Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine (ESEMAG) March 2000

Page 1

ENVIRONMENTAL

Science & Engineering Focussing on industrial/municipal wastewaters - hazardous wastes - air pollution & drinking water treatment

Canada's top award-winning environmentai magazine

March 2000

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Contents

ISSN-0835-605X

February/March 2000 Vol. 13 No. 1 Issued March, 2000

nmen

Departments

Features

12

Feedback

25

Ad Index

7 14

57

Classifieds

16 Sewer model postpones $2M project

63-70

Industry Update

65-70

Professional Cards

71

Date Pad

72

Literature Reviews

73-77

Product Review

22 Carbon use in Ontario drinking water 26 Solving high water use problem 28 Canada signs air quality agreement 32 US water policy shifts focus 34 $3M Shelburne STP expansion 36 Evaluating membrane technology

President

Publisher

Sales Manager

STEVE DAVEY

TOM DAVEY

PENNY DAVEY

E-mail: steve@esemag.com

Managing Editor SANDRA DAVEY

E-mail: penny@esemag.ccm

Sales Representative DENISE SIMPSON

E-mall:(jenise@esemag.com

Circulation Manager VIRGINIA MEYER

Publisher's Assistant KATHLEEN CARIGNAN

E-maii: kathy@esemag.com

Technical Advisory Board Robert B. Baker, M.A.Sc., Eng.

Jim Bishop

Totten Sims Hublcki Associates

Beak international Inc.

Alan Church, C.Ghent., QEP Church & Trought Inc.

George V. Crawford, P.Eng., M.A.Sc. CH2M Gore & Storrle Limited

Dr. HowanI D. Gaodfellow

Rod Holme, P.Eng.

Stantec Global Technologies Lt(i. Barry Loescher, Ph.D. Philip Analytical

Proctor & Redfern Ltd.

Peter Laughton, M.Eng., Eng., DEE

Second Class Mall

Product Agreement No. 181897 Registration No. 775g Printed in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without written permissitjn of the publisher. Yearly subscription rates: Canada $45.00 for one year, (plus $3.15 GST) USA $45.00 (US)for one year. All advertising space orders, copy, artwork, film, proofs, etc., should be sent to: Environmental Science & Ehgineering, 220 Industrial Pkwy. S., Unit 30, Aurora, Ontario, Canada, L4G 3V6, 81:(905)727-4666, Fax:(905) 841-7271, Web site; www.esemag.com

48 Hydrocarbon extraction from bedrock 50 Cover story - Site remediation using dewatering and dredging vessels

52 Using PCBs & recycled wastes as fuel 53 Groundwater safety while transloading 56 Treating meat plant wastewater 58 Updating environmental nomenclature 59 Iron and manganese removal 60 Recognizing GIMs as professionals 61 History of the Periodic Table 78 Minimizing Insurance risks

R.V. Anderson Associates

Environmental Science & Engineering Is a bi-monthly business publication of Envi ronmental Science & Engineering Publications Inc. An all Canadian publication, ES&E provides authoritative editorial coverage of Canada's municipal and Industrial environmental control systems and drinking water treatment and distribution. ES&E's readers Include consulting engineers, industrial plant managers and engi neers, key provincial and federal environmental officials, water and wastewater treat ment plant operators and contractors. Canadian Publications Mall Sales

Editorial Comment by Tom Davey BC ski resort upgrades its STP

Spring Convention Previews 38 OWWA/OMWA Joint Conference 40 WEAO/OPCEA Conference 42 Reseau environnement

43 Environmental Management and Compliance 2000 46 BC Water & Waste Association 46 CWWA National Forum

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


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Editorial Comment

It's not the media mendacity that matters - it's the mindset Newspapers exist to tell people who have never heard of

zle. In hindsight, perhaps Mike Tyson should have worn one during the Evander Holyfield fight. But Mankind has written a very literate book on his profession while his wrestling kinsman, the eloquent Jesse Ventura, cur rently rules as Governor of Minnesota. Only in America?

Lord Jones - that he has died.

There was a time when something actual y had to - G.K Chesterton

happen before it could be transmuted into print, or flashed upon TV screens. Aeons ago, when I worked for the Ausfralian Broadcasting Corpo ration in Melbourne and Hobart,things were different. Re porters of that era could only report on what was actually spoken in council chambers, legislatures or public meet ings, not speculate on what anonymous critics 'feared' might happen. My job de scription was that of re porter, not astrologer. From those baroque times we went from the Age of Aquarius to the Age of the Vicarious. Behaviour, once thought to

Yes, I know, but the evidence does indicate that the

wrestlers(who are paid extremely well) are perhaps more intelligent than the audiences at matches who pay big money to watch them. Both shows, however, induce a fleeting thought that some offshoots of human evolution might be encountering a role reversal, something neither Darwin nor Wallace contemplated. Nowadays, TV anchors invariably use the adjective 'angry' in their opening sal voes in what are laughingly called newscasts. But at

least the 'cast' part might be appropriate as a metaphor for the broken English so

be bizarre, has now become

commonplace while events of great significance are ig

often used on television.

The 'anger' reported is of

nored or distorted.

ten as fake as that of the

INVEN

Sometimes there seems

wrestling and Jerry Springer events. Rather surprisingly, the city of Chicago recently

WHEEL

to be more physical threats among Jerry Springer's guests than at World Wres tling Federation events my mind and keyboard

4

told the renowned Mr.

Springer to stop the vio lence on his show. I saw

freeze at the word contests.

But one does see superbly conditioned wrestlers cou

rageously risk serious dam age to their vocal chords prior to entering the ring as they scream fake threats to their opponents,or more accurately their fellow vaudevillians. Fake anger, expressed vio

lently outside the ring, is followed by fake thumps and bumps inside as the ropes are comically used as sling shots. I sometimes wonder if they call their training ses sions, rehearsals.

More recent wrestling events are taking place in cages, a much more appropriate arena than traditional boxing and wrestling rings and, in its way, evolution of a sort. But has anyone noticed the similarities between TV wres tling and the Jerry Springer show? Certainly they both exhibit spectacular demonstrations of strength, agility and restraining moves from muscular men; and yes, the wres tlers demonstrate impressive and daring agility. But perhaps a little coaching in elocution would be in order for all parties concerned. If truth really is the first casu alty of war, the second must be mutilation of the English language. One wrestler, who,ignoring political correctness, calls himself Mankind, wears what appears to be a dog muz-

By Tom Davey

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

more real violence as a child

when my mother, a truly gentlewoman, beat up egg yolks while making custard. But regular news coverage is full of contrived stunts which often distort or displace accurate coverage of many serious events which impact our lives, while the envi ronmental sciences are often ignored. For well over a decade, polychlorinated biphenyls were demonized by protesters who dominated media coverage of this envi ronmental problem. Many of the PCB contaminated wastes contained valuable thermal properties which,sci entific studies showed,could be safely used when burned as fuel in cement kilns. We might have gotten rid of PCBs and other toxic wastes while possibly making huge volumes of quality cement with lower production costs. It was not to be.

Cement kiln proposals were never implemented in Canada after certain angry activists - not unlike their wrestling counterparts - opposed proposals to use this technology with fierce chanting and threats like some medieval tribal battles.

But the activists' anger traveled overseas like 'flu virus'. While Canada, ironically, had been a pioneer in the use of cement kiln technology for PCB disposal, the methodology was never implemented. Yet on my last visit to France I found the French were proud to use PCBs


Editorial Comment

as fuel in cement manufacturing while, at that time, ce ment kiln waste treatment technology had been halted per manently in Canada. Moreover, the Ontario Waste Man

Margaret Thatcher and the Royal Family. Soon huge

agement Corporation, after spending $10 million annu

hull. Then the ancient London docks, which had once

headlines warned of a'cancer ship' docked at the Thames.

Activists hung a skull and crossbones banner from the

ally, was failing in its propos-

withstood the might of

als to build a toxic waste fa

Luftwaffe bombs, now ca

cility. Meanwhile there were

I saw more real violence as a

pitulated to ink, paper and placards. London dockers re

child when my mother, a truly

fused to unload the vessel,

serious PCB accidents, in

cluding a dramatic fire involv ing PCBs at St. Basile-leGrand in Quebec. Desperate for a solution as PCB wastes piled up, a cargo

gentlewoman, beat up egg yolks

proving once again that graf fiti can be mightier than the sword.

Canada, a country which

making custard.

of Canadian wastes was

shipped out for disposal in England. While tied up on ^ London's River Thames,awaiting unloading for shipment for treatment and subsequent disposal, it lay at the docks without a murmur of protest. Uproar broke out after a

Canadian reporter casually mentioned to some Fleet Streetjournalists that PCBs were considered an environ mental threat in Canada.

Now British journalists are a mischievous lot. On hear ing that PCBs were rumoured to be toxic, the ink stained wretches lept upon the story with their famed ferocity. PCBs, which had not yet been headline material in the UK,now provided instant gratification for reporters who were practically running out of cliches from slagging

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had once overcome U-boat threats in the Battle of the At-

lantic, was unable to land a

cargo which might have proved no more toxic than the ship's fuel oil. Ironic eh? A country which had once pro vided a lifeline to Britain, could not,funnily enough, now extend its 'waste-line'. So the captain had to beat an igno minious retreat across the North Atlantic before sailing up the St. Lawrence to Baie Comeau,then the riding ofPrime

Minister Brian Mulroney, proof in itself to some, of di vine guidance. But here too there were angry protesters awaiting the arrival of the ship driven from Britain. By this time, hundreds of tonnes of fuel oil had been consumed during the voyages without treating a gram of PCBs. Meanwhile, the transportation costs of the still untreated PCBs probably exceeded equivalent volumes of Dom Perignon. Yet despite all the substantial eco logical and economic costs incurred, we were still back to square one, a load of untreated and unloaded PCBs. I never did hear what happened next; perhaps this ship was doomed, like the Flying Dutchman, to sail aimlessly and eternally around the globe. Certainly PCBs are toxic and should be treated with great care, but so are many other chemicals in common use which are safely disposed of without hysteria. What about the benefits of PCBs as coolants in electric

motors, capacitors and other equipment? Almost cer tainly, they prevented many fires and perhaps serious in juries or loss of life. Alas, a cultish demonization of these and other chemicals -fanned by a careless and ignorant media - discouraged useful debate on this issue.

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PVC was hailed as a new threat in the late nineties

causing London's fabulous Millennium Dome to be cov ered in Teflon instead of the PVC as originally specified. Tony Blair's previously all powerful government capitu lated after Greenpeace protested. The substitution of Teflon for the previously specified PVC demonstrated the power of activism over the Mother of Parliaments. Acronyms beginning with a capital 'P', it must be noted, seem to be linguistic lightning rods for protest groups. Perhaps it's because hysteria is more easily gen erated with convenient three letter acronyms than by com plex polysyllables such as polyvinyl chloride or polychorinated biphenyls which, being both hard to read and pronounce, do not lend themselves easily to placard slo gans or simplistic ritualistic chanting. Life may, after all, end not with a bang or a whimper, as T.S. Eliott won dered, but with an acronym. â?–

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


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Feedback

Tom Davey: Laura Jones, from the Fraser Institute, wrote in your November issue about "what passes for science in schools". She claimed that:"The move away from science toward advocacy and politically

correct rhetoric comes at great cost." Ms.

trialization under control, it seems a

small price to pay. This is not to say that those educators have been proved incorrect; nor is it to endorse the tactic

of presenting interpretations of facts as science (when science is actually the process of discovering fact), if that is

Jones, however, did not offer us

what the educators have done. It is sim

facts about the effects of human activi

ply the opinion of one who sees today, a bit more hope that we can make devel opment sustainable if our children see better the effects of our way of life than we have up to now. T.D. Dougherty, ES&E subscriber

ties on the environment produced through the process of experimentation(science) by the Fraser Institute, or anyone else for that matter. Instead, she advocated

"economic growth and technology" as "part of the solution" to "improving en vironmental quality". She pointed out that we have "reduced infant mortality, increased life expectancy, and improved health care" as a result of "affluence".

