Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine (ESEMAG) February-March 1992

Page 1

ENVIRONMENTAL (DU(BnQ(D(B

0.

0

Focussing on industrial/municipal wastewaters — hazardous wastes — air poliution & drinking water treatment

A Davcom Business Publication

February/March 1992

The French have a word for it — valorization

Previews: AQTE, AWWA,AWMA,PCAO, BCWWA meetings Zebra mussels still menacing our waterways


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ISSN-0835-605X Editor and Publisher TOM DAVEY

February/March 1992, Vol. 5 No. 1 Issued March, 1992

CONTENTS

(416) 727-4666 Associate Editor SANDRA DAVEY Sales Director STEVE DAVEY

Conference highlights — PCAO, AWWA,BCWWA,AQTE, AWMA

12

(416) 727-4666 B.C. Sales Representative RON GANTDN (604) 274-3849

Available options for the analysis of POBs

Article by Stephen Finch

16

Canadians remove PCBs from contaminated soils in US

18

Food firms face compliance, or closure, under MISA mandate Article by Tom Davey

20

Sales Representative PENNY DAVEY (416) 727-4627 U.S. Representative AL STIVER (416) 244-5502

Technical Advisory Board George V. Crawford, P.Eng. Gore & Storrie Ltd.

Rod Holme, P.Eng. Proctor & Redfern Ltd.

Peter Laughton, M.Eng., P.Eng.

Pilot plant proposal to remediate contaminated soils

Article by Saad Jasim

22

The role of in-house technical support in environmental law Article by Robert Shibatani

26

OSWCA celebrates 21st birthday with media splash Photo report by Tom Davey

32

R.V. Anderson & Associates

Allan Church, C.Chem.

Church & Trought Mike Provart, M.Sc., P.Eng. M.M. Dillon Ltd. Dr. Howard Goodfellow Goodteiiow Consultants Ltd.

Robert Ferguson, P.Eng. Metro Toronto Works Dept. R. Bruce Smith, LLB.

Blake Cassels Graydon Dr. Earl Shannon, P.Eng. CH2M Elil l Engineering Ltd.

The barometer reads fair for environmental testing

Article by Douglas G. Langley

34

Environmental standards and limits: consideration of

44

results at or near detection limits

Article by Allan Maynard

Peter Turgoose, A.Sc.T.

Canron West Pipe (BC) Environmental Science & Engineering is a bi-mcnthiiy business publlcaticn publlsEied by Davcom Communlcaticns Inc. An all Canadian publlcaticn, ES&E provides auttioritative editorial coverage of Canada's municipal and industrial environmental control systems and drinking water treat ment and distribution.

ES&E's readers include consulting engi neers, industrial plant managers and en gineers, key provincial and federal envi ronmental officials, water and waste-water treatment plant operators and contractors. ES&E welcomes editorial contributions

but does not accept any responsibility wfiatsoever for tfie safekeeping of con

Green electrochemistry — revival of an old art

Article by Bernard Fleet, Roberto Brazao and Colin Small CEIA membership has its privileges

49

56

Update by N.Fl. Hijazi How the Zebra Mussel is winning the west

Article by Don Lewis

68

Digester gas code is now in force Article by Dave Hein

78

Departments

tributed material.

All advertising space orders, copy, artwork, film, proofs, etc. should be

Industry Update

6

R&D News Literature Reviews

sent to Environmental Science & En

Classifieds

9

Product Reviews

gineering,10 Petch Cr., Aurora,Ontario, Canada,L4G 5N7,Tel;(416)727-4666 Fax:(416)841-7271. Second Class Mall

Registration No. 7750 Printed in Canada, by Pro-Art Graphics Ltd. No part of this publication may be rep roduced by any means without written permission of the publisher. Yearly subscription rates: Canada $45.00 for one year, $80.00 for two years, $8.00 per single Issue; cheques must accom pany subscription orders. Directory & Buyers' Guide $35.00. (G.S.T. extra)

C*n*di*n BimoMf B Prru

Reader Service Card

64a

38 66, 74 72a

CHECK THE LABEL

Our cover: In the 1 BBC's, Baron Hausman laid out the wide sweeping boulevards which made Paris a masterpiece of urban planning.Influenced by the Mouvement Hyglenlste,the city also took the opportunity to create the famous sewer system. This did much to safeguard Parisians from lethal water borne dis eases which plagued large communities in that era the world over. Photo by MARC VERHILLE office of the MAIRE DE

PARIS.® See story on Page 60

If the date on the address label on the front cover

reads MARCH 92, your subscription has expired as of this issue. To avoid miss

ing the next issue, simply send a cheque for $48.15 (G.S.T. inc.)and the address label to ES&E.

Information presented In ES&E is collected from a variety of sources presumed to be accurate and complete. ES&E cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information presented. Readers are encouraged to contact authors,agencies and companies directly for verification and/or clarification. Material in ES&E only conveys information and should not be considered as legal or professional advice.

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


By Tom Davey

Editorial comment

A great writer was felled by an early Punch

In 1849 a writer submitted Dreadful

Canadian water treatment scientist and

Hardships, an article on the 'scan dalous'state of London's water sup ply. The article was rejected. Punch, then a young publication, went on to garner world-renown as a humorous magazine and recently celebrated its 150th year of continuous operation. Punch not only became noted for the quality ofits articles but also for the writ ing skills of its editors. They included Tom Taylor,author ofOurAmerican Cou sin, the play Lincoln was watching when

engineer, was only a youngster when these epidemics were sweeping many parts of Canada. They made an indel ible impression on him for he was to

assassinated: A.A. Milne,author of Win

water and public health consultant. His many honours include the Order of Ca nada,an honorary degree from the Uni versity of Toronto and countless awards from the American scientific fraternity. He fought tenaciously for safe drink ing water and sanitation facilities when he was appointed director of Sanitary Engineering for the Ontario Depart ment of Health.I spent a day at his home in St. Marys, Ontario, when he recoun ted investigating regular epidemics of TB, typhoid and other lethal diseases.

nie the Pooh, and Malcolm Muggeridge, a celebrated spy, journalist, television celebrity and one of the most elegant writers in the language. In spite of its illustrious editorial leadership. Punch failed to note the ta lents of the writer of Dreadful Hardships. the author being Charles Dickens, later to become one of the luminaries of Eng lish literature. His penetrating focus on social injustices, industrial working conditions and poverty,still have a pro found effect on the world. Interest in his

work shows no signs of slackening. Punch, too, is still around after one and a half centuries — a remarkable achievement in the cut-and-thrust world

of publishing where mortality rates for young publications are high. Latterly Punch's circulation has declined from a

peak of 150,000 to around 30,000 today. But the impact of Charles Dickens con tinues to grow, his reputation con tinually enhanced by movie, and TV productions. Films and TV plays of his great works show no sign of declining. After two masterly adaptations in film of his Tale of Two Cities, the story is now enjoying great success in a TV mini-series. And every year, hundreds of millions of peo ple see the perennial favorite, A Christ mas Carol.

Ironically, Dickens' rejected piece Dreadful Hardships, might have become one of his greatest works. The squalor and misery resulting from the waterborne diseases which ravaged poor fa milies in those days, cried out for the masterly touch of Dickens. Thousands,

especially babies, were slaughtered by deadly but little known pathogenic or ganisms,the germs, parasites and virusses which thrive in impoverished con ditions.

Not only could Dickens have made great literature from these horrors, he might have invested it with a didactic quality which would have alerted and educated people to the dangers of water

dedicate his life towards the eradication of water borne diseases. When he died in 1984 in London,On

tario, at the age of 90. he was probably the most honoured environmental pro fessional in the world. Even in retire

ment, the World Health Organization asked him to visit the Third World as a

ever. Had Punch not rejected his piece on London's water supply, the environ mental movement might have had one of the greatest pens in the world focuss ing on ecological issues, nearly one and a half centuries before the present media concern.

Was there,for example, a Mr. Bumble of the London Water Works, denying a request for hypochlorite to disinfect the water to stay the march of typhoid and cholera? Or perhaps some smug charac ter saying the city could not afford piped water and sanitation to poor districts. Far fetched? Look at the facts in Canada.

In the late 1880's, the incidence of

typhoid fever and other water borne dis eases was high in both Ottawa and To ronto. Well into this century, deaths from water-borne diseases were des

cribed as "astronomical" by the City of Toronto's Public Health Department. Indeed, even within living memory,To ronto's death rates have been higher than those of many major European cities.

Cholera too was common.

When his recommendations for safe

water processes were ignored by muni cipalities Dr. Berry issued mandatory orders for water supplies to be disinfec ted. Even then, many politicians balked at the costs. He recalled to me one in

stance, an entire council resigned, ra ther than obey the order to disinfect the town water. Many times Dr. Berry for ced councils to clean up drinking water supplies decades before the modern en vironmental movement.

Like Ottawa, the diseases were often

in working class districts and many civic leaders had little concern for their plight,

Typhoid also ran rampant in Ottawa, but, as the disease was usually confined

a familiar scenario in Dickens" novels.

to the lower class districts, civic officials

horror stories ofdeath and disease in the

showed little concern until epidemics swept across the capital in 1911 and again in 1912. Almost 2.000 people con tacted typhoid with at least 91 recorded fatalities in the capital.

squalor of London when Charles Dick

The Chief Medical OfficerofOntario.

Undoubtedly there were even more

ens submitted his article to Punch in

1849. His penchant for lurid details of squalid conditions, combined with his masterly characterization of pompous officials, all would make his rejected

Dr. J.W. McCullough, investigated the article on London's water supply fas first typhoid outbreak and blamed civic cinating reading. authorities for negligence in failing to Coincidently. the year that Punch re provide a safe water supply for the jected Dickens' article, a remarkable capital. discovery occurred in Broad Street, A second enquiry,also concurred that London where people were dying of the authorities had been negligent. A cholera. Not even the science of the day report, submitted by Dr. Charles A. linked drinking water with cholera and Hodgetts,a medical advisor to the Com epidemics were common in those days. mission of Conservation, said the 1911

But Jobn Snow,deduced that some 90

Ottawa typhoid epidemic 'could have been obviated had the hypochlorite (disinfection) treatment been installed

deaths were due to a contaminated well

related sicknesses.

forthwith' as recommended by an en

Regrettably, while the rejection slip survived, this work is probably lost for

gineering consultant, Allan Hazen. Dr. Albert Edward Berry, a renowned

serving the area. He boldly removed the pump handle, so preventing people from using the well for drinking water. cont. on page 65

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


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Industry Update Funds for unique wind-hydrogen

Chloramine proposals for water disinfectant will be re-examined in Vancouver

system Two companies will share an Ontario EnerSearch grant of $173,170 to

Greater Vancouver Regional District (GRVD)will re-examine its proposal to substitute chloramine instead of chlor

help develop an innovative, windbased electricity generating system

ine to disinfect metropolitan area drink ing water.

for remote communities not connec

Re-examination will be carried out in

ted to electricity grids. Adecon Incorporated of Oakville. is the largest wind turbine manufac turer in Canada, and Electrolyser Corporation Limited of Etobicoke, produces hydrogen systems and markets them world-wide. Together the companies will develop an offgrid energy-supply system in Arthur, Ontario using a wind turbine and an electrolyser hydrogen plant. Electricity generated by the wind turbine

will

be

used

for the

conjunction with a first-step environ mental evaluation of the proposal, re quired by the Federal Government's Environmental Assessment and Review

Process(EAR?). EAR? took the action

after being requested to do so by the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Chloramine is widely used by water utilities throughout North America, in

cluding Victoria and Toronto, A pilot program to distribute chloraminated

elec

water in an area of South Surrey, for evaluation purposes, has been operat ing since 1988. It is monitored by medi

trolysis process, which separates water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then be compressed

cal health and engineering authorities. Following watermain breaks in the test area, there were fish kills in a nearby creek. GVRD and the District ofSurrey immediately established an emergency response program and since that time, there has been no impact on the fisher ies resource from breaks. While both chloramine and chlorine

are toxic to fish,chloramine has greater chemical stability and remains in the water longer. This stability is a major advantage when considering it as a dis infectant for the drinking water system. Chlorine, added to the water at source,

dissipates as it moves through the sys tem so that in some areas,it is not totally effective in controlling bacterial regrowth in pipes. Chlorine has been used since the 1940s. Greater Vancouver's water is not fluoridated.

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munities in Canada and around the world. In northern Ontario alone, there are 300 remote communities that could

In places like Ontario, with variable wind conditions, the system could be used to "store" wind power for conver sion to electricity on demand. This process could make electrical

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When fully developed, the system could be used by Ontario Hydro as an alternative power source for remote communities to reduce dependency on

benefit and the technology might be

diesel fuels, while at the same time dec

welcomed by Third World countries

reasing environmental pollution asso

and island nations.

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There Is Great Chemistry Between...Us AriS analytical In this time when emphasis is being placed upon improving environmental quality, we strive to provide our customers with prompt, accurate, analytical results. We are a full service environmental laboratory keeping stride with technology and regulatory requirements, while consistently providing superior service to our clients.

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Providing industry with the resources for

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problems. Our comprehensive and multi-faceted range of services from environmental planning and engineering to advanced commercial diving is unique in the environmental consulting industry. Increasingly,

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Industry update Big 'O' and Wedco join forces

Organlcs and metals traced to households

Two of Canada's largest manufacturers of polyethylene products have embarked on a new distribution program designed to benefit both companies. Under the new arrangement. Big 'O' Inc. will be come the sole North American dis

tributor for Wedco rotationally moulded polyethylene septic tanks. For more information, contact: Dave

Investigations being carried out on op posite sides of the world have indepen dently found that households are be coming a major source of heavy metals and organic chemicals delivered to sewage treatment plants. In Britain, pressure on industry to re duce the amount of heavy metals it dis charged to sewers, following imple

Munro. Marketing Manager. Big 'O'

mentation in 1989 of the EC directive

Inc. Tel: (519) 235-0870 Fax: (519) 235-

fixing limits on the amount of metals in sludges being spread on soils, has al ready had an effect. More pressure will come as water companies introduce composting as an alternative to disposal

2144.

Water Quality

in oceans.

International '92 Toxic and hazardous wastes, environ

mental restoration, new developments in biofilm usage and nutrient removal will be high on the agenda of a major international conference in Washing ton. DC. USA. from 24-30 May. 1992. The occasion is Water Quality Inter national '92. the 16th biennial con ference ofthe International Association on Water Pollution Research and Con

trol(lAWPRC). Some 1.500 delegates, among them most ofthe world's leading experts on water quality management, will be attending, drawn from lAWPRC's CHOPPER PUMPS

A survey by the Water Research Cen tre has indicated that domestic pipe work is contributing copper, lead and zinc, particularly in soft water areas. Cleaning products, especially phos phate-based detergents account for 5% of the cadmium load.

The Soap and Detergent Industries membership in 90 countries. Technology will feature strongly in the conference programme.Sessions on nutrient removal in wastewater treat

ment plants will introduce new develop ments in both phosphorus and nitrogen

PUMPING SOLUTIONS

Association estimates that heavy duty cleaners contain less than 1 ppm of mer cury and below 10 ppm of other metals. Nevertheless, a mercury content of 1 ppm would account for the amount re ceived by treatment works from house holds.

Tests on domestic sewage in Sydney. Australia, have shown similar results.

Households there are responsible for substantial levels of mercury, copper, selenium, grease and phenols. A survey oftwo areas with no industrial input has also turned up small quantities of banned pesticides such as dieldrin and aldrin. probably due to gardeners using up old bottles of chemicals.

Following results obtained so far. Sydney Water Board plans to undertake more studies, including examining the contents of household products and a community education program on the use of and disposal of such chemicals. removal, including the use of biofilms. For

further

information

contact:

Water Quality International '92. USA Organizing Committee. Box 406. 50 Green Bay Road. Lake Bluff. IE.60044. Tel:(708) 234-2353. Eax:(708) 234-2874.

CHOPPER PUMPS

PUMPING SOLUTIONS

VAUGHAN...OUR NAME IS YOUR GUARANTEE The Vaughan Guarantee is your assurance that you have the best pump in the worid to soive your most difficuit pumping problems. As "Two Machines in One", Vaughan Chopper Pumps, successfuiiy chop and pump the heavy solids that make other pumps fail.

items such as: trash, rope, plastic, gloves, bones, jeans, feathers, hair, hide, scum and metal strapping are just some of the heavy solids that Vaughan Chopper Pumps devour. For over 30 years, Vaughan Company has remained commit ted to making your waste handling more efficient. Heavy indus tries such as Chemical, Pulp and Paper, Steel. Aluminum, Petro Chemical, Food Processing, Automotive, and Hazardous Waste, as well as many municipal wastewater treatment facilities have solved their most difficuit pumping problems using Vaughan Chopper Pumps.

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Environmental Science

Engineering, March 1992


Announcement

Hardat A. Barran Engineering Inc. m.

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Hardat Barran P. Eng. (above) is pleased to an

nounce the launching of Hardat A. Barran Engineering Inc. asaconsultlngcompanyservIng the environmental needs of municipalities and the private sector. Hardat A. Barran Engineering Inc. (HABEI) was Incor porated In 1981 and has been In active practice to a single client from 1989 to 1991. HABEI Is now an Independent firm. The principals of HABEI are Hardat, Eudora and Claire Barran. Hardat is well known for Innovative

delivery of services In environmental consulting. Of the past 19 years of engineering practice, 16 of these have been devoted to service In environmental engineering. He specializes In: • feasibility studies • detailed engineering design • design/build • contract operations • privatization • operations manuals • operator training • project management for fast tracking

application within the HABEI framework. This technol ogy transfer helps to sensitize the firm to quality as an Important component of organization. Claire's practice Is primarily In the United States. A pro fessional engineer, graduate In chemical engineering from University of Toronto (1979), Claire Is currently full-time with Black & Veatch In Kansas City and, while a principal. Is for the moment, little Involved In the day to day operations of HABEI.

The engineering depth and breadth of the firm spans across the principals' career experiences with major environmental consulting engineering companies. It also spans across our core of employees and to associ ations with other practising consultants who are a pool of talent upon which to draw for selected projects. These Independent consultants Include such lumina ries as: Andy Matwichuk, retired MOE training expert; Victor Chin P.Eng. Senior Environmental Consultant (Environmental Water Resources Group Ltd.); and Mark Sanderson M.B.A., Contract Operations and Privatization Consultant. These associations allow for

continually building and shaping project teams for maximum flexibility and responsiveness to clients' needs at reasonable cost.

The firm plans to continue this service through HABEI.

Eudora's practice Is In the field of Quality Assurance of new software used on mainframe computer systems. The OA testing techniques developed for clients find

Hardat's own talents Include a solid engineering base coupled with a commercial pilot's licence and an M.B.A. This basket of skills has proven very effective In project delivery.

Please contact us at 34 Centre Avenue, Willowdale, Ontario, IVI2M 2L3.

Telephone (416) 222-3015, Fax. (416) 222-0554. We would be pleased to serve you. For more information, Circle reply card No. 151

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

8A


Industry Update Environmental show

posal of manufacturing waste and pol lutants. Held concurrently with CETECH

deal with the media when industrial

could help penetrate

'92 will be two well-established indus

pollution stories break.

Canada's $70 billion market Increasingly tough pollution laws in Canada have put pressure on North American

manufacturers.

Environ

ment industry analysts now estimate that merely meeting existing environ ment regulations in Canada alone

trial shows, the Plant Management & Maintenance/Design Engineering Show (PMDS)and WeldExpo Canada. Addi tionally, the Canadian Integrated Manu facturing and Design Show(CIMD)will be co-located with these other major

gest industrial event of the year in

Control

Reed-Macgregor Exhibitions Inc. 800 Denison St., Unit 7 Markham, Ontario L3R5M9

products, systems and services for pre

A conference run by Emironmental Science & Engineering will focus on pol lution problems which affect diverse industries. Senior legal firms will pre sent papers on toxic real estate, occupa tional health and safety, and legal liabi lities on environmental problems both inside and outside the plant. There will also be presentations on various indus

vention, treatment, collection and dis

trial case histories, as well as a com

CETECH will feature equipment,

Pollution

sponsoring CETECH.

15,000 attendees will make this the lar Canada.

ronto International Centre. October 2022, 1992.

Ontario

and distributors in Ontario, will be co-

The organizers predict an estimated

the next 10 years. CETECH,a section of the Plant Management & Maintenance/ Design Engineering show will help pene mental market place. It will attract dele gates from diverse industries at the To

The

Equipment Association (OPCEA), an organization with membership derived from key environmental manufacturers

Details:

events.

could cost as much as $70 billion over

trate the Canadian industrial environ

munications presentation on how to

Mrs. Lee Baker, Show Manager Tel:(416)479-3939 Fax:(416)479-5144

Reminder Use the Reader Service

Card to get info on products in this issue.

OPCEA's 22nd Annual Meeting The 22nd Annual Meeting of the On tario Pollution Control Equipment As sociation was held at the Ramada Hotel

Mississauga Eebruary 18. OPCEA Marketing Director Larry Madden outlined some ofthe significant liaison work with government agencies that OPCEA was doing. OPCEA is now

in the process of incorporating, he told the meeting. After discussions on the possibility of a bi-annual exposition, the meeting

voiced firm support to continue to hold an annual supplier's exposition at the PCAO Annual Conference. OPCEA

also hosts 'clubroom' hospitality ses sions at the conference as well as sup

plying prizes for the 'Operator's Chal lenge' competition. Director John Coomey told the meet

ing that OPCEA had organized its first Golf Tournament June 13 and urged members to attend with guests. After discussions regarding the OPCEA equipment exposition at the PCAO meeting in Niagara Falls were finalized,elections for two new directors were held.

George Govan (Cancoppas) and Penny Davey(Environmental Science & Engineering) were elected to the board. President Roh Warren presented outgo ing OPCEA President Steve Davey(En vironmental Science & Engineering) with a Past President's plaque. Other members of the board com

prise: Vice President Cathy Gorrie,(Can Am Instruments) John Coomey,(Can coppas) Ed Pitovnik,(Arlat) Larry Mad den, (Control & Metering) and Trea

surer Ross Humphry,(Canadian Safety Equipment Sales). Roger Cotton (Fasken Campbell & Godfrey) gave a superlative presenta tion on the far reaching implications of environmental legislation. He touched on legal liability for both manufacturers and suppliers of pollution abatement equipment, should an occurrence take place which could have some environ mental impact. Prosecutions of both firms and principals for environmental offences had risen dramatically,he said, citing actual case histories. The number of lawyers specializing in environmen tal work was also growing rapidly, he told the meeting. A more complete re port of his paper will be published sub sequently in ES&E.

%

Newly elected OPCEA Directors George Govan,left, and Penny Davey,right. In centre is Past President Steve Davey with Director John Coomey in background.(Right) OPCEA Treasurer Ross Humphry(Canadian Safety Equipment) with Vice President Cathy Gorrie (Can Am Instruments).

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


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Industry update Chlorine safety award

Zebra mussels potential mapped

Stanchem Inc. has been recognized by

Saskatchewan, AB. which have both

lead government agency dealing with the zebra mussel problem. Concen trations are highest in Lake Erie; Lake Ontario is not as hospitable to zebra However, waters in large portions of mussels because of its deep and cold cottage country are not expected to be waters. Isolated populations of zebra mussels have been found in other Great significantly affected because they con

operated for a minimum of five con secutive years without an OSFIA — reportable accident. Stanchem's Winni peg, MB facility was presented with a Merit Award for its initial year of opera tion without a reportable accident.

lakes and rivers in the Parry Sound. at Cornwall. Haliburton and Muskoka regions. Copies of the report Mapping the Po The Trent-Severn and Rideau water tential Spread ofthe Zebra Mussel(Dreissystems contain the conditions most sena polymorpha) in Ontario are avail

The Chlorine Institute Inc.for outstand

ing safety performance at its chlorine packaging operations. Stanchem re ceived the James H. Doyle Five-Year Safety Award, for chlorine packaging operations in Vancouver, BC and Fort

First UK CFC-Substitute On Stream

The Trent-Severn and Rideau systems are the Ontario inland waterways most at risk from an invasion by zebra mus sels, according to a recent report.

tain low levels ofcalcium.These include

conducive to zebra mussel infestation,

able through the Ministry of the Envi including elevated pH(low acidity) and ronment's Public Information Centre, calcium levels. As well, these systems Tel:(416) 323-4321. contain enough nutrients to support The Ontario Ministry of Natural Re plentiful algae and small zooplankton, sources has now detected zebra mussels which zebra mussels feed on.

The world's first commercial plant for the production of a new,ozone-friendly chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) substitute

has opened in Britain at ICI Chemical & Polymers' site in Runcorn, northwest England. Such is the importance at tached to it, that the official opening ceremony was performed by Prime Minister John Major. The replacement chemical is KLEA 134a ("klea" is Greek for green and ver dant), the first CFC substitute devel

oped by ICI for use in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. The new £30

Lakes as far west as Duluth, Minnesota and as far east as the St. Lawrence River

The Ontario Ministry of the Environ ment conducted the study using water chemistry information it has obtained in studying the effects of acid rain on Ontario waterways. The ministry is act ing in an advisory capacity to the Minis try of Natural Resources, which is the

for the first time in Lake Simcoe. The mussels were on a boat which had tra velled from Lake Ontario to Lake Sim

coe through the Trent-Severn Waterway. They were also found in the waters of three of the Kawartha Lakes, which

would indicate that they are spreading through this area.

million plant actually started produc

1982 — who discovered the hole in the

tion in October 1990.

ozone layer at the South Pole. ICI has been producing its wide range of Arcton refrigerant gases for more than 40 years and is a leading supplier to the industry.

The Prime Minister recalled that it

was a British scientist — Dr.Joseph Farman of the British Antarctic Survey in

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Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


Industry update Northern Telecom

phases out CFCs

Experience The Versatile

Classifieds

Bentomat

Bentonlte Geocomposite Liner Easy to Install Budget Priced

CARBONITE

Landfills, Ponds, Lagoons

FILTER MEDIA

Tank Farm Containment

ANTHRACITE FILTER MEDIA

BEMALUX, INC.

also suppliers of quality filter sands and gravel

Tel: 800-361-1939 ANTHRAFILTER MEDIA & COAL LTD.

Fax:(514) 332-0132

^20 Sharp Rd., R.R.#6, Brantford. Ont. N3T 5H6

London, Toronto,

Tel: (519)751-1080 Fax:(519)751-0617

Sudbury, Montreal "All societies are in a period of major transition as social and economic prio rities must be subsumed by ecological reality. Northern Telecom has provided an all too rare, but inspiring, model of environmental responsibility. By set ting a target of zero emission and achieving it without coercion. Northern Telecom has provided a model for the rest of society." said noted environmen talist Dr. David Suzuki, keynote speaker during a celebration at the company's Brampton. Ontario facility. Jan. 10.

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large electronics company to meet a public commitment to eliminate ozonedepleting CFC-113 solvents. The goal was achieved nine years ahead of the mandate set in 1988 by the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement signed by 68 nations calling for the eli

Tel; (416) 648-3463 1435 Jerseyville Rd. W., Jerseyville, Ontario LOR 1R0

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mination of CFCs and other ozone-de

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from printed circuit boards. To elimin ate CFC cleaning sol vents,the company developed alternatives that will prevent nearly 9.000 tons of CFCs from being released by the company's plants into the atmosphere over the next eight years. The new processes will save in excess of $50 million during the same time period in direct CFC solvent pur chasing costs and other expenses.

BAS to develop CFC protocol Environment Canada has awarded a

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Wastewater Samplers Groundwater Sampling Level Control & Flowmetering Plant Air Clean Up Portable Test Equipment: pH, Turbidity

Suspended Solids, Og, DO, Conductivity

2495 Haines Road, fvtississauga, Ontario L4Y 1Y7, Tel (416) 277-0331, Fax (416) 277-2588

contract to BAS Laboratories Limited of

Brampton.Ontario to develop standard sampling techniques and a standard analytical protocol for the quantitation of chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs)in com mercial products. The development of these techniques will assist Environ ment Canada with its compliance mon itoring and enforcement of Ozone-De pleting Substances Regulations No. 1 and No. 3.

