible for developing appropriate procedures and ensuring that workers know how to use potentially hazardous products correctly. So, the best approach is following the rule of “The Three P’s” – prevention, preparedness and prompt response.
Obviously, prevention is not just the first line of defence, it’s the best course – and it’s always the least expensive.
Prevention begins with evaluating ways to minimize potential spills in storage areas, when hazardous material is being transported inside the workplace, during transfers to other containers and while it is being used in the manufacturing process. This includes using spill trays, Bollard posts and machine guards where accidents might occur.
Rather than pouring liquids directly into a container, install pumps or other mechanical devices including secondary spill containment platforms. Flammable materials should be bonded and grounded to prevent sparks from igniting liquids with drum pumps or de-headers employed to allow for safe transferring of liquids.
Preparing For Problems
Being prepared means having the correct spill equipment on hand in case it’s needed. Post emergency response contact numbers in a visible location and do regular – quarterly is best – practice drills of your spill response plan while also ensuring that engineering controls are adequate.
Every facility needs the appropriate spill equipment and procedures in place, including kits for oil only as well as a universal kit good for general purpose spills. They’re a must when using highly toxic or acidic solutions.
At the same time, assess whether the business requires specialised spill kits including those that are mobile, used on vehicles or in labs. A surprising number of companies require customised spill kits for protection.
In-House First Responders
Equally important, key managers as well people on the shop floor must know when and how to initiate emergency response plans; if it’s not safe to respond before calling emergency services, evacuate the area and restrict access. Then contact the organization’s spill response team and call 911.
The response depends on the nature of the hazard and workplace conditions. Above all, wear adequate protective equipment for the hazard involved: Personal Protection Equipment, proper gloves, safety eyewear, aprons and nearby eye wash stations are a must for every facility using hazardous materials, especially acids and other toxic liquids, as well as having appropriate fire extinguishers.
If safe to do so, send the company’s HazMat team in to work at preventing spills from entering sewers, drains or enclosed spaces after turning on fans to ensure the area is ventilated. Use drain seals to prevent liquids from entering sewers that can be carried into local water supplies. Also, use soil, powder or liquid absorbing materials to neutralise spilled material, which makes clean-up safer and easier.
Finally, using overpacks or lab packs, scoop or shovel any spilled material into suitable, covered and boldly labelled containers, or to protect broken or damaged drums. Flush the spill area with water if doing so is safe, containing the runoff for disposal. Employees must be trained to handle contaminated absorbent material as if it has the same hazards as the spilled product. Be sure to dispose of the resulting waste appropriately.
As long as businesses use hazardous materials, there’ll be a risk of leaks, spills and other damage. Following the Rule of the Three P’s helps ensure that should the unthinkable happen, a quick and appropriate response is ready.
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.
There’s always a chance that spills or leaks can happen when chemicals are used. Employers are responsible for developing appropriate procedures and ensuring that workers know how to use potentially hazardous products correctly. The best approach is following the rule of “The Three P’s.”
– By Isaac Rudik
It’s an all too-familiar story: A business doesn’t pay attention to potential hazard risks that fall under its control, a leak occurs and goes unnoticed, environmental damage results and courts levy hefty fines to cover both the clean-up and as a penalty.
It happened again in June after James Dietrich, a South Huron, Ontario, agribusiness owner, was slapped with a robust five figure fine plus clean-up costs when corn liquor runoff from large storage bins went unseen and unchecked, polluting the Ausable River two years earlier.
Dietrich’s problems began when someone complained to the Ministry of Environment that water in the creek next to their building suddenly turned black and foul smelling. An investigation revealed that corn silage liquor in a bunker silo on Dietrich’s property found its way to a nearby drain tile that flowed into the river.
The Three P’s
There is always a chance that a spill or leak can happen when chemicals are used in the workplace. All employers are responsible for developing appropriate procedures and ensuring that workers know how to use potentially hazardous products correctly. So, the best approach is following the rule of “The Three P’s” – prevention, preparedness and prompt response.
Obviously, prevention is not just the first line of defence, it’s the best course – and it’s always the least expensive.
Prevention begins with evaluating ways to minimize potential spills in storage areas, when hazardous material is being transported inside the workplace, during transfers to other containers and while it is being used in the manufacturing process. This includes using spill trays, Bollard posts and machine guards where accidents might occur.
Rather than pouring liquids directly into a container, install pumps or other mechanical devices including secondary spill containment platforms. Flammable materials should be bonded and grounded to prevent sparks from igniting liquids with drum pumps or de-headers employed to allow for safe transferring of liquids.
Preparing For Problems
Being prepared means having the correct spill equipment on hand in case it’s needed. Post emergency response contact numbers in a visible location and do regular – quarterly is best – practice drills of your spill response plan while also ensuring that engineering controls are adequate.