Odd that you would publish this type ofrhetoric, pohtically correct in the minds of the Fraser Institute's audience, with

out even a line to say that her opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Envi ronmental Science and Engineering. There is insufficient space for pres entation of the complex circumstances that scientific investigation has revealed about the impacts of the human popula tion and its activities. The facts have,

of course, been presented in detail by many places, such as the Brundtland re port and the reports ofthe United Nations Environment Program. However, one can apply logic to analyse the situation. Before there were billions of humans

on the planet, environmental degrada tion was rare and local. Now that we

have so many people, we have all kinds of problems,from desertification to ex tinction, at the local scale and even glo bally. Before we had the technology for industrialization, pollution was also un common, unless one considers the ap palling waste management practices of European towns in the Middle Ages. Finally, better infant survival, longev ity, and health care all have to do mainly with improvements in sanitation and the practice of medicine, not with greater affluence.

There are probably more people alive and living in abject poverty now, some two billion, than were alive as recently as the turn of the 20th century. Natural areas, unaffected by human presence, have almost disappeared. For all our progress, wouldn't it be nice if we could at least make this a world where we can

all live decently and in harmony with our surroundings. If well-intentioned excesses of some educators in our

Dear Tom Davey: I was very much disturbed by the ar ticle "Green education or indoctrina

tion?" on page 70 of your November 1999 magazine. In this article Laura

vironmental educational programs for children that provide a balanced per spective on the environment. The Chil dren's Water Institute, an organization that hosts environmental water festivals

for elementary children across the Prov ince of Ontario, is just such an exam ple. This organization prides itself on developing interactive activities for chil dren that teach children how water is

used and notjust how it is contaminated. For more information, you can visit the website at www.kidsforwater.org. I would be more than happy to an swer any questions or to perhaps write an article for your publication on this organization. Sincerely, Chad Horenfeldt, Program Director, Children's Water Institute

Jones slams environmental education

programs that currently exist in today's schools and then blatantly self-promotes a book that was put out by her company. The Fraser Institute. What she has failed to notice or to

look into is that there are wonderful en

Re: Sid Dutton Obituary Hi Tom:

Congratulations on a great article about a great guy in the Globe and Mail. Regards, Kim Shikaze

into the river where it was carried to-and-

Dear Tom and Steve:

It was with great interest that I read your editorial in the January 2000 issue of Environmental Science & Engineer ing. The article relates how the engi neering profession helped our society by finding solutions to its major health threats caused by con

fro by the tides. The Times called the cri sis 'The Great Stink'. Parliament had to

act - drastic measures were required to clean up the Thames and to Improve Lon don's primitive system of sanitation. The great engineer entrusted by Parliament with this enormous task was Sir

Joseph Bazalgette, and this book Is a fascinating account of

tamination of its water

supply. Your article concerning the cholera epidemic in London, England, mentions Dr.

his life and work.

"Bazalgette's response to the challenge was to conceive and build the system of Intercept ing sewers, pumping stations

Scie"ÂŁl:

and treatment works that

serve London to this day. In the process, he cleansed

John Snow and his work

in identifying the Broad

the River Thames of the

Street well in Soho as the

capital's sewage and helped to banish cholera,

source for the dreaded dis ease.

which in the mid-nine

I suggest that your read ers might leam more about

teenth century carried off over 40,000 Londoners."

this event and the work of

an engineer by reading the book entitled: The Great Stink of Lon don, Sir Joseph Bazalgette, and the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis. Stephen Halliday wrote it and it has been published in 1999 by Sutton Publishing Limited. Phoenix Mill - Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2BU (ISBN 07509-1975-2). The flyleaf describes the accomplishment by the famous engineer of the day: "Sewage generated by a population of over two million Londoners was pouring

On a personal note, I am quite honoured to read my name along with Dr. Berry of the OWRC,Dr. Naismith of Gore Naismith and Storrie,

Pat Bourgeois of AQTE(Quebec),Stan Mason of BC, and Dr. Philip Jones of the U of T. Your discussion about our

present leaders, many of them women, gives me confidence that engineers and scientists in Canada will continue to lead

in making our water supplies safer and to meet society's sophisticated tastes and demands.

Robert A. Goodings,P.Eng.

schools are what it takes to bring indus 12

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 2000


Geographic Information Systems

Surveyors now recognize Geographic Information Managers as professionals People who manage the development, implementation, and maintenance of the infrastructure of Ontario's landmass are

now able to achieve, on a voluntary ba sis, professional status through member ship in the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors(AOLS). Professional status assures the public that the work being carried out on their behalf meets the

highest of technical standards, and that

professional Geographic Information Managers are bound to the public by strong business ethics through the

municipalities, public agencies and in dustry. The demand for such profession als, is outstripping the ability to supply qualified people. Applications for geo graphic information systems are endless. The need for regulation of this fast-

growing economic sector through pro fessional designation is clear, consider ing the huge financial investment made by the public in creating data bases for GIS, and the impact on public safety. Most major urban centres are already using the GIS developed by Geographic

graphic Information System (GIS)spe cialists and technicians engaged in cre ating and editing geographic data bases, and generating computer displays and related statistical reports. The profes sional GIM and geographic information

Infoimation Managers. When people dial 911 for an ambulance, emergency re sponse team,or police assistance,they trig ger a GIS that directs equipment and peo ple to the source of the call through the shortest route available. Before airiving at the site, the response team may already know who to expect at the street address, and site utilities and nearby resources to

systems have become vital assets to

assist in the call. This information has been

AOLS.

A Geographic Information Manager (GIM) directs the activities of Geo

Process Controls and Instrumentation

generated from a GIS database and pre sented on a map and charts on an on-board computer terminal. A geographic information system is much more than a map. It is an everchanging representation of the rural and urban environments in which we live.

The Geographic Information Man ager owes a high level of care to the public and his or her employer, as does

the Ontario Land Surveyor. Recogni tion of the AOLS as the home of the pro fessional GIM and OLS makes sense.

The Ontario Land Surveyor is a member of one of the oldest professions in Canada. (One of Ontario's great en vironmental engineers, Willis Chipman was deeply involved in the infant AOLS). It is the AOLS that set the fab ric of much of what we now know as our urban and rural infrastructure. Sur

veyors mapped the natural and artificial features of our environment, and have made a valuable contribution to our land

registry system.

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Wastewater

Muffin Monster grinds restaurant wastes for smooth trip down the siopes

Six years ago,a brand new restaurant halfway to the

top of Whistler-BIackcomb Ski Resort, was built to accommodate the enormous increase in skiers

who have made this ski area,60 miles north of Van couver in the Canadian Cascade Mountains,one of the most

popular in the Northwest. Whistler-BIackcomb is located in British Columbia's

Coast Range, a 100-mile swath of majestic mountains and fjord-like inlets that stretches from BC to southeastern Alaska. Adjacent to Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains is Garibaldi Provincial Park, one of the province's 450 pro vincial parks and one of the most frequently visited in south

eastern BC. Garibaldi encompasses 480,000 acres of for est, alpine tundra and ice fields featuring volcanic peaks, alpine meadows and lakes. These features drew a huge throng of summer and winter visitors including some two million skiers to the ski resort in the 1998-99 ski season, an all-time record high for any ski resort in Canada. Ski Maga

The Blackcomb Mountains, Whistler, BC.

zine rated Whistler-BIackcomb the number one ski resort in

taurant. There,thanks to a Muffin Monster,restaurant wastes

the world. No wonder the Canadian Olympic ski team chose Whistler as its training ground. Because of Whistler's lofty stature among ski resorts, these record numbers of visitors who flock to her slopes put demands on all her facilities, including Glacier Creek Res-

are ground up before they are directed through a single sewer line down to the bottom of the mountain where it joins a municipal line which directs it to the area's wastewater treatment plant. Glacier Creek Restaurant, located above the gondola at Blackcomb, seats some 1,200 hungry diners who drop in from a morning on the slopes for a quick snack or larger meal before heading back out to the ski runs. According to restaurant sanitary engineer John Milne, sewage and kitchen wastes are collected in a catch basin and fed to the 6" sewer line where they are chewed up by the grinder located immediately behind the large building.

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Two years ago, the unit was taken off line and sent to JWCE for free routine maintenance, according to Milne, who added,"When it was taken apart it was clean as any thing. People flush down debris they shouldn't," Milne said, mentioning baby diapers specifically, "and the grinder has been very effective at grinding it up." Milne also said that because of the hard objects that tend to get into the sewer line, a screen/pump arrangement would be far less effective and also more costly. "The screens can clog up the pumps and, if they have to be replaced, it could cost you about $3,500 a pump. That, plus labour, would make it extremely expensive." For more information, circle reply card No. 106 Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


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Infrastructure

Sewer model helps postpone $2 million BC sewer project for five years

A sewer model that cost $125,000 to develop,show

3.11013. 1.200

ed that a new $2 million

sewer project wouldn't be needed for another five years. Addi tional savings came from proving that developments that require downstream infrastructure improvements should bear the costs of those works. A key reason for the reasonable cost of the model was

the fact that the software used,

HYDRA™ from Pizer Incorporated, Seattle, Washington, was able to import the spatial network and physical at tributes contained in the City of Surrey's (British Columbia)geographic infonnation system (CIS). For the last two decades, the City of Surrey has been the fastest-growing major city in Canada. Between the 1996 census and the year 2000,its population is expected to increase from 304,000 to 349,000. Located just south of Vancou ver and directly adjacent to the United States border, Surrey is close to five major highways,four railways,deep-sea docking facilities and an international airport. The 900-plus businesses that locate to Surrey each year have access to a large consumer market as well as a talented and diverse labour pool capa ble of supporting a wide range of busi ness needs.

