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.
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.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monitoring Potential Soil Contamination Is Cheap, Easy And Makes Good Business Sense.
Monitoring Potential Soil Contamination Is Cheap, Easy And Makes Good Business Sense.
Between provincial regulations and new, relatively inexpensive technology, there is neither a reason nor an excuse not to be testing for soil contamination frequently.
– by Isaac Rudik
Farmers have known for centuries that crops won’t grow in contaminated soil. Likewise, engineers have known for at least a quarter-century or longer that contaminated soil can make a plant – a manufacturing plant, that is – unusable.
Yet far too few factories, warehouses and similar businesses bother testing to see whether they are contaminating the land around their facility. Frequently, the stated reason for this is that it’s either “too complicated” or “too expensive.” But as countless companies have learned the hard way, it is much more complex and costly to clean up soil contamination than it is to monitor it regularly.
Indeed, between provincial regulations and new, relatively inexpensive technology, there is neither a reason nor an excuse not to be testing for soil contamination frequently.
The Gong Show
Early last year, the three owners of a mid-sized manufacturing company not far from Toronto were surprised when pollution inspectors from the province showed up to sample the soil around their facility, which is located in a semi-rural area. Two days later, the owners were stunned when they were served with a sworn complaint that discharge from their factory was seeping into the soil and, eventually, ground water.
The inspection and grievance was prompted by calls to the Ministry from nearby farmers who suspected that contamination from the facility was both damaging crops and causing birth defects in livestock. To make matters worse, not only did the company not realise it was causing problems, the owners had no idea that anything in their manufacturing process was potentially harmful.
The company faced two unpleasant and hugely expensive propositions. Either it could pay for decontaminating the soil or close down; in any event, the business and its owners were facing enormous fines and possible criminal citations.
“It was like being on The Gong Show,” one of the owners told us not long ago. “No matter what we did, we were going to be rung off stage.”
In the end, the business negotiated a settlement with the province and neighbouring farmers, and assumed responsibility for part of the clean-up costs. But threatened with its very existence, the company learned an extremely costly lesson.
An Ounce Of Prevention
Whether located in an urban, semi-rural or country setting, monitoring soil contamination is critical. All companies with a potential risk should be doing so at least one a week; daily testing is even better for businesses that know they are dealing with hazardous material. Moreover, farms should also be testing frequently since agriculture has the most to gain – and lose – by knowing soil quality.
Fortunately, keeping an eye on possible contamination is easy thanks to one of the many “handy” measuring instruments that are available today.
There are four smart, simple ways of providing protection through an ounce of prevention:
• Depending on the industry, there are specific test kits available to determine the contamination level of land surrounding a plant.
• Agribusinesses may use a pH-Meter to determine whether a specific crop has the best condition to grow in a given soil.
• Both industry and agriculture should use dissolved salt meters to determine if drainage is working properly.
• Use standardized samplers to obtain a standard soil sample ensuring all tests are showing comparable results.
Today, new, rapidly emerging technology makes it increasingly easy to manage and prevent soil contamination at an affordable cost. As the Ontario manufacturer and its farm neighbours learned the hard way, testing is cheap and cleaning up a mess is awful.
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
Between provincial regulations and new, relatively inexpensive technology, there is neither a reason nor an excuse not to be testing for soil contamination frequently.
– by Isaac Rudik
Farmers have known for centuries that crops won’t grow in contaminated soil. Likewise, engineers have known for at least a quarter-century or longer that contaminated soil can make a plant – a manufacturing plant, that is – unusable.
Yet far too few factories, warehouses and similar businesses bother testing to see whether they are contaminating the land around their facility. Frequently, the stated reason for this is that it’s either “too complicated” or “too expensive.” But as countless companies have learned the hard way, it is much more complex and costly to clean up soil contamination than it is to monitor it regularly.
Indeed, between provincial regulations and new, relatively inexpensive technology, there is neither a reason nor an excuse not to be testing for soil contamination frequently.