Every facility needs the appropriate spill equipment and procedures in place, including kits for oil only as well as a universal kit good for general purpose spills. They’re a must when using highly toxic or acidic solutions.
At the same time, assess whether the business requires specialised spill kits including those that are mobile, used on vehicles or in labs. A surprising number of companies require customised spill kits for protection.
In-House First Responders
Equally important, key managers as well people on the shop floor must know when and how to initiate emergency response plans; if it’s not safe to respond before calling emergency services, evacuate the area and restrict access. Then contact the organization’s spill response team and call 911.
The response depends on the nature of the hazard and workplace conditions. Above all, wear adequate protective equipment for the hazard involved: Personal Protection Equipment, proper gloves, safety eyewear, aprons and nearby eye wash stations are a must for every facility using hazardous materials, especially acids and other toxic liquids, as well as having appropriate fire extinguishers.
If safe to do so, send the company’s HazMat team in to work at preventing spills from entering sewers, drains or enclosed spaces after turning on fans to ensure the area is ventilated. Use drain seals to prevent liquids from entering sewers that can be carried into local water supplies. Also, use soil, powder or liquid absorbing materials to neutralise spilled material, which makes clean-up safer and easier.
Finally, using overpacks or lab packs, scoop or shovel any spilled material into suitable, covered and boldly labelled containers, or to protect broken or damaged drums. Flush the spill area with water if doing so is safe, containing the runoff for disposal. Employees must be trained to handle contaminated absorbent material as if it has the same hazards as the spilled product. Be sure to dispose of the resulting waste appropriately.
As long as businesses use hazardous materials, there’ll be a risk of leaks, spills and other damage. Following the Rule of the Three P’s helps ensure that should the unthinkable happen, a quick and appropriate response is ready.
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, October 28, 2009
Closing The Loop On Recycling Saves Money And The Environment
Closing The Loop On Recycling Saves Money And The Environment.
A growing number of savvy businesses and governments recognise that diligent recycling coupled with buying and using products coming out the other end of the recycling loop can save money and helps the environment.
By Isaac Rudik
For most people, thoughts of recycling start and stop with wheeling a bin full of crumpled cans, empty bottles and disgusting old pizza cartons to the curb. Once the city truck collects the contents, recycling is pretty much out of sight and out of mind until the next pick-up. Few wonder or give any notice to what happens to the discards after the truck rumbles around the corner.
Yet a growing number of savvy businesses, government agencies and other organisations are starting to pay attention. They recognise that diligent recycling of industrial wastes coupled with buying and using products coming out the other end of the recycling loop saves serious money as well as seriously helps the environment.
Indeed, it’s amazing how a little recycling can have a major impact:
• One recycled can saves enough energy to power a TV set for three hours, about how long the average household watches the tube every day.
• One recycled plastic bottle saves enough energy to light a 60-watt bulb for three hours – maybe a lamp in the room where the TV is on for those three hours.
• One recycled glass bottle saves enough energy to run a computer 25 minutes.
• Roughly 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared to making it new.
Crucially for anybody concerned about holding down costs, recycling can be a real money saver. If anyone knows how to control expenses, it’s Wal-Mart. By instituting a rigorous recycling programme, Wal-Mart is eliminating the need for the equivalent of 22,000 garbage trucks.
“We pay for those trucks,” says Wal-Mart Canada's CEO Mario Pilozzi. “Yeah, it's good for the environment. It's also good for the bottom line.”
Closing The Loop
But simply tossing stuff in a blue bin isn’t recycling.
To build sustainable recycling systems, “closing the loop” is necessary by increasing demand for products containing recycled material such as indoor matting, waste sorters produced from post consumer material and absorbents made from a mixture of pre- and post-consumer material. The government and private sector are helping by implementing purchasing policies that favour products containing recycled materials.
In fact, many municipal governments are beginning to consider recycling in the early stages of building planning. For example, Toronto enforces a by-law requiring waste management schemes be included in development plans. Developers are required to ensure that sufficient space is provided to effectively carry out a materials recovery program in new commercial buildings.
And provincial governments are introducing policies to encourage purchasing products made from recycled materials. Ontario and Manitoba both announced such policies recently.
Easy Sourcing
It’s not difficult to find products made from recycled material.
The Techstar Bullseye TRIO™ one-station waste and recycling collector meets and or exceeds the 25% recycled materials standard. Its heavy duty roto moulded construction comes in sandstone and premium colours, offering high end quality at a reasonable price.
Likewise, SpilKleen’s general purpose socks and pillows absorb water, oil, solvent and coolants, and contains recycled stuffing so about 80% of the product comes from recycled material. The recycled fibre fillers are BTU rich for multiple disposal options meaning no messy cleanup: Properly dispose of the old product and install a fresh one.
And just because a mat will be walked on doesn’t mean it can’t look good and be environmentally friendly at the same time. Mat Tech, a major player in the Green Building programme, uses recycled material to make indoor and outdoor mats for commercial and industrial use in a variety of styles and colours – and can even include a logo.