Infrastructure planning challenges The enormous growth in population and industry experienced by the City has placed major challenges on its infra structure planning operations. The fact that the City has more than doubled in size over the last two decades calls for

careful infrastructure planning to make sure that planned works are adequately sized and delivered just in time. Engi neers need to closely monitor the City's growth because if any area exceeds the capacity of the local sewers,sewage can back up onto private property or be dis charged into the environment. Sewer modeling previously per formed by Amin Lalani, Sewer and Water Planning Manager, used an inhouse computer model. The problem with this approach was that the consid erable number of simplifying assump

Importing census data into HYDRA. month's time for Lalani and an assistant

BC,and their project team that included

to update the model to accommodate one year's growth. Finally, without any graphical output, the previous model could not be easily understood by the non-technical people who are often in volved in the planning process, such as city officials and developers. Need for a graphical model Lalani and Mike Darbyshire, Sewer & Water Systems Manager for the City, came to the conclusion that they needed to develop a graphical hydraulic model. The City had recently invested in

CH2M Gore and Storrie Ltd. and Craw

Arclnfo CIS software from ESRI, Redlands, California, and had created a

tions that had to be made left the accu

model that completely depicts the City from a geographical and lot planning standpoint. "We realized that it would be an enormous task to develop a sewer model from scratch for a city of our size," Lalani said. "We were hoping that it might be possible to leverage the in vestment we had already made in our CIS system in order to reduce the time and cost required to build a model." Lalani and Darbyshire interviewed a number of consultants with experience in developing large sewer models. They were impressed by the experience of

racy of the model in doubt. Another

Chris Johnston, of Kerr Wood Leidal

drawback was that it took about six

Associates Limited, North Vancouver,

16

ford Engineering Associates. "I showed them how HYDRA can

dramatically reduce the time required to create the model," Johnston said. "This

software package provides powerful tools not only for importing the CIS model but also for correcting the large number of errors that are present in al most every CIS model. It automatically checks the continuity of the imported data,and provides a series of reports that highlight nearly every problem." Extracting data from CIS model The ability of Kerr Wood Leidal's project team to make use of the existing GIS model was a key factor in helping the company win the project through the proposal evaluation process. The project began by exporting two primary layers from the City's GIS: the sanitary sewer layer and the parcel layer. The sanitary sewer layer includes the spatial network and physical attributes such as length, diameter, upstream/downstream coordi nates, elevation, and material. The par cel layer includes the surface area, zon ing, and owner of every lot in the city. The dBASE files associated with the

GIS information were imported into Continued on page 18

EnvironineiUal Science & Engineering. March 2000


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Infrastructure

the error-checking routines contained in I

I £<riSetup lUCopylriS^'

the sewer modeling program. Reports

j

produced by the program highlighted continuity problems, missing data, and other errors. These errors had not been

detected up to this point because the GIS had been used primarily as a graphical tool only. After making the coixections, a table was produced that showed all of the errors and was passed back to the City for use in correcting the GIS data base. 10

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Loading the sewer model The next step was loading the sewer

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model. For the residential lots, Johnston used 1996 census data to calculate the

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approximate number of persons per lot for each sector of the city. He then used that figure to load each individual lot in each sector. The process of loading in

Hydrograph detail.

Microsoft Access to produce a file in HYDRA'S special DXA format which includes spatial coordinates and links to the attributes contained in the parcel layer. Since that time, Pizer has intro duced a GIS Layer Wizard that auto

mates this process using ESRI Shapefiles. The user can now simply specify the files that contain the GIS layers and the wizard automatically brings them into the program. Johnston then took full advantage of

dustrial, commercial and institutional lots was more challenging. Johnston used figures from other cities to deter mine a standard figure for loading each type of lot based on an equivalent num ber of persons per hectare. Johnston then added an allowance for each lot to

depict inflow and infiltration based on the results of a detailed analysis under taken by the regional district.

Loss.

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18

For more Information, circle reply card No. 109 (See page 25)

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Infrastructure Johnston then created two additional model scenarios. One assumed that all

of the additional development specified in the City's current zoning plan would be completed. The next scenario in cluded additional development specified in the community plan. In the mean

it easy to spot deficiencies. This initial iteration clearly showed that Johnston's estimates for sewer loading in industrial areas were too high. The reason was most likely the fact that Surrey's indus try is heavily weighted toward distribu

tion businesses that do not heavily load the sewer system. It was a relatively simple process to reduce loading factors in industrial areas until the model's pre dictions there matched measurements

Continued on page 20

time, Kerr Wood Liedal contracted Southwestern Flowtech and Environ Pafcei data

mental, Surrey, BC, to install 28 new sewer flow monitoring stations to com plement the 26 stations for which data had already been collected. These sta tions measured flow at strategic points in the City's sewer system to validate the accuracy of the sewer simulation. Modeling growth scenarios Johnston was then ready to run the analysis to determine the ability of the existing infrastructure to handle the cur rent load as well as the two growth sce

EDEEZIE G C G Q G G G

10 TYPE NUMDOT SIZE XCOOR YCOOR MSG

SY ID

522037.78 5439391 59 FbwIroraLU 17211

SY DELAY

,LU ID TA AREA RES POP RES ACTIVE RES CPC RES OIU QSMAP POP VIS POP i->VIS ACTIVE VIS CPC VIS DIU.. COM VOL

narios. The first time Johnston ran the

CX)M ACTIVE COM DiU IICATCH NU PEAKll SS COLOR CAD LINTYP CAD COLOR ran Nfinsi?

analysis, its predictions closely matched the information collected by the moni toring stations in the residential areas. On the other hand, the model's predic tions exceeded physical measurements

249

ao7 135 100 350.00 V/EEKEND 1687 aoo 100 360.00 SATUROAYCOM

535.00 TOO IIBASE 195 7455

in the industrial areas. The model over

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innHBimTifTriTiea

irWTl tn-n

Importing parcel layer into Hydra.

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For more information, circle reply card No. 110 (See page 25)

19


Infrastructure

recorded by the monitoring stations. After making this correction, the model accurately predicted flows and depths throughout the entire system. Johnston turned the model over to

Darbyshire and Lalani who began us ing it as an integral part of the planning process. "The model provides an ex cellent decision-making tool," Darby shire said. "You can simply click on a pipe to see in a single window every thing you need to know for your plan. It shows the physical parameters, areas

tributary to that node, population tribu tary to that node,and the current hydrau lic grade line. In other models I've seen you have to manually calculate area and population tributary to a node. I espe cially like the colour-coding in which serious deficiencies are highlighted in red and lesser deficiencies are in yel low." All told, 23,000 pipes and 87,000

already proved its worth. The most dra matic example came when we analyzed one area where we had previously

planned to put in a new sewer. The model showed that the new sewer would

not be needed for another five years. Additional savings have come through

our ability to prove that new develop ments will overtax the existing infra

lots were modeled.

structure. In one recent case we showed

Huge return on investment "In the year since the model has been up and running," Darbyshire said,"it has

that a particular development would pose a problem. As a result, the devel oper had to pick up the $50,000 cost of downstream improvements." "All in all," Darbyshire concluded, "we made a wise decision in develop

ing this model. When you're facing a question of whether or not to invest mil lions of dollars of taxpayers' money for new sewers, you can't rely on guess work. We can now produce precise sewer loading calculations for any growth scenario that we want to inves tigate. The HYDRA model gives us numbers that we can rely on and presents them in a clear, graphical format that makes it easy to explain our recommen

1

m-w

dations to decision-makers and other

interested parties." For more information, circle reply card No. 112 COUNTY OF OXFORD

requires a

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


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Drinking Water Treatment

Activated carbon use in Ontario drinking water treatment piants 40% of plants surveyed used PAC, 45% used GAC

The Treatment Committee of the Ontario Water

Works Association(OWWA)performed two sur veys of activated carbon usage at drinking water treatment plants in the province. A 1995 survey was to determine the extent and application of activated car bon use. A follow-up survey was undertaken in 1998, to determine changes in carbon usage since the first survey. The perception was that taste and odour events in Ontario had increased and activated carbon was increasingly being used in drinking water treatment. The surveys were conducted by mailing questionnaires to water treatment plants throughout the province, using the OWWA utility database. In the 1995 survey, 93 completed questionnaires were received and in the 1998 survey, 43 completed questionnaires were received. One of the major findings of the survey was that acti vated carbon usage has increased substantially in the past three years. In the 1995 survey, 27% of the plants used activated carbon and in the 1998 survey this percentage had increased to 49%. (Figure 1) Typically, activated carbon is applied either in powdered form as Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) or in granular form as Granular Activated Carbon (GAC). In the powdered form, activated carbon is added as ei ther a dry powder or a slurry to the raw water, similar to the addition of any other chemical. The compounds in the wa ter which are adsorbable are adsorbed on the carbon and

then the carbon is removed from the water by the down stream sedimentation and filtration processes. In the granular form,the water to be treated flows through

a bed of activated carbon and the compounds in the water are adsorbed onto the carbon. When the absorptive capac ity of the GAC is exhausted, it is removed, replaced or re generated. The type of carbon used was split almost equally be tween Powdered Activated Carbon and Granular Activated

Carbon. Ofthe plants using activated carbon that responded to the 1998 survey, 40% used PAC, 45% used GAC and 15% used a combination of PAC and GAC. (Figure 2) It was also shown that activated carbon usage was more prevalent for some raw water sources than for others (Table 1). Powdered Activated Carbon

One of the interesting findings from the surveys was that from 1995 to 1998,PAC dosages have increased. The me dian PAC dose from the 1995 survey respondents ranged from 0 to 5 mg/L. By the 1998 survey, this median PAC dose had increased to 5 to 10 mg/L. The survey found that the majority of the plants used PAC during the summer and Fall periods. In the 1995 survey, however,30% of the plants used PAC continuously. By 1998, the plants using PAC continuously had decreased to less than 10%. This is likely a result of operations staff optimizing PAC use. Approximately 50% of the plants using PAC used it for 60 to 180 days of the year. The length of time PAC was used during the year, increased from the 1995 survey to the 1998 survey. In 1995 the median period of use was 30 to 60 days/ year and by 1998 this had increased to 60 to 90 days/year. Granular Activated Carbon

By Michael Gundry, P.Eng.,

Most of the plants using GAC apply it in the filter adsorber mode;only one plant responding to the survey used dedicated GAC contactors. Filter adsorbers are typically

Totten Sims Hubicki Associates

constructed from conventional dual media sand anthracite

Continued on page 24

Figure 1 Plants Using Activated Carbon

Figure 2 Type of Activated Carbon Used

GAC 1998

Survey Date 22

Both

Type of Carbon Used

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


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

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For more information, circle reply card No. 114 (See page 25)


Drinking Water Treatment

Table 1

9th National Conference

Use of Activated Carbon and Raw Water Source

on Drinking Water

Raw Water Source

Maintaining Drinking Water Quality Lessonsfrom the Prairies and Beyond

Percentage of Plants Using Activated Carbon

May 16-18,2000 Regina, Saskatchewan

Grand River

100%

Lake Erie

85%

Bay of Quinte

67%

St. Lawrence River

50%

Lake Huron

50%

Lake Ontario

17%

ewan Environment and Resource Management,SaskWater, City of Regina and Canadian Water and Wastewater

Georgian Bay

0%

Association.

Ottawa River

0%

Join scientists, regulators, engineers, treatment profession als and others at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center

in Regina for two days of thought-provoking presentations and poster displays on emerging issues and innovative tech nologies in drinking water treatment. Don't miss this opportunity to participate in Canada's premier drinking water event! Conference sponsors: F/P Drinking Water Subcom mittee, Health Canada, Environment Canada, Saskatch

CWWA's 2000 MANAGEMENT SEMINAR will take

place at the same location on May 15-16,2000. This Semi nar will focus on the strategic issues of CEPA toxicity for chloramines and ammonia; municipal infrastructure fund ing, and CDBPs:each impacting the management and pro vision of public water and wastewater services. Eor full preliminary programs of both events, registra tion, event and joint event fees, and hotel information,

Data takenfrom raw water sources with more than one plant responding to survey filters in which the anthracite has been replaced with granu lar activated carbon.

The contact time for GAC contactor affects the efficiency of the contactor in that the more contact time available, the

more efficient the adsorption will be. The median Empty Bed Contact Time based on the survey responses was 5 to

contact:

CWWA,Tel:(613) 241-5692, Fax: 241-5193 E-mail: admin@cwwa.ca or visit the website at: www.cwwa.ca

CWWAWEPU

For more information, circle reply card No. 115 (See page 25)

10 minutes.

The life expectancy of the GAC,based on the responses from the survey, averaged approximately three years. Ap proximately half of the plants using GAC leased the GAC and the other half had purchased it. The OWWA intends to update this survey on a regular basis to track changes in carbon usage. A future survey will compare raw water temperature with taste and odour epi sodes. â?–

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Ad Index

Company

Page

Reader Service No.

ABS Pumps Am. Concrete Pipe Assn

57 21

167 113

Company International Water Supply Interprovlnclal Corrosion ITT Flygt

Page

Reader Service No.