D.S.I.L. Drilling Inc. (drilling contractors) • Monitor well installations

• Angle borehole capabilities

Mineral exploration Geotechnical applications

• Instrument installations

"Serving Eastern, Central & Western Canada Since 1956"

Tel:(416) 751-6565, Fax:(416) 751-7592 continued overleaf

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


Industry update

Lowest Priced Sampler Features Rellablllty & Simple 4-Key Operation!

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Lead-Gel

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New water clean-up system by Solarchem

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techniques must be sufficiently accurate and precise to be used as evidence in a court of law. The Ozone-Depleting Re gulations regulate the sale, manufac ture. import or export of CFCs or com mercial products which contain CFCs.

Solarchem Environmental Systems launched a new system for water clean up at the Petro-Safe '92 Conference and

Modular

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designed to meet the needs of the Pet roleum Industry, it destroys dissolved contaminants from gasoline (BTEX.

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groundwater from leaking Under ground Storage Tanks(UST's). The unit is completely automatic and can oper ate without on-site supervision. Based on RayoxÂŽ. Solarchem's prop rietary UV/oxidation technology, the new lOkW unit can destroy greater than 99.9% of contaminants at a rate of up to 20 gpm.

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anywhere in North America! Glass or plastic bottles, Teflon tubing, and adapter kit for sampling toxics is available. PSB-90 is compatible with industry Flow-loggers such as the Geneq Flo-Log.A refrigerated unit is also available.

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PROJECT ENGINEER Planning and Consulting Engineering Firm in Halifax, Nova Scotia requires a professional engineer with 8 to 10 years experience in the evaluation, design and implementation of water and/or wastewater treatment sys tems. The position requires sound technical, managerial, communica tion, leadership and interpersonal skills. A related post graduate degree would beabenefit. Eligibility for mem bership in APENS is required. Applications and resumes will be accepted through April 15, 1992. Reply to; J.M. Murphy, P.Eng., Chief Envi ronmental Engineer, Atlantic Re gion, UMA ENGINEERING LTD., 616-5161 George St., Halifax, NS B3J 1M7,Phone:(902)421-1065.

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Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


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Dexsil's L2000 was designed for use by non-technical personnel to determine PCB levels in both soil and oil over a range of 5 to 2000ppm.

The compact, portable design of the L2000 allows you to quantitatively determine PCB levels in a non-laboratory environment. The L2000 substantially reduces the cost associ ated with PCB detection and quantification. With the L2000 an average oil analysis costs

Utilizes a chloride ion specific electrode to measure the level of chloride present. The

the result in parts per million. Since different types of PCB contain different percentages of chlorine, the L2000 has an "Analysis Range" switch which the user can set for Aroclor 1242, Aroclor 1260 or Askarel A(60% 1260 and 40% trichlorobenzene). If the Aroclor is unknown,

the Analysis Range is set at 1242 for the most conservative reading. For more information on L2000 and free

product literature,contact Dexsil.

$5.00 and a soil analysis $10.00. In the preparation phase, the sample is reacted with a sodium reagent which trans forms the PCB into chloride. The L2000

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Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

L2000 is a trademark of the Dexsil Corporation.


Conference Previews British Coiumbia Water & Waste Association

Aprii 26-29 Whistier Conference Centre

Whistier, B.C.

Theconference theme is TheEn

vironment-Science and Emotion.

The place is the world re

to the meeting. The "Operators" Chal lenge" will further complement the equipment on display as teams of men and women challenge each other in competitions designed to test their pro ficiency in both speed and accuracy. Keynote speakers include MetroChair Alan Tonks and Ed Philip, Minis ter ofIndustry and Trade,Lucien Bradet.

plantedoverthreecenturies ago.Several papers will dwell on this river and its problems. Technical papers will be pre sented on zebra mussels and their con

trols, drinking water technology and wastewater

treatment.

In

addition,

there will be a large equipment expo sition.

On the entertainment scene, AQTE is

Director General Environmental Af fairs Branch ISTC and Dr.Stuart Smith, President of Rockcliffe Research will

never one to do things by half. ITT Flygt and Societe Municor will be presenting

ronment Minister Jean Charest and pro vincial Minister John Cashore. It gets even better. The Spouses program

speak on privajization. The Professional Wastewater Opera

Philippe Gagnon at Hotel Le Meridien April 8 at 10 pm to add humour to

tions Division (PWOD) sessions will

drives off at noon Sunday with a golf tournament at Squamish before the evening meet and greet at the Con

run in parallel with PCAO sessions. Papers will include Environmental Audits; Spills Requirements; industrial sewer use by laws; chlorine-free kraft pulp production in BC; pretreatment to zero discharge in the inorganic chemi cal field; landfill gas in cogeneration;

AQTE's 30th meeting. For conference information, phone (514) 874-3700 or fax:(514) 866-4020.

nowned ski resort of Whistler.

The program will feature Federal Envi

ference Centre.

The

Conference

Committee

with

Chair John Nelson has put together an exciting blend of technical and social events which take full advantage of the location.

In addition to conventional papers on operations and practice, water treat

ment updates, wastewater plant designs, solid waste management,there's an un usual question posed in a paper titled: 'Is a Victoria treatment plant necessary?" Another speaker will present the case for privatization of water works systems. Other topics deal with water audits and the economics of leakage control while another touches on water meter

ing. Social events include'Discover Whis

disinfection alternatives. Other sessions

will discuss various digester shapes and grit removal in food processing — plus many other topics. Spouses program(Monday),includes a tour of Toronto, including stops at Queen's Park, Thompson Gallery and St. Lawrence Market,lunch atop the CN Tower and exploring the Tower.Tuesday will include trips to Cullen Country Barns, shopping at Yorkdale and the evening banquet and entertainment. For more details contact Mrs. Sandy Pickett.Phone(416)502-1440 FAX(416) 502-1786.

tler" a day long sightseeing tour of the

Further details from Catherine Gib

son (604)936-4982 or Fax: 931-3880.

of Ontario 21st Annual Conference

Regal Constellation Hotel, Toronto, Ontario April 12-15, 1992

Record attendance is predicted

by Conference Chair Dusanka Filipovic as the PCAO cele brates its coming of age con

AQTE's 30th

Annual Meeting April 8-10 Palais des Congres When Association quebecoise des techni ques de I'eau (AQTE) was formed 30 years ago, it was an insignificant crea ture, a veritable David confronting the Goliath of political indifference. David grew rapidly in three decades. AQTE is now a force to be reckoned with in all

aspects of Quebec society. Cabinet mi nisters heed its calls and are glad to at tend its meetings. The media always attends and covers AQTE events and calls its members for comments and

tal Challenge — Pollution Prevention". This three day conference will present innovative technologies and practical solutions to key environmental con cerns, including funding, technology transfer, legal issues and operational challenges in pollution control. Other

quotes on environmental matters. AQTE has received generous funding from the Quebec government but is more vocal in its critiques of political inaction than any professional group in Canada. Any minister not responding to an invitation to speak often faces AQTE's denouncements, done with wit and elegance. AQTE is affiliated with AWWA and WEE so many ofthe traditional subjects will be covered. A large focus of its 1992 meeting will be on the Saint Lawrence River from which Quebec roots were

water issues — all vital issues for today's environmental professionals. The Ontario Pollution Control Equip ment Association will present an exten sive Table Top Equipment Exhibition giving a practical'hands on" dimension 12

Andre

Ont. Section AWWA/OMWA Joint Annual Conference Sheraton Fallsview

Niagara Falls, Ontario April 26-29

It used to be simple to provide

drinking water in the good old days. Just extend the pipe, install a bigger pump or drill another well. No longer. In their Joint program introduction. Dr. Ken Roberts. Chair,Ontario Section AWWA and Don Stanton, President.

Ontario Municipal Water Association, wryly note that the old simple water works ways have increasingly given way to the myriad complexities which con front today's water treatment profes

and will touch on water business admi

ference with the theme: 'Environmen

topics will include surface and ground

entertainer

And the conference organizers have responded with a comprehensive pro gram with the theme'Our water — what needs changing?". Papers will include joint sessions for both organizations

Montreal Pollution Control Association

renowned

sionals.

area and ski resorts, a lunchtime fa shion show,a tour of the Whistler Brew

ing company and there is indoor tennis and swimming.

world

nistration, regulations,certification and the public's role in environmental as sessments.

Technical papers will range from pro cess changes to meet today's challenges to membrane technology, ozonation/ carbon filtration.

Some leading edge papers will tackle such topics as protecting low yielding aquifers: another will deal with any possible relationship between alumi nium in drinking water and Alzheimer's disease. These of course, are only a few of the topics to be covered. Monday's Spouses program includes a presentation on 'the essence of style' and trips to the IMAX theatre and mu seum. Tuesday's trips take full advan tage of the local amenities including scenic bus tours of Niagara, a trip to Welland Locks and Museum,with a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake for shopping and lunch. The evening will be capped off by the annual banquet and dance. For more information, contact Astrid

Tallon. Phone (416) 252-7060, Fax:(416) 252-3908.

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


Announcement

Licensing agreement for 'Biue Bottie' technology

A&WMA Ontario Section

1992 Spring Conference Integrated and Innovative Approaches to Environmental Management in the 90s

Linde Canada Inc., has licensed Halo-

zone'" Recycling Inc. of Toronto to com

April 26-28, 1992 Delta Chelsea Inn, Toronto

The Air & Waste Management Associa tion annual spring conference this year

will provide a provocative forum for the discussion of regulatory, technical, so cial and economic issues affecting in dustry in Ontario and Canada, A wide spectrum of industrial, government, and technical speakers will be present ing their perspectives in such sessions as:

• The Impact of Regulatory Agency Initi atives

(Chair: Charles Coles. St. Lawrence Cement) • Integrated Air Pollution Control Pro grams

(Chair: Judy Ryan. Ontario Hydro) • Life Cycle Analysis (Chair: Murray Greenfield. Dofasco) • Air Toxics

(Chair: Gary De Brou. MOE) • Site Remediation

(Chair: Rob Booth. Wastewater Tech nology Centre) • Pollution Prevention — The Strategy of the 90s

(Chair: Syd Barton. ORTECH)

An exhibit presented by environmen tal equipment and service suppliers will highlight Innovations in Environmen tal Management. An industrial site visit will illustrate how integrated and inno vative approaches are now being used. For registration details, please con tact: Carol McLeod. MEMS Services.

Tel.(416) 898-1040. Fax:(416) 898-7937.

mercialize an award winning techno logy which recaptures and recycles chlorofluorocarbons (GFGs) and other volatile halogenated hydrocarbons. The technology utilizes a patented Silicalite® molecular sieve material packed in a cylinder — to be marketed under the trade mark "Blue Bottle"'".The Blue Bot

Dusanka Filipovic

tle'" technology recaptures GFGs from

nancing the necessary infrastructure to commercialize the product," he said. Mrs. Filipovic is a recipient of both the

both residential and commercial ref

rigeration and air conditioning systems, as well as from industrial process emissions.

"The technology has proved capable of achieving zero emissions with 100 per cent recovery yield of GFGs for reuse without chemical breakdown," says

Green Product Award of Distinction in the Financial Post Environmental Awards for Business and the Association of Pro

fessional Engineers of Ontario Medal for Excellence in Research and Develop

ment.(ES&E Dec/Jan issue, page 16)

Halozone'" President Dusanka Filipo-

She says"we now have worldwide pa

tent protection for the Blue Bottle'" GFGs

vie, P.Eng.

"The Blue Bottle'" GFGs recycling pro cess and cylinder, which received sub stantial R&D funding from Linde, will un dergo commercial field trials shortly,"

recovery system. This process virtually closes the loop on GFGs,as It traps them and other volatile halogenated hydrocar bons such as GFG substitutes HGFGs

she adds.

and HFGs into Blue Bottle'" cylinders.

Glenn Bowman, President of Linde Technologies Inc., says the company decided that licensing was the most effi cient way to commercially develop the technology. Linde Ganada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Garbide In dustrial Gases Inc., will receive reve nues from royalties. "This global environmental protection technology has great world-wide poten tial. However, It doesn't fit in with our core business focus, which is to concentrate our efforts on the continued develop ment and marketing of Industrial, medi cal and specialty gases.

They are then sent for recycling and fur

"Halozone'" was chosen to bring the productto market,because its President, Mrs. Filipovic, co-invented the process while she was employed at Linde. She is currently involved in developing and fi-

ther reuse," she adds. An estimated 10,000 tonnes of GFGs

escape annually in Ganada alone, val ued at more than $100 million. World

wide production of the ozone-depleting compounds averages more than a mil lion tonnes per year — half of which es capes into the atmosphere.

"The implementation of Halozone's'" technology will have a significant im pact on current government goals to eli minate GFG emissions from all sources

by the year 2000," Ms. Filipovic says. She and Michael Hirtenstein, the firm's vice-president, will soon be demonstrat ing the process' commercial viability in field trials.

Details: Tel.416-488-1444/Ext. 1443; Fax: 416-222-1889.

For more information, Circle reply card No. 183

ENVIRONMENTAL TANKS leachate, grey water, septic oil/silt separators 3600 litres to 45400 litres reinforced concrete

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

13


By Lee Johns

Disinfection

Some chlorination myths debunked

Since its introduction early in this century,chlorine has been

acknowledged as the most effective germicide ever devel oped. It destroys not only the pathogens normally found in water — bacteria, fungi, viruses, and the like — but also algae, which are not harmful to people but can cause unpleasant odours and give water a cloudy green cast. In addition, chlorine removes, by

ing organic impurities normally found in swimming pools: body oil. suntan lotion, perspiration, etc. Paradoxically, it is this very action which has given ri.se to a misconception that has caused a lot of people to think that the use of chlo rine to sanitize swimming pools and drinking water invariably results in a strong "chlorine"" odour. Another wide ly held misconception is that this odour is present when "too much"" chlorine

oxidation, the kind of nitrotten contain-

is used. The fact is that the odour is far from

PROJECT MANAGER Aquatic Sciences inc. is a young and innovative environmental consulting company located in St. Catharines, Ontario. We are seeking to add a Pro ject Manager to our team of professionals. If you have worked in the environmental or engineering consulting field for a minimum of five years, graduated with a minimum Bachelor of Sciences or Engineering degree in an environmen

inevitable; and its presence indicates

tal (aquatic) discipline, and have a strong back ground in project management,industrial technol ogy, and technical writing we would like to talk to you. Please send your personnel background infor mation in confidence to: Mr. C. Sferrazza

Aquatic Sciences Inc. UNDERWATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

P.O. Box 2205, Stn. B St. Catharines, Ontario L2M 6P6

Figure 5.2 Graph of breakpoint phenomenon Source: Betz Handbook

of Industrial Water Conditioning, 8th ed.

y /

(Betz Laboratories,

Inc.), 1980.

/

/

/

breetwnl

02 04 06 06 10 12 14

/

■■ L/

20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34

- ofiQinal cNoine dafnand dua lo

formingthe combination of hypochlorous acid (HCl) and hypochlorite ions in treating the water, but too little, be cause the odour is actually caused by the (OC1)that is the active agent in the des incomplete oxidation of the nitrogen truction of the microorganisms. containing impurities. All these sub The removal of chlororganics and stances contain proteins that combine chloramines can be accomplished by with chlorine to form chloivrganics and simply adding more chlorine. Once suf chhramines. and it is these compounds ficient chlorine has been added to com that cause the objectionable odour — pletely oxidize the chlororganics and plus, very often, cloudiness of the water chloramines — the "breakpoint"" — the and. in swimming pools, eye irritation. free available residual rises rapidly. Another important effect of the pre In this connection it should be noted sence ofchlororganics and chloramines that the presence of free available chlo rine provides absolute assurance that is that the chlorine is not"available" for sanitizing the water. Chlorine is so pow complete sanitization has taken place. erful that a mere 1 ppm is enough to No other method of water purification sanitize most water systems. But it must offers such assurance. be free available chlorine, capable of Regal Chlorlnators not that/00 much chlorine has been used

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Environmental Science S: Engineering. March 1992

15


By Stephen Finch*

PCBs

Available options for the analysis of PCBs

The many regulations applic

able to PCBs(polychlorinated biphenyls) have greatly in creased the number ofsamples requiring analysis. Electric utilities, in dustrial concerns, and governmental agencies are all required to do massive amounts of PCB analysis in water, oil and soil samples. Anyone who owns or operates electrical transformers at some time will need to analyze for PCBs. Al though excellent techniques for PCB testing utilizing gas chromatography have been in practice for twenty years, the high cost of these methods has spurred the growth of alternate proce

at the bottom of the cup — this is gener ally not a problem with transformer oils. X-ray fluorescence analyzers are expen sive ($15,000) and require trained per sonnel to operate but can become quite economical when large numbers of samples are processed on a daily basis.

Composition of PCBs All PCBs are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine. The widely used term "Aroclor" is a trademark that

refers to a particular formulation of PCBs. Generally, the word Aroclor is followed by a four digit number such as Aroclor 1242. or Aroclor 1260. In most

cases, the first two digits refer to the number of chlorine atoms(12)in a PCB molecule while the last two give the per centage of chlorine (42% or 60%) con tained in that particular formulation. Because these formulations contain

the concentration ofchloride ions in the

sample. The instrument used to make the measurement can then translate the concentration of chloride ions that it

senses directly into parts per million Microcoulometry Microcoulometry is a method where by the sample is entirely combusted at

high temperature and then passed into a titration cell where the resulting chlor ide is titrated electrically with a silver electrode. By totalling the amount of silver that must be generated to neutral ize the chloride, the total amount of

dures.

been completed, instead of adding a co lorimetric reagent, an ion-specific elec trode is used to quantitatively measure

chloride can be easily calculated. From this result, the original PCB concentra tion in the sample is found. In addition to transformer oil samples this techni que can also be used on soil samples and waste oils.

Detection limits are in the low ppm range and only a very small sample is required for analysis. Instruments cost about $12,000. require some routine maintenance, and need to be operated by a trained technician. Colorimetric Tests

PCB.

This is a quantitative method with a limit of detection of about 2 ppm. It is just as fast as colorimetric techniques, but requires line voltage to operate and involves an initial investment of several thousand dollars.

It requires little training by the oper ator and can be used outside, but does

use reagents that cost about $5 per test. Extensive studies have shown this me

thod to be comparable to gas chromato graphy for both oil and soil samples when testing at levels between two and two thousand ppm'. Which Method to Use

When is the right time to use these chloride detection techniques and when should traditional gas chromatography be used? Specific techniques such as gas chromatography are most appropriate when samples may be contaminated

reading can give an accurate analysis of

Colorimetric methods are the simplest and least expensive of the chloride de tection techniques. The sample is first reacted with a sodium compound that breaks down the PCBs into fragmented hydrocarbons and chloride. The result ing chloride is then extracted into an aqueous phase where it can be detected by a colorimetric reagent. The most prevalent method involves adding a fixed amount of mercuric nit rate which complexes with chloride in a ratio of 1:2. Diphenyl carbazone. an in dicator very sensitive to free mercuric

the

ions is then added to the solution. Iffree

as transformer oil which seldom con

mercuric ions are present, a deep purple color develops. If. however, all of the mercury is complexed with chloride, then no color will

tain chlorinated compounds at all. it is

consistent, predictable concentrations of chlorine, testing for total chlorine contamination is an accurate, though indirect method of analyzing for PCBs. In most cases, electrical insulating fluid is a pure hydrocarbon that contains no source of chlorine.

If any chlorine is present, it usually means that the

oil

has been

con

taminated by PCBs.and by knowingthe percent chlorine contained in these PCB formulations a "total chlorine" concentration

of PCB

in

the

sample. X-ray Fluorescence Various methods of total chlorine

with sources of chlorine other than PCBs.

For instance, if a motor oil sample

contaminated with large amounts of chlorinated paraffins was tested for PCBs with a non-specific chlorine test, a large number of false positives would result as the non-specific test cannot dis tinguish between PCBs and chlorinated paraffins. A properly equipped gas chromatograph. however, would easily separate the PCBs from the other chlori nated organics. On the other hand, with samples such

much more economical to use a non

specific method which is able to find the PCBs much more quickly and right in appear. By adding a precise amount of the field. After testing over 150.000 trans

analysis are in use for testing transfor mer oil. The most widely used techni ques are X-ray fluorescence, microcou- mercuric nitrate to the sample, the test formers with a colorimetric test. Utah lometry, colorimetric methods, and can be engineered to generate a specific Power and Light Company found that electrochemistry. X-ray fluorescence is endpoint at any chosen action level. For more than eighty percent could be eli the only one of these methods that is PCB. this level is usually 50 ppm. The minated from further concern by using non-destructive. For this analysis a sam advantages to the colorimetric method the simple test^. ple is placed in a cup which is trans Before any specific test method is de are speed, portability, and ease of use. parent to X-rays. The main disadvantage is that the cided on. local regulations should be The sample is irradiated with a par technique provides a go. no-go result at checked to make sure that one specific ticular wavelength and ifchlorine is pre method is not legally specified. the chosen end point and is not quan sent. radiation of a different, but speci titative. Pre-packaged kits costs about If a particular sample may result in fic. wavelength is radiated back to a de $10 per test. expensive remediation activity, don't tector which can quantify the amount of hesitate to use two different methods to chlorine present.This chlorine level can Electrochemical Methods determine PCB levels. Even specific me then be translated back into parts per The electrochemical method is simi thods such as gas chromatography can million of PCB. Samples must be ho lar to the colorimetric test in that it re provide widely varying results on the mogeneous as the instrument is only quires an initial reaction with a sodium same sample, so a second test may end sensing the chlorine in a very thin layer based compound to remove the chloride up saving thousands in remediation from the PCB backbone. After this has costs. *Dexil Corporation For more information, Circle reply card No. 257 Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

17


Canadian processor removes PCBs from contaminated soil in US cessfully on refinery and similar oily wastes such as sludges and slop oils. In this application, the ATP separates the

organic contaminants by the pyrolysis reaction to vapor form,condenses them in the condensing module, delivers them as water and oil for reuse or dis

posal. Under an exclusive licence granted to UMATAC by AOSTRA for waste treat ment applications. UMATAC has iden tified prospects for business outside Canada, particularly in the United States. That country has an established multi-billion dollar "Superfund Pro gram" to clean-up abandoned waste sites, many of which contain wastes which are suitable for treatment by the process.

The processor system

The heart of the system is the Taciuk

An eight ton per hour transportable processor has successfully completed a demonstration project for chemical

SoilTech.Inc. has suc es ful y

Processor, which achieves the following functions in a single horizontal rotat ing unit:

dechlorination of PCB contamination at Wide Beach, near Buffalo, New York.

completed a demonstration project for chemical dechlori

nation of PCB contamination in over42.000 tons ofsoil at Wide Beach, near Buffalo. New York. The con

tamination was caused years ago by oil sprayed on the gravel streets of this small resort community on the shores of Lake Erie. SoilTech is the U.S. licensee

contractor for the ATP pyrolysis tech nology. and is owned by UMATAC In dustrial Processes of Calgary and Ca nonic Environmental Services Corp. of Porter. Indiana.

The project was covered under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agen cy's (EPA) Superfund arrangements. SoilTech's contract was through general contractor Kimmins Thermal Corp. to the U.S. Army Corps, of Engineers.

cesses. a Division of UMA Engineering Ltd. AOSTRA (Alberta Oil Sands Tech • High thermal efficiency by use of in ternal heat exchange,which cools hot nology and Research Authority) owns flue gases and combusted solids, the A'TP technology and.since its incep while preheating the incoming feed. tion 12 years ago. has financed develop ment of this technology with expendi • Anaerobic vaporizing of water and light hydrocarbons, which are extrac tures in excess of $20 million. ted from the preheat zone as a separ ate low temperature vapor stream. New initiatives The AOSTRA Taciuk Process (ATP) • Anaerobic vaporizing and/or thermal cracking of heavy hydrocarbons, was originally designed to extract bitu men from the Alberta Athabasca Oil

which are extracted from the reaction

Sands, but is capable of extracting hyd rocarbons from waste solids, sludges and liquids. Early tests demonstrated

zone as a separate high-temperature

the Processor's ability to treat PCB con taminated soil. This was verified at the

Wide Beach project and also introduced the combined use of chemical dechlori nation of the PCBs in the Processor.

vapor steam.

• Oxidation of carbon residues depo sited on inert solids during thermal cracking.This is carried out in a com bustion zone which envelopes the re action zone. This combustion pro

vides a portion of the Processor heat requirements. Thermal stability and

Other tests have been conducted sue-

Bill Taciuk. Executive Vice-President of UMATAC Industrial Processes stated:

"All of the criteria set for this project were met or exceeded. PCBs in the

cleaned soils were at 0.07 parts per mil lion or tev.v". Clean-up targets established

by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were for PCB levels of less than 2.00 parts per million in the treated soil. Other criteria required the processor to average at least eight tons per hour feed rate. According to Bill Taciuk.feed rates averaged about eight tons per hour but

J L

AUXILIARY BURNER

COOLING ZONE

1

COMBUSTION ZONE

1 1

PREHEAT ZONE

1 REACTION ZONE 1

WASTE FE STEAM EVOLVED SB

D> V

HYDROCARBON VAPOR

varied between five and eleven tons per hour,due to the changed soil conditions and extreme variations in

moisture

content.

The

AOSTRA Taciuk

CLEAN TAILINGS

Process

COMBUSTION AIR

is

named for its inventor. Calgary based

Engineer, William Taciuk. He is VicePresident of UMATAC Industrial Pro 18

Euvironmenfal Science & Engineering. March 1992


zone separation are achieved by use of patented, unique, sand seals and a sand recycle system, which provides

(landfill or other) at competitive cost. The plant comprises a number of highway trailer mounted modules for heat to the reactor via a "locked-in" ease of transportation, erection and recycle sand charge. start-up. These include the ATP Pro The Taciuk Processor has been suc cessor which is approximately 13 feet in cessfully tested on heavy oil production diameter by 35 feet in length, weighing wastes. PCB contaminated soils, hyd 70 tons; there is also a flue gas treating rocarbon emulsions, bituminous sand/ unit, a vapor condensing liquids han slate mixtures. In addition to these ma dling unit (water and oil), an electrical terials. development work is in progress control room trailer unit, and mis on other candidate feed materials such cellaneous tankage and service units. as.selected municipal wastes,scrap rub ber tires, coal tar residues, acidic re New projects finery wastes and plastic wastes. The AOSTRATaciuk Processor plant now moves to Waukegan Harbor. Illi Process advantages

nois. just north of Chicago. SoilTech. Inc. will use the Processor to treat 20.000 tons of silts, contaminated with PCBs from industrial effluent. At the Wauke

gan Harbor Superfund site. PCB oils will be separated from the sediments and distilled for destruction by other means.

Requests for further information and any additional questions should be ad dressed to: Robert M. Ritcey. P.Eng., Manager. Demonstration Operations, UMATAC Industrial Processes, 210-

2880 Glenmore Trail SE. Calgary, AB T2C 2E7. Telephone: (403) 279-8080. Facsimile (403) 236-0595.

The ATP Processor offers several dis

tinct advantages over other methods of treating organic wastes. Unlike inciner ation. this process separates and conResults from the Analysis of Oil Samples Containing Aroclorl260 (Askarel A) by the Chemical Method Employing a Final Electrometric Method of Measurement

(Calibration at 50ppm) Standard Concen

Replicate Results

Mean

tration

(ppm)

(ppm)

Standard

(ppm)

0

Devia-

tion

(ppm)

0.5

0.2

0. 1

10

9.2

9.5

10.6

50

53.7

250

255

5(K)

530

48.6

262 519

50.8

0.3 9.8 51.0

0.7 2.6

261

259

3.8

510

520

10.0

centrates major feed constituents so they can be individually disposed of or treated, as necessary, to meet environ mental requirements or recycling po tentials. This advantage is accentuated when treating wastes containing a high percentage of hydrocarbons and liquids, or wastes containing thermally separ able hazardous contaminants. In addi

tion. most solids discharged from the Processor do not require further pro cessing to pass Environmental Protec tion Agency leachate tests. Flue gas flows are minimized due to efficient

heat recovery and low process heat re quirements. Condensed liquids can be treated locally or transported to other facilities for recycling or final disposal. Finally safe, stable and efficient opera tion is provided over a wide range of feed variations.