Smart environmental choices truly do benefit the bottom line. As demand is increasing for products bought for their zero impact, the cost is going down. Closing the loop on recycling is money in the pocket.
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.
A growing number of savvy businesses and governments recognise that diligent recycling coupled with buying and using products coming out the other end of the recycling loop can save money and helps the environment.
By Isaac Rudik
For most people, thoughts of recycling start and stop with wheeling a bin full of crumpled cans, empty bottles and disgusting old pizza cartons to the curb. Once the city truck collects the contents, recycling is pretty much out of sight and out of mind until the next pick-up. Few wonder or give any notice to what happens to the discards after the truck rumbles around the corner.
Yet a growing number of savvy businesses, government agencies and other organisations are starting to pay attention. They recognise that diligent recycling of industrial wastes coupled with buying and using products coming out the other end of the recycling loop saves serious money as well as seriously helps the environment.
Indeed, it’s amazing how a little recycling can have a major impact:
• One recycled can saves enough energy to power a TV set for three hours, about how long the average household watches the tube every day.
• One recycled plastic bottle saves enough energy to light a 60-watt bulb for three hours – maybe a lamp in the room where the TV is on for those three hours.
• One recycled glass bottle saves enough energy to run a computer 25 minutes.
• Roughly 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared to making it new.
Crucially for anybody concerned about holding down costs, recycling can be a real money saver. If anyone knows how to control expenses, it’s Wal-Mart. By instituting a rigorous recycling programme, Wal-Mart is eliminating the need for the equivalent of 22,000 garbage trucks.
“We pay for those trucks,” says Wal-Mart Canada's CEO Mario Pilozzi. “Yeah, it's good for the environment. It's also good for the bottom line.”
Closing The Loop
But simply tossing stuff in a blue bin isn’t recycling.
To build sustainable recycling systems, “closing the loop” is necessary by increasing demand for products containing recycled material such as indoor matting, waste sorters produced from post consumer material and absorbents made from a mixture of pre- and post-consumer material. The government and private sector are helping by implementing purchasing policies that favour products containing recycled materials.
In fact, many municipal governments are beginning to consider recycling in the early stages of building planning. For example, Toronto enforces a by-law requiring waste management schemes be included in development plans. Developers are required to ensure that sufficient space is provided to effectively carry out a materials recovery program in new commercial buildings.
And provincial governments are introducing policies to encourage purchasing products made from recycled materials. Ontario and Manitoba both announced such policies recently.
Easy Sourcing
It’s not difficult to find products made from recycled material.
The Techstar Bullseye TRIO™ one-station waste and recycling collector meets and or exceeds the 25% recycled materials standard. Its heavy duty roto moulded construction comes in sandstone and premium colours, offering high end quality at a reasonable price.
Likewise, SpilKleen’s general purpose socks and pillows absorb water, oil, solvent and coolants, and contains recycled stuffing so about 80% of the product comes from recycled material. The recycled fibre fillers are BTU rich for multiple disposal options meaning no messy cleanup: Properly dispose of the old product and install a fresh one.
And just because a mat will be walked on doesn’t mean it can’t look good and be environmentally friendly at the same time. Mat Tech, a major player in the Green Building programme, uses recycled material to make indoor and outdoor mats for commercial and industrial use in a variety of styles and colours – and can even include a logo.
Smart environmental choices truly do benefit the bottom line. As demand is increasing for products bought for their zero impact, the cost is going down. Closing the loop on recycling is money in the pocket.
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, October 14, 2009
Penny Wise And Pound Foolish Brings Hefty Fines.
Penny Wise And Pound Foolish Brings Hefty Fines.
Business is about making choices so successful business owners understand how to measure risks when required to decide between two options. Weighing $3,500 against $20,000 is a no brainer. By Isaac Rudik
For as long as there have been poorly-done cop shows on television, bad guys have been getting caught because they make a stupid mistake. Whether robbers, killers, con artists or polluters, the typical plot twist leading to their arrest just before the closing credits roll involves them doing something idiotic, careless, forgetful or lackadaisical.
When the writers toss greedy and penny-pinching crooks into the story, the episode takes on the feel of a Marx Brother’s movie.
Actually, if you put these ingredients together in one episode, it’s likely that producers would toss the writers and their script out the window for offering up a tale that is too far-fetched, improbable and unbelievable – even for television.
Yet not long ago, just such an implausible story line played out in real life in Ontario, where a trio of penny-pinching, not-too-bright polluters got caught in the act of dumping toxic waste in an open field in broad daylight. And while theirs is a tale of ineptitude and sheer idiocy, it shows that when it comes to disposing of pollutants, being penny wise and pound foolish brings hefty fines far more expensive than what it would have cost to dispose of the material properly.
Over A Barrel
A ministry environmental officer was called to a remote side road on the outskirts of Hamilton after local police reported intentional dumping of industrial waste.