42 39 15

199 138 107 102

Anthrafilter

57

165

Aquablast Aquatic Sciences

57 36

168 130

KMK Consultants

8

KMK Consultants

59

185

Armtec

17

108

Makloc Buildings

72

194

Bovar GAEAL

3 39

134 188

Metcon

34

176-179

John Meunler

47

143

Gancoppas

63

105

Monsanto Envlro-Chem

31

123

GH2M Gore & Storrie

51

148

Colgate Palmollve Colgate Palmollve Conestoga-Rovers County of Oxford

23 72 54 20

114 190-192 151

Ont. Concrete Pipe Assn Pall Corporation

CWWA

24

115

Davidson Env

57

169

Denso

32

124

Sanltherm Engineering Security Insurance Co

Donson

24

116

DIE Industries

79. 40-41.

163 139

PCB Containment

52.

149

ProMlnent

35.

129

R'2000

28.

120

Reseau envlronnement

49.

146

14, 54 18

150

Smith & Loveless

62

103

57

170

9

101

Southam

Eaglebrook

20

Ill

Stormceptor

Earth Tech

38

137

Summa

109

6

136

13

215-218 166

Eckel

60

157

Terratec

57

Ecodyne Eco Process & Equipment

27 33

119 172

The Engineering Link

37

181

Trans Environmental

49

145

Fabricated Plastics

38

183

University of Toronto

44

141

Foreign Affairs

29

121

Urecon

72

195

GL&V / Dorr-Ollver

42

140

Golder Associates Greatarlo Hach Hoffman

26 19 5 56

117 110 212-214 152

USA BlueBook

80

161

10-11

.209, 281-289

VIctaullc

37

182

Waterloo Barrier

44

174

2

133

US Filter

Zenon Environmental

FOR QUICK RESPONSE, FAX BACK TO (905)841-7271 FREE Information Service for Readers

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Environmental Science <& Engineering, March 2000

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25


Drinking Water

Solving high water consumption Leaking main detected in underground parking lot

Afacility manager noticed that

in comparison with other buildings in the management portfolio, water consump tion was extremely high. The site itself was composed of two 27-year old highrise apartment buildings (with a total of 460 suites) sharing a common water meter. The main water line connecting the two buildings ran nine feet beneath

from other industry professionals of the work done by Strategic Utility Manage ment Inc. (SUM) and asked them to evaluate the situation. SUM initiated a

technical audit. After reviewing all of the relevant data, including an histori cal review of the buildings' water con sumption, an assessment of tenant wa ter requirements, and a thorough inspec tion and flow metering of the buildings'

building leakage. The test worked on the assumption that at least once during the night, water consumption would reach zero - indeed, in a building with no base leakage, consumption typically hits zero many times in a night. How ever,the analysis in this case determined that at no point during the 72 hours pe riod did consumption drop to below 40 gpm. A far cry from zero. Obviously,

the concrete slab of the lowest level of

fixtures, it was concluded that not all of

there was a substantial leak somewhere

the underground parking garage be tween the two buildings. In this facility, water consumption per suite averaged 700 cubic metres per suite, per year, while other properties were averaging 260 cubic metres per suite, per year. A costly difference. Property management had heard

the excessive water consumption at the site could be accounted for by the exist ing fixtures and their flow profiles. Per haps the site was experiencing base level leakage. Following their hunch, a water use flow profile was recommended and car ried out by SUM and their consultant, Veritec Consulting Inc. The purpose of the flow profile was to catalogue water consumption in the buildings every five seconds over a period of 72 hours to determine if there was any substantial

on the site.

By Ian Stewart, VP, Strategic Utility Management Inc.(SUM)

WE BELIEVE BOTH INDUSTRY AND NATURE SHOULD WIN!

The problem now, of course, was to find it. There was no discernible visual evidence of the leak in either the under

ground parking garage or in the sur rounding property. When sight failed, SUM went to sound. To pinpoint the leak, leak noise correlators were set up. Two acoustic microphones were in stalled at different points along the main water line. The microphones pick up leak noise -if there is any - and accord ing to the difference in time between

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26

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For more information, circie repiy card No. 117 (See page 25)

Environmental Science tfe Engineering. March 2000


Drinking Water when the microphones receive the sig nal, the location of the leak can be ac

curately determined. It turned out, in fact, the leak was in the main line - nine feet under the con

crete slab of the underground parking garage. This assessment was confirmed by another set of high-resolution microphones that actually allowed

not account for the base building leak age at the site, they did account for a great deal of money going literally down the drain. This type of water inefficiency is quite common throughout the indus try and is certainly not restricted to older facilities.

water supply. Problem number one was

The second problem was actually discovered during the initial technical audit. While the existing features did

not restricted to a reduction in the ex

pense column. In this case, the project costs were $150,000, which included the

ments. The actual annual water/

sewage and energy savings is over

$235,000. Thus, the payback on the project investment was only eight months - a return on invest ment of 146%.

Overall, what originally looked to be one problem - high water

leak, SUM recommended aban

solved.

It should be noted that the effects of

such upgrades to existing facilities are

gineering tests and audits, the main pipe replacement, and the toilet, shower head and aerator replace

Property management now faced the problem of repair or re place. Given the age of the facil ity (27 years) and the fact that the leaking pipe, nine feet beneath the parking garage, was galvanized and could very well spring another

connected to the meter and the main

with the new fixtures.

initial evaluation, the technical en

the leak to be heard.

doning the pipe altogether. There fore, there was no digging and no disruption to the parking facility. Instead, a new pipe was strung along the ceiling of the bottom level of the underground parking garage and

the tenants are overwhelmingly satisfied

costs - turned out to be several.

Presented with a high-return savings profile, management retained SUM to implement an overall water manage ment program for the two buildings. This included installing low flow toilets,

With the help of SUM, property management was able to isolate and address these problems quickly and efficiently. Water costs in the facility have been greatly reduced through leak control and an extensive water manage ment program. Tenant satisfaction is up,

faucet aerators, and shower heads in

and so is the bottom line.

every suite at the site. Maintenance de mands have been greatly reduced while

For more information, circle reply card No. 118

Potable water.

Portable plant. Ecodyne 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 additional or improved water is needed. Each Monoplant contains clarification, filtration, chemical feed and gravity backwash systems. Conservativeiy designed, the f^onoplant produces water with an effluent turbidity of less than 1 JTU.

For complete information, contact; Ecodyne Limited 4475 Corporate Drive Burlington, Ontario L7L 5T9 Telephone;(905) 332-1404 Toll Free: 1-888-ECODYNE

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

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27


Air Pollution

On World Environment

Day June 5*** The world's

most significaiit integrated Resources Management event

Canada signs acid rain and smog reduction agreement

Canadasigned an international

agreement with 25 countries,

December 3, 1999, that will

help address air quality and acid rain. The Protocol to Abate Acidi

fication, Eutrophication and Groundlevel Ozone (ABGLO) was signed in Gothenburg, Sweden, during a meeting of the United Nations Economic Com

Is about to take

place in Toronto.

mission for Europe(UN ECE)that also marked the 20th anniversary of the UN ECE Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). Acid rain continues to be a problem in eastern Canada and ground-level ozone, a major component of smog, is of particular concern in southeastern Canada and southern British Columbia.

Canadian emissions are a major factor, but US sources account for about 50 per cent of the acid rain problem in eastern Canada and between 35 and 90 percent of the ground-level ozone problem in southeastern Canada. In April 1999, Canada and the US agreed to negotiate

lems: acidification - caused largely by emissions of sulphur and nitrogen ox

ide from a variety of industrial proc esses; and ground-level ozone. The transboundary movement of air pollution poses a threat to the health and security of people in Canada and around

a new annex to the 1991 Canada-United

the world. In Canada, recent scientific

States Air Quality Agreement on ground-

evidence has demonstrated that Cana

level ozone.

dians' health is being damaged through

Premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of other

health impacts are being linked to smog every year. The AECLO Protocol is the eighth and likely final Protocol under the Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution

The R'2000 Congress brings together

science, industry and the public sector to discuss crucial issues related to Integrated Resources Management. Madame Jacqueline Aloisi tie Larderal of the United Vations Environmental

Program (UNEP) will officially open the Congress on World Environment Day, June 5th. Benefit from a world of

knowledge and opportunity at the R'2000 Congress and the Envirotech 2000 Trade Show. 1-800-208-9398

www.rrr2000.<om For more information, circie reply card No. 120

Convention of the United Nations Eco

nomic Commission for Europe. Canada has been strongly committed to the LRTAP process for 20 years, cooperat ing with the US and European countries to reduce air pollutants that flow across boundaries through the atmosphere. The AECLO Protocol addresses

three important transboundary air pol lution problems:

exposure to ground-level ozone at all levels. Premature deaths and hundreds

of thousands of other health impacts, including respiratory illness and asthma, are being linked to smog every year. International agreements, such as this Protocol, help address transboundary threats to human security and health. The unique aspect of this Protocol is that it treats Canadian commitments

separately from European commit ments. It allows Canada to bring in emission commitments upon ratification

• acidification or acid rain;

at emission levels of its choice once

• ground-level ozone; and • eutrophication, or excess fertility in ecosystems, a transboundary issue only in Europe. Under the Protocol, parties are re quired to reduce emissions of sulphur

domestic mechanisms are in place such as the Canada-wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post-2000 and the Canada-wide Standard for Ozone. Both of these are

expected to be completed within the next two years. This flexibility allows

dioxide (SO,), nitrogen oxides (NOj^),

Canada to tailor its reduction commit

volatile organic compounds(VOCs)and (in Europe only) ammonia. This Proto col helps Canada address two of its pri ority transboundary air pollution prob-

ments to its specific needs. The Protocol covers Canada, the United States and the eastern and west

ern regions of Europe. ❖

Environmental Science & Engineering. March 2000


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Canada


Wildlife protection

Precast concrete box culverts save large animals and costs to motorists

The Trans-Canada Highway

through Banff National Park in Alberta, has a major effect on animals in the park. It is a

barrier to natural wildlife movements.