New portable plant design Based on the prototype treatment plant used at the Wide Beach site, a new portable plant has been designed and constructed in Calgary. It is self-con tained and will produce organic-free solids suitable for secondary disposal

GET RESULTS ON-SITE IMMEDIATELY. SCENTOCRAPH...a completely portable, full featured gas chromatograph. Analyzes soil, water, or air for thousands of chemicals to PPT levels.

• Choice of the latest lap top computers • Oven programmable up to /SO °C • Optional columns — pocked or capillary to 30M • 4 detector options

• Internal gas and power supply Coll, fox, or write for more information.

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GENEQ inc. 223 SIGNET DRIVE,TORONTO,ONTARIO. CANADA M9L 1V1 TEL.: (416) 747-9889 FAX: (416) 747-7570 7978 JARRV E., MONTREAL, QUEBEC. CANADA H1J 1H5 TEL.: (514) 354-2511 FAX: (514) 354-6948

For more information, Circle reply card No. 138

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

19


By Tom Davey

MISA

Food firms face compliance or closure under MISA mandate AER-O-FLO WASTE

WATER

TREATMENT

CONTROLLED

86 to 94 percent) using only physical/

SYSTEM

EFFLUENT

chemical methods. EOGs and SS were

both down to 98 percent removal — all without using a biological treatment process.

The screened wastewater is pumped to a chemical mixing tank where the remaining suspended solids and FOGs

are chemically prepared for separation. Flow is by gravity from the mixing unit to the aeration chambers of the Aer-o-

Float component. Two 3 hp cavitation aerators create an airlift of micro-bub

bles which, upon exiting to the flotation compartment, produce a FOG/TSS rich matte. The floating solids agglom erate and are then drawn off by a scraper

Comply or close-down.This is

the unpalatable alternative facing many food processors. Strict new effluent discharge laws are forcing meat packers and other food processing firms to seek ways to reduce the strengths of industrial wastewater effluent.

MISA, the Ontario Government's

Municipal and Industrial Strategy for Abatement is a driving force in the tough new effluent regulations. But other provinces are using or planning MISA type strategies to reduce effluent strengths from industrial wastewaters

ranging from steelmaking to food pro cessing. Paying a sewer-rate discharge based on volume and wastewater strength is simply no longer enough in this envi ronmentally conscious era. Public works engineering staff are now de manding significant reductions from certain companies before their indus

paddle mechanism and deposited via auger to a solids discharge port.(These wastewater discharges are clearly on the way out. Compliance or closure is be coming the order of the day as the re gulations governing discharges become ever more stringent.

solids are also sent to rendering facili ties as they are rich in protein.) Treated water exits via a submerged outlet lo cated at the downstream end ofthe flota tion area.

Flow 1.9 mVminute 2.736 m^/day

A case history

In Peel Region, the effluent of one meat packing firm had a BOD reading of over 5.000 miligrams per litre (5,000 mg/1 when regulatory limit was 1,800 mg/1). It had reached the point where the company had to clean up or close up. The firm contacted Aer-O-Flo Environ

mental who, working in cooperation with the Region and MOE staff, in stalled a fully automatic Chemfloat system.

Once in operation the food process ing effluent BOD was brought down to 150 mg/1 (a reduction of approximately

Influent

Effluent

BOD

1500 ppm

80-200 ppm

TSS

2500 ppm

{50 ppm

FOG

900 ppm

{20 ppm

The compact stainless steel unit re quires little factory floor space and the PEC controlled process is claimed to be easy to install and operate. Payback pe riods vary ofcourse, but 12 to 18 months payback can often be achieved while significantly ameliorating the environ mental impacts of food processing wastes.

trial wastewaters can continue to dis

charge into sewer systems. The food in dustry in particular, with its highvolume, high strength discharges, has come under scrutiny following stringent new regulations. Regulatory staff across the country are targetting suspended solids, (SS) Fats Oils and Grease(FOGs) and Bio chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) for significant reductions in industrial ef fluent strengths. Indeed,sampling, monitoring and la boratory analyses have become spec tacular growth industries in the past few years and the trend shows no signs of abating. The drive to reduce the envi ronmental impacts of industrial dis charges has spread as provinces and municipalities across the country put increased pressure on industries. Sewer rate charges will continue of course, but the days of high strength

1

Treatment effectiveness demonstrated 20

For more information, Circie repiy card No. 260


Highlights of the Fenwick team, Ham left to right:

Through movation^ our highly

Ittfroducittg Fenwick

Dominique Levesque, M.Sc.

qualified team has established

Laboratories. i.

new industry standards in

originator and exclusive

Manager of Organics Thirteen yeariexperience including five as chief anolytical chemist with Environment New Brunswick.

Dr. Julie Murr,Ph.D. Manager of Research

Eight years experience, particularly in the areo of shellfish toxins.

J Robert Boss, B.Sc. Manager of Development Thirteen years experience, developer of Rttp. 'Dr. David Jomieson,Ph D.

environmental testing for quality^

cost, sample size, and turnaround time;ideal for MISA and other

recognized Rapid Chemical Analysis

regulatory programs.

Senior Scientist

Forty-one yeors experience including fiftee

Cj.

OS leader of o Notional Research Council

analytical chemistry group.

Shirley Borgol, RCAp Inorganics Manager Fourteen years experience, managing over

one million pieces of analytical data yearly Sean

Vice President and General Manager Twelve years experience, currently President of the Canadian Association for

Environmental Analytical Laboratories. Ross Kean, M.Sc. Manager ofInorganic Chemistry Fifteen years experience, seven as manager

ighoraton^^

with the Ontorio Research Foundation.

Dr. Ross McCurdy,Ph. President . ^ Twenty years experience, professor researcher at Tec : i : I I I t !e f I

for more information, Circle reply card No. 139

Llilj

Il1_l Ji_Ai

Fenwick A n 11

A

Laboratories Limited


By Dr.Saad Y. Jasim*

Soils contamination

Pilot plant proposal to remediate contaminated soils solvent formally organic and other con taminants. Water leaves no residue,

penetrates inert materials,and has a low molecular weight. Elevated tem peratures ofthe water will help to reduce the viscosity of the petroleum products

.,w. "'0.SQ

and accelerate the vacuum extraction

procedure. Biodegradable surfactants, which act as emulsifiers and wetting

agents for the oil contaminants, will be used to accelerate the extraction of

oily water.

The next stage is to move the soil to an open tank, in which it is flushed with raw water(collected from a river or lake)

to promote a biodegradation process for the remains of the oil contaminants.

Recent figures for oil and che

mical spills and gasoline leakage from underground

tanks,indicate the seriousness

ofthe problem we are facing in Canada. A solution has to be approached in or der to prevent the accumulation of these problems. The Environment Ontario Spills Ac tion Centre received, in (1989). 15.861

reported occurrences. 9.584 (60%) were industrial spills and/or environmental complaints.Occurrences reported to the Spills Action Centre have been increas ing at a rate of20% per year over the past four years. It is estimated that over 200.000 tonnes of soil are being unne cessarily disposed of every year in On tario landfills.

Traditional remedial programs, to re move petroleum products and other

In the final treatment stages, the oil and water mixture are then separated. Settling tanks will be used and the water will be filtered and reused throughout tention on developing long term solu tions to solve chemical and oil conta

mination. since they share in a major part of this problem. Although preven tion should remain the primary goal, reality dictates that an effective con taminant cleaning process be devel oped. A project is being considered by Com monwealth Oil Corporation, to con struct a pilot plant to treat soils which have suffered oil contamination.

In the first stage of treatment, soils will be treated using a vacuum extrac tion procedure as well as flushing the soil with water at different temperatures. Vacuum extraction is a clean up process that removes petroleum hydrocarbons directly from the soil. Water is con sidered a universal solvent, and it has

been used by different industries as a

the process. Soil samples will be collec ted at different stages of this procedure and tested for hydrocarbon content in order to establish the best operating conditions and their effect on the sepa ration of hydrocarbons from the soil. The biodegradation rate will be mea sured. at different time intervals, with and without the use of nutrients and the

surfactants to continuously provide a feedback loop,optimizing the efficiency of the process. This process is applicable to a wide range of contaminants and is not li mited to certain contaminants as in

many other applications. Upon the suc cess of this pilot program, the objective target is to develop a mobile system, therefore permitting access to con taminated sites.

*Research & Development, Common wealth Oil Corporation, Harrow, Ontario.

contaminants from the soil, included

incineration, land filling, biodegradation and chemical treatment.In general, these methods are very costly, time con suming and often inefficient. Incineration is a very expensive pro cess that can produce dioxins and fly ash which require disposal. The biodegradation procedures are very sensitive to numerous environmental factors,

and the results are slow and unpredict able.

Chemical

treatment

methods

could create some undesirable by-products. may leave residues and in some

Field trials for PCB removal by bacteria Researchers at General Electric Co. Laboratories, New York State, are to

Researchers have known for years that some soil bacteria can degrade

undertake field tests of a process which

lightly chlorinated PCBs to form chlo-

uses bacteria to remove PCBs from river sediments.

robenzoates.These bacteria cannot sur

In 1988. scientists at Michigan State University found that bacteria in the .sediments of the Hudson River were

removing chlorine atoms from highly chlorinated PCBs producing less toxic PCBs. The GE team now hopes to in

vive in oxygen deficient river sediments, so the GE researchers plan to stir in oxygen to activate them.The chlorobenzoates formed are significantly less toxic than PCBs and are destroyed by a wide range of bacteria.

cases could be more toxic or hazardous

troduce soil bacteria to the sediment in

than the original contaminant. The use of solvents could result in the leaching

In theory,the combination ofbacteria

the hope that they will be capable of removing PCBs completely. Until 1977.a GE plant manufacturing capacitors dumped large amounts of

from the river sediments and soil could

destroy all types ofPCBs.The technique could be expanded to other con

PCBs in the Hudson River. As a result. GE were issued with a federal order to

ers say that the bacteria will not be suitable for destroying highly concen

clean up the contamination.

trated industrial PCB wastes.

out of some petroleum products from inert materials transferring the con taminants into underground water. Companies dealing with oils and chemicals on a regular basis(especially oil companies), have to focus their at-

22

For more information, Circle reply card No. 259

taminated sites. However, the research

Environmental Science

Engineering. March 1992


Photo report

By Tom Davey

Concrete pipe seminar — today, tomorrow and beyond

Association (OCPA) Seminar Feb. 13.

Comm ission in 1962. Subsequently it was administered by the Ministry of the Environment until April 1990 when a Plant Prequalification Committee was

Lacing hard numbers with witty asides,

established.

he said it cost $800,000 to build one kilo

This committee is a consensus body with the following representatives; The Ontario Ministry of the Environment. The Municipal Engineers Association. Eour Concrete Pipe Producers. Sec retary from OCPA (non-voting), and a dedicated Prequalification Consultant. In 1965. when prequalification was first established,there was a recognized need to inspect and certify the product, not just the plant — this need continues to the present day.

Ontario Minister of Transportation Gilles Pouliot gave a witty lunchtime speech at the Ontario Concrete Pipe

metre of a two-lane highway and almost $1 million to widen one km of highway from two lanes to four. Pipe was a major part of such roadwork costs he said. "Government can't do it for you. But you can be assured we are com mitted to working with you. It will be up to you to find innovative ways to

compete." With an eye on his audi ence. he jokingly said that perhaps people who did not specify concrete

The Prequalification Program is structured such that it is self financing. The consulting services, including the program administration, are paid to the Ontario Concrete Pipe Association by the firms being inspected and prequalified. The consultant is retained by the committee and the program admini stration is performed by the OCPA. This new structure has the proven benefit of both peer review as well as the continued direct input from both the MEA and the MOE that has made this

program the envy of both specifiers and manufacturers across North America.

The Ontario prequalification requirecontinued overleaf

should be sentenced to stay in Down town T... the audience breaking up when he deliberately cut off the word on the first consonant.

He said two representatives from the Ontario Concrete Pipe Association are participating in a committee looking

Why Your Company Should Know About Technology BC

"The success of current rehab

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The Problem: Your BC company would like to allocate more funds to

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at developing standards for pre-cast concrete box culverts."I understand this committee faces a formidable task be cause these culverts must meet the stan

The Solution: Technology BC! The Program: Technology BC is a

dards set by the Ontario Bridge Design Code which is more stringent than the US standards that have been adopted by

research and development assistance program administered on behalf of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Train ing and Technology by the Science

manufacturers".

Council of British Columbia. There is

James Hartley. OCPA Manager said: "The success ofcurrent rehab programs on relatively primitive concrete pipe by today's standards,are proof of the bene fits of concrete pipe design experience. Most old concrete pipe installations be ing rehabilitated today are as struc turally sound as the day they were first installed and some are even stronger. This feature of concrete pipe is a tang ible financial benefit to the public utili ties that maintain these systems. The dual service function of both public health protection and environmental protection are provided so reliably by concrete pipelines, that they are out of sight and out of mind to most public officials and the general public they serve. This successful use of concrete

pipe and precast products will finan cially benefit future generations just as we are now financially benefitting from concrete pipelines installed many years ago." George Mierzynski. P.Eng.. Director. Project Engineering.Ontario MOE said Concrete Plant Prequalification was ini tiated by the Ontario Water Resources

no limit on the value of that assistance,

although most projects receive from $30,000 to $300,000 a year.

The Bottom Line: Technology BC support may be used to cover salaries, equipment, materials and other direct costs related to the research. Support is in the form of grants, an investment in your profitability. Your success is expected to provide jobs and profits

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winners takes just over three months. All applications for the next Technology BC competition must be received no later than 5 p.m., Friday, May 1,1992. The Details: Contact us for full

information about Technology BC. Science Council programs staff will be pleased to discuss your plans and advise on eligibility and procedures. Science Council of British Columbia

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The Strategy: There are two

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to help strengthen the provincial

programs within Technology BC. The Industry based Research and Devel

opment Program will support research aimed at the development of new products and processes, prototype evaluation projects and technology transfer. The program provides up to 50 per cent of the cost of such a project. The resultant product or process becomes the property of your company. The Core Research Program supports projects at an earlier stage in the

Eiiviroiimc'iUal Science <& Engineering. March 1992

Council of

BC

Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology

British Columbia

Science &

Technology Fund

For more information, Circle reply card No. 140 23


Concrete Pipe Seminar con t

Left to rigfit, Minister Gilles Pouliot, OCPA Manager James Bartiey and Virginia Webber MSU Mississauga. ments exceed current CSA and ASTM

standard requirements. Ontario manu facturers, over tlie years, Itave been en couraged by the program to gradually improve their quality assurance pro grams as new manufacturing technol ogy developments have been intro duced. This has permitted them to rou tinely exceed national joint testing stan

dards for their products and has result ed in local pipe products routinely meet ing the Ontario Provincial Standards

field test for joints using air or water. This provides a good indication that the plant inspection program is working effectively. There are 11 plants prequalified in Ontario and 1 plant in Quebec.Another

plant is expected to be prequalified in early 1992. There is also a proposal to expand the Prequalification Program to establish prequalification requirements for the precast box sizes included in the pro posed OPS Precast Box Section Stan dard 1821. This would be part of the quality assurance section of the pro posed standard. A draft requirement has been developed and is currently being reviewed. In addition, the editorial changes necessary to make the OPSS 410, Con struction Specification for Pipe Sewer Construction by Open Cut Method,and OPSS 1820, Material Specification for Circular Concrete Pipe, standards cur rent with the Prequalification Program will be proposed to the OPS Drainage Committee by the MOE representative in January 1992. Recently,an update was received from the prequalification consultant. Gene Shelestynsky of Procon Engineering Inc. Gene advised and confirms that the

Prequalification Program is working as planned and its benefits are self-evident. It may be worthwhile to repeat one of these benefits — that CSA certifies the

plant only,whereas the Prequalification Program certifies the product - the ac tual pipe made.

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25


By Robert Shibatani*

The role of in-house technical support In environmental law

Public concern over the envi

those persons involved. Ideally, envi

ronment has dramatically increased over the past de cade. This is well noted in pub

ronmental analysts should possess cer tain minimum qualifications. A sound understanding of scientific concepts,

lic opinion polls and in the feedback received by the popular press across the country. Government regulators have responded by drafting and implement ing a myriad of new laws and regula tions in respect of the environment and. in particular, its protection and conser vation. This flurry of legislative activity has proceeded at a rate never before experienced in Canada.

particularly as they relate to the envi ronmental sciences, is required. Work ing knowledge in the mathematics, chemistry and statistics is also extreme ly helpful. Given the working environment with

This new level of public awareness affects all sectors of society. As a result,

It has often been said

the range of environmental legal issues that may be considered relevant to both existing and potential clients has grown remarkably. Advances in research and development, and the resulting techno logies,continue to make environmental compliance increasingly complex. In addition to having to cope with statutory and regulatory developments, professionals in the area of environ

tives, and directions at the federal, pro

vincial and municipal levels. Any of these initiatives may be directly applic able to a client's interests. Lawyers are also required to keep informed, at least in a general sense,ofany new innovative technologies, which may potentially af fect a client's compliance status. The task is manageable, but it has required some in the legal profession to recon sider their long range strategies in order to address added demands.

One such strategy involves the retain ing of in-house environmental techni cal support. In-house support staff within legal firms, while not new in con cept, has rarely been extended to envi ronmental specialists in the past. As a result,to my knowledge,there are as yet, no protocols as to the types of respon

scientific detail. Data anomalies are

sought, scrutinized and explanations developed (or called for). Any models used are reviewed in terms of the as-

sumption(s) adopted. Most importan tly, the full scope of environmental con ditions present at the time of the "inci dent" are assessed in order to determine

in which such individuals find them

their specific (or cumulative) effect on

selves, a general familiarity with the law

the matter at issue.

It has often been said that while ab

that while absolute

numbers never lie, the picture they coiiectiveiy portray may take many forms depending on the analyticai tooi used and the intentions of the

person presenting the data.

mental law are also faced with the ongo

ing task of keeping abreast of numerous new environmental programs, initia

persons, when reviewing Crown dis closures, will do so with a distinct eye for

often develops over time. This is com monly expressed through an under standing of the regulatory compliance and approvals process for which a vari ety of projects are applicable. While it is true that both processes may be learned to some degree through practise, the fundamental science, from which the

many types of application processes and requirements are based, may not necessarily be as easily learned. Addres sing the fundamental science compo nent inherent in many environmental law matters still requires a person trained in those areas.

An important benefit in using envi ronmental specialists in this light stems from their ability to analyze scientific documentation. In many instances,this involves an assessment of accumulated

data, the manner with which such data

solute numbers never lie, the picture they collectively portray may take many forms depending on the analytical tool used and the intentions of the person presenting the data. When these num bers (ie. data) appear unclear, persons conversant in the limiting environmen tal factors and who possess knowledge of the mathematics are best suited to see

the numbers for what they really are. Working in close cooperation with the lawyer on these matters, the environ mental specialist can hopefully provide the best information possible in order to assist the lawyer in developing the best available defence strategy. Appearances before administrative tribunals for environmental hearings represents another area where environ mental specialists may be of assistance. Such hearings have evolved into ex tensive undertakings prone to consider able accumulations of sometimes highly technical information. Leaving aside for the moment the issue of data man

agement where, incidentally, I began my career as a case manager, other op portunities also exist. Providing assis tance during evidence preparation, wit ness training and cross-examinations

represent a few areas where such per sons may become involved.Time-saving exercises such as preparing initial drafts of interrogatories, statements of issues and cross-examination briefs may pro vide the lawyer on the file with valuable time to focus on more complex legally

sibilities that these individuals should

were collected and some determination

assume, nor is there a widely accepted title for such persons. In fact, I go by the

as to whether the data presented reflect a realistic perspective. Knowledge of pro per sampling, analytical methodologies, and the natural environmental pro cesses at work in any given situation are important attributes of these specialists.

oriented issues. The breadth of most environmental

attention in the future.

Given the nature of environmental law

The responsibilities for such analysts will obviously vary according to the par ticular requirements of the lawyer(s) as well as the precise qualifications of

today, there are many areas in which such specialists may become involved

mental analyst can alert the lawyer(s)of those situations where one particular issue may have strong implications on

in the context of an environmental

other related issues.

law practice. Environmental litigation offers nu merous opportunities for the well trained environmental specialist. In criminal litigation, for example, such

A significant area where such persons may also be of assistance in the context of large environmental assessment ap plications (ie. hearings) is with respect to data(or information) management.A

rather generic title, environmental ana lyst. It would not be unreasonable to expect, however,that the concept, while still novel, will likely receive increased

*Robert Shibatani is the Environmental

Analyst for Fasken Campbell Godfrey, a large Toronto based law firm. 26

assessment results in numerous issues that are either scientific or technical in

nature. Many such issues are multi-fa ceted and interrelated. The environ

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


relatively new area of expertise, infor mation management,is rapidly becom ing an absolutely essential support tool for not only environmental practice groups but law firms in general. Cer tainly for an area as wide and dynamic as environmental law, this support tool is quickly turning from being a luxury to

OoeiM-ftnsic

being a necessity. While much of the administrative work associated with information ma

nagement practices can, admittedly, be carried out by capable data managers, the environmental specialist is capable of discerning the precise nature of any materials relevant to the case. As most environmental

databases

are

based

upon key word stringers, the manner with which they are initially set-up will determine their future utility. Today, computer database systems are used almost exclusively for these purposes. Where one attempts to iden tify relevant evidence and/or docu ments relating to subsurface water, for example, words such asphreatic, vadose, capillary water, baseflow and hygroscopic moisture may not necessarily be iden tified by a person unfamiliar with these terms. A substantial amountofevidence or information could be overlooked in such situations. The unfortunate limita

Sierra-Misco s waste water management. Because you are what you drink. Sierra-Misco Sierra-Misco Inc., 10461 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California U.S.A. 95827 Tel:(916)363-4271 Fax:(916)363-1886 Sierra-Misco Environment Inc., 850- 999 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, Oritish Columbia Canada V6C 2W2 Tel:(604)684-7754 Fax:(604)684-8099

tions inherent in most of today's inhouse databases makes it necessary that

For more information, Circle reply card No. 121

an individual conversant in those terms

have complete control over the develop ment, implementation, maintenance and ongoing analytical work within such systems. While the computer sim ply acts as a management tool, it is all too often incorrectly assumed that it can, by itself, solve all of one's informa tion management problems. On the non-litigious side of environ mental law, environmental specialists can assist lawyers in a variety of ways. With respect to environmental approv als,such persons may,for example,pro vide the lawyer with an initial review of company plans and documentation for which a specific certificate of approval or permit is being sought. Working to gether with the lawyer in this manner, an appreciation of the client's present capabilities at meeting minimum gov ernment standards can be ascertained. In the situations where some flex

ibility is afforded the client by the con trolling regulatory agency, the environ mental analyst may assist in focusing on the most appropriate manner with which to pursue these applications. Many of these situations it should be noted, often involve liaison with the client's in-house technical staff, an out side consultant, or both.

Environmental audits represent an

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Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

For more information, Circle reply card No. 122 27


Legal affairs, cont'd party requesting an audit as part of the condition of sale for a property, the en vironmental analyst, along with the lawyer,can critically review the contents of the audit to identify any potentially

quired by an environmental analyst may be as straightforward as simply knowing where to look in order to ob tain a specific piece ofinformation.Peer

vironmental subject areas be known, presumes that one cannot be expected to know a particular field as well as those practising professionals whose job it is to remain at the forefront of that spe

troublesome areas. In such situations,

contacts, within both the industrial and

cific field.

an assessment of the actual data may be

academic communities represent addi tional key sources of extremely valuable information in this regard. One respon sibility that cannot be overlooked is the environmental analyst's duty to keep abreast of as many new and ongoing environmental regulatory and nonregulatory initiatives as possible.

From the perspective of an environ mental analyst, while the "scientific me thod" may be subscribed to. the nature ofthe position also does not lend itselfto research and development work, nor does it permit technical application of accepted methodologies in respect of either field, laboratory, and/or com puter analysis. All of these activities may be considered necessary attributes for the practising scientist. I believe that the term "arm-chair scientist" may. per haps. be a little too strong, but the point

required to verify the audit's conclu sions.

Where an audit is initiated by the cli ent as part of an overall effort to assess the environmental condition ofan oper ation. the environmental analyst can

help ensure that no contentious area is

tic. it is true that some of the skills re

overlooked.In these situations where an

environmental audit is required, an en vironmental consulting firm will almost always conduct the actual field work. Although the lawyer takes an active role in providing the initial direction, any

ongoing advice and the refining of the precise wording of an audit report, the

It is questionable whether

such individuals can truly be regarded as practising

is made.

scientists.

environmental analyst can assume a

This alone can represent quite an un dertaking. However, the importance to

more passive role as that of environ

the client's interests makes this an ex

mental quality controller. In almost any situation where scien

tremely important obligation and one that may be considered mandatory for any group practising environmental law in Ontario today. Balancing the benefits of such a posi tion.obvious limitations exist. It is ques

tific and/or technical documentation is

produced and/or assessed, the environ mental analyst should become involved. These opportunities may include site clean-up and facility decommissioning proposals, emergency spill response plan development, capital project ven tures,just to mention a few. At the risk ofsounding overly simplis

tionable whether such individuals can

truly be regarded as practising scien tists. regardless of their background. The nature of the position, which re quires that a wide cross-section of en

The breadth and scope of environ mental law has developed at an un precedented rate. Fueled by popular public sentiment and an increasing awareness ofenvironmental protection, new laws, project commitments, and programs are being passed and devel oped at an increasingly rapid pace. Both pure technical assistance and informa tion management are needed to fully address the expanding nature of the practice of environmental law. The use ofin-house environmental analysts rep resents an important option to help ful fil some of these requirements. ESSE

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


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The chemical timebombs ticking away in Germany

The term is relatively new. the

phenomenon it describes, old. Historic contamination is the

general term used to describe all those sites bequeathed to us from the past which today pose a threat to the environment as a result of toxic con tamination. This somewhat catch-all

Water Fevy Faw.the Indirect Discharge Ordinance, the Water Resources Faw.

the Drinking Water Ordinance, the Technical Guideline for Air and the Fe deral Emission Protection Law. All of

these documents set stringent limits and/or guidelines. Lawgivers are faced

term began to appear throughout the German media around the mid-1980s.*

Environmental experts, however, dif ferentiate between historic deposits (dumps, landfills, tips etc.) and historic sites (disused industrial or commercial premises).Occasionally,one also comes

tamination Guideline (Leidraad Bodemsanering). Funding and liabilities Experts reckon that rehabilitating Germany's known contaminated sites will cost tens of billions of Deutsch-

marks — a financial requirement which will have to be spread over several ge nerations. The sluggish nature of eco nomic recovery in eastern Germany can without doubt be explained in part by the fact that investors are quite possibly acquiring sites which harbour historic contamination. In German law the

company is then liable. Decontamina tion. of course,increases the apparently low purchase price.

across the term 'war-incurred con

tamination' (such as old ammunition

depots and military facilities).