A van was backed into the trees. On the ground were nine 45-gallon metal drums, apparently pushed from the vehicle. Several more were still inside. The smell of solvent filled the air. Two young men waited in the back of police cruisers. They later admitted in court that they were promised cash to get rid of the drums for a warehouse owner in Oakville.
The venture quickly went wrong.
Barrels broke as they were shoved from the truck. A near-by farmer saw what was going on and confronted the men, blocking the van’s exit with his pickup as he called police who arrested the pair and called the Ministry of the Environment.
The two dumpers refused to tell police who’d hired them. But the MoE investigator traced serial numbers on the barrels to an industrial grease manufacturer, which pointed them to an Oakville warehouse.
The warehouse owners ran a business that acquired and resold discontinued goods. When they bought the building, 32 barrels of grease were in the space. Hoping to escape the expense of proper disposal, the warehouse manager asked a friend to remove the containers. Along with another man, he took 32 drums to the field.
In the end, the trio paid $20,000 in fines and was ordered to pay Hamilton for cleanup costs, which required excavating about 14-tons of contaminated soil. The bizarre twist is that it would have cost less than $5,000 to remove the drums legally.
No-Brainer Alternative
Business is about making choices so successful business owners understand how to measure risks when required to decide between two options. Weighing $3,500 against $20,000 is a no brainer.
For example, drum modular spill platforms that store as many as 32, 45-gallon barrels is a solution that protects the business, the environment and the bottom line.
The platforms can be arranged in an endless number of configurations and feature a low profile for easy loading and unloading. Their blow moulded, high density, polyethylene construction provides superior strength and a removable poly grating allows for easy cleaning.
As important, they offer superior chemical resistance. The six and eight drum units provide for added storage capability and easier access to the drums and a moveable ramp allows for easy loading and unloading.
Using modular platforms to provide spill control is the kind of decision that’s easy to make, especially when the up-front cost is a fraction of what fines, costs and damage to the business – and environment – will run.
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.
Business is about making choices so successful business owners understand how to measure risks when required to decide between two options. Weighing $3,500 against $20,000 is a no brainer. By Isaac Rudik
For as long as there have been poorly-done cop shows on television, bad guys have been getting caught because they make a stupid mistake. Whether robbers, killers, con artists or polluters, the typical plot twist leading to their arrest just before the closing credits roll involves them doing something idiotic, careless, forgetful or lackadaisical.
When the writers toss greedy and penny-pinching crooks into the story, the episode takes on the feel of a Marx Brother’s movie.
Actually, if you put these ingredients together in one episode, it’s likely that producers would toss the writers and their script out the window for offering up a tale that is too far-fetched, improbable and unbelievable – even for television.
Yet not long ago, just such an implausible story line played out in real life in Ontario, where a trio of penny-pinching, not-too-bright polluters got caught in the act of dumping toxic waste in an open field in broad daylight. And while theirs is a tale of ineptitude and sheer idiocy, it shows that when it comes to disposing of pollutants, being penny wise and pound foolish brings hefty fines far more expensive than what it would have cost to dispose of the material properly.
Over A Barrel
A ministry environmental officer was called to a remote side road on the outskirts of Hamilton after local police reported intentional dumping of industrial waste.
A van was backed into the trees. On the ground were nine 45-gallon metal drums, apparently pushed from the vehicle. Several more were still inside. The smell of solvent filled the air. Two young men waited in the back of police cruisers. They later admitted in court that they were promised cash to get rid of the drums for a warehouse owner in Oakville.
The venture quickly went wrong.
Barrels broke as they were shoved from the truck. A near-by farmer saw what was going on and confronted the men, blocking the van’s exit with his pickup as he called police who arrested the pair and called the Ministry of the Environment.
The two dumpers refused to tell police who’d hired them. But the MoE investigator traced serial numbers on the barrels to an industrial grease manufacturer, which pointed them to an Oakville warehouse.
The warehouse owners ran a business that acquired and resold discontinued goods. When they bought the building, 32 barrels of grease were in the space. Hoping to escape the expense of proper disposal, the warehouse manager asked a friend to remove the containers. Along with another man, he took 32 drums to the field.
In the end, the trio paid $20,000 in fines and was ordered to pay Hamilton for cleanup costs, which required excavating about 14-tons of contaminated soil. The bizarre twist is that it would have cost less than $5,000 to remove the drums legally.
No-Brainer Alternative
Business is about making choices so successful business owners understand how to measure risks when required to decide between two options. Weighing $3,500 against $20,000 is a no brainer.
For example, drum modular spill platforms that store as many as 32, 45-gallon barrels is a solution that protects the business, the environment and the bottom line.
The platforms can be arranged in an endless number of configurations and feature a low profile for easy loading and unloading. Their blow moulded, high density, polyethylene construction provides superior strength and a removable poly grating allows for easy cleaning.