The Gong Show
Early last year, the three owners of a mid-sized manufacturing company not far from Toronto were surprised when pollution inspectors from the province showed up to sample the soil around their facility, which is located in a semi-rural area. Two days later, the owners were stunned when they were served with a sworn complaint that discharge from their factory was seeping into the soil and, eventually, ground water.
The inspection and grievance was prompted by calls to the Ministry from nearby farmers who suspected that contamination from the facility was both damaging crops and causing birth defects in livestock. To make matters worse, not only did the company not realise it was causing problems, the owners had no idea that anything in their manufacturing process was potentially harmful.
The company faced two unpleasant and hugely expensive propositions. Either it could pay for decontaminating the soil or close down; in any event, the business and its owners were facing enormous fines and possible criminal citations.
“It was like being on The Gong Show,” one of the owners told us not long ago. “No matter what we did, we were going to be rung off stage.”
In the end, the business negotiated a settlement with the province and neighbouring farmers, and assumed responsibility for part of the clean-up costs. But threatened with its very existence, the company learned an extremely costly lesson.
An Ounce Of Prevention
Whether located in an urban, semi-rural or country setting, monitoring soil contamination is critical. All companies with a potential risk should be doing so at least one a week; daily testing is even better for businesses that know they are dealing with hazardous material. Moreover, farms should also be testing frequently since agriculture has the most to gain – and lose – by knowing soil quality.
Fortunately, keeping an eye on possible contamination is easy thanks to one of the many “handy” measuring instruments that are available today.
There are four smart, simple ways of providing protection through an ounce of prevention:
• Depending on the industry, there are specific test kits available to determine the contamination level of land surrounding a plant.
• Agribusinesses may use a pH-Meter to determine whether a specific crop has the best condition to grow in a given soil.
• Both industry and agriculture should use dissolved salt meters to determine if drainage is working properly.
• Use standardized samplers to obtain a standard soil sample ensuring all tests are showing comparable results.
Today, new, rapidly emerging technology makes it increasingly easy to manage and prevent soil contamination at an affordable cost. As the Ontario manufacturer and its farm neighbours learned the hard way, testing is cheap and cleaning up a mess is awful.
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
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Serious Spillover Of Toxic Spills
The Serious Spillover Of Toxic Spills
Business executives and owners can pay a stiff personal and financial price for not taking steps to prevent toxic spills coming from their business. Since prevention costs a fraction of the price, it’s silly not to be proactive.
– by Isaac Rudik
Not long ago, the owner and president of a small company in Belleville, Ontario was found guilty of discharging PCB-contaminated sediment into the environment from his factory. Not only was he held responsible for the spill, a court found that he failed to comply with a provincial order to clean up the site. The man was fined $659,000 and sent to prison for four months.
That’s an expensive personal and financial price for anyone to pay for something that could have been prevented in the first place – at a fraction of the cost and without anyone being locked up. How much less costly? The price of one salvage drum for storing toxic material such as PCB-contaminated sediment is $264.
Indeed, Ontario’s Ministry of Environment is pushing for tougher penalties as it raises fines and hires more inspectors to enforce the Environmental Protection Act. For companies with a potential exposure, the time to deal with a problem is before it happens: To borrow a phrase and adapt it to today’s cleaner, greener world, $264 worth of prevention is worth a lot more than $659,000 of cure.
Heavy Costs
Even without the stiff fine and jail time handed down to the Belleville businessman, the cost of cleaning up a spill and preventing another one is high.
Simply removing the toxins after-the-fact is an expensive proposition. A consultant will be needed to assess the damage and create a clean-up implementation plan. Specialists will be needed for the actual clean-up and removal. Transporting and disposing of toxic waste once it has been let loose in an uncontrolled way is as expensive as it is time-consuming and dangerous.
Moreover, if the toxins spread into the atmosphere, ground water or property beyond the site of the actual spill, the negligent company is likely to face enormous legal bills for negotiating settlements with municipalities, regions, the province and adjoining businesses or homes. If the accident causes injury or death, the resulting lawsuits might make the rest of the costs seem like lunch money by comparison.