Hamburg-Georgswerder. But that is not

Space Sensing The first European Remote Sensing Satellite. FRS-1. began orbiting our planet last year,supplying data from its near-polar orbit to points scattered about the globe where the data are ga

all. Since German reunification we also

thered and evaluated.

Back to nature

The sins of our fathers are now being visited upon us in places such as Biele feld-Brake, Dortmund-Dorsfeld

and

have the Bitterfeld-Halle-Leipzig 'che mical triangle" to contend with. Forty years of Socialist dogma in the GDR have left behind a landscape which will take decades to repair. However, we in western Germany must not forget that for decades the refuse of our own afflu

ence was transported to the GDR — at no small cost — in a policy which is now boomeranging back upon us. The Fe deral Environmental Office estimates

that there are some 80,000 cases of his

toric contamination in all of Germany which will cost anything up to DM 70 billion to clean up.

Statutory regulations and guidelines There have for many years been statu tory limits in Germany for both water and air contamination, stipulated in items of legislation such as the Waste

with a particular difficulty when it comes to soil, where bodies involved in

the problem have undertaken their own initiatives. An advisory council of the Association of German Chemists has

compiled a list of around 60 substances which have been declared 'key chemi cals". The major attributes of these sub stances. such as solubility, carcinogenicity. mutagenicity. degradability etc.. are known well enough. However, most of the substances in question are inor ganic. Rehabilitation experts are left high and dry when it comes to organic substances in the soil. The sector is cry ing out for a Technical Guideline for

ERS-1 is capable of detecting histori cal contamination even from very high altitudes. Using optical scanners oper ating in several spectral regions as well as infrared cameras, the satellite trans

mits data pinpointing vegetational changes which might indicate the pre sence of'forgotten dumps'or other con taminated sites.

Editor's note: This abridged article was ■ translated and supplied by ENVITEC 92. a trade show and conference held in

Dusseldorf May 22-29 '92.

tation experts are currently operating according to a Dutch piece oflegislation

*Translator's note: The writer Is referring here to the German word 'Altlasten', liter ally 'old burdens', a now widely-used term for which there Is no similarly com mon English equivalent. The term Is tran

passed in 1983. called the Soil Decon

slated here as 'historic contamination'.

Historic Contamination. Soil rehabili

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


Towering 29,028 feet, Mount Everest is the highest point on Earth. Many climbers vainly tried to conquer this giant, and more than a few died in the attempt. A pair of now-famous feet were

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Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

31


Tom Davey

Conference report

OSWCA celebrates 21st birthday with media splash

The Ontario Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association

celebrated its 21st birthday with an ambitious program de signed to reach outside its membership

and get its message out to the political arena.

Scheduled speakers included the out spoken Diane Francis, editor of the Financial Post. Toronto Star columnist

and NDP policy commentator Gerald Caplan. former Ontario Premier Bill Davis and Professor John Crispo, a Uni versity of Toronto management pro fessor and a director of the CBC. This

was not your average contractors' convention.

OSWCA had clearly tried to get some political balance by inviting NDP heavyweight. Stephen Lewis, to follow Diane Francis. Flowever. the former Ambassador to the United Nations was

sidelined by a flu bug. leaving Mr. Cap lan to add balance to the political polar ity of the first day's speakers. This was clearly an equal opportunity confer

Diane Francis — "environmental red tape Is having an adverse effect on business.

ence.-

effect on business and resource based

Diane Francis ripped into Ontario government policies. But first she pointed out that the NDP had taken over after a spending binge by the Peter son Liberal government, who. she said had spent like sailors.* Gerald Caplan too. later noted that a supposed budget surplus of the Liberal government was actually a major deficit

industries."Unless the NDP changes its policies. Ontario's living standards

shop of the world. She pointed out that cheap labour is no advantage without a proper infrastructure put in place by an industrial society. Mr. Caplan pointed out ruefully that

would decline further." she said.

the NDP had learned that realities of

which the NDP inherited."What a mess we inherited. We had been told there

Ontario's prosperity and now environ mental red tape was having an adverse

"A 16 year old in Ontario can leave

home and get $600 a month in 'pogie.'" she said as she outlined several welfare

scams. She instanced the story of wel fare agencies putting out "first and last month's" rent cheques after 'landlords' confirmed the 'facts' — from pay phones in Toronto's Union Station!

would be a small surplus — instead we

"The UIC doesn't talk to the welfare

had a deficit and ever since then the

agencies and vice-versa because of pri vacy legislation" she noted. She said it was silly not to have free

economic news has got worse. Ten per cent of all Ontarians are on some form

of government assistance," he said. Ms. Francis called Ontario's Envi

trade. "There is far too much attention

focussed on the so called 'cheap labour'

ronmental Bill ofRights.r/raco/;w;;.Sale

of third world countries.Ifcheap labour

of resources had been a cornerstone of

were so creat. Haiti would be the work-

Storm sewer project saves 40% The village ofEmbro.15 kilometers west of Woodstock,recently completed a trunk sewer project to carry water from an existing storm sewer system. The outlet had previously relied on an open ditch but the owner, the Township of Zorra, wanted to change to an enclosed system.

One problem the project presented was the limited available headroom clearance. After evaluation, the Town

ship selected 1200mm and 1050mm Armtec Ultra Flo storm sewer pipe. The project involved: 130 metres of 1200mm diameter Ultra Flo, 2.8mm wall thickness and 125 metres of

1050mm diameter Ultra Flo. 2.8mm wall thickness.

Project contractor was DWR Drain age and Contracting of Stratford. Onta rio and the consulting engineer was K. Smart Associates of Kitchener, Ontario. The manufacturer claims a 40% ma

terials cost saving over an earlier pre liminary design with further savings be cause of the lightweight, 8 metre pipe lengths and O-ring gasket couplers which are easily installed. During peak

government were much more difficult than raising critical questions in the legislature. He said just after the NDP won the election in 1990."to our own great sur prise." he stressed, "policy makers met at Queen's Park to be confronted by a pile of books three feet high.These were briefings from the civil service which had to be dealt with in days. "To our horror we learned that the pile was only a fraction of what we had to read and digest — in days. He denied that welfare fraud was ex

cessive. saying that every study he had seen indicated it was only a minor problem. To his credit. Mr.Caplan fielded some tough questions from the audience, in cluding the lack of access to the NDP government from professional environ ment groups such as infrastructure con tractors. He said there was no excuse for

this and promised one questioner he would get the interview he sought within a week. The discussion on the economic fac

tors of infrastructure by such leading figures was in keeping with OSWMA's dedication to the user pay approach for environmental services. ES&E

construction, the contractor was exca

vating the trench,laying and backfilling pipe at the rate of 10 metres per hour using one light machine.

*She was probably referring to Huxley's statement that society squanders its resources like drunken sailors on a spree.

For more information, Circie reply card No. 150 32

Environinenlal Science & Engineering, March 1992


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Focus on Laboratories

The barometer reads fair for

environmental testing

The environmental testing in

dustry is driven by regulations. It is also driven by technologi

The Projected Market for Commercial Laboratory Services (Optimistic Projections)

cal advances,but to a lesser de

gree. Federal,Provincial and Municipal regulations have helped to create a $10 billion Canadian environment indus

try,f This broad, diverse and fragmen ted industry has one significant com mon denominator — environmental

testing. After all, there is little chance of knowing whether or not a particular si tuation is complying with a regulation unless analyses are performed that cha racterize the activity.These analyses are performed in over 100 Canadian com mercial laboratories employing 3000

Clean Air

Federal Facilities

i Superlund

people. Investors, bankers and environment

industry owners would benefit from a reliable market analysis of the environ mental testing laboratory industry. Un fortunately,there are no such data avail

RORA

Source: Wade Miller Associates, Inc., August. 1991

able for the Canadian market.The Raw-

son Academy of Aquatic Sciences pub lished an excellent economic analysis of the environmental laboratory industry in August 1989. However, that study failed to predict future market size and, given that the study is almost three years old, a more current analysis is required. Fortunately, such a study exists. The International Association of En

vironmental Testing Laboratories (lAETL) has just published a com prehensive analysis of the US environ mental testing industry. The study is only available to member companies at this time and will be available to the

public in July 1992.The results ofthe in-

depth study were recently summarized for lAETL members at the association's

annual conference in Denver,Colorado

last October. Although lAETL is pre dominantly an American trade associa

rates of the 1980's, the testing industry is likely to grow at a steady 8 to 12 percent

per year through the 1990's according to lAETL. Major growth markets include analytical services related to the 1990

tion, several Canadian laboratories are

Clean Air Act, Federal Facilities clean

members and the Canadian environ

up,especially the Department ofEnergy mixed waste segment and the Resource

mental industry can extrapolate data from the findings. lAETL concluded that the future for

the testing industry is bright. There are too many stringent testing requirements for too many different laboratory cus tomers for the future to be anything but bright. While not expected to see growth

The Projected Market for Commercial Laboratory Services (Pessimistic Projections)

SDWA

Clean Air

Federal Faciliiies

Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Pessimistic and optimistic scenarios were developed and are illus trated in the exhibit. The pessimistic scenario projects the market to double in size, a compounded annual growth rate of 8.5 percent. Under the optimistic scenario, the testing market is expected to reach $4.1 billion by the year 2000, a 12.5 percent compounded growth rate. US Eederal facilities cleanups are ex pected to be one of the fastest growing market segments. Demand will be ge nerated by the Department of Energy, Department of Defense,NASA,and the Bureau of Land Management, and other government departments. Dr. Clyde Frank, Associate Director, Office of Technology Development, Department of Energy,indicated that it will take 30 years for DOE to clean up four decades of accumulated dumping at nuclear weapon production plants. doe's problems originated from activi ties dating back to the Manhattan Pro ject in 1942. Operating practices caused serious environmental problems and

RCRA

*Presldent, 1990

1991

1992

Environment

Protection

Laboratories Inc.

Source: Wade Miller Associales, Inc.. Augusl. 1991

34

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


By Douglas G. Langiey*

ROBERT B, SOMERVILLEco mc.

Douglas Langley

We Go Under

many large sites require substantial remediation.

Cleaning up more than 10,000 sites could cost $200 billion in the next 20 to

25 years. There are an estimated 1.4 mil

lion drums of waste requiring charac terization and clean up. Dr. Frank estimated that analytical costs alone

Landfills

will be $15 to $50 billion. The sites con tain hazardous, as well as radioactive

'Waste

waste (referred to as mixed waste), which will require new treatment tech nologies. The department and its con tractors are trying to determine safe disposal for some of these wastes.

The magnitude ofthe DOE cleanup is mind boggling. The DOE Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington is 350 square miles,slightly larger than the 300 square mile site at Arvada,Colorado. These sites are the size of metropoli

Major

Conservation Areas

esi*'

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John Kersh, Associate General Ma

nager for Environmental Waste Ma nagement at EG & G's Arvada site told lAETL participants that he will be con tracting $48 million of chemical ana lyses to 22 contract laboratories this year. He went as far as urging commer cial laboratory owners to leave their business cards with him following his presentation. These are huge contracts by Canadian standards.The 1991 Arvada site characterization program is larger than the entire Ontario commercial test

ing market from all sources (govern ment, industry and consulting engin eers). The amount of radioactive cha

racterization exceeds current industry capacity and opportunities exist for la

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35


Environmental Testing, con t short of monumental in its expense,cur rently spending $7 billion annually to clean up hazardous waste at federal fa cilities. Estimators indicate this will in

crease in subsequent years as new regulations will create new require ments.

The redirection of DOE and DOD

funds is a result ofthe changing political climate in Eastern Europe and Russia. A large number of military bases will be closed during the next decade. Canada is currently assessing its NATO activi ties and the Defense Department recen tly ordered a $1 million characterization study of its German military bases.This

major shift in military priority will place an ever-increasing demand on our edu cational system to produce more scien tists with environmental training.

Markets Council in Washington, D.C. The council will assist Canadian envi

ronmental companies in capturing a share of the huge U.S. environmental

Moreover,there will be a need to retain

remediation market. The council in

existing military personnel who will be redeployed to environmental cleanup

tends to position itself as the leading non-government advocacy organiza tion assisting Canadian entry into the U.S. (Further information may be ob

programs.

Industry,Science & Technology is en couraging Canadian environmental firms to exploit the Canada Free Trade Agreement which espouses freer trade

tained from Lucien Bradet, Director General,Environmental Affairs,Indus

between Canada and the U.S.A.ISTC is

Despite the recent "softness" of the environmental market, particularly in Ontario, and the difficulties experien ced in 1991, most American industry analysts believe the market is bouncing back and it will enjoy steady profitable growth through the 1990's. lAETL has predicted that the U.S. environmental testing market will double and perhaps even triple in the next decade. The Ca nadian market will follow suit as regula

presently proposing the establishment of a Canada/American Environmental

Drive reliability and efficiency that never gets watered down.

try Science and Technology, Canada, Ottawa).

tions drive the market forward.

The overall environmental

industry is largely dependent on the public's attitude and the

willingness of the public to pay for environmental protection

The overall environmental industry is largely dependent on the public's atti tude and the willingness ofthe public to pay for environmental protection. Pub lic attitude towards environmental pri ority has shifted slightly in the early 1990's as economic necessities domi

nated the public will. However, by the mid 1990's we may see a shift back to the attitude of the late 1980's when environ

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motor components, engineering assistance, technical support and around-the-clock service.

ment topped everyone's agenda.The op portunities will be considerable and they will challenge the environmental industry's imagination and initiative in a manner which will reward the most

productive and opportunistic. Will the environmental industry be up to this challenge? ESdE t Editor's note: Federal Environment minister Jean Charest estimates the market at $7 to 10 billion. Ontario Envi ronment Minister Ruther Grier states that

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


Piping by flhe numbers.

fj f

To cut costs in piping installation, it pays to pre-plan with VictoulicÂŽ. For example, to help you save time and reduce

So if numbers ore important to you, check into something you con count on. Contact your Victaulic Distributor, or write Victaulic Company

overhead, Victaulic Technical Services Division offers valuable pre-planning services. We provide equipment and piping layouts, isometrics, bills of material, and piece-marked pipe-cut sheets. Then we bag and tag the Victaulic components before delivery to your job site. So all the Victaulic com ponents called for in drawing CWP-3,for exam ple, are in crate CWP-3. It's like piping by the

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Victaulic is a registered trodemork of Victaulic Company of Conodo. Š1990 Victaulic. All rights reserved.

For more information, Circle reply card No. 105


R&D News

Supplied by the Canadian Association on Water Pollution Research & Control tion in Water Research, the results ob

ticular interest to scientists and mana

gers involved in aquatic environment al protection.

wa's R.L. Droste have reviewed the de

tained reveal that the high sulfuric acid concentration produced as a result of sulfur oxidation of sludge by indigen

sign features and performance of the downflow stationary fixed film reactor

ous thiobacilli

roorganisms

Metals In Aquatic Systems Department of Lisheries and Oceans

Anaerobic Waste Water Treatment National Research Council scientist

K.J. Kennedy and University of Otta

for

anaerobic

wastewater treatment.

Media characteristics, feed characteris

tics and loading rates found to provide rapid start-up and maximum treatment efficiency are discussed in Water Science and Technology. It is concluded that the reactor is a useful research tool for study ing anaerobic treatment although it is

reduced

these

significantly.

mic

Heavy

metals were solubilized to levels com

scientist M.G.Johnson has studied tem

patible with recommended norms for intensive sludge agricultural use.

poral trends in metal concentrations in rivers, coastal zone waters, and sedi ments of northern and eastern Geor

gian Bay. The primary objective of the work was to estimate the temporal in creases of metals, including Cu, Ni,Zn, Al, and Cd, during spring freshets. De

not as sensitive to waste characteristics

tails of the two methods used are des

as other second generation anaerobic

cribed in the paper published in the Joumal of Great Lakes Research. The ef

reactors. The reactor is able to handle

wastes with high suspended solids con tent and provide efficient treatment with a minimum clogging potential.

fects of increased metals and reduced

pH on aquatic life in Georgian Bay are generally unknown. Inferences from

toxicological studies are that high con

lAWPRC

Metal Bloleaching Process

t - 1 .

centrations of several metals above

/

w

water quality objectives at reduced pH have adversely affected fish communi

The presence of potentially toxic con centrations of metals and the ineffective

destruction of pathogenic mic roorganisms by conventional sludge stabilization processes limit sewage sludge utilization in agriculture. J.F. Blais and colleagues from INRS-Eau and Laval University evaluated the me tals bioleaching process potential for the elimination of total coliforms, fecal

coliform, fecal streptococci. As des cribed in a paper accepted for publica

Quality Assurance In Aquatic Biology A working group under the leadership

ties.

of A.S.Y. Chau at the National Water

High-Rate Anaerobic Treatment

Research Institute developed a set of quality assurance guidelines for biology in aquatic environmental protection. The results of the study were compiled in a report written under contract by Beak Consultants Ltd. This report is available on request and will be of par

High-rate anaerobic treatment has emerged as a viable alternative for the treatment of many industrial and muni cipal wastewaters. A number of dif ferent process options have been recontlnued overleaf

39th ONTARIO CONFERENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT sponsorecd by

ENVIRONMENT ONTARIO June 14-17, 1992 The Prince Hotel, Toronto Formerly titled the "Ontario Waste Management Conference", this 39th conference has been

We do a lot of groundwork for industrial partners. At the National Research Council's Institute for

Environmental Chemistry, we apply innovative technology to environmental issues. lEC assists Canadian industry by creating tech nology to safeguard the quality of our air, land, and water. Toward this goal, we perform market-driven R&D and transfer technology designed for environ mental applications. To discuss partnerships, licences, and other ways we can benefit your organization, contact our Manager of Business Development, Terry Kimmel, at(613)990-6618, or fax (613)952-1275.

Making the environment our business

NtCCNtC

broadened In scope to reflect a greater emphasis on waste reduction using a multimedia approach in poliution prevention. Presentations of many papers in plenary sessions will be by authors expert In the field of pollution prevention or reduction, recycling,treatment and disposal, and will address all three environmental media (i.e. air, water and land).

The conference will provide Insights to the environmental problems and solutions facing Industry and society in the 90's decade, and will be of interest to many stakeholders. Additional information and registration data may be obtained from: Environment Ontario

Waste Management Branch, 12A, 2 St. Ciair Avenue West Toronto, Ontario M4V 1L5 Attn: M.F, Cheetham.

Conference Coordinator

Fax:(416) 323-5031 IaI 1^1

National Research

Council Canada

Conseil national

de recherches Canada

oSl,

Canada

For more mformation, Circle reply card No. 107 38

Fnwirnnmpnt

Phone:(416) 323-5184

For more information, Circle reply card No. 108

Environmental Scietice & Engineering. March 1992


When You Leave The Lab^ You Don't Have To Leave

Laboratory Performance Behind New 21 OOP Portable Turbidlmeter

•Choice of ranges: 0-9.99, 10-99.9 or 100-1000 NTU •Meets design requirements set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency •Battery or AC operation •Diagnostic mode to evaluate instrument functions •Easy Formazin-based calibration takes just 10 minutes •Comprehensive manual containing illustrated procedures for calibration, testing and maintenance. •Weighs less than 1 pound (.454 kg)

Combining laboratory performance with the convenience of a field instrument, the

new 21 OOP* is the first portable turbidlmeter to feature microprocessor-based operation and a two-detector ratioing optical system.

For more information, request literature number 1790. HACH COMPANY P.O. Box 389

HACH

•patent n4J98J61; other patents pending

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Sales Outlets Throughout Canada • Instrument Service Centre In Winnipeg For more information, Circle reply card No. 109

Pbtable water.

Portable plant. Graver Monoplants are pre-engineered and pre-assembled into self-contained water treatment units easily transported and quickly installed. Seventeen standard sizes are available to treat from 20

gpm to 500 gpm,for municipal plants and wherever addi tional or improved water is needed. Each Monoplant contains clarification, filtration, chemical feed and gravity backwash systems. Conservatively designed, the Monoplant pro duces water with an effluent turbidity of less than 1 JTU.

For complete information, contact Ecodyne Ltd., Graver Water Division, Oakville, Ontario, 416/827-9821;

Calgary, Alberta, 403/255-9797

WE MAKE WATER WORK For more information, Circle reply card No. 110


R&D News duced to practice, although some con figurations are clearly better developed than others. A paper by Wastewater Technology Centre scientist R. Jones and U.S. colleagues compares and con trasts the principles of start-up and operation of different high-rate anaer obic systems based upon laboratory re search and full-scale operating experience gained over the past two decades. The principal processes compared in a Water Science and Technology paper are the Anaerobic Filter, Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket, and Expanded/Fluidized Bed Reactors.

Control Strategy for Shock Loading A two-hierarchical level control strategy for the activated sludge wastewater

treatment process has been developed by INRS-Eau scientists D. Couillard and Shakai Zhu. The upper level con trol is a fuzzy control system for bring

ing the process to the optimal operation state. The lower level control consists of

two proportional-integral-derivative feedback controllers for maintaining the concentration of the dissolved oxy gen in the aerator and the height of the sludge blanket at the bottom ofthe clarifier at the set-points. As described in a paper accepted for publication in Water

trol strategy could improve the process performance, especially in the case of shock loading.

particles in the creek are strongly floc culated, and the floes are relatively sta ble within the realms of the sampling and analytical method. As reported by

Genotoxicity of the

these National Water Research Institute

St. Lawrence River

scientists in a paper accepted for publi cation in Water Research, the digitizing

Scientists from the St. Lawrence Centre

and McGill University analysed surface

method allowed for direct observation

water and sediments from the St. Law

of floe structures which is impossible

rence River systems for genotoxicity, using the SOS Chromotest,as well as for their concentrations of organic and in organic chemicals including heavy metals. As described by R. Langevin and coworkers in a paper accepted for publication in Water Research, all but one ofthe genotoxicity responses obser

with conventional methods ofsediment

sizing.The method provides reasonable results with good precision on floe equi valent spherical diameter, surface area, perimeter, and circularity. Evaluation of Oilspill Sorbents

An Environmental Protection report by

ved in the surface water were obtained

from samples taken from the highly in dustrial portion of the St. Lawrence River system, with the strongest respon ses observed in Lake St. Louis. The ge notoxicity of bottom particulates was one thousand fold weaker than suspen ded particulates on a per unit weight basis.

S.L. Ross Environmental Research Li mited describes selection criteria and

laboratory evaluation of oilspill sor bents. Sixteen commercially available oil spill sorbents, both organic and syn thetic, were tested in three different pet roleum products and two hydrocarbon solvents. Some of these liquids were aged for periods of one and seven days. The sorbents were evaluated in terms of

Suspended Sediment Analysis

I.G. Droppo and E.D. Ongley have de veloped a unique direct observation digitizing method of floe characteristic analysis and applied it to suspended

Research,the simulation ofthe activated

solids from Sixteen-Mile Creek in sou

sludge process showed that such a con

thern Ontario. Suspended sediment

initial and maximum capacities, water pickup, and reuse potential. Synthetic sorbents generally exhibited higher ca pacities and potential for resuse than the organic sorbents tested. Lower sorbent capacities and higher water pickup continued overleaf

GASURVEVOB A technological breakthrough In Gas Detection The new range of Gasurveyor instruments uses the latest in microprocessor tech nology to produce a lightweight gas detection/monitoring unit that is easy to operate yet gives better field utilisation than previously available. Built from modular components,the Gasurveyor is portable, rugged and offers low individual capital and maintenance costs. It can be automatically checked and re-calibrated in the field which greatly extends its utilisation time in operation. Combining this with sensitivities of 10 ppm to 100% gas, it makes the Gasurveyor the single instrument for your entire utility operations.

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Emironmeittal Science & Engineering, March 1992


A "Solution" for ZEBRA MUSSELS The issue of zebra mussels

Is attracting Increasing attention from municipalities, utilities, government agencies and Industries around the Great Lakes.

One solution Involves the use of JAVEX-12 sodium

hypochlorlte, which kills the zebra mussel larvae.

We are therefore focusing much of our technical expertise on this subject. We are consulting with experts to establish dosage levels and techniques best suited to help control the spread of zebra mussels.

If you'd like to discuss this current problem, or be kept Informed of the latest

Information, please fill out tf

Yes, please keep me informed on the use of JAVEX-12 sodium hypochlorlte for controlling zebra mussels. For current project □ For future project □ For research purposes □ Your name Title

Organization Address

Postal Code

Phone: (

)

Mail to: Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc. 255 Wicksteed Ave., Toronto, Ontario M4H 1G8 Plione: (416) 421-6000

Fax: (416) 425-9320

For more information, Circle reply card No. 112

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

41


R&D NGWS con't also were observed with decreasing test liquid layer thickness.

ing, the COD removals ranged between 37% and 77%. The average removals of total conforms, fecal coliforms, fecal

Treatment of Slaughterhouse Effluent

In a joint City of Regina, University of Regina, and Environment Canada study, J.T. Harrison, T. Viraraghavam, and H. Sommerstad used pilot scale equipment to evaluate the treatment performance ofan upflow anaerobic fil ter(AF) on a slaughter house effluent. The effluent flow rate through the AF was changed for seven treatment trials, and performance was evaluated by the

tion in Lake Erie. So far, the model has

been used to compare computed and observed physical and chemical vari

streptococci, and standard plate count densities through the AF were 29%,18%, ables of the lake from data, such as tem perature, nutrients, and dissolved oxy 95%, and 65% respectively. gen concentrations, collected between Lake Erie Water Quality Model

A recently released book includes a chapter on modelling Lake Erie water quality by National Water Research In stitute scientists W. Schertzer and D.

Lam.The chapter summarizes research undertaken to develop water quality models and describes a detailed modell

amount of COD removed. As described

ing framework devised to analyze the

in the Canadian JournalofCivilEngineer

interactions of the physical and bioche-

*' sometimes BIG Can Be Beautiful! The Toronto Environmental Tradeshow & Conference (formerly Haztech Canada)represents a bold decision to expand the format of Haztech Canada to cover the whole environmental spectrum.

Handling & Disposal

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Treatment of Potato Processing

study the effects of mixing intensity and mixing duration on the anaerobic treat ment of potato-processing wastewater at 20°C. The mixing intensities were set at impeller speeds of0,20,50, and 100 rpm. Two mixing durations were studied: 45 dian Journal of Civil Engineering, both mixing intensities and mixing dura tions studied, and their joint effect, sig nificantly affected the steady-state per formance of the anaerobic reactors in

treating the potato-processing wastewater with respect to organics and solids removals and methane production. Dewatering Pulp and Paper Mill Sludge

,.,to showcase emerging and existing environmental products, services & technologies.

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JUNE 2 & 3,1992 Toronto International Centre of Commerce Produced by

ration with Russian colleagues to devel op and apply techniques for simultane ously extracting chlorophyll-a, dis solved organic carbon, and suspended mineral concentrations from a single measurement of the optical spectrum collected by remote sensing satellites. Aquatic systems are optically complex and have been difficult to interpret. This new development will allow the mon itoring and estimation of aquatic pro ductivity using existing satellite tech nology for purposes of resource man agement and as an indicator of regional and global climatic change impacts.

and 15 min/h. As described in the Cana

^THE CONFERENCE

Canadian Exhibition Management Inc. The Leaders in Tradeshow Management

National Water Research Institute sci entist R. Bukata has worked in collabo

scientists K.C. Lin and M.L.J. Pearce to

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Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Aquatic Productivity from Remote Sensing Data

Four laboratory-scale reactors were used by University of New Bmnswick

Exhibitors will display products and services in such areas as: • Water & Waste Water • Air pollution Control • Health, Safety & Protection Treatment • Laboratory Analysis & Testing • Site Remediation • Ttanspottation • Consulting Underground Water

1967 and 1982.