As important, they offer superior chemical resistance. The six and eight drum units provide for added storage capability and easier access to the drums and a moveable ramp allows for easy loading and unloading.
Using modular platforms to provide spill control is the kind of decision that’s easy to make, especially when the up-front cost is a fraction of what fines, costs and damage to the business – and environment – will run.
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, July 15, 2009
Avoiding The Landfill Saves Money – And The Environment
Avoiding The Landfill Saves Money – And The Environment
The more a business reduces, reuses and recycles, the less waste it needs to dispose. The less waste, the fewer bins or pickups are required and disposal fees drop. Anything that lowers operating costs adds to the bottom line.
By Isaac Rudik
Not long ago, a 70-year old Ontario hospital was to be razed – right down to the footings and foundation – before being rebuilt. A simple job except the hospital told the contractor that at least 50% of the material had to go somewhere other than a landfill.
Once hazardous material was removed, the demolition contractor physically inspected the property, prioritizing and marking items for reuse. A detailed waste management plan identified a schedule of activities and workers were instructed in proper techniques and workmanship. Materials were handled carefully, maximizing reuse and recycling opportunities.
Eventually, the hospital reused or recycled nearly everything from its old building: Newer windows, door frames and hardware, numerous structural elements and bricks were among the most-common components that found a second life. Over 5,000 red bricks from the hospital were salvaged, cleaned and donated to the hospital, which sold them for $10 each in a fundraising drive, netting more than $50,000 for the organization. The remaining 55,000 salvaged bricks sold for 40-to-60 cents each. A useable generator was sold for $50,000.
In all, the hospital not only reused, recycled or sold off more than half of the old structure, it reduced the cost of the new medical complex that replaced the old building. Best of all, it kept hundreds of tons of perfectly good, useable material from being dumped in landfills.
Practical Recycling
Few businesses tear down an old facility to build a new one but the hospital serves as a vivid – if unusually large – example of how recycling can bring green economies to a company.
Once garbage arrives at a landfill, it is dumped and covered by a layer of dirt. Some of it decomposes over time but water can filter through the waste, picking up metals, minerals, organic chemicals, bacteria, viruses and other toxic materials. Contaminated water, called leachate, can travel from the site to contaminate ground and surface water for miles in every direction.
Landfill hazards don’t stop with ground water and soil contamination; they also release pollution-causing methane and greenhouse gas emissions.
Ontario is a recycling pioneer, the birthplace of the Blue Box. Avoiding disposal fees should be one of the primary goals of a recycling program.
Still, the more a business reduces, reuses and recycles, the less waste it needs to dispose. The less waste, the fewer bins or pickups are required and disposal fees drop. Anything that decreases operating costs adds to the bottom line.
Readily Available
When recycling containers are stationed throughout a workplace, people get in the habit of using them – just as they'll find a trash can rather than toss litter on the floor.
Even better for managers and so-called Green Committees, recycling bins finally come in a wide variety of sizes so the container can fit the workspace where it is used: Smaller bins in offices, larger ones in break rooms or lounges and locker areas, humungous sizes on the shop floor. And if workers congregate in outdoor areas on breaks, savvy companies are stationing handy blue bins to collect newspapers, discarded cigarette packs, drink bottles and other recyclables.
With careful planning and execution, companies of all sizes can create solutions to a growing landfill problem. Selecting products manufactured with the smallest foot print creates sustainability from start to finish. For example, Bullseye Trio bins are made from recycled plastics and offer convenient, one-stop disposal for paper, waste and cans/bottles an all-in-one station.
Because businesses get charged for garbage removal based on the amount, recycling programmes can be built around cost avoidance rather than potential recycling revenues. While the relatively small revenue generated may help offset some costs, it is unlikely they will support the entire program.
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.
The more a business reduces, reuses and recycles, the less waste it needs to dispose. The less waste, the fewer bins or pickups are required and disposal fees drop. Anything that lowers operating costs adds to the bottom line.
By Isaac Rudik
Not long ago, a 70-year old Ontario hospital was to be razed – right down to the footings and foundation – before being rebuilt. A simple job except the hospital told the contractor that at least 50% of the material had to go somewhere other than a landfill.
Once hazardous material was removed, the demolition contractor physically inspected the property, prioritizing and marking items for reuse. A detailed waste management plan identified a schedule of activities and workers were instructed in proper techniques and workmanship. Materials were handled carefully, maximizing reuse and recycling opportunities.
Eventually, the hospital reused or recycled nearly everything from its old building: Newer windows, door frames and hardware, numerous structural elements and bricks were among the most-common components that found a second life. Over 5,000 red bricks from the hospital were salvaged, cleaned and donated to the hospital, which sold them for $10 each in a fundraising drive, netting more than $50,000 for the organization. The remaining 55,000 salvaged bricks sold for 40-to-60 cents each. A useable generator was sold for $50,000.