An average of68 large animals are killed on highways in the park every year. Large animals on the road also pose a serious hazard to

or the Ontario Highway Bridge Design

the top of the culvert and 0.5 m down

Code. A minimum concrete cover over

each side were sealed with a membrane

reinforcement was specified to be 50 mm. The box units were produced in 2 m long sections with a dry-cast, vibra tion process to meet CAN3 A23.1-M90

waterproofing which was covered dur ing backfill with a 20 mm thick poly styrene protection board. Emulsified asphalt damp-proofing was applied on

and A23.4-M78 standards. An inde-

each side of the culvert below the mem

brane waterproofing. The length of the culverts was then lined with 75 mm-deep fine

motorists. With over 14,000

motorists per day at the Banff park gates,it is clear that some

sand to create a more natural

walking surface.

measures must be taken to

The Phase 3A wildlife

protect animals and motorists.

crossing structures have been

Most of the Trans-Canada has

monitored sinee installation to

been twinned through the park, with one-quarter of the most recent budgets for new twinning designated for meas ures to protect wildlife and the

determine their effect on wild life movements. A monitor

ing progress report, including the first year of service, has just been completed. Wildlife visits were quantified by iden tifying tracks at 2 m wide

environment. These measures

include fencing and wildlife crossing structures in the form of animal underpasses and

raked sections at the entrances

to the crossing structures overpasses. every three days. The report concentrated on Recently, Phase 3A of the large mammals(wolves, cou twinning of the Trans-Canada through Banff National Park gars, coyotes, bears, deer, and included four concrete box elk). All of these animals used the wildlife crossing struc culvert wildlife crossing un derpasses. The culverts are tures during the year-long study, with 614 total visits to 3000 mm x 2400 mm in cross the 12 crossings, and 556 section. Three of the cross through-passages,for an over ings are continuous under all through-passage percent both sides of the highway, av eraging 65 m long. One is a Both wildlife and motorists will be protected by concrete age of90.5%. All but the cou underpasses. split crossing with a break at gar (that only made one visit the median; each section is 32 m long. pendent laboratory tested the concrete, to any of the 10 structures) and the wolf Precast concrete box culverts were es and Public Works Canada representa (two visits) crossed using the concrete pecially suited to this application due to tives inspected the production, and the box culverts. Total visits to the four con long service life, and ease of installa finished boxes. The box unit at each end crete box culverts numbered 174, with tion. Also included in this phase, were of each crossing was produced with a 160 through passages for an average four metal culvert and two creek path 300 mm x 300 mm curb across the top through-passage of 92.0%. Monitoring way underpass crossings, as well as two to help grading and landscaping. is expected to continue until at least 2001 concrete arch overpass crossings. The boxes were installed by three to determine how wildlife will respond Lafarge Pipe and Standard Products contractors, Bremner Engineering and and adapt to the structures. of Calgary designed and produced the Construction (Canmore), Top Notch It is encouraging to see effective box units for this project. They were Construction (Calgary), and Selkirk measures being taken to protect wild designed to meet ASTM C789 and C850 Paving (Creston, BC). All three con life and motorists through Banff Na since the range of cover was 0.3 m to tractors elected to use a C-hook supplied tional Park. Wildlife crossing structures 8.0 m. The boxes were designed for HS- by Lafarge to install the sections, rather have been used in other areas of the 32 highway loading, and had to meet the than having the units made with lift world with varying degrees of success. more stringent of CSA-S6 Bridge Code, holes that would have to be patched af The results from the Banff studies and

By Ryan Finley, P.Eng., Lafarge Canada Inc. 30

ter installation.

installations can add to the effectiveness

The boxes were placed on a mini mum 400 mm thick levelling pad of 20 mm crushed gravel. After installation.

of future designs. For more information,

circle reply card No. 122

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


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Water Quality Standards

US water policy shifts focus to runoff and water quality standards

Since the Clean Water Act

(CWA) was created in 1972, clean water programs have tried to make the waters of the

United States fishable and swimmable. The focus of these efforts has been on

reducing pollutants from industry and municipal wastewater plants. Section 303(d) of the 1972 CWA deals with "total maximum daily loads" (TMDL). A TMDL is the maximum daily load of a specified pollutant that can be discharged into a given stretch of river, waterway or coastal area, and still ensure the preservation of Water Quality Standards. This concept is re garded as a holistic approach to water shed pollution and makes regulators fo cus on all pollution sources and their cumulative effects on resources instead

of individual problems. The original CWA required states to develop a list of TMDL impaired water bodies by 1979. If the states failed to do so, then USEPA was supposed to withhold money and then write TMDLs themselves. Despite the law, they were rarely written. When states finally started to implement the TMDL pro gram,the number of impaired water seg ments increased dramatically. In Idaho,

for example, impaired water segments increased from 32 to 960 reaches.

Environmental groups all across the US(27 states) have been initiating law suits to require the implementation of the TMDL portion of the CWA and win ning. Settlements are requiring states to conduct detailed monitoring evalua tions of all waterways and water bodies and to establish a TMDL limit for each.

As a result, water quality monitoring programs are being increased nation wide.

As a result of these lawsuits, states

1999 court decision in California estab

lished time frames to achieve clean-up goals and pollutants to be regulated. The TMDL will require major changes to the way urban stormwater runoff is viewed and the way in which it is discharged to waterways and coastal areas. There are many uncertainties in the implementation of these programs. Can new permits be issued if a TMDL viola

and local governments will be required to increase their regulatory emphasis on nonpoint source pollution runoff from

tion exists?

cities, suburbs,streets and farms. In the

to move to areas where they can receive higher discharge load allocations? How will TMDL criteria be enforced, espe cially nonpoint sources of pollution? Proponents of TMDL criteria say it is only fair to control nonpoint source pollution. Otherwise, point sources will be required to handle even greater pol lution reductions. This would be very costly compared to nonpoint source re

past, the emphasis was placed on point source pollution from industry and wastewater treatment plants. The TMDL criteria are to evaluate all sources

of pollution, both point and nonpoint, including background pollution and air pollution. They also provide a factor for safety and a factor for future growth. With this information, the TMDLfor the

waterway can be established. They also may be written to control toxics (oil/ grease, metals, chemicals) as well as nutrients or sediments which impair spe cific water resources.

By Vince Berg, P.E., Stormceptor Corporation

large amount of time and money will be spent writing plans to clean up polluted waterways and waterbodies identified under the TMDL program. A January

Impaired waterways represent 40% of the US's waterways, many of which are in urban areas. It is apparent that a

How will those Smart

Growth Areas which violate criteria be handled? Will TMDLs force industries

ductions.

The need for technologies in urban areas to control toxics, sediment, and

other urban pollutants to meet TMDL and other CWA requirements will in crease.

For more information,

circle reply card No. 125

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


European Scene

Pollutec '99 Industry/Ademe Energies '99

Pollutec '99 Industry (the 15th International Exhibition of

Environment Equipment,Tech nology and Services for Indus try), was held in the Fall of 1999 in Paris, in association with Ademe Energies '99 (the 6th Energy Saving and Renewable Sources of Energy Show). It attracted a

Technique and AirPlus/Hydroplus) also awarded Innovative Techniques for the Environment Prizes to six public research laboratories for poster presen

sam (a company that produces gravure cylinders). These trophies are awarded to water agency companies for their ef forts to clean up industrial wastewater. Pollutec 2000 will be held October

tations.

Finally, the General Council of the Seine Saint-Denis awarded the Nymphea '99 Trophies to the RATP and Heiio-

17-20, in Lyon, France. For more information, circle reply card No. 173

total of 38,342 trade visitors, which was

3% up on the previous Paris show in 1997 (37,213 visitors).

TheBioSequencei^

Prominent visitors included Patrick

Tremeje,Assistant to the Mayor of Paris, with responsibility for the Environment;

aSBR technology

Louis Sanchez, Director for the Protec

tion of the Environment at the City of Paris; Corinne Lepage,former Minister of the Environment (who was visiting in order to sign her latest book Good en vironment management, an opportunity for business)', Gerard Miquel, Senator from the Lot; Jean-Franqois Picheral, Senator-Mayor of Aix-en-Provence; Serge Poignant, Deputy for LoireAtlantique; and Dominique Guillemot, Vice-President of the Piqardy Regional

through research & development HYDRAULIC I

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EQUIPMENT I

AUTOMATION

Council. Prizewinners

Organized by Ademe,in association with Industries et Techniques,the Clean and Economic Technologies Trophies were awarded:

• In the large company category to: Motorola(Angers, Maine-et-Loire),for its ground-breaking action plan to sup press emissions of VOCs over a period of time during the manufacture of elec tronic cards, to reduce its quantities of waste and to eliminate lead from its sol

der; Ugine(Gueugnon,Saone-et Loire), for a first in steel making: the treatment of oil vapours; and Dunlop (Amiens, Somme), for developing a new co-ex trusion process that results in a signifi

✓ Town of Cardinal^ ON.(no chemicals)

cant reduction in VOC emissions at

source and to lower energy consump

• BOD5, SS<2mg/L, • TKN<3mg/L • Pi-<0.6mg/L

tion.

Ask for your copy of performance report; ✓ Cardinal, ON., Municipal ✓ Exceldor, QC, Food Industry

• In the small company category to: Idem(Guignes,Seine-et-Mame),for the use of a new - and renewable - source

of energy - straw, in a communal boiler, the printing company ofBrodart(Arcissur-Aube, Aube), for its overall ap

proach to reducing the emission of pol

✓ Chelson Meadow, UK. Leachate

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• Tel.: 450-477-1510

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lutants; the Aile association for using an innovative diagnostic tool for farm trac tors.

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mations Chimie, Environnement et Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

For more information, circle reply card No. 172 (See page 25)

33


Wastewater

Shelburne sewage treatment plant expansion - on time, below budget

The Town of Shelburne is a

small community of 4,000 people, located 70 km north west of Toronto. Shelbume's

prior claim to fame has been the Cana dian Fiddle Contest. But in 1996,

Shelburne was chosen by KTH Indus tries as the new site for an auto parts assembly plant. This was a major ac complishment and a hard act to follow for a small town. However, early in 1999, the Town was chosen as the site for a new facility by Johnson Controls, another large auto parts manufacturer. In order to accommodate both the

plants and the anticipated residential growth as a result of the 450 new jobs in the area, an expansion of the sewage treatment plant was undertaken. The existing plant was an extended aeration New aeration tank at Shelburne Water Pollution Control Plant.

By Heather MacKenzie R. J. Burnside and Associates Limited

oxidation ditch with peripheral feed clarifier and tertiary filtration. In addi tion to increasing capacity, one of the

ProMlnent gamma/L Is a diaphragm type, microprocessor based solenoid driven chemical metering pump. This programmable pump otters same re liability as the gamma/b, but with ad

Acrison model 515 Packaged Polyelectrolyte Processing Module cuts water and wastewater treatment costs

by accurate feeding, positive disper sion, and complete wetting of dry and liquid Polyelectrolyte. The module automatically prepares a homogene ous and precise solution from dry and liquid Polyelectrolyte. Dry solids volumetric feeder meters polymer into a unique wetting chamber. Circle reply card No. 176

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Metcon offers a variety of pre-engineered,fabricated metering and con trol packages, as well as design and fabrication of custom systems. Pack aged panels are corrosion resistant, pre-englneered, pre-packaged, com pletely self-contained packages with chemical metering pumps, all neces sary piping, appurtenances and fit tings assembled and tested. Premounted packages are a cost-effec tive way of ensuring reliable systems. Circle reply card No. 177

goals of the expansion was to address operating difficulties attributed to cold weather operation.

vanced features, continuous stroke

length adjustment measured and dis played in %,output in US gph or L/h, direct calibration and bullt-ln warning, adjustable backpressure control,flow monitor with adjustable error stroke setting. Circle reply card No. 178 Dissolved Oxygen ^ Systems " Dissolved Oxygen System

Capital Controls MSL Dissolved Oxy gen Systems are designed to meet the most demanding of conditions. Sys tems are self-cleaning with positive brush action, autocallbrating against air references at user configurable fre quencies, with built-in data logging. Automatic calibration and local or re

moter communication, give complete confidence in Information reliability. Reliable information enables tighter process control. Circle reply card No. 179

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Wastewater

Maybe Ihe

During prolonged cold periods, the temperature in the oxidation ditch would drop below one degree Celsius, inhibit ing the biological processes and result

"I." slanck for Learned.

ing in high BODj and suspended solids levels in the secondary effluent. The action of the oxidation ditch rotors

throwing mixed liquor into the cold air for oxygen uptake was thought to be the cause of excessive heat loss in the sys tem. The new design incorporates stand

TÂť-?n

ard extended aeration tanks with fine bubble diffused air.

The plant expansion also addresses current regulatory requirements such as incorporating UV disinfection to replace the previous chlorination system and im proved sludge management. The design includes aerobic digestion facilities and the oxidation ditch was converted to pro vide six months sludge storage on site.

Prior to design,stress testing and dye tracing were carried out for the clarifier. The operator had been pleased with the

performance of the existing peripheral feed clarifier and wished to continue

with a similar type of operation. The dye testing bore out the operator's ob servations, performing well beyond the MOE guideline parameters. Based on these results, the addition of the second

clarifier was delayed until the second

phase of construction. Pilot testing of

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metering pump which has the ability to display continuous feed rate pumped voiume, as weil as operating status and stroke length.