Wastewater

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• Treatment of Contaminated

mical processes affecting oxygen deple

Pacific Forest Products mill in Gatin-

eau, Quebec was positive. Its key advan tages are its compact design, simplicity of operation, and reliability. Aquatic Sediments Sampling

A CRC handbook on the techniques for 42

for more information, Circle reply card No. 113

Environmental Science d Engineering, March 1992


R&D News con't tion. and postconstruction monitoring

aquatic sediments sampling, co-edited by National Water Research Institute

of a small ocean outfall are described to

scientist A. Mudroch, was released ear

show the advantages of this alternative.

lier this year. This handbook is the first comprehensive monograph on the sam pling of bottom sediments, suspended sediments,sediment pore water,and the handling of recovered samples prior to physico-chemical analyses and other tests. Scientists investigating the physi cal and chemical characteristics of

aquatic sediments and the effects of contaminated sediments on aquatic ecosystems will find this volume in valuable.

ticularly useful in two cases: 1)tributary load estimation for event-responsive streams,and 2)"total water"estimates of ambient

Interpretation of Censored Data

In a paper published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. International Joint Commission scientist D.M.Dolan and National Water Research Institute's A.H. El-Shaarawi describe an estima

tion procedure for incorporating cen sored data (i.e. some values reported a "less than detect.") into mass balance calculations. The procedure eliminated any undesirable bias which may other wise be introduced. It will be par

concentrations

of

con

taminants obtained by summing dis solved and suspended fractions.

For more information,contact Dr. H.R. Eisenhauer, Canadian Asso ciation on Water Pollution Re

search and Control, Conservation and Protection, Environment Ca nada, Ottawa, ON K1A 01-13, Tel: (819) 953-9365, Fax: (819) 9539029.

Recovery of Dairy Industry Wastes Conventional

aerobic

treatment

of

dairy wastes requires significant invest ment in both capital and operating costs and produces large quantities of sludge which is difficult to dewater and dispose of. A process outlined in a recent En vironmental Protection report allows for the recovery of proteins and fats lost in rejects from a dairy plant operation. On a dry weight basis, proteins averages 50% of the recovered product and fats averaged approximately 30%. The re covered proteins can be used as feed to a variety of farm animals, such as hogs and calves, and have been successfully used to feed fish, and domestic pets. Environmental Protection Publications

As part of its technology transfer pro gram. the Environmental Protection sector of Environment Canada pub lishes a series oftechnical reports.These are divided into a number of categories including EnviroTIPS Manuals (Envi ronmental and Technical Information

for Problem Spills) which provide de tailed information on 50 chemicals to

enable effective planning of spill coun ter-measures. A listing of all these re ports. which are available on request, has recently been published. Also in cluded in this list of publications are reports published jointly by Environ ment Canada and other government agencies. Ocean Outfalls for Domestic Waste Treatment

Atlantic Canada is a relatively sparsely

populated region with a few large urban centres and many small communities. Many of these communities rely on se condary treatment plants for treatment and disposal of domestic wastes. How ever. maintenance on the plants is often of low quality so that their performance deteriorates after a few years of opera tion. In a paper published by Memorial University's J.J. Sharp in the Canadian

Journal of Civil Engineering, the argument is advanced that ocean outfalls

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

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Environmental Testing

By Allan W. Maynard^

Environmental standards and limits: consideration of results at or near detection limits

Thedemand for high qualityen

vironmental laboratory services has grown rapidly, especially during the past five years. Sig

nificant technical advances have been

made with services and capability now routinely available that only a few years ago were the domain of research. There has been a dramatic trend toward mul-

ticomponent determinations at very low concentrations in complex sample mat rices. These requirements place an in creasing burden on the laboratory and its ability to produce quality results. While laboratory managers and re searchers must meetthese challenges by focusing their research effort, they must also become proactive in educating in dustry, regulators and the public about the field of measurement science. This

will be especially important as regula

â– %

tors establish new environmental stan

dards, compliance limits and criteria. Compliance limits in particular are under review across Canada. The set

ting of compliance limits will undoub tedly be based on many factors and the capability to measure must be among such considerations. The variability of

Allan Maynard — "The variability of environmental tests can be determined.' tion Limits" or MDLs and should be calculated from a series of low level ana-

lyte spikes into reagent grade water. The U.S. EPA, in developing drinking water

environmental tests can be determined and it is well documented that variabili

limits however, identified that the MDL

ty generally increases as limits of detec tion are approached. It is vital that the

titative maximum contaminant levels:

issue of detection limit is well under

stood because the setting oflimits at, or near, detection limits will usually create an "end-point" that is not readily measurable. Definitions: Limits of Detection

and Quantitation The American Chemical Society es tablished a clear distinction between the

detection and quantitation of an analyte. The limit of detection (LOD) was defined as the concentration equivalent to three times the standard deviation of

the "noise" or background signal of an instrument. The limit of quantitation (LOQ)was defined as 10 times the stan dard deviation of the background sig nal. The United States Environmental

Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) further assessed this definition and stated that

the signal to noise ratio provides a basis for estimating the sensitivity of the in strument alone. The new U.S. EPA pro tocols therefore required that detection limits be defined as full"Method Detec-

eould not be used as the basis for quan

"The specification of such a concentra tion is limited by the fact that MDLs are variables affected by the performance of a given measurement system. MDLs are not necessarily reproducible over time in a given laboratory, even when the same analytical procedures, instrumen tation and sample matrix are used." In other words, reliable quantitation could not be achieved at the MDLs.

Realizing that regulation at MDL levels was not possible because of analy tical variability around these values, the U.S. EPA introduced the term practical quantitation limit or PQL. The defini tion is: "The lowest level that can be

reliably achieved within specified limits of precision and accuracy during routine laboratory operation con ditions". The PQL thus represents the lowest level achievable by good labora tories within specified limits during rou tine laboratory operation conditions. Differences between MDLs and PQLs

are expected since the MDL represents the lowest achievable level under ideal

laboratory conditions whereas the PQL represents the lowest achievable level

under practical and routine laboratory * ASL Analytical Sen/Ice Laboratories Ltd,, Vancouver, B.C. 44

conditions.

The PQL is set at a value where 80% of

laboratories are within 40% of the true

value. In setting the drinking water li mits for volatile organics, the EPA chose concentrations or PQLs of 5 to 10 times the individual MDLs.

At present the U.S. EPA is re-evaluat ing its position with respect to the PQL (J. Winters, U.S. EPA, Cincinnati Re

search Lab — pers. commun.). While it is recognized that a limit of quantitation is required, the PQL may not be the ideal way to express it. This is primarily due to the difficulty in actually calculat ing a PQL. In their SW 846 method series for

waste materials analysis, the EPA also utilize the term EQL or "estimated

quantitation limit". The EQLs are used to address the problems introduced by complex sample matrices. EQLs are de termined by multiplying MDLs by fac tors. Eor instance, the suggested factor for groundwater is 10 and EQLs for

groundwater would therefore be 10 times the MDLs. The EQLs listed in the

SW 846 are provided for guidance only. In summary, both the American Che mical Society and the U.S. EPA official ly recognize a difference between a level of detection and a level of quantitation. Between these levels a parameter can be identified as present but not reliably quantified. Analytical Variability and the Regulatory Process The U.S. EPA has recognized the uncontinued overleaf

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


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45


Environmental Testing con t certainty of some analytical methods and has incorporated an acceptable amount of error in its regulations — as

results in the particular case at hand),

much as 40% — when concentrations

before a court will accept the data. The United States Constitution requires the development of laws that are unam

are below 10 pg/L.Because ofthis uncer tainty, challenges to regulatory enforce ment are occurring and will probably

standard by which conduct can be mea sured. The laws cannot be vague. The

biguous and this includes an objective

continue to increase.

vagueness issue could arise in the con

There are many instances when the courts have rejected scientific evidence

text of enforcement of environmental standards if the limits set cannot be ade

as unreliable. Measurements must be

quately measured. From this stand point, it must be asked — can concen

shown to be generally reliable (accep tance by the scientific community) and specifically reliable(produced accurate

trations below reasonably measured

practical quantitation limits be ade-

The environmental

age has begun Help move it along Call for papers

quately measured? There have been cases in the U.S.

where discharge limit violations were alleged and the defendants attempted to discredit the monitoring data on the basis of analytical variability. Gener ally the courts have not accepted the arguments primarily because the defen dants actually generated the data that demonstrated non-compliance. In one case the court pointed out that the un certainty arose "because of the defen dants' decisions" in selecting the proce dure for compliance monitoring. It is therefore important that industry be assured that they have selected the best procedures and know the overall uncer tainty of these procedures. It is also important that industry express any concern they have, to the regulatory body. While the analytical variability de-

Many industries have

Industry knows that industrial production processes can no longer be kept separate from potential environmental impacts.Public opinion is demanding it. Government is enforcing it. Penalties are severe. Over 10,000 people will visit Canada's largest Plant Manage ment & Maintenance Show at the Toronto International Centre,

October 20-22. (Over 10,000 industry personnel and 500 exhibiting companies attended PMDS in 1990.) The organizers, Reed-Macgregor Exhibitions Inc., have added CETECH, an environmental technology exhibition to the 1992

considerable investment

in environmental'control and must ensure any new

regulations are scientifically valid and resultant limits are indeed measurable.

show.

CETECH will not only provide show space for environmental exhibits, it will have an on-site conference produced and managed by Environmental Science & Engineering magazine.

able that a court faced with data collec

ES&E now issues a call for papers. We are seeking practical and research papers which will assist industrial firms to deal with complex environmental regulations; deal with process changes which eliminate or reduce environmental impacts; or any new leading edge techno logies which will take Canadian industry into the new demands of the Environmental Age. We invite authors to submit papers for consideration for the two day environmental conference next October. Abstracts and CV's are ap

propriate at this point in time. The main criteria are that the papers must he of practical value to firms across Canada from mining to millworking; from chemical production to food manufacturing. Topics could include MISA initiatives legal subjects new technologies and process occupational health conversions to reduce environ hazardous materials manage mental impacts of industry ment,containment,treatment innovative wastewater pro and transportation cesses compliance requirements stack emissions toxic site responsibilities and liabilities

Please send your abstracts to Tom Davey,Publisher, Environ mental Science &Engineering,10Petch Crescent,Aurora,Out. L4G 5N7.

fense has had limited success, the U.S.

Supreme Court has not addressed the issue. Furthermore,it is highly conceiv ted by outside sources(i.e. the regulatory agency) rather than data that had been collected by the permittee, would be amenable to considering analytical variability in its deliberation. It will be vitally important that the set ting limits for the environmental regula tions involve a careful consideration of

all facts concerning detection limits and analytical variability. Clearly, if limits are set at concentrations that are not

measurable, the regulation will be unenforceable.

Analytical Variability Can be Measured Analytical variability is also referred to as reproducibility which is the be

tween-laboratory precision of an analy sis determined by interlaboratory, or "round robin" studies. The real aim of

interlaboratory tests is to determine the allowance for variability,expressed as a coefficient of variation, that must be

made among laboratories to make the values interchangeable. Interlaboratory studies have been carried out by regulatory agencies and by industry. The question of analytical variability has been especially promi nent in Ontario after the onset of the

For more information, Circle reply card No. 116 46

MISA (Municipal Industrial Strategy Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


Environmental Testing con't for Abatement) program. As the monitoring phase ofMISA was underway, the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI) com missioned a series of studies to assess

the analytical variability associated with some of the key monitoring para meters. Three interlaboratory studies were carried out in which effluents and

water (spiked and unspiked) were sent

has not been readily successful as a

defense in discharge permit viola tions (in the U.S.) primarily because the permittee was responsible for the

rely on quality data and the issue of detection capability will need to be thoroughly understood and incor porated into the regulatory process.

data generated.

• If monitoring data showing noncompliance was collected by an out side agency, it is more likely that the variability argument could be suc cessfully raised.

to a number of Ontario laboratories in

The enforcement of environmental

the public and private sector. The three inter-laboratory studies provided fur ther evidence that analytical variability can be significant(in some cases over 50 percent) particularly at concentrations

regulations is a primary mandate for governments across Canada. Industry will continue to invest considerably to ensure environmental standards are

Acknowledgement The support of the Canadian Pet roleum Products Institute (CPPI) is gratefully acknowledged for providing the support to carry out the comprehen sive interlaboratory studies. The CPPI analytical committee was chaired by Mr. J. Greemhields of Suncor (Sarnia, Ontario). For more information,

met. Both government and industry will

Circle reply card No. 251

near the limits of detection. The studies

reinforced the need to identify "practi cal quantitation limits"and showed that PQLs would be significantly higher than MDLs.

Summary and Recommendations The setting of lim.its in effluent dis charge permits, for MISA or other en vironmental regulations, will be a com plex process and require careful assess ment. Many industries have consider able investment in environmental con

trol and must ensure any new regula tions are scientifically valid and resul tant limits are indeed measurable. In

carrying outinterlaboratory studies and further reviewing the literature presen ted above, the following summary is provided: • Analytical variability is measurable and can be significantly high for some parameters.

• Analytical variability increases signi ficantly as the concentration de creases.

• The American Chemical Society and the U.S. EPA officially dis tinguish between: — a limit of detection (LOD or MDL) below which a measured value cannot be relied on to estab

lish its presence or absence. — a limit ofquantitation(LOQ.PQL or EQL)below which a measured

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• The U.S. Constitution requires that laws are not vague and must provide an object standard by which com pliance can be measured. • The analytical variability argument

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Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

47


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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


Electrochemistry

Green"Electrochemistry Revival of an Old Art dates from the mid-1960s and coincides with some major advances in the field of electrochemical engineering which

Bernard Fleet M.Sc., Ph.D. D.Sc.,''^^ Roberto Brazao-Gomes B.A.Sc^

occurred at about that time. These advances covered both

and Colin E. Small M.Sc. Ph.D.'

the theory and practice of electrochemical engineering (4-11) and defined the critical areas of theory of current and potential distribution in electrodes, mass transfer theory, materials science and control instrumentation design. The term reactor refers to a cell which performs some useful work and comprises a cathode and anode either of which may be working electrode, a cell chamber and in some instances a diaphragm or membrane to separate anode and cathode compartments.

Electrochemistry is one of the oldest branches of applied science (1). Electrometallurgy or the deposition of metals from solution has a long history. Both electrolytic and electroless plating was practised by Egyptian and Assyrian civilizations as early as 3000 BC (2) and Pliny's Histories (3) dating from 200 BC also give a detailed description of electroplating practice. By the 1850's, just 50 years after the discovery of the electric pile by Volta, electroplating was already an established industry while the direct

As a result of these efforts, the science of electrochemical

electrowinning of metals was introduced in the late 1880's

close on the heels of the pioneering studies of Earaday and

engineering is now well established. Eor example the performance of a given electrochemical reactor design

Davy.

may be defined in terms of a parameter known as the

However, the development of electrochemical cells or reactor systems designed for pollution control applications

space-time yield Yst. In the case of metal deposition, Yst measures the relative efficiency of the electrode or cell in removing metal from the process stream.

Toxics Recovery Systems International, Rexdale, Ontario, Canada

For an electrode, Yo. is defined:

M9W 5M8

University of Toronto, Department of Chemistry and Institute for

Y^ J- cf -

Environmental Studies, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2B6

A^ie (1)

czF

Waste Management Strategies for the Electronics Industry; Treatment of Segregated Sources Chemkal Adlusl

LI

ISfS Regenersmt

Anecnaitng storage

& Adjust

1?

Partial D.I. Waiet^

MeiaiFree

Rinses

â–Ą.I. Storage

water uaianco

Untrealable Rinses SulrtAdd

naaa

Borohydrtde

Commingled Filter Press

Wastes

SuÂťuric Add Hydroxide

Predpltale &

Sludge Separation

Co^o^ral Discharge to Sewer Discharge Control

continued overleaf

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

49


Green electrochemistry cont'd where

the current efficiency is defined total charge consumed le =

theoretical current for metal deposition

100 (2)

while the Y^t for a cell is defined; -yc _ 'ye ^ St

where AÂŽ

is

1 l+V aA/c

(3)

is the specific electrode area, c the

concentration change during one solution pass through the reactor and Va and Vc the volumes of anode and cathode compartments. The measurement of space-time yield was devised primarily for electroorganic and other industrial synthetic processes in order to compare the performance of the electrosynthetic approach with competitive chemical processes. However, in pollution control the absolute value of the space-time yield is less important than the

relative performance efficiency, since invariably the treatment system is designed in order to meet a specific level of discharge concentration. Thus, a more useful

measure of system performance is the process efficiency, Pe, defined as the number of moles of metal removed as a function of the initial metal concentration in the input stream.

cathode. Despite extensive research efforts, mechanical

problems plagued this approach. For example, deposited metal was removed from the high speed rotating cathode by a mechanical scraping, a technique that led to some spectacular breakdowns.

High Performance Cell Designs

A major advance in electrochemical reactor design which occurred in the early 1960's was the introduction of the fluidized bed cell (11,12). In this approach, the electrode bed consists of conducting particles which are fluidized by passing the process stream through the bed. While this approach significantly improved cell performance in terms of metal removal rate, there were serious practical problems in maintaining uniformity of working potential

throughout the electrode bed. The problem was caused by

moles of metal removed

Pe = moles of metal in process stream •100

planar electrodes derived from copper electrowinning technology. These were reasonably effective in recovering metals from concentrated waste sources such as spent electroplating baths but were largely ineffective at reducing metal concentrations in pollutant streams to acceptable discharge levels. Attempts to improve cell performance tried various methods to improve the mass transfer such as stirring the solution or gas sparging. One of the earliest attempts to design a high performance cell, known as the Ecocell (14) used a high speed rotating

(4)

The space-time yield factor, however, may still be of value since it provides an estimate of the dimensions of the

electrode or cell required for a specific process and hence an indication of capital and operating costs.

the fact that as soon as the bed was fluidized electrical

contact between adjacent particles is lost, resulting in variations in working potential, poor selectivity and energy losses. Despite extensive modifications (12), full commercial development of this design was never realized. However, its major importance was that it did provide the impetus for most of the high surface area porous bed, fixed bed and contiguous bed electrode

Classification of Electrochemical Reactor Cell Designs

designs that followed.

There have been many different designs of electrochemical reactor cell designs used for pollution control and various attempts have been made to devise some form of classification (4,5). One approach has been based on the operating mode of mass transfer (4). In this approach the mode of solution flow and electrode structure is used as the classifying feature. A simpler route which is adopted in this review is to use cell geometry as the main selection criteria (Table 1). This approach divides reactor systems into three types, the first are the three-dimensional, high surface area, high mass transfer cell designs generally applied to trace metal recovery. The second type are the two-dimensional, low electrode area, low mass transfer cells of which electrowinning cells are a typical example. The third category includes cell designs for special applications such as intermediate reagent generation and also some other cell designs which do not fit the first two categories.

A further breakthrough was made by one of the present

Early Cell Designs Early cell designs for metal recovery in pollution control were fairly crude being mostly simple tank cells with 50

authors in the mid-1970s with the invention of the carbon

fiber high surface area (HSA) reactor system (13,15-18) In this design the cell cathode consists of layers of woven carbon fiber cloth, attached by stitching to a stainless steel electrical feeder plate. Carbon fibers have two very unique features, they have an enormous surface area

possibly as high as 100

per cm' although in practice

only a portion of this enormous area is probably effective. The second feature is that they are excellent electrical conductors, although again, in practice a carbon fibre electrode in operation rapidly becomes a metal coated electrode as soon as it sees the first flush of metal bearing solution. The early HSA reactor designs used a microcomputer to monitor and control the plating and stripping phases of the operation. However, stripping of a high surface area electrode can cause problems because under conditions of forced solution flow, the stripping solution will find the easiest path through the electrode bed which is usually the less densely plated or unplated areas. As a result channeling occurs and the stripping process becomes slow and irreproducible. In addition, monitoring the completion of stripping was also a problem Environmental Science & Engineeriug, March 1992


Green electrochemistry and depended on measuring small changes in pressure drop across the reactor bed. These problems were compounded by the recession in the environmental

industry which accompanied the early years of the Reagan era. More recently this system has been revived (17,18) and applications using a semi-automated mode of operation with cathode stripping carried out manually in a separate cell have been much more successful.

Several other designs of packed or contiguous bed reactors

additional treatment may be required such as high surface area electrorecovery or ion-exchange. Altematively, when the residual volumes are small they can be commingled with other metal-free waste sources prior to discharge. One of the main application area for electrowinning cells is in integrated waste management systems, for example where a pre-concentration technique such as ion-exchange, reverse osmosis or electrodialysis is used to remove the metals from a low concentration rinse stream and then

followed the HSA cell with one of the most innovative

using an electrowinning cell to recover metals from the

being the variable geometry cell devised by Kreysa and

regenerant or concentrate stream (22-24).

co-workers (19). The design of this cell has a cathode

surface which increases as the process solution passes through the cell in order to provide more effective area to compensate for depletion in the metal concentration as the process stream passes through.

Another successful design of electrochemical reactor with relatively high mass-transfer characteristics is the Chemelec or Bewt cell (20). In this cell design the expanded metal mesh cathode has a relatively low surface area but high mass transfer efficiency is achieved by having the cell packed with inert particles or ballotini, which are fluidized to enhance transport of metals to the cathode. Applications of this cell have also found most success in the metal finishing and electroplating industries. Another interesting electrode material which has found

effective application in pollution control applications is expanded vitreous carbon foam which is the basis of the Retec Cell (21). One of the advantages of both the Chemelec and Retec cells is that the cost of the electrodes

is sufficiently low so that after loading with metal they can be discarded, whereas the more expensive carbon fibre cathodes need to have the deposited metals removed so that they can be reused. This is normally carried out by chemical or electrochemical stripping of the deposited metal to form a concentrated solution from which the

metal is recovered, usually by electrowinning. High surface area cells have found important application for point-source waste treatment applications in the electroplating/metal finishing industry. Conversely this type of electrochemical reactors are not suitable for end-of-pipe treatment of mixed metal bearing waste streams.

Low Surface Area or Electrowinning Cells Electrowinning cells are primarily used for the treatment of concentrated waste streams such as spent process baths, etchants and other high concentration metal sources. Typically, in this type of application a batch treatment approach would be used with the cell connected (4,5) in a closed loop recirculation mode with the waste source (4,5,22,23). Since the efficiency of electrowinning cells is usually quite low, the final metal concentration after treatment will plateau out typically at around the 50 to 100 ppm concentration region. In some cases where the cells are run for extended periods of time then lower concentration levels can be reached. To treat these wastes

further to

meet typical discharge

standards, some

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

In the practical design of electrowinning cells, either an undivided cell or a membrane isolated approach may be used. The use of a membrane is required if the anode might be corroded by components in the process stream or where the electrolysis products may be reoxidized and thus

lower the process efficiency. A variety of approaches have also been proposed to enhance the mass-transfer

characteristics of the cell and hence improve metal removal rates. Gas sparging has been most popular although mechanical stirring, forced solution flow, rotating the working electrode, use of surface roughening or using expanded mesh in place of planar electrodes surfaces have all been applied. Treatment Strategies

Although electrochemical reactor systems are relatively simple systems to operate, their application in metal removal in pollution control applications is not always straightforward. Some appreciation of the process chemistry of the waste stream is required along with a basic knowledge of the nature of the electrode process, the role of pH and the effect of possible interfering species. Many early applications of electrometallurgy in pollution control failed because these basic rules were ignored (10,17).

Another technical issue is the question of current vs potential control. In practice (10) most applications use a controlled current mode in which a constant current is

imposed on the cell and the cell voltage and working electrode potential are determined by the conditions of reactant concentration and hydrodynamics. Unlike synthetic electroorganic processes where the current efficiency and selectivity of the electrode process is critical, in pollution control applications the aim is to reduce, remove or detoxify (by electrochemical structural modification) the pollutant species. Thus in the current controlled mode the current efficiency for primary metal removal or species modification is usually very low and the major portion of the current is consumed in gas evolution.

When controlled current operation is used with high surface area electrodes it is often necessary to monitor and control the imposed current in order to avoid excessive metal deposition on the inlet side of the cell, a condition

often referred to as "blinding". continued overleaf 51


Green electrochemistry cont'd In the application of electrochemical reactors to metal removal/pollution control processes a wide range of treatment options and strategies are available. These include point source treatment, operating on segregated, collected sources or "end-of-pipe" treatment (24,25). Reactor systems can be operated in a single-pass mode or alternatively in a recycle, batch type treatment mode. Point-source treatment as the name implies involves treating the pollutant at its point of origin, for example in a rinse tank immediately following the electroplating process. Treatment after waste segregation and collection is more cost effective for larger quantity waste generators such as printed circuit board or semiconductor manufacturers, who often have multiple sources containing similar waste types. End-of-pipe treatment describes the use of a treatment technology to treat a combined waste stream at the point before it leaves the plant. This approach is normally adopted with conventional chemical "sludge" treatment but is the least cost effective for resource recovery treatment where system size and hence cost is directly related to flow rate. The treatment strategies for using an electrochemical reactor depend on several factors, primarily the required removal rate or efficiency. Thus single pass or multiple passes of process solution may be adopted. For example in a typical application of a high surface area cell to treat the effluent from a metal finishing plating operation, the reactor unit would be connected in a closed loop configuration, to a static drag-out rinse immediately following the plating bath and preceding one or more running rinse tanks (Figure 1). In this approach most of the metals are contained in the drag-out tank and captured by the recovery cell. Thus carry over or drag out of plating bath components to the next running rinse is sufficiently low that this stream needs no further treatment and can usually be discharged directly to the sewer. In some other applications, where the discharge conditions are less rigorous, a single pass through the reactor may be required prior to discharge or combining with other waste streams. Although the actual removal efficiency for a

ELECTROPLATING FACILITY WASTE MANAGMENT â– POINT-SOURCE" TREATMENT

Wock Parts Direction

Static

Drag-out

given cell depends on a number of factors (see equation 3) including the electrode area, the residence time in the cell, solution pH and the type of metal being removed, as a general rule in a single pass through a high surface area reactor a reduction in metal concentration between one to

two orders of magnitude should be achieved, e.g. 100 ppm influent should provide an effluent below 1 ppm. Since the removal efficiency of electrowinning calls is usually quite low, they are normally operate in a batch treatment mode. The concentrated process stream is recycled through the cell until the metal concentration levels reach an acceptably low level typically around 50 ppm. This residual solution may then be reused, for example for further ion-exchange regeneration, if the volume is sufficiently low it may be mixed with other waste streams and discharged or it might require additional treatment using ion-exchange or a high surface area cell (23,24).

Formerly it was possible to design a waste treatment system such that the final discharge from the plant met regulatory discharge standards. More rigorous standards in some jurisdictions would seem to require that the effluent from each treatment sub-system also meets compliance.