In all, the hospital not only reused, recycled or sold off more than half of the old structure, it reduced the cost of the new medical complex that replaced the old building. Best of all, it kept hundreds of tons of perfectly good, useable material from being dumped in landfills.
Practical Recycling
Few businesses tear down an old facility to build a new one but the hospital serves as a vivid – if unusually large – example of how recycling can bring green economies to a company.
Once garbage arrives at a landfill, it is dumped and covered by a layer of dirt. Some of it decomposes over time but water can filter through the waste, picking up metals, minerals, organic chemicals, bacteria, viruses and other toxic materials. Contaminated water, called leachate, can travel from the site to contaminate ground and surface water for miles in every direction.
Landfill hazards don’t stop with ground water and soil contamination; they also release pollution-causing methane and greenhouse gas emissions.
Ontario is a recycling pioneer, the birthplace of the Blue Box. Avoiding disposal fees should be one of the primary goals of a recycling program.
Still, the more a business reduces, reuses and recycles, the less waste it needs to dispose. The less waste, the fewer bins or pickups are required and disposal fees drop. Anything that decreases operating costs adds to the bottom line.
Readily Available
When recycling containers are stationed throughout a workplace, people get in the habit of using them – just as they'll find a trash can rather than toss litter on the floor.
Even better for managers and so-called Green Committees, recycling bins finally come in a wide variety of sizes so the container can fit the workspace where it is used: Smaller bins in offices, larger ones in break rooms or lounges and locker areas, humungous sizes on the shop floor. And if workers congregate in outdoor areas on breaks, savvy companies are stationing handy blue bins to collect newspapers, discarded cigarette packs, drink bottles and other recyclables.
With careful planning and execution, companies of all sizes can create solutions to a growing landfill problem. Selecting products manufactured with the smallest foot print creates sustainability from start to finish. For example, Bullseye Trio bins are made from recycled plastics and offer convenient, one-stop disposal for paper, waste and cans/bottles an all-in-one station.
Because businesses get charged for garbage removal based on the amount, recycling programmes can be built around cost avoidance rather than potential recycling revenues. While the relatively small revenue generated may help offset some costs, it is unlikely they will support the entire program.
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, May 20, 2009
Don’t Fool Around With Soil Contamination
Don’t Fool Around With Soil Contamination
Many industries use potential soil contaminants in a wide range of manufacturing processes. Yet prevention it is relatively easy, doesn’t require major investment and can be averted with properly trained personnel using the right equipment.
– by Isaac Rudik
Admittedly, it is an extreme example but last July’s discovery of a small amount of loose yellow uranium in the soil under Cameco’s uranium hexafluoride conversion plant near Toronto added another chapter to an ongoing story. Cameco admitted at a public hearing in April that a leak from its plant reached a nearby harbour, groundwater was contaminated and the soil under its parking lot was contaminated, as well.
Yellow cake is nothing to fool around with but, fortunately, few companies deal with radioactive material. Yet many industries do use potential soil contaminants in a wide range of manufacturing processes. For example, in Ottawa in late April, the National Capital Commission closed a portion of Stanley Park near New Edinburgh when lead contamination was discovered in the soil, the site of a former landfill.
The problem with soil pollution is three fold.
First, it makes its way into the ecosystem and food chain when everything from small insects to large animals feed from plants growing in the contaminated soil.
Second, soil contamination can seep well beyond the original contamination site, leaking into ground water and adjacent surface areas.
Third, cleaning it up is incredibly expensive; Cameco is facing the possibility of regulators making it tear down its plant to clean the uranium-contaminated soil under the facility.
Yet preventing soil pollution is relatively easy, does not require a massive investment and can be averted with properly trained personnel using the right equipment.
Many Causes
There are numerous ways soil becomes polluted.
One is solid waste seepage and landfill leaking. Discharging industrial waste into the soil is another method. Applying fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are another cause of soil pollution.
But the most common chemicals causing soil to become contaminated are solvents, pesticides, heavy medals and petroleum by-products. Other pollutants include metals, organic chemicals, oils and tars, gases, biologically active materials and combustible materials. Problems from these substances arise most often from disposing of industrial waste in landfills or uncontrolled dumps.
Unlike yellow cake and other radioactive material, these components are widely used by industry. And every one of them can make workers sick as well as people living in surrounding areas.
Simple Prevention
There are simple ways to prevent soil contamination from industrial use of hazardous substances.
Organic waste matter requires proper containers and safe storage until it can be disposed of properly at a licensed and regulated treatment facility. Storage units come in countless sizes and many are designed for handling specific types of materials.
Inorganic matter such as paper, plastic, glass and metals should be reclaimed and recycled. While nearly every business has a “blue box” programme – indeed, most municipalities now require one – special recycling containers holding toxic materials need to be used and kept separate from bins full of soda cans and discarded photocopy paper. Their recycling requires special handling or the supposedly empty container can still contaminate the soil.