The plant discharges to a tributary of the Boyne River, a cold water fishery that forms part of the Nottawasaga River Basin. The discharge criteria was,there

iS

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at 6,6,0.2 mg/L and a seasonal ammo nia limit of 3 and 6 mg/L. The design of the ultimate 2,970 cu.m/day plant consists of improved pretreatment with an automated bar screen and vortex grit removal,new extended aeration tankage and diffused air, twinning the peripheral feed clarifier, use of the existing terti

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All display information can easily be called up and viewed via a push button system. Available in 5 different liquid end materials; PP, PVC, polyacryllc/PVC, PFTE and SS. Operates In remote controlled applications, le 0/4-20 mA with user selected assignment. First to dispiay feed rafe In l/hr or US gal/hr. Control variant and options can be easily

secondaiy aerobic digesters and conver sion of the oxidation ditch for sludge

Feed rates to 32 l/hr and pressures to 234 psi.

o c o

o

retrofitted.

storage.

Construction of the $3 million pro

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35


Drinking Water

York Region testing membrane technology for Lake SImcoe water

The Region of York, north of Toronto, Ontario, is expected

to grow significantly in the next ten years and the result ing water demand will exceed the capacity of many of its existing water supply systems. In order to meet the

The study concluded that Lake Simcoe was the preferred source for the long-term water supply serving the communities of Keswick and

Sutton and the Lakeshore Residen tial Communities in the Town of

Georgina. In the Fall of 1998,Acres

forecasted water demand, the Region initiated a Long-Term Water Project to

& Associated Environmental, in

determine the most secure,environmen

ber firms comprising the Greater Toronto Consulting Group, com pleted a Class Environmental As sessment for the Region which rec

tally sound and cost-effective means of expanding its water supply system. The project was completed as a public/pri vate partnership between the Region of

association with the other mem

ommended that a new treatment fa

York and Consumers Utilities, with

cility be constructed near Willow

Acres & Associated Environmental

Beach to service the area in conjunc tion with the existing Keswick Water Treatment Plant(WTP). This new facility would be ultimately

playing an integral role in the long-term planning aspects of this project and sev eral subsequent studies. The Region issued a Master Plan document that summarized the results

of these studies and identified the long-

term water supply options for the vari ous communities within the Region.

sized for 50 ML/d.

m

The variable quality and high or ganic loadings of Lake Simcoe, along with the Region's desire to provide high quality potable water.

One of the pilot plants Installed at the

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led to the investigation of enhanced water treatment technologies for incor poration into the future Lake Simcoe water treatment facility. In recent years, microfiltration has gained increasing attention from the water treatment in

dustry and was seen as a possible solu tion to the water treatment needs.

Microfiltration(MF)has emerged as a viable altemative to conventional grav

ity sand filters for small to medium size plants that can meet and exceed munici pal water treatment requirements. Some of the advantages of microfiltration in clude:

-WWW.aquatiosciences.com The Aquatic Sciences Inc. website displays a wide range of Environmental Analytical Services for utilities, industries and municipalities. Link to e-mail for specific enquiries.

• minimum chemical pre-treatment for turbidity removal; • modular design to allow for easy plant expansion; and,

• physical barrier for known pathogens (such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium) in water, capable of providing 3-log (99.9 %)removal. Acres & Associated Environmental

Aquatic Sciences inc.

carried out a pilot plant testing program at the Sutton WTP on Lake Simcoe to

determine the applicabihty of membrane filtration for the future water treatment PO Box 2205, 250 Marlindale Road, St. Catherines, ON L2R 7R8

905-641-0941 Telephone 905-641-1825 Facsimile www,aquaticsciences.com

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For more information, ciroie reply card No. 130 (See page 25)

facility. Two manufacturers, US Filter and Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Drinking Water ZENON Environmental,tested their pi lot plant units at the Sutton WTP start ing in July 1998 and ending in Novem ber 1998. The units were run under a

variety of operating parameters and lake conditions. Operating data and water quality data were collected regularly to chart changes in performance. The pilot study successfully demon strated the reliability of MF as a solidliquid separation process without chemi cal pre-treatment. Some of the test re sults include:

source; and,

• Backwash water suspended solids for the pilot units ranged between 10 to 19 mg/L with an average of 13 mg/L - well below the anticipated requirement for discharge to the lake. The two units piloted at Lake Simcoe represent the current state-of-the-art in municipal membrane microfiltration. By piloting both systems, it has been

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- 5 microns (typical for bacteria, cysts and oocysts) in the filtered water ex ceeded 4-log (99.99 %)during a mem

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during the pilot testing will also be use

(taste and odour control, disinfection, etc.) for the future Lake Simcoe Water Treatment Facility. The Region of York initiated consult ant selection early in 2000 which is

brane challenge test. This meets the US

planned to accommodate project timing

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for completion in 2002. For more information,

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Field Convertible Check Valve. The new Series 317 check valves from Victaullc'® provide a new dimension in service and adaptability. Grooved ends reduce the weight of the valve making it faster and easier to install. A closure coupling and cap give you quick access to the valve for any required maintenance. This AWWA C-508 valve features a clear flow design and offers positive sealing in either a horizontal or vertical position for pressures up to 175 psi. All accessories are designed for direct mounting in the field. Victaullc provides you with a complete valvlng package for lift stations. Available in four field convertible trim packages. Contact Victaullc for

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37


Spring Conference Preview

OWWA/OMWA Joint Annual Conference &

A

A

Trade Show 2000 May 7-10, 2000•The Cieary International Centre, Windsor, Ontario

Monday, May 8 - Opening Session • Principles of Infrastructure Funding, Keynote address: Tony Clement, Financing and Management. •Panel Discussion: Question and answer Ontario Minister of the Environment. • Annual Business Meetings; Ontario period. Session B Municipal Water Association, Ontario Water Works Association - A Section of Distribution & Small Systems

water: A Pilot Study. • An Examination of Nitrification Trig ger Conditions within a Bench-scale, Chloraminated Distribution System. •Conducting Extended Period Analysis

•Trends and Advances in Elevated Tank

• Pilot Scale Evaluation of Blue-Green

AWWA.

• Luncheon. Guest Speaker: Maurice O'Callaghan, Author and motivational speaker. Concurrent Sessions - p.m. Session A

Ontario Municipal Water Association

Design.

Algae(Cyanobacteria)Toxins Removal.

•Gloucester Street Watermain Rehabili

• Disinfection and Particle Removal

tation.

Optimization Studies at the City of

• The New Tecumseth Water Supply Project. • Comparison of Methods for Measur ing Corrosion in Drinking Water.

Brantford.

• Current State of Utility Restructuring (Overview of What's Happening).

•Present Results and Future of the EPA

•Government's Interest in Public Drink

tion of Package Drinking Water Treat ment Systems Project.

and NSE Environmental Tech. Verifica

ing Water as viewed by Eva Ligeti,

with a Transient Model.

• Investigation of Organochloramines in Drinking Water. •Inactivation of Bacillus subtilis Endo-

spores and Cryptosporidium parvum Ooocysts by Chlorine Dioxide in Labo ratory Reagent and Ottawa River Waters.

• Canadian Environmental Law Asso

• Using Ammonia to Control Bromate Formation During Drinking Water

ciation's Perspective of the Future of Public Drinking Water in Ontario.

Ozonation.

• Young Professionals Reception. An opportunity for members new to the in dustry to meet established industiy pro fessionals at an informal get-together.

• Occurrence of Legionella in Ground-

• Boat Cruise on the Detroit River

Session C - Research Forum

Former Ontario Environmental Com missioner.

Jim Merritt Senior Consultant

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Earth Tech Canada is pleased to announce that Jim Merritt has Joined our team as a senior consuitant. Jim will provide expertise In the areas of water and wastewater management, as well as in a wide range of environmentai consulting and management services.

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Environment as the Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations. In that position, he was responsible for environmental protection, regulatory and client service activity including approvals and environmental assessment functions.

source for

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Jim was also instrumental In setting up the Ontario Clean Water Agency where he was Vice-President of Water and Wastewater Plant Operations and Engineering Services and VIce-President of Systems Services and Technology. He led the restructuring of water and wastewater plant operations, the introduction of new systems technology and the establishment of an Environmental Management System for the Agency.

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While a Director with the Ministry ot the Environment, Jim led the policy and regulatory development activities, the development of business plans and budgets and the service delivery of the Central Region.

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Spring Conference Preview aboard the Pride of Windsor, courtesy of Ontario Water Works Equipment As sociation.

I ever put in". Management Session • Creating High Performance Organiza

• Planning Policies to Protect Munici pal Groundwater Supplies. • Aquifer Storage and Recovery. • Groundwater Monitoring.

Tuesday, May 9 Early Bird Session • Remembering Our Illustrious Past.

• Leadership Challenges - Toronto's Experience.

• Groundwater Video: Our Hidden

•Hamilton's First Water Works: Past and

• Panel Discussion.

Present. Dallas Wood, Hamilton Mu

•"The Water Works Club" Courtesy of Ontario Water Works Equipment Asso

Session E - Water Efficiency • City of Toronto's Water Efficiency

tions.

seum of Steam and Technology. •The History of Windsor's Water Works System. Brian Mitchell, Windsor PUC (Retired). Plenary Session •Ontario's Public Water Industry-Past, Present and Future.

• Observations on the Past Ten Years.

• The Reasons for Municipal Restruc turing. • How Can We Shape the Future Of Ontario's Drinking Water Industry? Young Professionals Session • Treatment of Groundwater for Man

ganese in Georgetown, Ontario. •Start-up of a Process Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility: Overcoming Adverse Conditions through Process Changes. •Drinking Water Objectives and Emerg ing Technologies. •"I always got more out of AWWA than

Treasure.

Plan.

ciation.

• Introduction To Water Efficiency

• Members Luncheon. Guest Speaker:

Manual for Small to Medium Canadian

Steven F. Gorden, President, American

Municipalities. •When The "Right" Tools Don't Fix the Problem: What Next? Region of Ot-

Water Works Association.

• Poster Session. Open for general viewing. Concurrent Sessions - p.m.

tawa-Carleton Unaccounted-for Water

Experience.

Session D - Treatment

• Water For Tomorrow - Value Added

•Implementing Membrane Technology From Development to Start-up. • Ozone for Drinking Water Treatment and Application in Windsor. • Comparison of Treatment Technolo gies in Full Scale. • Taste and Odour in Drinking Water.

Services in The York Region Water Efficiency Program. • Using Toilet Replacement to Delay Infrastructure Expansion in Uxbridge. Wednesday, May 10

•Current Issues in Disinfection,OWWA

•A.H. Weeks Water Treatment Plant.

Treatment Committee - Spring Specialty Conference Review.

• Chrysler Mini Van Plant.

Session E Groundwater and Source Protection

For details, contact: Tel:(416) 2527060, Fax: (416) 252-3908, E-mail:

• Well Field Optimization Modeling.

ow wa@idirect.com.

Tonrs and Golf • Little River Treatment Plant.

• Golf.

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• ISO/IEC Guide 25 accreditation audits

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Spring Conference Preview

The 29th Annual WEAO Technical

Symposium and OPCEA Exhibition 0PCE4 Hamilton Convention Centre, Hamilton, Ontario

April 16-18, 2000

Water Environment Association of Ontario

when nitrogen and ammonia removal are required. • The Step Bio-P process at Lethbridge. • Enhanced tertiary sedimentation for phosphorus removal. Sewer Use - Municipal Perspective

TECHNICAL SESSIONS

Monday,April 17 Biosolids • WEAO Biosolids Committee.