Some examples of applications of electrochemical reactor systems to various industries and toxic waste types are summarized below;

•

Metal Finishing

This industry presents a formidable problem for environmental management due to a variety of factors. These include the wide range of toxic waste streams resulting from the diversity of plating operations, the relatively small size of many plants with its effect on financing ability to implement complex and hence costly waste management plans. Also, the fact that individual waste streams are usually quite small, eliminating the possibility of segregation and treatment of collected wastes. For these reasons, a wide range of treatment technologies and strategies has been adopted by this industry and optimum strategies are generally resolved on a plant by plant basis depending on plant size, type of operations, profitability and local discharge standards. Options include some combination of waste minimization possibly involving process modification to adopt less toxic, more easily treatable waste streams, point source treatment, options such as transportable treatment units and finally as a catch-all, conventional chemical treatment or more efficient alternates using sodium borohydride. A large number of case studies describing successful treatment strategies for this industry are available (23,26). Within these limitations electrochemical reactors have

Treatment / Recycle Electrolytic Recovery System Metal to

Reclaim

52

shown great promise for treating specific waste streams from metal finishing operations (13,18,19,22). The most common strategy for using electrochemical reactors in the metal finishing industry is point source treatment and has been described previously in Figure I. The reactor Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


Green electrochemistry Table 1 Electrode Processes For Pollution Control

ELECTRODE

M

+

PROCESS

APPLICATION AND STATUS

* removal of toxic metals, cadmium

ne

lead, mercury, etc from electroplating electronics, mining wastes

metal deposition, electrometallurgy

* many commercial systems available

M (solid metal deposit)

,Org-Cl

* destruction or detoxification of PCB's

dioxins and organochlorine compounds

B B B

reductive dechlorination

* R & D pilot stage

+ Water

a + Org-H , + , 2+ Ag -> Ag + e 2+

Ag + HO->OH ^ 2

indirect electro-oxidation

* free radicals formed are powerful oxidants and can destroy most organics * R & D pilot stage

OH + Org -> Org-OH, etc

Org direct electro-oxidation

+ Oxygen

Org-O

• proton

Org-OH

* difficult to achieve in practice due to high energy requirements and problems of fouling the electrodes by adsorption of organics * R & D laboratory stage

Note: A cathode £acts as a variable intensity electron source, whereas an anode Š acts a a variable intensity electron sinki

system is connected in a closed loop configuration to the static, drag-out rinse following the plating tank. Thus as the plated parts are rinsed in the drag-out tank, the metals are continuously removed in the reactor so that the concentration of metals in the drag out tank is maintained at a low level. Thus the carryover or drag-out to the next running rinse is maintained at a sufficiently low level that this stream can reliably meet discharge standards and can thus be discharged directly to sewer after appropriate pH adjustment. The most successful applications of electrochemical reactors in the metal finishing industry have been in cadmium plating (cyanide and alkaline), copper cyanide, zinc, nickel, lead and tin. Electrochemical recovery of precious metals, gold silver and platinum has long been practiced by this industry although reactor designs are often quite primitive. When high surface area cells are used the loaded cathodes require stripping although in some cases they can simply be replaced and the loaded electrodes discarded as scrap, sold for reclaim or dumped in a sanitary landfill. In the case where the cathodes are reused the stripping of deposited metal can be accomplished in several ways, either in-situ or after removing the cathode unit from the Environmental Science & Engineerittg. March 1992

cell and transferring it to a separate stripping tank (16,17). Metal removal may be carried out by electrochemical stripping via reversal of electrode polarity and applying a low current while carefully monitoring the cathode (anode) potential. In some cases galvanic stripping has been applied by simply shorting the cathode and anode. In the case where the metals are plated out as a solid metallic sheet they may in some cases be reused as anode material or as mentioned earlier disposed of as scrap. Chemical or electrochemical stripping can also be used to produce a metal salt solution and although in theory this could be recycled or reused in the plating bath, electroplaters are naturally extremely cautious about their bath composition and there are very few cases where platers have adopted this process. One interesting strategy for treating metal finishing wastes which relies on electrorecovery for the final metal removal step is the centralized transportable treatment concept (27). In this approach, small transportable ion-exchange treatment cartridges are used in the plating plant to treat individual waste streams. After these cartridges have been fully loaded, they are removed, replaced with a fresh unit and the loaded unit transported to a central recovery facility, where individual metals, copper, nickel zinc etc are segregated, regenerated from the ion-exchange resins continued overleaf 53


Green electrochemistry cont'd and then captured by electrowinning and or chemical precipitation. Successful implementations of this concept have taken place in Minneapolis (Metro Recovery Systems), in two sites in West Germany and in Japan.

•

Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing

Chemical waste management in the Printed Circuit Board industry is generally less complex than in the Metal Finishing industry since the manufacturing processes are more systematic and better defined (23). This industry generates toxic wastes comprising acid and chelated copper from circuit board plating/etching, tin/lead from solder coating and masking and nickel and gold from edge connection preparation. Although a number of waste management strategies have been described for treating this industry's waste management problems, one of the most promising would seem to be based on a combination of ion-exchange and electrolytic recovery (Figure 2).

In this approach the dilute metal-bearing process rinse streams are first segregated and treated by an ion-exchange process. The higher concentration waste sources which usually comprise spent process baths, etchants and ion-exchange eluates are then treated by electrowinning. The major benefits of this resource recovery approach are that little or no sludge is generated for offsite disposal and all of the regulated metals are recovered as a solid metal sheet or foil (23,28,29).

Another major benefit of this approach is that the effluent streams after waste treatment have a relatively low conductivity, typically of the order of 1000 uS. The residual inert salts, resulting come from the ion-exchange process can be removed using a demineralisation process such as reverse osmosis or dual bed cation/anion

ion-exchange to generate a high purity deionized water supply for recycling to the manufacturing processes (29). In this way plant water usage can be cut by between 50 to 75% resulting in substantial cost savings. This is also a major benefit in areas such as California where drought conditions are resulting in water rationing or in regions where water quality is poor. In contrast, with traditional chemical sludge treatment the resulting salt levels in the effluent are far too high for demineralization to be

economically feasible and all of the plant's water usage has to be discharged.

•

Semiconductor and Electronics Manufacturing

The electronics products industries also carry out a wide range of metal plating operations such as the deposition of copper and lead on electrical component lead frames (30). Thus the approach adopted for the Printed Circuit Board

industry, described above using waste stream segregation and collection, ion-exchange treatment followed by final electrorecovery of metals is also applicable to many electronics product manufacturing operations. These industries are also large consumers of water, usually as ultra high purity water for rinsing operations. TRSl is currently implementing a water management and recovery 54

process for a major microelectronics manufacturing company based on this approach. Although the major driving force for the implementation of this type of waste treatment system is the elimination of toxic metal sludges, the ability to recycle high purity water is becoming a critical issue.

•

Mining

While electrolytic processes have been described for a range of mining and primary metal recovery processes, in most cases, the currently depressed economics of the metals industry has prevented their commercial exploitation. One area where electrochemical processes still offer considerable promise, however is in gold mining (31). The traditional Merrill-Crowe gold treatment process consists of adding powered metallic zinc to a cyanide extract of the gold ore. This causes precipitation of the gold while at the same time generates a highly toxic waste stream containing cyanides and zinc and other metal cyanide complexes. An alternative process for lower grade gold ores is known as the Heap-Leach process in which a cyanide process stream is percolated through a mound of ore and collected in a plastic lined reservoir or lagoon. In most cases a carbon adsorption process is used to recover the gold by adsorbing the gold cyanide complex on carbon particles or an activated carbon column. Electrolytic cells have long been used for final electrorecovery of gold after conventional processing and cyanide extraction using either the Merrill-Crowe or carbon-in-pulp processes. The cell designs used for this process are fairly primitive and little attempt has been made to adopt modem cell designs.

The study carried out by HSA Systems Inc in the early 1980's (31) demonstrated both the promise and the pitfalls associated with the application of electrochemical techniques in this industry. There are several possible conceptual process schemes incorporating electrolytic recovery which in principle might be technically simpler than the traditional processes and which could also eliminate many of the hazardous waste problems faced by this industry. The first of these is the direct electrowinning of gold from gold cyanide process streams. Electrolytic treatment of the pregnant leach stream to directly recover gold has not been applied commercially due partly to the lack of availability of a suitable design of high performance electrochemical recovery cell as well as the significant process problems caused by the corrosive, high particulate streams. It is, however, possible to treat the zinc cyanide Barren Bleed streams which results after the gold in the pregnant liquor has been precipitated with powdered zinc. The HSA reactor cell was used to remove

impurity metals from the Barren stream, thus liberating free cyanide, which is then recycled back to the extraction process (31). Uiis approach demonstrates the concepts of both resource recovery and pollution control since it enables sodium cyanide, a valuable process chemical to be recycled while simultaneously eliminating a major pollution source. Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


Green electrochemistry Electrowinning of Heap-Leach gold mill process streams is another potential application for electrochemical reactors. One of the problems of this process is that in addition to gold, several impurity metals notably copper and mercury, but also smaller quantities of nickel, lead and zinc are also extracted. After the gold has been removed, the build-up of these metallic impurities precludes reuse of the cyanide. Some preliminary research and pilot studies by TRSI has demonstrated the possibility of electrolytic removal of these metals, enabling the cyanide to be recycled. Another possibility is the use of a high performance cathode cells to treat the Heap Leach extract directly without the need for an intermediate carbon adsorption pre-concentration step.

•

Organic Wastes

The use of electrochemical techniques for organic waste destruction has not received the same level of interest as

has been applied to inorganic waste treatment. However, the treatment of toxic organic wastes is presently an issue of major concem due to the strong reliance on incineration techniques and the possibility of incomplete combustion releasing toxic emissions. As a result there is an active search for altemative treatment technologies to decrease the dependence on incineration. Electrochemical treatment processes offer considerable promise in this

An electrode is a unique device which can provide a variable source of oxidizing or reducing power depending on the applied potential. This fact, resulted in the high level of interest that electroorganic synthesis received during the late 1960's and 1970's. However, the extensive research activity and investment in this field failed to translate into viable industrial processes and with a few isolated exceptions, synthetic electroorganic chemistry had failed to become a major industrial technique. A part of the reason for this is due to the nature of the electrode

process. Unlike metal deposition processes where the products of electrolysis can either be stripped or even accumulated for reuse, in the case of organic processes adsorbtion of electrolysis products can rapidly cause electrode passivation, blocking further reaction. A variety of partially successful approaches have been proposed to overcome this problem. Since electrosynthetic processes also have to compete with altemative heterogeneous chemical processes, capital and operating costs are a key factor.

In the application of electrochemical techniques to organic waste destmction a different set of criteria apply. In general, a waste stream has to be treated to meet a specific toxicity level. Within reason, capital and operating costs may be secondary considerations. There have been two main electrochemical routes to

organic waste destmction. The first is to react the toxic

area.

continued overleaf

Watts Regulator of Canada Ltd. S/cra-AfiSro

Philip Antecoi Watts Regulator of Canada Ltd. an nounces the appointment of Philip Antecoi B.Eng. to the position of Market Manager, Backflow Preven tion.

Mr. Antecoi is a graduate in Mech anical Engineering, Garleton Univer sity, Ottawa. He has a record of pro fessional accomplishment in the Con trol Valve Industry in Canada which makes him well suited for his new

position.

Doug DeViney,Vice President and Manager, Plumbing & Heating divi sion of Watts, emphasizes that this appointment will reinforce Watts Re gulator's reputation as a major con

Sierra-Misco. Because water distribution control systems should be more than just a drop in the bucket.

tributor to environmental control and

fire protection. Watts Regulator of Canada Ltd. serves the Control Valve Industry with manufacturing facilities and stocking warehouses across Canada.

Sierra-Misco Sierra-Misco Inc., 1D4B1 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California U.S.A. 95827 Tel:(916)363-4271 Fax:(916)363-1886

Sierra-Misco Environment inc., 850- 999 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6C 2W2 Tel:(604)684-7754 Fax:(604)684-8099

For more information, Circle reply card No. 134

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

For more information, Circle reply card No. 133 55


CEIA Update

By N.H.(Naz) Hijazi

CEIA membership has its priviieges

Domestically and globally there is a window of opportunity in environmental products and

services and Canada has a

limited time frame to capture an inter national leadership role. This leadership role is unlike our role in peace keeping — this one we want to do for a profit!' CEIA founding mem bers believe that Canada can be the

global centre of excellence for environ mental products and services. This is our strategic goal. In order to achieve

education, technology development, and adaptation,legislation and enforce ment and market development. Meeting these challenges requires new levels of cooperation with government, educa tional

institutions.

environmental

groups and the broader public. Let me share with you what we are doing to service you as members. Firstly. I'd like to share with you our guiding principles. We have four: Service: At the centre of our associa

this eoal. we need to excel in the areas of

tion's philosophy is the belief that our long-term success depends on

our ability to provide value to you as members.

Responsibility: We are committed to be ing an active participant in the de velopment ofenvironmental policy and legislation. Our positions will promote sound business values and apply the highest standards of conduct and integrity. Cooperation: We operate in a true multistakeholder environment and. as

such, must establish strong part nerships with industry, govern ment. labour and education.

Quality: We will sustain our growth based on maintaining a high level of quality in all areas of our busi ness. There is no tolerance for

mediocrity. There are two core functions in which

we will continue to provide value to our members: cost sharing programs that are generally non-competitive, but of benefit to each participant, and in creased political strength through the development of a unified voice to pro mote/protect collective interests. These two functions may be described in more specific terms:

• Aeration

Shared Programs: • Improving the volume and quality of

• Mixing • Screening • Solids Handling • Grit Removal/Dewatering • Conveying Systems

market research.

• Creating opportunities for network ing with each other,government,academia. customers, investors, and

other interested parties. • Collecting, collating and disseminat ing information on industry activi ties.

• Creating opportunities for members to improve and/or pool their skills and capabilities to compete on large domestic and international projects.

• Clarifiers

• Sludge Mixing/Thickening/ Dewatering

Unified Voice:

• Working with government for the de velopment of a strong environment sector based on the concept of sus tainable development embodied in

• Disinfection • Neutralization

the Green Plan.

Manufacturers and Suppliers of major equipment for water and wastewater treatment

560 Bayview Avenue, Suite 219 Newmarket, Ontario L3X 1W1

Tel:(416) 836-9490, Fax:(416) 836-9070

• Encourage responsible, progressive environmental policy and regulation. • Develop a better public perception of the role played by the environmental sector to achieve a healthy Canadian environment and deliver the services

and products required under the Green Plan and the Ontario Environ mental Protection Act and the Envi ronmental Assessment Act.

In order to achieve our strategic ob jectives we have drafted a strategic plan which will be reviewed more fully in subsequent issues of ES&E. Chairman & CEO, Canadian Environmentai Industry Association Ont. Mr. Hijazi is with Deican Engineers Tei:(416)441 -4111.

For more information, Circle reply card No. 135 56

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992


Green electrochemistry con t

(FINk

' ,i'MTA!lNIEN r

species at a cathode or anode so that the toxicity of the electrolysis products is reduced. Both electrooxidative and electroreduction processes have been demonstrated. The second approach is based on the use of an electrochemically generated reagent to degrade the toxic

material.

r

A range of oxidizing and reducing agents

including free radicals and radical intermediates have been used.

In the former route, the most promising results from a commercialization standpoint has been the work of the Netherlands Organization for Applied Industrial Research

1

(TNO) in Delft, Holland (32,33). This has been aimed at

detoxification

of

polar

and

ionic

organohalogen

compounds in dilute aqueous waste streams. The approach is to cathodically remove a chlorine atom from

E CH Gl IC

the target molecule in order to reduce the toxicity of the waste streams. Bench scale demonstration using a woven carbon fibre cathode and DSA anode has shown that a

range of polychlorinated biphenyls can be treated. In one experiment the toxicity of a 30-500 mg/L solution of

OWSEIDURB

pentachlorophenol was reduced to less than 5% of its

original value after 20 minutes electrolysis. Despite the low current efficiency, treatment costs are not too high and are estimated at approximately 30 KWh/M^ of solution. Since almost 50% of priority pollutants in the EPA and EEC lists are organohalogens, this approach seems to offer considerable promise.

25.-29. 5. 1992

Technology for Environmental Prptection !. r

7th International Exhibition and Congress

It should be noted that in the

electroreduction of PCB's the aim is not quantitative destruction of the organics but rather reducing the concentration of the toxic species to meet permissible discharge standards. On the electrooxidation side, the direct electrooxidation of organics at an anode surface or "electroincineration" has been investigated by Johnson et al (34). Since most

electroxidation reactions are linked mechanistically to the oxidation of water to form hydroxy and peroxy radicals, energy requirements are extremely high. Alternative anode materials using doped structures where the dopant has a high oxygen coordination shows promise for assisting in the formation of electroactive hydroxyl

(•OH) radicals which are the active agents in many

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electroxidation processes.

The second group of organic waste destruction strategies are based on the use of electrochemicall generated oxidizing or reducing agents. One of the most promising systems based on this approach has been developed by Steele et al at the United Kingdom Energy Authority (35,36). The AEA process employs an anolyte of silver nitrate in nitric acid. The anodic process oxidizes Ag (I) to Ag(II) which in tum oxidizes water to generate intermediate peroxy or hydroxy free radicals. The organic waste stream is fed to the anolyte either as a gas, aqueous or organic solution and the toxic organics are quantitatively oxidized, ultimately forming carbon dioxide, some carbon monoxide, water and inorganic salts such as sulfate or phosphate. The Ag(I) which is reformed during the oxidation is then regenerated at the anode. This Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

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Green electrochemistry, con t process is attractive since it is amenable to a wide range of organic priority pollutants, operates at room temperature

and produces no gaseous emissions. Although the economics of the process are less favorable than competitive incineration techniques, this is offset by the apparent lower risk resulting from the elimination of gaseous emissions.

Several other groups have also explored indirect electrochemical degradation of organics. The Electrosynthesis Company in Amherst, NY has developed a prototype "electroincinerator" that generates an electroactive intermediate reagent which destroys toxic

The system has been demonstrated for treating a range of pollutants Including organic chemicals, biological substances and some Inorganic gases Including ammonia and HCN.

organic vapors collected in a scrubber unit (37). The system comprises a very efficient scrubber to collect organic vapors which are then degraded using one or more redox couples to effect oxidative degradation of the pollutants. The system has been demonstrated for treating a range of pollutants including organic chemicals, biological substances and some inorganic gases including ammonia and HCN. Commercial development of this

process is under way and few experimental details are available. One useful application reported by Electrode Products, Inc., (Union, N.J.) is the anodic destruction of EDTA and formaldehyde in spent electroless copper plating baths and effluents. Electrochemical generation of reactive intermediates for sterilization and pollution control has been known for several years and the review by Kalia et al (38) has summarized much of the available data on the various

electrode processes. Interest in this area has been revived by concern over environmental issues and the realization that electrochemical processes offer an attractive alternate to incineration techniques. It should also be noted that the ability of electrode processes to generate free radical intermediates is extremely important since the oxidizing

power of hydroxy or peroxy radicals is far higher than conventional oxidants. Other interesting work in this area includes electrochemical ozone generation which was

started by OxyTech (UK) Limited and is now being commercialized by Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd., also

developed a range of fluorine based ceramic electrodes, tradenamed Ebonex, capable of withstanding the aggressive conditions generated by these processes. Conclusions and Future Directions

The range of electrochemical processes for pollution control continues to expand. A summary of the main types of electrode processes which have demonstrated practical utility is shown in Figure 3. Electrochemical engineering has now established a well defined niche in the armory of toxic waste management treatment technologies. It plays an important role in the treatment and removal of toxic metals, which comprise almost 20% of RCRA regulated wastes. It is also showing considerable promise for the destruction of toxic organic and biological materials including medical wastes. Yet another area of promise is the electrogeneration of reactive intermediates such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide and various peroxy or hydroxy free radicals which provide alternative, more environmentally benign oxidizing or sterilizing agents to replace traditional chlorine based processes.

Also in the area of environmental sensing, electrochemical sensors, long an academic research exercise are now beginning to bear fruit as robust monitoring devices for various pollutants including toxic metals and gases (41). The metal monitors being developed by Eutech Cybernetics in Singapore use the anodic stripping approach to measure copper or lead down to the low part per billion level. With major applications targeted at drinking water quality control and industrial effluent monitoring, the innovative breakthrough in Eutech's technology is the use of low cost, single measurement, disposable electrodes (42). It was mentioned previously that there is no single technique, no magic "black box" solution to toxic waste management problems. Each situation requires process analysis, and selection of an optimum strategy which may

Each situation requires process analysis, and selection of an optimum strategy which may often Involve Integrating a range of technologies. often involve integrating a range of technologies. One highly promising area of environmental research which adopts this approach is the work of Muralidhara et al at

in the UK. A recent design of ozone electrolyser uses a

Battelle

lead peroxide anode, a Nafion separator and water as the

electrotechnologies for solid/liquid separation. A recent excellent review by Muralidhara (43) discusses recent developments in techniques such as electro-osmotic dewatering, which involves the movement of water through a membrane under the influence of a dc field, as well as advances in other separation techniques.

feedstock (39). Also, Huron Technologies recently introduced a pilot process for the electrochemical

generation of hydrogen peroxide for use in paper pulp bleaching (40). Although this work was aimed at a manufacturing process rather than a pollution control application, any alternative to chlorine based bleaching in the pulp and paper industry has far reaching implications. Heraeus 58

Elektrochemie (Rodenbach, Germany) has

Laboratories

which

describes

the

use

of

For a complete list of references, please fax Environmental Science & Engineering at (416)841-7271. Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


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Our close associations with a diversified industrial and government client base keep us in the forefront oflegislative changes and standards ofcompliance. To keep our environment safe and clean, we all need to have our examined from time to time. If that involves analysing the air, water, or soil, call on the experts. You'll get prompt, accurate results, a thorough understanding of the regulations, all at very competitive pricing. To evaluate your project, call Richard Cook in Toronto at(416)696-0390,or fax us at (416)467-5227.

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Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

information, Circle reply card No. 144


Cover story

By Tom Davey

The French have a word for it — valorization regulations are becoming increasingly strict. French people welcome this as an opportunity to develop their environ mental technology, not only to treat wastes but to sell their expertise abroad. In 1975 the French Government en

acted tough legislation which imposed strict environmental regulations on in dustries. With strong cooperation from the French central government, Sarp Industries opened a hazardous waste treatment facility at Limay near Paris in 1975 with 20 employees, offering physi cal-chemical and solidification pro cesses as well as cyanide treatment. Today Sarp has some 900 employees with

ten

treatment facilities

across

France as well as subsidiaries abroad.

In 1990 the company treated some 700,000 tonnes of toxic industrial waste,

representing half of the French market, to strict governmentstandards.Sarp has also been developing new technology to treat hazardous wastes which it is ex

porting aggressively to several countries. In cooperation with its customers, re presentative samples of wastes are taken at the clients' factories to find the most

Politicians enthusiastically seek out new industries for the eco

nomic benefits they bring while proposals for waste treat ment projects of any kind evoke torrents of emotive opposition. Ironically, some

toxic waste facilities are less polluting than many so called 'clean' industries, yet many Canadians still view pollution as the original sin of the Industrial Revolution,

Notso in France.Discussions on waste

treatment schemes invariably contain the word valorization. Put simply valori zation is a state of mind allied with a commitment for state-of-the-art waste

treatment technology. Reclaiming value from wastes is not new of course. Canadian recycling schemes are evidence ofthat. Butecono

mic considerations were not the motiva

tion for the majority of our recycling programs. In France wastes are viewed not as a distasteful social liability, but as an economic opportunity where various latent values in wastes can be exploited. The French describe valorization as a

system which gives a positive value to wastes. It affects practically all sectors of industry, and new methods emerge re gularly. The first priority is the preven tion of pollution, followed by recycling, reuse and regeneration — all focussed 60

appropriate treatment method.Only af ter the waste has been passed for ap proval can it be transported to a Sarp facility, using an official industrial waste consignment note called the Bor on ways to derive beneficial uses from

dereau de suivi.

wastes, previously believed to be unus able. And they are succeeding. At a basic, yet effective level. Cham pagne bottles are collected in huge num bers and reused again as vinegar con tainers, providing substantial economic

On arrival at the treatment facility, waste trucks are weighed and another representative sample taken with tests carried out on the spot by the laboratory to check conformity with the initial sample. When I visited Sarp's Limay plant, late last year, a steady procession of tan-

and environmental benefits. As cham

pagne throughout the world enjoys a glamorous aura, the reused bottles give vinegar sales an upscale cachet which consumers find pleasing. At more sophisticated levels, valori zation does not mean that the environ mental considerations take second

place to economic opportunities. Treat ment systems must comply with strin gent environmental regulations of the European Community. And EC regula tions, from drinking water to industrial wastes, are among the toughest in the

Treatment systems must comply with stringent environmental regulations of the European Community. And EC regulations, from drinking water to industrial wastes, are among the toughest In the world.

world. Canadian federal environment Mini

ster Jean Charest recently told the Water Environment Federation in Toronto

that Germany has perhaps the strictest air pollution regulations in the world. German companies capitalized on this by patenting and exporting air pollution abatement technology, the minister noted.

Strongly influenced by German en vironmentalists,European Community

ker trucks entered the gates to discharge their wastes. Located just outside Paris, this plant handles about 150 truck loads daily, using several methods of treat ment, including incineration. Two rotary kilns were in action inci nerating the wastes to regulatory stan dards. A government employed engin eer has full access to all incoming

Environmental Science

continued overleaf

Engineering, March 1992


We know that as a specifier of testing services, there are two issues of para mount importance to you-accuracy and fast turnaround. And Bondar-Clegg delivers on both.

Using the latest instru mentation and methodolo

gies, our expert staff can perform the trace organic and inorganic determinations required in the analysis of water, waste water, soil and air. Our scientists provide accurate

and precise, defensible data for use in evaluating projects that involve water potability, municipal water supply, effluent discharge, air monitoring, land reclamation and hazardous waste dis

posal, in accordance with nationally and internationally recognized stand ards. We use method protocols such as EPA, Ministry of Environment Ontario,Environment Canada and the American Public Health Association.

At Bondar-Clegg, we've built our reputation on results that can with stand your scrutiny and turnaround you can count on.

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For more information, Circle reply card No. 145


Cover story cont'd wastes,along with authority to take ran dom samples. She has the knowledge

Evolution of the tonnage treoted by SARP INDUSTRIES

and authority to conduct her own tests

to ensure that everything complies with strict regulations. The calorific energy in a waste pro

300000 T

duct can be introduced into an incinera

tion unit. However, a thorough preli minary study must be made to prove the non-toxic character of the smoke pro duced by these wastes,to determine pre

250000

Physico-

cisely the appropriate type of incinera tor. and to eliminate any risk of air pollution. Types of wastes treated at Li may in clude acids, finishing and metalwork

Another example of valorization is the use of waste as a substitute raw ma

terial. A broad variety of methods are adapted to each situation to transform waste products into raw materials sub stitutes. Forexample.some wastes make excellent cement-like building materi als when solidified in a manner which

150000

□ Incineration Other

50000

1976

cracking® process. Two rotary kilns in

standards.

chemical

100000

sediments and soluble oils. Sarp has developed several methods to treat the wastes, including a patented Evapocinerate many of the toxic substances, with the inert residues going to a class 1 landfill (French special sites for hazar dous wastes) where the safety and oper ational quality are ensured by high

200000

1982

makes them non-toxic.

PCB wastes are not treated at Sarp facilities. The French wisely chose to harness the thermal properties in PCBcontaminated liquid wastes to make

cement in huge cement kilns which have both the flame stability and the high temperatures to destroy the toxic materials while making cement — an essential commodity to the modern world and vital to Third World devel

opment.

Ironically, the use of cement kilns for

1989

the disposal of PCB wastes and other volatile organic compounds was pion eered in Canada almost two decades

ago. In 1975,1 edited the original report following completion of tests done ear lier by federal and provincial bodies, a cement company and what is now ORTFCH. an international consulting firm.

I have heard no scientific figure seri ously challenge the conclusions of that report which recommended use of was tes as fuel to make cement. This cement

kiln waste treatment technology was once described by a senior engineer as an environmental marriage made in heaven.

Following protests at several levels,

CANADIAN WATER AND WASTEWATER ASSOCIATION

Canada abandoned the cement kiln method. Meanwhile PCB con

METERS MADE EASY

taminated wastes piled up. Several seri

Meters Made Easyms prepared by the CWWA to help system owners and operators determine whether the introduction of meters is likely to produce long-term savings In their com munity. Meters Made Easy is a tool that permits you as a system owner or operator, to analyze the costsandbenefitsof installing meters inyotvrsystem. It Is intended for use in communities that vary greatly as to the number and mix of customers served and the age and condition of the sys tems. The computer model is very flexible — the degree of detail about your system that you supply as a user of the model can vary greatly, and because of the "default" values available in the program, the results still will provide a basis for sound decision-making, even when some data are not available from local sources.