Industry is being held more accountable by government and consumers alike when it dumps industrial waste into the soil as well as into the air and water. That’s why prevention is cheap and easy; clean-up is hugely expensive and time consuming.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant withCompliance 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.
Many industries use potential soil contaminants in a wide range of manufacturing processes. Yet prevention it is relatively easy, doesn’t require major investment and can be averted with properly trained personnel using the right equipment.
– by Isaac Rudik
Admittedly, it is an extreme example but last July’s discovery of a small amount of loose yellow uranium in the soil under Cameco’s uranium hexafluoride conversion plant near Toronto added another chapter to an ongoing story. Cameco admitted at a public hearing in April that a leak from its plant reached a nearby harbour, groundwater was contaminated and the soil under its parking lot was contaminated, as well.
Yellow cake is nothing to fool around with but, fortunately, few companies deal with radioactive material. Yet many industries do use potential soil contaminants in a wide range of manufacturing processes. For example, in Ottawa in late April, the National Capital Commission closed a portion of Stanley Park near New Edinburgh when lead contamination was discovered in the soil, the site of a former landfill.
The problem with soil pollution is three fold.
First, it makes its way into the ecosystem and food chain when everything from small insects to large animals feed from plants growing in the contaminated soil.
Second, soil contamination can seep well beyond the original contamination site, leaking into ground water and adjacent surface areas.
Third, cleaning it up is incredibly expensive; Cameco is facing the possibility of regulators making it tear down its plant to clean the uranium-contaminated soil under the facility.
Yet preventing soil pollution is relatively easy, does not require a massive investment and can be averted with properly trained personnel using the right equipment.
Many Causes
There are numerous ways soil becomes polluted.
One is solid waste seepage and landfill leaking. Discharging industrial waste into the soil is another method. Applying fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are another cause of soil pollution.
But the most common chemicals causing soil to become contaminated are solvents, pesticides, heavy medals and petroleum by-products. Other pollutants include metals, organic chemicals, oils and tars, gases, biologically active materials and combustible materials. Problems from these substances arise most often from disposing of industrial waste in landfills or uncontrolled dumps.
Unlike yellow cake and other radioactive material, these components are widely used by industry. And every one of them can make workers sick as well as people living in surrounding areas.
Simple Prevention
There are simple ways to prevent soil contamination from industrial use of hazardous substances.
Organic waste matter requires proper containers and safe storage until it can be disposed of properly at a licensed and regulated treatment facility. Storage units come in countless sizes and many are designed for handling specific types of materials.
Inorganic matter such as paper, plastic, glass and metals should be reclaimed and recycled. While nearly every business has a “blue box” programme – indeed, most municipalities now require one – special recycling containers holding toxic materials need to be used and kept separate from bins full of soda cans and discarded photocopy paper. Their recycling requires special handling or the supposedly empty container can still contaminate the soil.
Industry is being held more accountable by government and consumers alike when it dumps industrial waste into the soil as well as into the air and water. That’s why prevention is cheap and easy; clean-up is hugely expensive and time consuming.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant withCompliance 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 29, 2009
Cancer In The Workplace: Soil Contamination’s Lingering Danger.
Cancer In The Workplace: Soil Contamination’s Lingering Danger.
This is the fourth in our series on how workplace health and safety issues can elevate cancer risks, and how to control potential problems. This article focuses on soil pollution.
– by Isaac Rudik
One thing about many cancer-causing toxins used by industry: The risk continues long after they have injured or killed workers. A prime example is the solvent used in paint. A key ingredient is something called “2-nitropropane.” Not only can brief, unprotected exposure to it kill people, once it enters the soil it stays there for hundreds of years.
For example, two construction workers became ill recently after applying an epoxy resin coating containing 2-nitropropane in the confined space of an underground concrete vault. One man died 10 days later and although the second man recovered, he has had persistently elevated levels of a harmful serum in his pancreas. These cases show the importance of both effective industrial education and protective work practices.
Even non-industrial toxins can be deadly.
For example, The New England Journal of Medicine reported 25 years ago that radon, a common radioactive gas emitted by soil, stones and most building materials, may be responsible for as many as 10,000 lung cancer deaths among non-smokers in the United States each year. Follow-up studies reveal nothing to contradict the original findings.
Thus, industry must take special care not to add to the problem – and to ensure that workers are adequately protected as well as minimising the risk of contaminating soil.
Many Potential Sources
A large number of industrial processes use toxic material directly, or employ materials that contain toxins.
These can range from arsenic and PAH’s such as benzoapyrene to garden variety diesel oil products.
Diesel oil can be especially deadly if mishandled. Frequently, soil testing at industrial sites find that the contamination levels from petrocarbons – often diesel products – greatly exceed guidelines mandating clean-up. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that occupational exposure to fuel oils are probably carcinogenic in humans based on animal studies suggesting that repeated contact seems to cause liver and skin cancer.