• Toronto's proposed new sewer use by-law. • Proposed Canada wide mercury

• Improvements in the management of waste activated sludge at the Highland Creek Treatment Plant.

• Gravity belt and rotary drum thick eners - pilot testing and design. • Polymer conditioning improvements. • Innovative approaches to biosolids stabilization. Disinfection - Perfecting The

standards.

• Negotiating extra strength surcharge (BUC)- Its current and future mandates agreements with industries. and scopes. • The application of portable flow me • An overview ofland application man ters for monitoring industrial effluent agement practices in Ontario. discharges. • Model terms of reference for contract • Professional Wastewater Operators ing land application services. (PWO)phosphorus removal workshop.

Final Product

• Biosolids Utilization Committee

Nutrient Removal

• Optimization program increases plant capacity. • Considering membrane bioreactors

• Ultraviolet disinfection technology in Ontario.

• System design and equipment pre selection for UV disinfection.

• Utilizing a fully scaleable demonstra tion unit for UV disinfection.

Innovative Approaches In

• Field verification of UV disinfection

Biosolids Management

• Upgrading Halton's biosolids man

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Spring Conference Preview Sewer Use Industrial Perspectives

• Pollution prevention; federal pro grams and policies - year 2000. • New tools for the management ofcon

• Metabolism, behavior, and modeling of phosphorus accumulating organisms. • Measurement of substrate-specific anaerobic kinetic parameters and active biomass.

taminants in wastewater streams.

• A case for industrial pre-treatment. Tuesday,April 18 Management Issues

• Development and demonstration of a prioritization protocol. • Alternate dispute resolution. • The Ashbridges Bay treatment plant. Combined Sewer Overflow Management

• Maximizing wet weather treatment capacity. • Real time control for CSO manage ment: Quebec. • City of Sarnia basement flooding/ CSO mitigation plan. • Negotiation of sanitary sewer over flow condition on the certificate of ap proval. Research

• Influence of sludge retention time on sludge properties. • Diagnosing anaerobic treatment proc ess upsets using Bayesian Belief net works.

in the design of major trunk infrastruc ture.

• Sediment and sludge removal in large diameter CSO storage tunnels. • Vacuum sewer systems.

Small Systems/Wetlands

New Technologies

• The regulatory framework as it ap plies to small communal wastewater

• Applications of Free-End fibre media in integrated fixed film activated sludge

treatment systems.

systems.

• Addressing challenges from agencies and public for acceptance of treatment

• Automating moving bridge primary clarifiers using ultrasonic detection and digital radio technologies.

wetlands.

• Pilot plant evaluation of recirculating intermittent sand filter technology. • Phosphorus removal using peat land technology.

• Membrane bioreactors.

• Case study: Creemore sewage treat ment plant. • Small rural community in Ontario chooses a membrane bio-reactor.

Optimization

• Upgrading existing secondary clari-

Exhibition

• Process simulation.

Once again, over 100 Ontario Pollu tion Control Equipment Association member companies will come together to exhibit their equipment and services to the many consultants, operators and other industry professionals in the an

• Adding capacity for significantly less

nual OPCEA trade show.

fiers.

• Optimization and rerating of the Duffin Creek WPCP

• Clarifier performance evaluation at three WWTPs.

Operations Challenge Come see some of the best waste-

Collection Systems

• Use of innovative sewer inspection technologies. • Accommodating future development

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pertise during the Professional Wastewater Operators Challenge. Fun and fast paced, the Operations Challenge is an educational event for operators and a focal point for spectators. I Wanna Be An Operator Challenge A fun event that attracts a large audi ence and provides spectators with a bit of a chuckle,the "I Wanna Be An Opera tor" Challenge allows consultants and OPCEA members to showcase their

unique talents. It also provides Opera tions Challenge competitors with the op portunity to preview two of the events, pick up some pointers, and see how the

726-2300, Web site: www.weao.org. AIDIS Seminar The Canadian Section of the Inter-

American Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (AIDISCanada) will hold a seminar on bench marking in the water and wastewater in dustry on April 18 and 19. AIDIS is a non-profit professional and scientific as sociation founded in 1948. It is the only

intemational organization covering all aspects of the environment in the Ameri cas and is officially recognized by both the Pan American Health Organization and the Organization ofAmerican States. For details, contact Werner Wich-

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Spring Conference Preview

Environmental Management and Compliance 2000 April 26 - 27, 2000 Regal Constellation Hotel, Toronto, Ontario Environmental Science & Engineering will present the 8th Annual Environ mental Compliance and Due Dili gence Conference, Workshops and Exposition, April 26 and 27, 2000. Ontario's largest private conference of environmental compliance strategies, technologies and solutions takes place at the Regal Constellation Hotel, near Pearson International Airport, Toronto. The workshops provide a unique en vironmental education and training op portunity for: • Plant managers and engineers. • Environmental managers and

nmeni

■ila

co-ordinators.

• Environmental lawyers. • Environmental and engineering consultants. • Environmental auditors.

• Environmental health and safety managers.

• Dangerous materials shippers and supervisors. • Storage tank managers. • Spills and emergency response teams. Workshop participation gives del egates access to some of Canada's lead ing environmental consultants. Some 50 top-notch speakers representing Cana da's leading-edge environmental train ers,lawyers,consultants, managers,ad ministrators, and health & safety prac titioners, are scheduled to participate in "Environmental Compliance 2000". Following are some of the program highlights: APRIL 26

Environmental Law & Regulation Session A1 - a.m. Federal laws and the new Canadian

Environmental Protection Act, 1999 • Overview of federal environmental law.

• Overview of the Canadian Environ

mental Protection Act, 1999.

Session A2 - p.m. Pollution Prevention (P2)Planning requirements under new legislation • Implementing new pollution preven tion (P2) planning guidelines under CEPA.

• P2 guidelines for complying with Toronto's proposed new sewer-use bylaw.

• A management model for successful pollution prevention planning. • Evaluating the effectiveness of P2 programs.

Practical Problem-Solving Session B1 - a.m.

Practical problem-solving for environmental & plant managers (1) • Off-site and on-site contamination.

1. Neighbours complain, what do you do? 2. Contamination exceeds MOE

guidelines. 3. Adverse ejfects. • Hazardous materials spills, storage, handling & removal. 1. Leaking tanks. 2. Asbestos and PCBs on site.

3. Liability for subcontractors. Session B2 - p.m. Practical problem-solving for environmental & plant managers (2) • Approvals: Solving common prob lems.

1. Expanding facility. 2. Stacks pre-existing 1986. 3. Stacks and emis.sions changed since approval issued. • Resolving industry wastewater com pliance issues. 1. Discharges exceed C of A or MISA limits. Environmental Management Session C1 - a.m.

Principles and best-practices of Environmental Management (1) A practical approach to ISO 14001 Making it work (Part 1) • The ISO 14001 framework environ

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

mental management systems. • Underlying ISO 14001 principles. • Connectivity of elements. • The logical flow of environmental protection elements. Session C2 - p.m. Principles and best-practices of Environmental Management (2) A practical approach to ISO 14001 Making it work (Part 2) • Integrated design of environmental protection elements within an envi ronmental management system. • The four control mechanisms. Environmental Assessments Session D1 - a.m.

Key issues and elements behind a successful environmental assessment

• Industry update on new federal legis lative changes and current hot issues. • Key elements of a successful EA. • Quantifying risk. • Key issues in environmental assess ment.

Session D2 - p.m. Environmental detective work: Site Assessments and SSRAs • The law and contaminated site

liability. • Key strategies to protect yourself and company property. • Environmental forensics: PhaseI and

Phase II environmental site assess ment.

• Decommissioning remediation and the RSC.

• Site-specific risk assessment (SSRA). • Adverse effects: Could you be charged? 43


Spring Conference Preview • Due diligence and the EMS.

APRIL 27

• The environmental consultant and due

Law & Regulation Session A3 - a.m.

Environmental regulation and compliance for supervisors and managers(1) • Provincial environmental legislation across Canada.

• The main components of Ontario's environmental legislation. • The approvals process and approvals

diligence. • The MOE and environmental pros ecution.

Session B4 - p.m. Legal and technical aspects of the defence of environmental charges • Introduction to environmental charges under EPA and Eisheries Act. • The science behind environmental

Management System • Types of audits used in the EMS. • Audit programming. • Value-added auditing. Spill Prevention & Management Session D3 - a.m.

Spill prevention and response for supervisors and managers(1) • Planning, preparedness & response: How the system links together. • The provincial approach to spill pre

regulations: Do regulators expect too

reform.

Session A4 - p.m. Environmental regulation and compliance for supervisors and managers(2) • Enforcement, inspection and investi gations. • Spill reporting requirements. • The waste management system and the new reforms.

• Clean-up of contaminated sites. Due Diligence and Defence OF Charges Session B3 - a.m.

Environmental due diligence for supervisors and managers • Due diligence: What it means for companies.

much?

• Expectations of the courts and defence strategies. • Environmental guidelines and objec tives.

Environmental Auditing Session C3 - a.m.

Integrated environmental and health and safety auditing • Description and uses ofEH&S audits. • Audit protocols. • The general audit process. • Essential skills and techniques. • Compiling audit reports and action plans. Session C4 - p.m. Auditing within an Environmental

vention.

• Introduction to spill prevention tech niques. Session D4 - p.m. Spill prevention and response for supervisors and managers(2) • Preparing for a safer tomorrow. • An industry spill prevention and response plan. • Suddenly there's a spill: What Do You Do? - A guide to incident manage ment.

For conference registration or for in formation on booth space, please con tact Environmental Science & Engineer ing at: 1-888-254-8769,(905)727-4666, Fax: (905) 841-7271. See conference registration form next page.

Those WHO can,Teach. Real world experience from INDUSTRY LEADERS

Join us this spring for compreheiisive seminars that cover all the essentials.

Analytical Probabilistic

How to Implement EMS

Models in Urban

& ISO14001 Standard

Stomiwater Planning

Requirements

May 17-19

Apr«26&27

SEALABLE

JOINT

' The Comprehensive Project Management Seminar March 13 - 15 & April 10-12 Calgary May 8 - 10 & June 5-7 Fredericton May 15 - 17 & June 12- 14 Toronto August 17 - 19 & August 21 - 23 Toronto

• Planning StSchedidingwithPriinaveiaProjectPlaimer April 3-5 ' Forensic Engineering & Failure Analysis April 27 & 28 ' Risk Management for Results June,2000 ' Introduction to AutoCAD 2000 June,2000 ' How to set up an E-Commerce Web Server June,2000 PROFESSIONAL

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University of Toronto Faculty ofApplied Science 6c Engineering

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RO. Box 385, Rockwood, Ontario, Canada NOB 2K0

For more information, circle reply card No. 141 (See page 25)

For more information, circle reply card No. 174 (See page 25)

Tel: (519) 856-1352

Fax: (519) 856-2503


Environmental Management and Compliance 2000

FREE whan you rogiatar today

How to register To reserve your place at the popular 8ch Annual Environmental Management & Compliance Confeience and Workshops, April 26 and 27, 2000, fax the completed Registration Form (below)to (90,5) 841-7271, then mail

Environmental

Management &

Compliance 2000

the form, accompanied by payment (cheques payable to Envimnmenlal Science & Engineering) to:

Environmental Science & Engineering, 220 Industrial Pkwy South, Unit #30, Aurora,ON,Canada L4G 3V6. N.B. Worhihop registrations are limited and quickly Jill up. Resenv ahead of time to avoid disappointment. Q A FREE Certificate of Completion is issued to all workshop attendees as a record of training received.