As well. Meters Made Easy will prove extremely useful to you if you already have decided to embark on a meter installation program and want to tailorthe Installation process to ensure the least cost and the greatest return for your circumstances. Meters Made Easy is the first in a series of manuals and reports prepared by the Canadian Waterand Wastewater Association to provide the owners and operators of Canada's municipal water and wastewater systems with convenient, "user-friendly" tools to assist in Improving the performance and efficiency of their utilities. Volumes I & II: Benefit cost analysis Tool and User's Manual: Technical Support Information $96.00 for members, $120.00 for non members.

Volume 111: National Data Base of Municipal Water Metering $48.00 for Members, $60 for non members. Add 10 percent for postage and handling, plus GST on subtotal. Make cheques

payable to Canadian Water & Wastewater Association (GST Registration 106 868607) CANADIAN WATER AND WASTEWATER ASSOCIATION

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For more information, Circle reply card No. 146

ous incidents have since occurred such as the St. Basiie-le-Grand PCB fire in

Quebec which resulted in a mass evacu ation of residents in 1988 — and the serious water table contamination at Smithville. Ontario where PCB wastes

were only recently incinerated on site. A year after the St. Basile-le-Grand fire.I discussed the cement kiln disposal option with the then Federal Environ ment Minister Lucien Bouchard. He was

unaware that the technology existed, even though it had been funded sub stantially by the federal government. In deed. some federal civil servants had

courageously advocated the kiln tech nology when it was not popular to do so; all to no avail.

But

the

French

have

been

suc

cessfully burning PCBs in cement kilns for several years while drastically reduc ing consumption of expensive coal, a major source of acid rain. French con sumers now derive substantial econom

ic value from thermal values generated

during destruction of these toxic wastes, instead of paying heavily — as Canadians do — for PCB disposal in rotary kilns which don't make cement. ■Valorization in action. ES&E

62

For more information, Circle reply card No. 258


ANNOUNCEMENT

The Board of Directors of WASTART Limited

is pieased to announce the appointment of John D. Pawley, M.A.Sc., REng., as President. Mr. Pawiey recentiy joined WASTART as a Senior Partner bringing over 25 years of experience in municipai and environmentai projects. His considerabie experience in Environmentai Assessment and Site Remediation Engineering wiii aiiow WASTART to better meet existing and future ciients' needs.

WASTART Limited was established in 1987 and incorporated in Ontario to provide specialized environmental engineering and technical services to industries, municipalities and governments in the area of site environmental audits and remediation, waste minimization, waste audits, process design and the screening and optimization of wastewater treatment and site remediation technologies. Our staff of experienced professionals are committed to quality service. Richard J. Rush, M.A.Sc., REng., has worked in the environmental engi neering field since 1970. He has been responsible for a diverse range of

remediation management at PCB sites, leaking underground fuel tank sites, coal tar sites, and sites contaminated with pesticides, oil, lead, NDMA, and other contaminants.

treatment facilities across Canada.

David W. McFayden, B.Eng., REng.,

Ken C. Bradley, B.Sc., M.B.A., is responsible for directing waste mini mization and reduction projects. He has provided program assistance to the United Nations Environmentai Program and to the UN Industrial Development Organization. Mr. Bradley has partici pated as a speaker on waste minimiza

assessments, clean-up plans, property environmental audits and construction/

has been active In the environmental

field for over 5 years. His project experi ence has focused on municipai and Industrial waste management and site remediation studies. He has been

David McFayden

been involved in the environmentai field since 1973. His industrial wastewater

expertise spans virtually all industrial categories including petroleum and chemical sectors, mining, metal fin ishing, iron & steel, food industries, pulp & paper and automotive manu facturing. He has also been respon sible for process optimization studies and environmental audits for sewage

industrial and hazardous waste site

Richard Rush

Stephen G. Nutt, M.Eng., REng., has

the lead engineer or project manager of waste management and site reme diation projects for chemical man ufacturers, oil & gas producers, automotive industries, metal finishing plants and bulk fuel storage facilities.

Kevin Shipley, M.A.Sc., REng., is a Project Manager for WASTART and is responsible for the coordination of hydrogeoiogicai investigations and site remediation projects. He has a wide range of experience in groundwater

tion and reduction at conferences In

Europe, Asia, Africa and North America and is an internationally recognized expert in the area of waste auditing.

Ken Bradley

WASTART Limited 67 Watson Road South

assessment and treatment, contam

Kevin Shipley

Stephen Nutt

inated soils treatment and municipal engineering projects, international experience includes the design and implementation of numerous rural water supply projects in Botswana.

For more information, Circle reply card No. 147 Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

Guelph, Ontario N1H 6H8

Tel: (519) 763-6443 Fax: (519) 763-3366 63


Four years have passed since

we've been able to create a

Operation Goose Lift got off"

flourishing ecosystem.

the ground. A venture that,

ii^t% all part of Inco's con-

"'■#> curiously enough, involved

'Briuing commitment to the

flying Canada Geese from

environment.

14 Toronto's over-populated

Like our efforts to reduce

sulphur dioxide emissions—a 4

.waterfront to a roomier resi-

S; dence near Sudbury Today,

contributor to acid rain. By

^ ^ loappily, they've taken to their

1994, after a S600,000,000

new home likeTJucks to water,

invesmient that wTlTc^tically

For decades we've been -

change the way we process ore,

reclaiming the tailings areas,

we will contain 90 per cent of

' where we impound tlie material

-the sulphur befcfre it can reach

y

the atmosphere.

left after we've extracted the

valuable minerals. Experiment-

Like the geese who now

ing. Digging. Draining. Fertiliz

choose to make Sudbury their

ing. And planting.

home, we too care about

It didn't come easy, but

where we raise our families.

Officialii,we callit the INCO TAILINGS RECLAMAHON PROGRAM. OTHERS SIMPII CALL H HOME.

inco STRONGER FOR OUR EXPERIENCE For more information, Circle reply card No. 148


Editorial comment,con't from page 4

Laboratories

The epidemic stopped.

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Not much is known about Dr. Snow but his decisive act is a benchmark in

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through drinking water. His simple ex periment started a train of events which in the end controlled the epidemics of cholera, dysentry and typhoid, the great

Waters, Soil. Sediments, Vegetation, Rocks and Minerals, Air Particulates, MISA, Reg. 309, Decommissioning Guidelines, Drinking Water Guidelines. Sewer Use By-laws, Effluents, Industrial Waste, QA/QC, Special Projects and Methods Development. We have a team of highly professional anrJ experienced staff who would meet your specific requirements and standards.

Alpha Laboratories Inc. 285 Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 2V1

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killers of the day.

Many manuscripts have been rejec ted by thoughtless editors and publish ers. Orwell's Animal Farm, for example was repeatedly rejected before it was ac

cepted. It then gave Orwell enough fi nancial support to embark on his epic novel Nineteen Eighty Four. Something went awry in publishing when Dreadful Hardships was submitted and it could hardly have been the writ ing talents of the rejected author who became a giant in English literature. The rejection was probably a dreadful loss to this century also. For had the writing skills of Dickens been combined with the scientific pres cience of people like John Snow, the environmental movement might have started over a century earlier.

1

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Environmental Analysis John R. Bray, P.Eng.

G&S opens new regional office

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Hazardous Waste Characterization

V6J 1J8

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Fax: 604 731 2386 Tel: 604 734 7276

in London, Ontario The president of Gore & Storrie Limited, Robert A. Gocdings, P.Eng., is pleased to announce the appointment of John R. Bray, P.Eng. as manager of the firm's new regional office in London,

OVER 20 YEARS OF ANALYTICAL EXCELLENCE

Comprehensive

Ontario.

A graduate of Michigan Technological Univer sity and the University of Waterloo, Mr. Bray has more than 25 years' environmental experience working throughout Ontario, with the Ministry of the Environment, where he was most recently Director of the Project Engineering and Approvals

Analyses 50 Bathurst Dr., Waterloo, Ontario

Branches, and the Ontario Water Resources Commission.

Much of his career has been spent in southwes tern Ontario, where he worked on several major clean-up and rehabilitation projects, such as the St. Clair River "blob" and the Pottersburg Creek PCB clean-up. He has been intimately involved also in the development of water, wastewater, and waste management projects. Gore & Storrie has specialized in environmental engineering and science for more than 70 years, and the addition of Mr. Bray will enable the com pany to expand Its service into southwestern Ontario and better serve the growing environmental engi neering needs of the area's municipalities and industries.

Effective March 2, 1992, Gore & Storrie's new London office will be located at:

395 Wellington Road S., Unit 211, London, On tario N6C 4P9. Telephone:(519)680-3344, Fax: (519) 680-3272.

ries

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

65


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Groundwater Monitoring Instrumentation Brochure describes high quality hydrogeoiogicai instrumentation,includ ing practical items such as water level indicators, oil/water interface probes, groundwater samplers, and the innovative Waterloo System for groundwater monitoring from multi ple discretely isolated zones in a single well.

CYANIDE

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Sollnst Canada Ltd.

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Water Intake Fish Control

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The TeleSAFE Is an ideal controller

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Advent

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treatment

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FMC literature describes the accousFISHPULSER FISH CONTROL SYSTEM FOR WATER INTAKES

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Concrete Pipe Seals Tylox super-seals do not require messy time consuming lubricant ap plications.Seals are automatically In jected with silicone,allowing mantles to roll over the compressional area of gaskets, ensuring water tight seals. The mantle sections' final resting area is between the annular space, reducing extensive sheer forces. Material conforms to, or exceeds,

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

67


Impact and control of the Zebra Mussel

By Don Lewis*

How the Zebra Mussel Is winning the west

The relentles spread of the zebra

mussel

through

the

Great Lakes and to inland water bodies, continues to ex

ceed expectations. With zebra mussels the concern among water users appears

to no longer be. "will the mussels ar rive?". but when and to what extent! The mussels now have a firm foothold

in all of the Great Lakes,with the excep tion of Lake Superior, where occurren ces remain isolated. Other infested water bodies, include the St. Lawrence

River. Erie Barge Canal, the Hudson River, and the St. Louis and Ohio

Rivers. Through connecting waterways including the Mississippi River, some predict that the mussel will eventually be found in most areas of North Ameri ca. south of Central Canada and north of the Florida Panhandle, to some

Chemical testing exposure chamber

reational fishery, while as yet undeter mined. may be severe. Along with these economic concerns looms the scenario of extensive use of

cluding Rice Lake. Balsam Lake and Lake Simcoe in Ontario and the "Finger Lakes" in New York State has given

chemicals such as chlorine by home owners,cottagers and resorts, which rely on these water bodies for their supply of potable water or for cooling in air con ditioning units. The uneducated and potentially un

water users in these areas further cause

controlled use of these chemicals is not

for distress. While not unexpected,these

a desirable scenario and the environ

degree. News that the mussels have been de

tected in a number of inland lakes in

tion of permanent chlorination and de chlorination facilities complete with dosing lines and diffusers has become part of the cost of doing business on the Great Lakes. As is often the case with introduced

species, scientists continue to have dif ficulty predicting the behaviour of the mussel. Its ability to reproduce and thrive in environmental conditions be

introductions raise a whole new set of

mental impact on a local scale may be

concerns.

severe.

Waterways such as the Trent Severn System, with its extensive array of envi

For the most part industry and muni cipalities,in areas where infestation was

yond those that are often quoted in European and early North American papers continues to surprise. As an example, available literature indicates that zebra mussels will not reproduce at temperatures less than I2-I6°C and that

ronmentally sensitive lakes and con

extensive in 1991. initiated treatment

larvae will not survive much below 10°.

necting waterways may be highly sus ceptible to zebra mussel infestation.The impact to the environment by the mus sel may have vast repercussions for rec reational water users. Experience from

programs for at least interim control of the mussel. Portable chlorination and dechlorination facilities were useful for

A year round larval monitoring pro gram presently underway on the Nia gara River resulted in detection of viable

those industries which did not wish to

zebra

install permanent mussel control facili ties for budgetary reasons or due to con cerns that chlorine use would eventually be limited by the Ontario Ministry ofthe

peratures of 2°C in late December. While it may be that this appearance is the result of upstream thermal enhance ment. these early "D shaped" veligers remained viable after extensive expo

other infested water bodies indicates

that swimming areas become less desir able as mussel infestation progresses. In addition the long term effect on the rec-

Environment. For others the installa-

mussel larvae

at

water tem

sure to extreme temperatures.

* Aquatic Sciences Inc.

Laboratories

Clayton ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS A Marsh Si McLennan Company

949 McDougall Avenue Windsor, Ontario N9A

1L9

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make up a significant portion of new mussel settlement in a given area. This phenomenon may be a year round oc currence which could have significant repercussions for industry in infested Numbers oflarvae,reproductive peri ods and the mussels' minimum environ

M. M. DILLON LIMITED

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mental needs continue to be unpre dictable from year to year and between water bodies.It has been speculated that part of this variation may be due to the presence of two mussel strains or sub

species which exhibit different levels of Certified by Canadian Association of Environmental & Analytical Laboratories

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CONSULTING LIMITED

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Zebra Mussels cont'd Laboratories

most useful tool, to ensure that control

programs are effective, preventing se vere infestation.

Setting the standard for

For the most part, municipalities have not had difficulty coping with the physi cal threat, simply moving the point of chlorination to a position just down stream ofintake cribs, using heavily bal lasted dosing lines and diffusers in stalled inside existing intake pipes. Nor mal chlorination practices are sufficient to control mussel infestation.

* service

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direct result of zebra mussel infestation oran indirect resultof the mussels filter

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A wide variety of protocols have been used with varying success. It is becom ing apparent that direct control of the mussel may be difficult using a pulse

A Division of Gore&Slonie Limited

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dose treatment scheme. Recent research indicates that while mussel larvae can

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not survive over the long term at chlo rine levels ofO.3. ppm mussels can resist (by valve closure) significant residual chlorine levels (1.0 ppm) for several hours and so they may survive short duration exposure and settle in remote

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areas of treated systems. Some measure of control will certainly be attained us ing this strategy if only by controlling

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water pipes, which the mussels use as settling medium. However,it remains to

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be seen whether complete control is possible. The best method of directly controll ing the mussel appears to be the con tinual maintenance of 0.2-0.5 ppm re sidual chlorine throughout a service water system for either a short term shock (7-14 days) or on a continual basis. The treatment protocol of choice will depend on a number of factors de termined by the specific treatment site.

* turnaround time

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Problems recently noted, regarding taste and odour of potable water throughout the Great Lakes, may be the

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Elemental Scans • Characterizations • RGB's • Sampling

search. it does not appear as though a good alternative to the use of chlorine (gas or hypochlorite) will be found among commonly available disinfect-

1149 VANIER ROAD,SARNIA, ONT. NTS 3Y6 TEL: (519) 339-8787 FAX: (519) 336-6965

XRAL ENVIRONMENTAL A DIVISION OF SGS SUPERVISION SERVIOES INC.

Since 1878

number of environmental parameters (ie. temperature. pH. chlorine After several years of extensive re

FAX: (416) 847-3840

"16 SGS Locations Across Canada"

1903 Leslie St. Don Mills, Ontario MSB 2M3

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

Tel: (416) 445-5809 Fax: (415) 445-4152 69


Zebra Mussels cont'd ing compounds. Some such as ozone, bromine/chlorine combinations,or po tassium permanganate may be useful in specific instances; however their wide spread use does not appear to be advan

Zebra Mussel Distribution

tageous.

Thunder

Legend

Bay

In light of this information, the

A Sightings

wholesale move to alternate oxidants.or

Established Colonies

other potentially toxic materials, does not appear to be wise in that there may arise a host of new production, safety and environmental concerns

which

may or may not prove more potentially damaging than those already well un

Ottawa

derstood with chlorine.

My feeling is that the focus of new research should be non-chemical in na

ture. or focussing on reducing the amount of chemical presently used.

Toronto

Recent Research Detroit

For the most part the Power Industry remains the leading group in undertak ing or funding research initiatives de signed to provide alternate solutions to the zebra mussel phenomenon. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Re sources(MNR)and Ontario Ministry of the Environment(MOE)as well as On tario Hydro are presently coordinating most research efforts in Canada with

other groups such as the Canadian Pet roleum Products Institute (CPPI) con-

Winislry of Natural Resources

Ontarx)

Chicago

tributing funding for specific projects. In the US. groups such as the Empire State Electric Energy Research Cor poration (ESEERCO) and the Ameri

Research on various oxidants con

tinues. This year's focus was to complete minimization studies with chlorine, chioramines. ozone and other oxidants

can Water Works Association(AWWA) are coordinating research efforts, inves

as well as to investigate the synergistic

tigating potentially useful solutions.

and potassium chloride (KCI). While these studies are ongoing, results to date are promising. The result may be the development of specific protocols that will dramatically reduce treatment du

Laboratories

effects of these disinfectants with heat

ZENON ENVIRONMENTAL UBQRATQRIES

ration as well as the concentration of

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treatment chemicals by increasing the metabolic rate ofthe mussels or causing adductor muscle disfunction.

PROVIDING COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS ACROSS CANADA

Burlington, Ontario (416)332-8788

Research on heat alone continues.

Both Ontario Hydro and Niagara Mo hawk Power Corporation of New York State are sponsoring studies to deter mine minimum times and temperatures required to induce mortality in adult mussels. While effective protocols vary depending on ambient water tempera ture and time required to raise water

Vancouver, B.C.(604)444-4808

Montreal, Quebec(514)493-4733

Consultants

Acres International Limited

temperature,a threshold temperature of approximately 35°-37°C appears to be present at which point dramatic in

Consulting Engineers

creases in

Environmental Assessment• Waste Management•Industrial Hygiene Environmental Audits• Air Quality• Environmental Modeling Wildlife Management• Land Use Planning

mortality occur. Several

power utilities have the ability to recir culate cooling water and large scale treatments of this nature have been

480 University Avenue,Toronto, Canada MSG 1V2• Tei. 416-595-2000 • Fax 416-595-2127 St. John's * Sydney • Halifax • Niagara Falls • Burlington • Winnipeg • Calgary • Vancouver

completed with apparent success. Eurther experimental treatments are planned to fine tune methodologies and better define the cost/benefit ratio bet

Ainley and

A COLLINGWOOD

ween lost power production and treat ment effectiveness.

Associates Limited CONSULTING ENGINEERS & PLANNERS BARRIE

280 Pretty River Parkway

48 High Street

BELLEVILLE 205 Dundas Street

(705) 445-3451 Fax (705) 445-0968

(705) 726-3371 Fax (705) 726-4391

(613) 966-4243 Fax (613) 966-1168

OTTAWA

Box 917, R.R.5 (613) 822-1052 Fax (613) 822-1573

The use of cathodic protection, com monly installed to prevent corrosion, as a means of controlling mussel infesta tion on exposed steel surfaces is presen tly being investigated in a study spon sored by the CPPI.The ability to control mussels using this technology where chemical use is prohibited or not precontinued overleaf

70

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


■w

J-'M ti

fSV®

The 3200 Series offers you a choice of three sensor technologies: ultrasonic, submerged probe, and bubbler (left to right).

The 3200 Series Open Channel Flow Meters from Isco allow you to configure the hest system for your specific monitoring application. Once you've seen how the Isco 3200

Series Flow Meters can solve your flow monitoring problems, you'll know why Isco is the leader in open channel flow monitoring.

Choice of configurations Flexible power sources and data collection methods, plus a variety of options, allow you to configure a 3200 for your specific application. The 3200 flow meters can he used for

pretreatment compliance monitoring, permit compliance monitoring, wastewater treatment plants, storm water runoff monitoring, and longterm permanent sewer monitoring.

Easy to use Advanced technology makes set-up and data collection fast and efficient. Built-in level to flow rate conversions

make programming simple. The tactile keypad and alphanumeric LCD prompt the operator for easy set-up. The LCD continuously indicates level, flow rate, and totalized flow in actual units.

The 3200 flow meters can collect

flow data on a built-in plotter or in internal memory. The plotter automatically

flow information and detailed flow

summary reports in clear, concise, easy to use formats. The internal memory is easily accessible using

Isco Flowlink® software. Your best choice When you consider value, flexibility, accuracy, dependability, and customer support, you'll know why the Isco 3200 Series is your best choice in open channel flow meters. For a free 3200 Series brochure or

a product demonstration contact: Nortech Control Equipment, Inc. 135-4 The West Mall

Etobicoke, ON M9C 1C2 Phone: (800) 263-3427

The 3200 Series can also he

configured for a variety of applications including inflow/infiltration and

(416) 622-7820 fax: (416) 622-6776

combined sewer overflow studies.

Three level sensors Isco 3210 Ultrasonic, 3220 Submerged

'i

Probe, and 3230 Bubbler Flow Meters

allow you to select the measurement method best suited to your application.

ISCO Quality products for monitoring the world's water

For more informatior), Circle reply card No. 188

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

71


Zebra Mussels cont'd Consultants Environmental Auditing and Management Planning Waste Management solutions

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING LTD. Environmental and occupational health and safety specialists Serving industry In Canada

ferred. for example on intake grates, would be extremely advantageous. So viet literature quotes effective current densities ranging from 58-75 ma/ft^.The focus of this initial study was to deter

to the 4 Rs

mine whether current densities at much

Wastewater Treatment

design engineering

lower levels(closer to those used for cor rosion control in fresh water) would be

Air, soil, waste and water

effective. Results to date indicate some

analytics, studies and troubleshooting

measure of effectiveness; however,it ap pears that somewhat elevated levels will he necessary for complete settling in

225Sheppard Ave. W., Willowdale, Ontario M2N 1N2

(416) 226-0148

hibition.

R.V. Anderson Associates Limited

A novel approach, based on informa tion from a series of internal pipeline inspections completed th roughout Lake Erie, as well as some mention in Euro

consulting engineers and architect Environmental Planning Land Development Transportation Tunnels and Shafts Municipal Services Architecture

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Water Supply

L

Water Resources TORONTO (416)497-8600 OTTAWA

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pean literature, involves the use of dis posable substrates, installed in front of

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UNDERWATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

• spil l site investigations and cleanups • underwater video inspections

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raw water intakes, to reduce the number

of settling stage larvae that enter the system.

Indications are that ready to settle veiigers (larvae) often settle on the first available substrate that they come in contact with. For example, in very long water intakes, highest densities of zebra mussels are found colonizing the intake grates and first 500 feet of intake pipe. Initial results from this preliminary study are promising: however, a variety of settling substrates have yet to he te.sted which may result in even more mus sel removal from the water column.

P.O. Box 2205, Station B, St. Catharines, Ontario L2M 6P6

(416)641 -0941

Further research in the area of hydroacoustics has enabled scientists to de

C.C. TATHAM & ASSOCIATES LTD. Consulting Engineers

A number of other control initiatives

are presently being investigated in both Canada and the United States as speci fic industrial groups attempt to solve their specific control needs. Methods of control using electric currents (both AC/DC) were investigated with limited success. Centrifugal separators have been tested and may he successful for removing a percentage of settling mus

115 Hurontario Street, Suite 201,

Collingwood, Ontario L9Y 2L9

Tel.(705)444-2565 Fax(705)444-2327

t

research will continue in 1992 as work

on stream treatment shows promise.

Specialists in a comprehensive range of Environmental and Municipal Engineering

Consulting Engineers

CH2MHILL CHMHIIli ENGINEERING

termine and narrow frequencies which are most effective controlling infesta tion by larval and juvenile mussels.The

sels. In addition a number of surface

coatings have been tested. Those that

Waterloo • Toronto • Calgary • Edmonton • Vanqpuver • Lethbridge

• Wastewater Collection & Treatment

■ Hazardous S Solid Waste Management ■ Water Resources & Environmental Planning

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incorporate a toxic component may only he of limited use. due to the reluc tance of environmental regulators to approve their wholesale use; however some such as those that are silicone

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based may have specific useful appli

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cations.

As manufacturers continue to work

m Clayton

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ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS

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on the development of a wide variety of coatings, chemicals and materials to in hibit mussel settling, it is easy to see that the zebra mussel has become important to both municipal and industrial water users as well as groups that provide ma terials and services in this area. Whether

the focus is on ecological effects, indus trial control and removal or harvest and

use. the impact of this exotic introduc tion to North American waters will he

felt for years to come. ES&E Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


Consultants

Product Review Subcompact wastewater sampler American Sigma's new STREAM LINE 800 wastewater sampler rede fines portability without sacrificing key features. Innovative design allows the unit to pass through an 18" manhole opening or an offset

^■1= Dames & Moore. Canada •=!|=- the environmental professionals Consultants in Hydrology, Waste Management, Environmental Engineering and Hydrogeology 7560 Airport Rd., Mississauga, Ontario

manhole which blocks some conven

tional sized samplers. The unit weighs only 10.9 kg.(24 lbs.), measuring 44 cm.(17-1/4") in diameter. It may be used for both composite (2-1/2 gal. glass, 3 gal. polyethylene) and discrete (24, 575 ml polyethylene) sampling and accepts 8 lbs. of ice in the insulated base. When greater bottle or ice capacities are required, an optional large base accommodates a variety of bottle combinations including 21/2 gal. glass and 3 gal., 4 gal. and 5-1/2 gal. polyethylene for compo site sampling and (8) 1.9 liter glass, (8)2.3 liter polyethylene,(24)350 ml. glass and (24) 1 liter polyethylene for discrete sampling. Other features include an inte

gral flowmeter,"smart" liquid sen sing system and serial interface for transferring sampling data to a PC for storage or to a printer for a hard

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PIIILL©ni Consulting Engineers • Planners Environmental Scientists

M. M. DILLON LIMITED

OTTAWA LONDON

GOG DILLON CONSULTING LIMITED EDMONTON

TORONTO WINDSOR

CAMBRIDGE WINNIPEG YELLOWKNIFE

For more information, Circie reply card No. 170

DILLON ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORIES MISSISSAUGA

Professional

TORONTO, ONI (416) 477-8400

Services in Geoguard Consultant's Kit from American Sigma was designed to meet the sampling equipment needs required with multiple projects at varying sites. With just a few inter changeable components, seven ground water sampling devices can be constructed without tools inclu

ding: 40" or 78" long open top, bot tom filling bailer, 40" or 78" long dual check valve bailer, 40" or 78" long gas-drive pump,40" long blad der pump. Constructed from 316 stainless

steel and Teflon,the Kft is available in a choice of two diameters: 1.38

VANCOUVER, BO. (604) 299-4144

Environmental

Management

© GOODFELLOW CONSULTANTS INC.

inch OD for 1.5 inch and larger monitoring wells and 1.66 inch OD for 2 inch and larger monitoring wells. American Sigma-Geoguard For more information, Circle reply card No. 171

PORTER DILLON LIMITED HALIFAX SYDNEY

RED DEER

copy report. American Sigma

Consultant's kit for ground water sampling

L4T 2H5

Tel: (416) 671-9921 Fax: (416) 672-7784

Gartner Lee

NIAGARA FALLS, NY (716) 285-5449

Environmental/Occupational Health and Safety PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITIES: > Workplace and safety audits

• Environmental Engineering 'Training programs > Legal compliance/designated substances 'Ventilation assessment/design > Air monitoring ' Air emission control > indoor air quality »Environmental audits > Noise monitoring and control 'WHMiS

'Asbestos

2000 Argentia Road. Plaza Hi, Suite 301 Mississauga, Ontario L5N 1V9 Canada • (416) 858-4424

Telex: 06-218242

Fax; (416) 858-4426

Gore Si Storrie Limited Consulting Engineers WASTEWATER • WATER • SOLID & HAZARDOUS WASTES • DRAINAGE WATER RESOURCES • ENERGY RECOVERY • ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING LABORATORY SERVICES - ANALYTICAL & PROCESS R&D

CO2 Sensor measures

indoor air quality (lAQ) Quatrosense Environmental Ltd. offers an infrared Carbon Dioxide

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

255 Consumers Road, North York, Ontario M2J 5B6

Telephone (416) 499-9000 Fax (416) 499-4687 Ottawa • Niagara • Barrie • Cambridge • Mississauga • Kingston 72A


Consultants Socio-Economic Impact

HARDY

Product Review (CO2)transmitter/sensor for Indoor Air Quality. The QTS-2000 uses a diffusion

Assessment

system to monitor amhient air for

Land-Use Planning

STEVENSON

Public Consultation

AND ASSOCIATES

Hearings Support and Project Management

CO2 levels.