While some of the cost of a first accident may be covered by insurance, one toxic discharge will mean that either insurance is no longer available or the premiums are so steep a business cannot afford them.
Proactive Solutions
Every business dealing with toxic materials is under a number of serious legal obligations. The law says that companies having control over a pollutant that spills must notify the ministry within a short period of time; more to the point, it must also implement a program to eliminate, fix and prevent the negative effects of the accident on the environment, restoring it to the condition it was in before the damage.
There is a smart way to prevent damaging the environment – and the business.
The easiest, and the one that is cost-effective for many locations, is a simple spill kit. They are available for use inside a facility as well as outdoor locations. A supplier such as CSC can provide these as well as specialised spill kits for vehicles. Spill containment systems are placed under barrels and other containers of all sizes carrying substances that are harmful to the environment.
Preventing spills is a much less expensive than cleaning up a site. As the Belleville company and its president learned too late, $264 worth of prevention is worth a lot more than $659,000 of cure.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of providing 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 executives and owners can pay a stiff personal and financial price for not taking steps to prevent toxic spills coming from their business. Since prevention costs a fraction of the price, it’s silly not to be proactive.
– by Isaac Rudik
Not long ago, the owner and president of a small company in Belleville, Ontario was found guilty of discharging PCB-contaminated sediment into the environment from his factory. Not only was he held responsible for the spill, a court found that he failed to comply with a provincial order to clean up the site. The man was fined $659,000 and sent to prison for four months.
That’s an expensive personal and financial price for anyone to pay for something that could have been prevented in the first place – at a fraction of the cost and without anyone being locked up. How much less costly? The price of one salvage drum for storing toxic material such as PCB-contaminated sediment is $264.
Indeed, Ontario’s Ministry of Environment is pushing for tougher penalties as it raises fines and hires more inspectors to enforce the Environmental Protection Act. For companies with a potential exposure, the time to deal with a problem is before it happens: To borrow a phrase and adapt it to today’s cleaner, greener world, $264 worth of prevention is worth a lot more than $659,000 of cure.
Heavy Costs
Even without the stiff fine and jail time handed down to the Belleville businessman, the cost of cleaning up a spill and preventing another one is high.
Simply removing the toxins after-the-fact is an expensive proposition. A consultant will be needed to assess the damage and create a clean-up implementation plan. Specialists will be needed for the actual clean-up and removal. Transporting and disposing of toxic waste once it has been let loose in an uncontrolled way is as expensive as it is time-consuming and dangerous.
Moreover, if the toxins spread into the atmosphere, ground water or property beyond the site of the actual spill, the negligent company is likely to face enormous legal bills for negotiating settlements with municipalities, regions, the province and adjoining businesses or homes. If the accident causes injury or death, the resulting lawsuits might make the rest of the costs seem like lunch money by comparison.
While some of the cost of a first accident may be covered by insurance, one toxic discharge will mean that either insurance is no longer available or the premiums are so steep a business cannot afford them.
Proactive Solutions
Every business dealing with toxic materials is under a number of serious legal obligations. The law says that companies having control over a pollutant that spills must notify the ministry within a short period of time; more to the point, it must also implement a program to eliminate, fix and prevent the negative effects of the accident on the environment, restoring it to the condition it was in before the damage.
There is a smart way to prevent damaging the environment – and the business.
The easiest, and the one that is cost-effective for many locations, is a simple spill kit. They are available for use inside a facility as well as outdoor locations. A supplier such as CSC can provide these as well as specialised spill kits for vehicles. Spill containment systems are placed under barrels and other containers of all sizes carrying substances that are harmful to the environment.
Preventing spills is a much less expensive than cleaning up a site. As the Belleville company and its president learned too late, $264 worth of prevention is worth a lot more than $659,000 of cure.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of providing 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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