If diesel products leak into the soil, the cancer-causing by-products take hundreds of years to disappear, spreading their deadly impact into residential areas and farms where they become part of the food chain.
Other heavy metals commonly used by business cause a range of medical problems, both when unprotected workers are exposed as well as if they contaminate the soil around an industrial site. These include heavy metals such as zinc, barium and cadmium – very common in industry – as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzoflourantheme.
Studies indicate that soil contaminated by these minerals and compounds can lead to so-called “cancer clusters” both in the workplace and surrounding communities. A cancer cluster is defined by doctors as “(an) aggregation of relatively uncommon events or diseases in space and/or time in amounts that are believed or perceived to be greater than could be expected by chance.” Many instances brought to the attention of health and environmental regulators are “occupational” in that patients in a cluster are identified in terms of their workplace.
Costly Problems, Inexpensive Prevention
Controlling soil contamination from the workplace and in the surrounding community can be a complex problem. When a hazard is discovered, the clean-up cost is enormous to say nothing of potential expenses resulting from worker illnesses, community problems, fines and lawsuits.
Still, there are ways to minimize and even eliminate the risks:
· Worker education is the always first step to ensure that employees understand what they are dealing with and how to prevent potential problems.
· Ensure that toxic material is stored properly in appropriate sealer containers or rooms.
· Install self-contained treatment filters to capture inadvertent spills and run-offs.
Some of this is simply common-sense, some is already required by law and some – such as installing plant site water treatment facilities – is under serious consideration by regulators. A workplace audit where risks are involved will reveal ways to minimize potential problems.
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 fourth in our series on how workplace health and safety issues can elevate cancer risks, and how to control potential problems. This article focuses on soil pollution.
– by Isaac Rudik
One thing about many cancer-causing toxins used by industry: The risk continues long after they have injured or killed workers. A prime example is the solvent used in paint. A key ingredient is something called “2-nitropropane.” Not only can brief, unprotected exposure to it kill people, once it enters the soil it stays there for hundreds of years.
For example, two construction workers became ill recently after applying an epoxy resin coating containing 2-nitropropane in the confined space of an underground concrete vault. One man died 10 days later and although the second man recovered, he has had persistently elevated levels of a harmful serum in his pancreas. These cases show the importance of both effective industrial education and protective work practices.
Even non-industrial toxins can be deadly.
For example, The New England Journal of Medicine reported 25 years ago that radon, a common radioactive gas emitted by soil, stones and most building materials, may be responsible for as many as 10,000 lung cancer deaths among non-smokers in the United States each year. Follow-up studies reveal nothing to contradict the original findings.
Thus, industry must take special care not to add to the problem – and to ensure that workers are adequately protected as well as minimising the risk of contaminating soil.
Many Potential Sources
A large number of industrial processes use toxic material directly, or employ materials that contain toxins.
These can range from arsenic and PAH’s such as benzoapyrene to garden variety diesel oil products.
Diesel oil can be especially deadly if mishandled. Frequently, soil testing at industrial sites find that the contamination levels from petrocarbons – often diesel products – greatly exceed guidelines mandating clean-up. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that occupational exposure to fuel oils are probably carcinogenic in humans based on animal studies suggesting that repeated contact seems to cause liver and skin cancer.
If diesel products leak into the soil, the cancer-causing by-products take hundreds of years to disappear, spreading their deadly impact into residential areas and farms where they become part of the food chain.
Other heavy metals commonly used by business cause a range of medical problems, both when unprotected workers are exposed as well as if they contaminate the soil around an industrial site. These include heavy metals such as zinc, barium and cadmium – very common in industry – as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzoflourantheme.
Studies indicate that soil contaminated by these minerals and compounds can lead to so-called “cancer clusters” both in the workplace and surrounding communities. A cancer cluster is defined by doctors as “(an) aggregation of relatively uncommon events or diseases in space and/or time in amounts that are believed or perceived to be greater than could be expected by chance.” Many instances brought to the attention of health and environmental regulators are “occupational” in that patients in a cluster are identified in terms of their workplace.
Costly Problems, Inexpensive Prevention
Controlling soil contamination from the workplace and in the surrounding community can be a complex problem. When a hazard is discovered, the clean-up cost is enormous to say nothing of potential expenses resulting from worker illnesses, community problems, fines and lawsuits.
Still, there are ways to minimize and even eliminate the risks:
· Worker education is the always first step to ensure that employees understand what they are dealing with and how to prevent potential problems.
· Ensure that toxic material is stored properly in appropriate sealer containers or rooms.
· Install self-contained treatment filters to capture inadvertent spills and run-offs.
Some of this is simply common-sense, some is already required by law and some – such as installing plant site water treatment facilities – is under serious consideration by regulators. A workplace audit where risks are involved will reveal ways to minimize potential problems.
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.
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