3016A Danforth Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4C 1M7 Telephone:(416)693-6115, Fax:(416)693-6117

This solid state circuitry will sup ply a 4-20 mA DC linear signal to interface with a QEL controller(QC500 and/or A(5S-1000), or any data collection device capable of receiv ing a signal. Some features include fast warm-

j

Environmental Consultants

A A

aAA

aaa\ INT^RJN aAAAA

Environmental Division

OTTAWA

TORONTO

TEL: (613) 226-5442 FAX; (613) 226-5529

TEL: (416) 635-5882 FAX: (416) 635-5353

• Hydrogeoiogic investigations

up, low current drain, simple opera tion, cost effective, unaffected by humidity or moisture and continuous operation. Quatrosense

• Site Remediation

For more information,

• Hazardous Waste Management • Water Supply and Treatment

Circle reply card No. 172

• Environmental Audits

New multipoint/multigas

• Groundwater Modeling

gas detector

A Division of Intera Information Technologies (Canada) Ltd,

Consultants for water and pollution control projects Knox Martin

Kretch Limited

The Series 1660 Multipoint Gas Detector from Capitol Controls, is designed to detect chlorine, sulfur dioxide, and bromine chloride in air. Multipoint, multi-gas design allows any combination ofgas sensor types in up to eight separate locations to be connected to a single receiver. The receiver's features include a

Consulting Engineers, Planners. Landscape Architects. Fax: (416) 459-7869 220 Advance Boulevard, Brampton .Ontario. L6T 415(416)459-4780

dynamic graph display to indicate gas level, an indicator showing which sensor's data is being dis played, and an alpha/numeric dis play showing the type of gas being

\A FOMAINE,CDWIE,BUfmO &>KBaaATES UMITED

sensed.

Consulting Engineers

sists of20 indicators with automatic

WATER TREATMENT AND DISTRIBUTION

Windsor, Ontario •

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The dynamic graph display con ascending and descending range change. A separate indicator shows which ofthe three ranges(0-10 ppm, 0-20 ppm, 0-40 ppm) is currently being displayed. Metcon

BRANCH OFFICE-WOODSTOCK

FAX:(519) 966-5523

(519) 539-2015

For more information,

Circle reply card No. 173

New controller protects submersible pumps The new Time Mark Model 422 is

designed to protect submersible or other types of pumps from load pro

MacVIro Consultants inc. 7270 Woodbine Avenue, Third Floor • Markhom, Ontorlo, L3R 4B9. Telephone:(416) 475-7270.TeleFAX:(416) 475-5994

Consulting Engineers, Planners and Scientists, Specializing In the Environment

MALROZ ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

blems. The most common failure of

submersible pumps is caused by a

loss of load due to loss of prime or dry well. The model 422 monitors the true power used by the pump (voltage X current x power factor)to

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accurately determine the load on the pump motor. When an underload condition is sensed, the controller then shuts the pump off. The Model 422 will also detect an overload con

•Environmental audits MALROZ Engineering Inc. 168 Montreal St., Kingston, Ont. K7K 3G4 Tel:(613)548-3446 Fax:(613)548-7975

•Site decommissioning & rehabilitation

dition caused by such factors as locked rotor or jammed pump. Access

For more information.

Circle reply card No. 174 72B

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


Consultants

Product Review Suspended solids meter

Marshall Macklin Monaghan Limited

Markland's new Series 501 Ultra

sonic Suspended Solids Meter offers many improved features for ease of operation,such as Automatic Push button Calibration, and micropro cessor controlled dynamic damping for a steady meter output, even in non-homogeneous slurries like sewage sludge. The meter can be supplied with three different types of pickup heads for monitoring flow in a pipeline; measuring the concentration of a sidestream in a flow-through cell; or with a 'throw in' probe for open top

Consulting Engineers Surveyors Planners

Specialists in Environmental Planning and Engineering, Hydrogeology, Waste Management and Water Resources Burlington, Mississauga, Whitby

Comprehensive Environmental

ORiECH Services

tanks.

Circle reply card No. 175

Thornhill, Ontario L3T 7N4

(416)882-1100 Fax:(416) 882-0055

i n t

Markland Specialty Engineering Ltd. For more information,

80 Commerce Valley Drive East

TORONTO, EDMONTON

e rnat i onai

Tel. 416 822-4111 Fax 416 823-1446

Air, water and waste.

Priority contaminant samplers Manning samplers are designed to meet all general-use sampling requirements, while exceeding US federal standards for priority pollu tant sampling. Available in either stationary or portable versions, these samplers provide both ease of use and highly repeatable sampling. Field-interchangeability ofsingle or multiple bottle configuration is a key feature in overall ease of opera tion. In addition, the requirement for verifiable evidence of sampling is met by a Sample Event Output Signal. Programming of the new line of samplers is made easy by a specially designed microprocessor-based ope rating system. Highly repeatable sampling is ensured by Manning'-' use ofthe dependable vacuum pump

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Kitchener, Brocebrldge, Port Elgin 871 VICTtKIA STREET MDRTH SUITE 300 tOTCHENER, DNTARID N2B 3S4 Tell (519) 579-4410

!|t|;

Faxi (519) 741-3603

PROCTOR & REDFERN LIMITED Consulting Engineers Architects Planners Environmental Scientists Water Supply, Treatment, and Dustribution Wastewater Collection and Treatment

Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Brampton

Hamilton

St. Catharines

method. Metcon

For more information, Circle reply card No. 176

Monitoring, sampling, analysis and development of control strategies for all media.

2395 Speakman Drive Mississauga, Ontario L5K 1B3

Kenora

Kingston

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Sudbury

London

Thunder Bay

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Windsor

45 Green Bell Drive, Don Mills, Ontario M3C 3K3

Tei: (416) 445-3600

Fax: (416) 445-5276

Spill response equipment

Ottawa

London

The Vactex Liquid Spill Vac is a pneu matic vacuum device used to pick-up liquid spills. It replaces absorbents in the workplace. Mounts onto a wall or pillar at eye level where a strategic spill

Stanley Environmental

response station is identified. This al lows a quick response time to an emer gency spill.

Cambridge Regina Saskatoon

Calgary Edmonton Vancouver

Engineers, Scientists, Project Managers

Enquiries:

Water, Air, Soils

(519) 622-3060

The vacuum device uses 11 SCFM of

compressed air at 80 PSI generating 10" Hg as vacuum. Compressed air as a power source eliminates the risk of sparks when addressing hydrocarbon based liquids. No moving parts ensures that this device has little maintenance

and is very reliable. Vactex For more information.

Circle reply card No. 177

SIMCOE ENQINEEniNQ OROUP LIMITED

Consulting Engineers & Architects WATER SUPPLY • POLLUTION

CONTROL

DRAINAGE • SCADA

ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES

345 Kingston Rood, Pickering, Ontario L1V 1A1

Tel; (416) 286-2285

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 1992

Fox: (416) 286-1361 72C


Consultants

- Product Review

TECHNITROL•ECO INC. Environmental Consultants — Laboratory Analysis Industrial Expertise Since 1963 • INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE

WASTE MGMT.

• SITE CHARACTERIZATION • DECOMMISSIONING • PLANT COMPLIANCE AUDITS • UST REMOVAL

SAMPLING & ANALYSIS

• PERMITTING

• MICROBIOLOGY

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS IMPACT STUDIES RISK ASSESSMENT

Convenient BOD Seed Source

• AIR QUALITY

• STACK SAMPLING • TOXICITY TESTING

121 HYMUS BLVD., POINTE-CLAIRE, QUEBEC HSR 1E6 TEL.(514)697-3273 FAX:(514)697-2090

THORBURN PENNY LTD. Consulting Engineers • Water Supply • Environmental Planning • Water Pollution Control • Water Resources • Instrumentation and Controls •

• Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition 400 Main Street East

Tel:(416) 875-2144

Milton, Ontario

Fax;(416) 875-2145

L9T 4X5

T.F: 1-800-263-4178

UMA Engineering Ltd. Telephone:(416)238-0007 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS & PROJECT MANAGERS

TO GOVERNMENT,INDUSTRY, PRIVATE SECTOR CALGARY-EDMONTON-BURNABY-WHITEHGRSE-YEUOWKNIFE AND THE U.SA

ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE & VIBRATION • Measurement, Prediction, Assessment,

Expert Testimony

^ IHIDnnil \

iilunUn Consulting Engineers

proved by tfie U.S. Environmental Pro tection Agency (USEPA). Accurate BOD measurement of wa

HALIFAX-TORONTO-OTTAWA'LONDON-SUDBURY-WINNIPEQ-REQINA-SASKATOON-LETHBRIDGE-

icys.

Polyseed® is a special blend of microbes for oxidizing biodegradable organic matter. It can be used for BOD testing of wastewaters. effluents, and polluted waters, conducted according to Stan dard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.Polyseed provides a uniform BOD bacterial population,is free of nitrifying bacteria, and is ap

* Design and Specification of Control Measures

• Road, Rail & Air Traffic, Manufacturing Plants, Industrial Processes, Landfill Sites, Quarries, Presses, Blasting

ter samples requires a sufficient bac terial population to oxidize the biode gradable organic material in the sam ple. Some wastewaters may contain low bacterial populations, so boosting the viable bacterial population (seeding)in these samples is necessary. Polyseed provides the consistent, specific mic robe population needed to complete the BOD test.

Hach

For more information,

Circle reply card No. 178

1720 Meyerside Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1A3 Tel;(416)670-4922, Fax:(416)670-1698 Halifax (902)455-3112 Waterloo (519)746-3415

Model 94 Dissolved

Oxygen Sensor Royce Model 94 dissolved oxygen(DO) sensor is the latest development in the field of continuous DO monitoring

WILLMS & SHIER/BARRISTERS & SOLIGITORS Environmental and Waste Management Approvals Municipal Law, Land Use Planning and Development.

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and control. 73 Richmond Street West, Suite 200,Toronto, Ontario M5H 1Z4 (418) 863-0711 Fax:(416)863-1938

XCG Consultants Ltd.

Suite 904 50 Queen Street N

Kitctiener, Ontario

Environmental

Engineering Consultants

519/741-5774 Fax 519/741-5627

N2H 6P4

The small silhouette, but rugged epoxy construction, of the Model 94 creates a unique sensor for the rough applications found in the wastewater treatment, environmental. ground water, aquaculture. and oceanographic industries. Its precision internal printed cir cuitry and a unique dual cathode/dual anode galvanic measuring system make the Model 94 the fastest responding,

Providing Senior Consulting Advice

most stable DO sensor for those indus

on Environmental Matters

tries requiring Parts Per Billion resolu tion. i.e. power generating, boiler feedwater. chemical feed, and high purity

Richard J. Rush M7\Sc, PEng Principal

Stephen G. Nutt MEng,PEng Principal

PUT OUR FORTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ON YOUR TEAM

water. Cancoppas For more information,

Circle reply card No. 179 72D

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992


Ever feel everyone "knows the answer*'

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DITYT*

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Terminal City provides you with access to technical product data through factory consultation.

Terminal City provides you with a complete fitting lineCompact Ductile Iron-AWWA C153, 4 inch through 16 inch; DITYT® or DIMECH®

Ductile Iron and Grey Iron-AWWA CIIO, 4 inch through 24 inch; TER-MECH or TYTON

Ductile Iron and Grey Iron-ANSI BIB.I, 3 inch through 30 inch; Flanged Fittings Terminal City also provides a variety of "Special" fittings for specific installation needs. One "Special" will do the work of two or more standard fittings.

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• Phone(604)253-7525 •

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For more information,

Circle reply card No. 159 Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

73


Literature Review

For information on advertising in this section call ES&E at(416) 727-4666

Nord Clincher Gearmotors

and Speed Reducers Clincher' HeLcal Gearmotore & Speed Reducers

Clincher gearmotors and speed re ducers from Nord cut production costs coming and going. Features the exclusive Unicase design. This means oil leakage, oil contamination and misalignment of set gears asso ciated with conventional designs are eliminated. Also offer the Quadrillp sealing system to provide twice the proteciton over double Hp seals.

Rosemount Analytical inc. Dohrmann Division OC-190 High Temperatute

Total Organic Caibon Analyar

TOG Analyser For WasteWaters The Dohrmann 00-190 Total Organ ic Carbon Analyser 680 to 900C vari able furnace allows waste-water and

salt-water run-through. The system autosampler handles partlculates to 0.5mm, for better TOO automation. Such attributes suit the unit to mon

itoring organic contamination of dir ty, salty, or partlculate laden Indus trial wastewater, seawater and

Nord Gear Limited

other effluents.

Circle repiy card No. 211

Folio instruments

Circle repiy card No. 212

Graver Monoplant

Portable Water Treatment Plants Graver Monoplant packaged water treatment systems from Ecodyne are pre-engineered and factory built, readily transportable and quickly in

Concrete Storage Buildings

STORAGE SHED VXHDAl & FIRE RESISTANI S10RAGE FOR HUA8D0US HATERIUS

stalled. Seventeen standard sizes

are available to treat from 20 gpm to 500 gpm, for municipal plants and wherever potable water is required. Each Monoplant contains pre-treatment, chemical feeds and filters, a solids recirculation type high rate (Floe Barrier equipped) ciarifier and gravity backwash filter system. Ecodyne Ltd. Circle reply card No. 213

The Brooklin Concrete storage build ing is a two piece precast concrete storage/containment structure with built in safety, security and vandal resistance. They are delivered and set in place fully assembled and readyfor use.The40sq.ft. and 70sq. ft. models feature powdercoated steel doors and frames, vandal resis

tant vents, NRP hinges, dead bolt lock and sandblasted exterior finish. The "Environmental" models feature

im concrete

sump floors with either 240L or 425L capacity. Brooklin Concrete Products Ltd.

Circle reply card No. 214

Instrument Control and

Data Acquisition IEEE-488 and

VXIbus Control,

Data Acquisition, and Analysis

SEERATORS

m

Free 1992 catalog of instrumentation products for PCs workstations, and

ENVIRONMENTAL

In tough economic times turn to ES&E Product

In tough oconomle limes,turn to

oRDER TOIXty

faces and software, plug-in data ac quisition boards, VXIbus controllers,

Card Packs Sharpen the cutting edge of your marketing plan with ES&E's 1992 Product Card Packs. Competitively priced at $1,195.00 each, ES&E's

DSP hardware and software and

self-addressed cards are an econo

signal conditioning accessories. Ap plication software for complete ac quisition, analysis, and presentation of data, including graphical inter faces. Application tutorials and train ing classes also detailed.

mical and effective way to reach over 19,000 qualified environment pro fessionals. Product cards are pop ular because they increase sales turnover — all prospects respond di rectly to you.

more. Features IEEE-488.2 Inter

National Instruments

ES&E

Circle repiy card No. 215

Circle reply card No. 216

Solids macerator In sewage treatment systems solids contained in the liquid — mainly water — such as textiles, glass, bot tles, bones, wood, rubber or food re sidues can quickly and effectively be macerated and transported by the combination of a Seepex macerator and Seepex pump(called a Seerator). Reduced driving power due to knife cutting action. Rapid cleaning and draining through large clean outs. Self priming. Pressure heads to 344 psi. Service across Canada.

An environmentally sealed and dis posable filter system which elimin ates operator exposure to chemicals or solvents and eliminates housing clean-up is now available from Pea cock Inc. The GTG-Klean® System consists of an enclosed filter pack that Installs in and easily lifts out of a 304SS filter housing.Gaskets are not required in the housing.The self-con tained filter pack eliminates difficult housing clean-up as the filtered ma

Peacock inc.

Circle repiy card No. 217

Disposable filter system

terial never comes in contact with the metal. Peacock Inc.

Circle reply card No. 218


fl

A, u CANVIRO, our quality program begins with your initial contact with our laboratory. From sample container preparation through the reporting of your results, established

QA/QC procedures are strictly followed. A dedicated QA/QC officer oversees and reviews the entire process. Analysis is performed on state-of-the-art equipment using approved methodologies that meet all requirements of regulatory guidelines. Our staff of highly

qualified personnel is dedicated to ensuring analytical procedures are applied properly and that data is interpreted correctly.

State-of-the-art equipment, approved methodologies, an intensive QA/QC program and dedicated personnel. Your best solution for meeting analytical needs.

CANVIRO Analytical Laboratories Ltd. 50 Bathurst Dr., Unit 12, Waterloo, Ontario N2V 205 For more information, Circie repiy card No. 160

Ptione: 1-519-747-2575 Fax: 1-519-747-3806 Member of the Canadian Association of Environmental Analytical Laboratories (GAEAL)

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 1992

75


Product Review Low cost automatic

de-sludging Detectronic's Auto De-Sludger has been developed for sewage treatment works as a flexible and economical solu

tion to de-watering and de-sludging problems. The instrument operates on the at tenuation of energy principle. A com bined transmit/receive transducer pro

vides an ultrasonic pulse — the echo from which is attenuated according to the density of the sludge. Solids content ranging from zero to 4.5 percent is ac curately detected. The user defines the critical solids content parameter which

generates a start/stop signal for sludge

level can be used to initiate transfer.

transfer.

De-sludging under manual control can also be fully automated using two Auto De-Sludgers. Ramsay Lake Industrial

The system is suitable for use in settle ment tanks and downstream pipework. Where timed de-sludging takes place on a regular cycle under the plant control system the lack of any qualitative refer ence can result in water entrainment or

solids remaining undrained. By using an Auto De-Sludger down stream of the tank, the sludge percentage solids with in the flow can be monitored and the

process stopped at the optimum time. Secondly, where tanks of known ca pacity are emptied on a timed cycle, an Auto De-Sludger using an immersed transducer to detect the sludge blanket

^4RRTMr;FR LABORATORIES

For more information,

Circle reply card No. 231

Gear reducers offer

improved efficiency and more ratios

The complete new range of S-32 gear reducers from SEW Eurodrive has been

"Services For The Earth And Environmental Sciences"

BARRINGER LABORATORIES is one of the largest environmental laboratories In Canada offering one of the most extensive collections of state-of-the-art instrumentation and a full

range of analyses following government-authorized protocols

WATER

EFFLUENT

AIR

OIL

WASTE

SOIL

SLUDGE

redesigned to provide higher efficiency (up to 90 percent), a greater range of ratios and improved mounting flex ibility, all in the same rigid housing de signs previously found only in higher capacity drives. Competitively priced with the units they replace, the new S-32 reducers are available as right angle gearmotors,as a C-flange gear reducer or as a reducer with input shaft. Other design improvements include improved oil sealing and lower tem perature operation for longer compo nent life. Choose from output torques

up to 790 in./lbs. continuous duty, and nominal ratios from 6:1 to 120:1. SEW Eurodrive

WE OFFER

For more information.

competitive pricing

Circle reply card No. 232

higtiest quality analysis

tielpful, experienced staff

Geotextile Composite

guaranteed rapid tunnaround

Liner

complete sample txittle kits at no ctiarge

Bentomat may be used as a primary liner in environmental sealing applica tions ranging from tank farm,leach pad

custom tiard copy and electronic reports available laboratories and sample reception throughout Canada

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT DANA BORTOLIN OR ALAN PARKER

and pond liners to industrial and decor ative lagoons, reservoirs and impound ments. In landfill applications, when placed directly beneath the primary liner, it acts as a "defect sealer" swelling into holes or punctures that may exist. On the closing of a landfill, Bentomat may be used to seal against the intrusion of rainwater and. at the same time, with

PHONE (416) 890-8566 FAX (416) 890-8575

its geotextile component, provide a medium for gas transmission. It utilizes two layers of contaminant resistant woven or nonwoven poly

OR TOLL FREE 1-800-263-9040

propylene geotextile to encapsulate a minimum of one pound per square foot of Volclay Sodium Bentonite. Bemalux Inc.

For more Information,

For more information, Circle reply card No. 161 76

Circle reply card No. 233

Environmenial Scif>ice& Engineering. March 1992


«

T'^prorennon-melallic chain

RUa PRESS

Sojjectorsefvice

-saSS

REX

'ow speed

surface aerators

tt j^ifago.

mi

.&W#TO

m

'^bubbhm

ESIII

®oo, 'Os

-■-S-SS

■ •fS?

Co

•I- X

J'

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M/// ®l®iffC0uWS® ■""SSf,

i^rr L>."Tt

'f#

'"A,

:ir-

w

ith about 20,000 installations and more equipment and process alternatives than , anyone else, no one covers the world of

i- -

:yvater and wastewater tike Envirex. ; , ' From a single unit to a complete

*

system, our treatment alternatives are cost-effective to

build and energy-efficient to operate. Some use traditional technologies. Others are innova-

tiye, /dl are proven to produce reliable results for municipal-

itics, industrial operations, power utilities and others.

For more information on-how Envirex has covered

the world of water and wastewater with equipment processes

and field services for nearly 100 years, contact: Ronald L.

Envirex has more than 100 types of engineered^m^^ Antonie; Envirex Inc.; 1901South Prairie Ave.; RO. Bbx

equipment and processes to select from, for primary

' 1604; Waukesha, Wis.; USA.

treatment biological treatment, advanced treatment,

Phone: 414/547-0141.

and water treatment.

Fax: 414/547-4120. Telex: 201-312 ENWA OR.

anaerobic treatment, sludge treatment and dewatering.

Envi

We Cover the World With Water and For more information, .Circle reply card No. 162

iT s f s


By Dave Hein, P.Eng.

Air Pollution

Digester gas code is now in force The implications of non-compliance with the new Code for Digestion Gas Systems in anaerobic wastewater treatment plants in Ontario are of major concern. The issue is safety, and accidents from these dangerous, explosive gases are not unprecedented. Now, with the code firmly in place and enforceable, law suits resulting from such accidents could well cause non-compliant municipalities severe financial losses.

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After 15 years of discussions and im plementation planning,the Installation Code for Digestion Gas Systems(B105) in

anaerobic

wastewater

treatment

plants is now enforceable in Ontario. Many regions have already received

directives requesting their facilities be inspected. Such plants not meeting the requirements ofthe new code(and those

that do are few)face the need for urgent action: inspection of all plants must be completed by March 1992 and any rec tification required must be started with in six months of the inspection date. Plant inspection and monitoring for compliance with B105 will be carried out by the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) under the authority of the On tario Ministry of the Environment (MOE), while burden of proof of com pliance lies with the operating autho rity. Deviations may be allowed While there is no escaping the need for major upgrading of most anaerobic digestion facilities, it is recognized that in some cases strict compliance with the code in its entirety and within the sixmonth time-frame will be difficult, if not

impossible. Accordingly, a formal devi ation committee is being established for reviewing and ruling on requests for ac

ceptable alternative methods. Often, al ternative

methods are available for

achieving the desired results so that a plant can comply with the intent of the code if not precisely with the letter. But how can operators know what's likely to be allowable? Gore & Storrie staff have served on the B105 committee

with the MOE and the CGA for the past 15 years. In addition, the company has de signed and installed several codecompliant anaerobic digester gas systems.

As B105 is Ontario's implementation of a Canadian (federal)code, other pro vinces will be following suit; ex-officio representatives from the other provin ces have been involved with the B105

committee work,and G&S has designed and installed code-compliant systems also in Edmonton. Yorkton. Saskatoon.

Winnipeg, and at the McCains Food plant in Florenceville. P.E.I. Now that B105 is enforceable, neces

sary action to upgrade gas digester sys tems should not be delayed.The issue is safety, which makes costly lawsuits a very real threat now to non-compliant municipalities.

*Dave Hein is a project manager at Gore & Storrie Limited.

iir i They are all at stake when you select an environmental laboratory- Whether it's wastewater monitoring for MISA compliance, evaluation of hazardous waste, or a full-scale site investigation you need a lab that you can depend on to provide reliable data, quickly and cost-effectively. For more than two decades Envirociean has earned

a reputation for promptness and reliability as a full-service laboratory serving clients both in government and industry. That reputation has been built on a commitment to quality. Our quality assurance program is designed to ensure that every piece of analytical data is

scientifically correct and can stand up to scrutiny. And we back up that commitment with regular participation in interlaboratory quality assurance programs which test our performance against other iabs. We don't claim to be perfect, but when you choose Envirociean, you can count on getting our best. Always.

ENVIROCLEAN Environmental Laboratory Services

921 Leathome St.

London, Ontario N5Z 3M7 Phone:(519)686-7558 Fax;(519)686-6374

For more information, Circle reply card No. 163 78

Environmental Science <ÂŁ Engineering, March 1992


HOLDS WAHR. The Armtec Claymax^ Liquid

Containment Liner is your best argument against ordinary containment systems. The Claymax liquid

Typical applications include: •Waste iagoons

containment liner is a cost-

effective, environmentally

•Landfili liners

compatible barrier. It is composed of sodium

•Landfill caps •Industrial containment

bentonite clay laminated between a polypropylene fabric and a polyester scrim. Designed for fast, easy

ponds •Tank farm enclosures •Earthen dams

instaiiation with minimai

•Foundations

manpower, equipment and

•Freshwater ponds •Earthen irrigation canals

site preparation, Claymax can be used alone or in

For a free brochure, contact your nearest Armtec Sales

conjunction with other containment systems. When activated by water, it swelis

Office.

in-situ to form a highly

Claymax® is a roistered trademark

Impermeable barrier

of the Clem Environmental Corporation.

resistant to most chemicais.

UTJTli Construction Products

x/r more information, Circle reply card No. 164

Formerly Armco Westeel

Sales Offices: Whitehorse, Nanalmo, Prince George, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Reglna, Saskatoon, Brandon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, London, Stratford,Gueiph, Toronto, Ottawa, St. Augustin, Beloell, Dartmouth, Sackvllle, St. John's, Bishop's Falls and Fresno, California.

An All-Canadian Company


WEMCO SEPARATES PROBLEM

LIQUIDS EFFECTIVELV RESULTING CXJ^RIFIED

OUTPUT MEETS and EXCEEDS 1 ^

1

Depurator. Removes emulsified oil and suspended solids from water. Low cost, fiigh capacity. Efficient WEMCO Depurator flotation machines are used

extensively In the aluminum, petroleum and petrochemical industry for wastewater and process water treatment.

Pacesetter. Used for oil/water

lÂťisi

Silver Band. High performance

separation in oil production applications, and for liquid/liquid separation in chemical production facilities. Unique Propack" crossflow plates achieve 99% efficiency with gravity-flow separation. Compact, high capacity units have low operating and

fouling, cleans water with 99% efficiency. Low media replacement rate. Fast (14 minute) media cleaning cycle. Simple installation, low

maintenance costs. Pressurized

maintenance.

down-flow media filter removes

suspended solids and hydrocarbons from produced water. Shell media resists

units available for specific applications.

Separation and Filtration Equipment for Municipal and Industrial Operations Process

EIMCO Equipment A Division of Baker Hughes Canada Inc.

5155 Creekbank Road

, 259 MIdpark Way S.E.

4940 Chlsholm St., Ste. 1

Misslssauga, Ontario

Ste. 220

Delta, B.C.

L4W 1X2

Calgary, Alberta T2X 1M2 Tel:(403) 256-6821 Fax:(403) 256-7071

Tel:(604)946-0421 Fax:(604) 946-7837

Tel:(416)625-6070 Fax:(416)625-3519

V4K 3X2

For more information, Circie repiy card No. 165

1 Holiday Street 5th Floor, East Tower Point Claire, Cue. H9R 5N3 Tel:(514)695-9531 Fax:(514)695-8099


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