Workshop Handbooks

Pricing fi Discounts iV.B. Pricmg reflects significant savingsfor multiple registrations. All prices include coffee, refreshments and sandwich lunch □ Register for 4 half-day workshops/ sessions, and pay just $190 for each subsequent half-day workshop. (It's the most cost-effective way to train yourself and your staff). Q All fees include hand-out materials, workbooks and proceedings, wheie supplied. J All fees include coffee, refreshments and informal lunch

(The 2-hour lunch break provides an ideal opportunity to tour the exhibit area) Cancellations

Refunds will be given for cancellations received in writing by Mar. 21, 2000. We regret that refunds cannot be given after this time. Delegtite substitution is permitted at all times. Please note, if you register for the seminar and do not attend, you ate liable for the full registration fee, unless you cancel within the time period stated.

Hotel reservations Special discounted room rates on hotel re.servations are available from the official conference hotel - The

Regal Constellation (416) 67.5-1500. Note that you must mention that your booking is for the Environmental Management & Compliance 2000 conference to ensure your special discounts on premium room rates. For further information

Should you have any questions or requite assistance with regisUTition, please phone the Registration Desk at (905) 727-4666. N.B. Efivironnifntal Science A Engineering reserves ihe righi lo change (he program conlent and to substitute speakers if circumstances require, without further notice and assun>es no liability for these changes.

Environmental IVIanagement & Compliance 2000 Priority Registration Form □

r

YES!

Plea.sc ixtserve a place for me and my colleagues* at the 8th Annual Toronto Environmental

Management & Compliance Conference. I/We wish to attend the following workshops (Check X in the boxes in the legend below to indicate your selection): Registration fees

Day 1: April 26 (see page 4 & 5 ol brochure) B At

C1

B1

D1

□ Single half-day workshop/ session: Q Two workshops/ sessions:

Tola! registration = $275 + $19.25 GST = $294.25 Tola! registration = $450 + $31.50 GST = $481.50

□ Three workshops/ sessions:

Total registration = $590 + $41.30 GST GST = S53I.30

□ Four workshops/sessions: p.m.

A2

C2

B2

D2

Day 2: April 27 (see page 6 & 7 ol brochure) A3

B3

C3

03

A4

B4

C4

04

Total registraiion = $690 + $48.30 GST = $738.30 □ 4-1'workshops/sessions; Add $190-s GST for each additional workshop registration over 4 N.B. Alt workshop fees include a sandwich lunch and coffee break refreshmenLs

Payment options

Q 1 enclo.se cheque for S

in payment for..

Make cheques payable lo: Em inmmental Science t& Engineering

workshop registrations. (GST# R1226.54(M9)

Q I wish to pay for the above by M.ASTERCARD p.m.

NAME;

Mastercard Account# The hoses above corresptmtl to the mittiltereii workshtip.s ithislnttetl in the

Expiry:

Signature:

hntchurr. Sitnply tiuirk with on / thitse se.uiims yon n i.v/i to otteiut.

MAIL to: ES&E, 220 Industrial Pkwy. S., Unit # 30, Aurora, ON L4G 3V6

I (905) 841-7271

l(905)727-4666

Name:

* For multiple registrations, please photocopy this form for each registrant

Job title:

Company: Street:

City: phone:(

..Prov:.

).

fax: (

..Code:.

I I Please fax me a complete copy of the program.

) ...

Environmental Science cfe Engineering, March 2000

45


Spring Cdnference Preview

BC Water & Waste Association 28th Annuai Conference Victoria, BC - April 15-19, 2000 The theme of the 28th BCWWA An

PARTNERS' PROGRAM

nual Conference being held April

Monday,April 17

15-19,2000, at the Victoria Conference Centre in Victoria, BC, is Innovative

Approaches To Resource Conservation. Following, are some of the program highlights:

• Stormwater-A Resource Perspective • Water Treatment II

Tour of Butchart Gardens

• Beneficial Reuse

IXiesday, April 18 Fitness Walk,session on A Healthy Life style, afternoon of crafts, and lunch.

• Water & Wastewater Treatment

OPENING SESSION

GOLF TOURNAMENT

Saturday,April 15 Tee Time 1:00 p.m., Cordova Bay Golf Course.

Monday,April 17 Keynote Speaker: Dr. J. Blatherwick, Chief Medical Officer, Vancouver/Rich

Projects • Public Involvement in Water and

Wastewater Management • Stormwater Treatment Approaches • Technologies for the New Millermium TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

mond Health Board.

SESSIONS

TECHNICAL TOURS

Wednesday,April 19 Topic A - BC's Water Conservation Strategy. Topic B - Introducing BC's Organic Matter Recycling Regulation. Topic C- Drinking Water Initiatives. For more details, Tel: (604) 9311455, Fax:(604)931-2467.

TECHNICAL SESSIONS

Sunday,April 16

Monday,April 17

Tour One - Saanich Peninsula WWTP.

Tour Two - CRD Drinking Water. MANUFACTURERS' DISPLAY

• Biosolids • Wastewater Treatment

• Water Treatment 1

Sunday,April 16

• Operator Safety Competition Tuesday,April 18 • Operations

Meet and Greet.

Monday,April 17 West Coast Evening.

The 2000 National Water and Wastewater Forum Regina, Saskatchewan May 15-18, 2000

CWWAhasonce again brought

together its own Aimual Man agement Seminar and the biennial National Drinking Water Conference(which it manages for the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Drink

ing Water Subcommittee) in a four day National Forum. Attendance at the

Seminar or the Conference, or both, pro vides an opportunity to meet scientists, policy-makers, regulators and sector professionals from across the country. As part of its mission related to drink ing water. Health Canada is proud to have initiated the series of National

Conferences on Drinking Water. Through these highly successful confer ences, supported by the federal and pro vincial governments, and by Associa tions with an interest in safe drinking

water, Canadian drinking water prob lems and solutions have been widely publicized and discussed. Supporting agencies for the Ninth Conference in clude Health Canada, Environment Canada, Saskatchewan Environment

and Resource Management,SaskWater, the City of Regina and the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association.

Since the last Conference(and Fomm) in Quebec City in 1998, the Technical Program Committee and CWWA have been working hard to organize this event.

characteristic of the Prairies, exist across

Over 20 years of experience in: - Air Quality Management

- Plant Engineering

- Envlonmental Assessments and Audits

- Water/Wastewater Treatment

- Regulatory Compliance/Permltting

- Remedial Systems

- Solid/Hazardous Waste Management

- Operation and Maintenance

OVER 35 OFFICES AND 1.000 STAFF WORLDWIDE

46

Environmental Protection Act and the manner in which it could deal with sub stances added to the List of Toxic Sub

stances. Chlorinated municipal effluents and inorganic fluorides are already on the List, and if indications are correct, chloramines, chloroforms, and ammo nia will be examined. Other sessions

will include the traditional Window on This program presents exciting and in novative research on drinking water in Ottawa where senior Ottawa officials Canada today. The focus will be on will report on current and future direc small-system problems, the impacts of tions in health,environment and finance operating in rural/agricultural areas, and - yes the infrastructure program will be emerging algal problems which, while reviewable by this time, and another

Conestoga-Rovers & Asscx^iates

www.CRAworld.com

the country-hence the title Lessonsfrom the Prairies and Beyond. CWWA's Management Seminar will focus on the very significant across-thenation impacts of the new Canadian

info@CRAworld.com

For more information, circie reply card No. 186 (See page 25)

session will look at the issue of infra

structure financing over the long term. The year 2000 is going to offer lots of challenges for municipal managers and policy-makers and this four day Forum offers a unique opportunity to look at the issues in depth, to compare notes with peers, and to chart municipal responses.

Details: CWWA, 402 - 45 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Ontario, KIN 5W8. Tel: (613) 241-5692, Fax:(613) 241-5193.

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


John Meunier and USM=MBtCM^

...are now ONE!

A single source for all your municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment projects is now available. The merger of two of the worlds largest companies in the water industry, namely La Generale des Eaux and USFilter, led to the creation of a new

entity, Vivendi Water. John Meunier, a group company, boasts a team of professionals dedicated to providing you with processes and equipment that are at the cutting edge of technology.

John Meunier offers a complete range of processes, equipment and services for the water industry. Added to our vast array of solutions is our capacity for design coupled with unequaled tech nical expertise in the operations and risk management field.

A single source for all your projects! For more information, circle reply card No. 143

John Meunier ONTARIO SALES OFFICE:

4105 Sartelon Street, Saint-Laurent, QC H4S 2B3 Phone:(514) 334-7230 Fax:(514) 334-5070

e-mail: sales@johnineunier.com vwvw.johnmeunier.com

250 Royal Crest Court, Markluun, ON L3R 3Sl Phone:(705) 329-4502 Fax:(705) 329-4502 e-mail: sales@johuineiuuer.com

A member of

VfVENDI water


Remediation / Instrumentation

Multi phase hydrocarbon extraction

A significantprojectinvolving

the identification of migrat ing petroleum product in fractured media (bedrock), and the remediation of the free phase and dissolved contaminant plume is underway at a gas dispensing facility, north of Guelph. Remediation is pro gressing well with over 6,000 pounds of petroleum product recovered so far. Geologists and engineers from ALTECH Environmental Consulting Ltd. were able to study the migration of

SYSTEM IS:

IW

ALARMS OK

I 0 I i

0.li

23.S cls®C 26,Q

the contaminants in the fractured media's

shallow aquifer through borehole ad vancement. Using this information, they designed a carefully placed well manifold system to extract the petro leum product, with emphasis on free phase removal. A remediation system was built that can be operated by computer both onsite, and by remote telemetry at Altech offices in Toronto. The system incor porates high vacuum extraction applied to the interior of the recovery wells, and an above ground treatment system

from the bedrock and brought to the sur

which includes, but is not limited to, oil/

face for treatment.

water separation, air stripping and cata lytic oxidation to handle both the air and liquid contaminant streams. Operators can monitor the real time parameters and make adjustments to system as required, from either the onsite computer based interface or through telemetry at the Altech offices. This provides for the most cost-effective so lution for a difficult problem. The challenge with fractured

The recovery system To deal with the challenges of frac tured media,Altech has designed a multi phase vacuum extraction system(MPX system) to 'pull' the contaminants from the bedrock. The system is based on ap plying a vacuum to a series of recovery wells hooked up to a manifold system. Each of the recovery wells are valved separately, providing flexible control. With this strong vacuum, as much as 19 pounds per day of product have been ex

media (bedrock)

URH

Figure 1. Operating system (foreground), control screen (background).

zones and hydraulic conductivity using standard techniques, such as those used for standard pump and treat systems, is umeliable. The most effective approach is to utilize a mass extraction technique where the contamination is removed

Remediation in fractured media is

tracted from the fractured media based

extremely challenging. Because of the

on the daily monitoring results. Each of the recovery well drop tubes are positioned to extract from a depth

fractured nature of the bedrock, the

quantity of the free phase(and to a cer below surface that maximizes the tain extent the dissolved phase)contami nation is difficult to quantify. The free vacuum influence on the free phase con tamination, while at the same time mini phase hydrocarbon contamination be comes trapped in the discrete fractures, mizes the potential for unwanted migra creating 'pockets' of contamination. tion of dissolved phase contamination. These pockets may occur both above At this position the principles or mecha and below the static average ground- nisms ofremoval are three fold, namely: water level due to vertical migration •Physical suction of the dissolved phase which is controlled in part by seasonal and gas phase contamination from the fractures in the rock through the recov water fluctuations. Because of this unpredictability, modelling capture ery of groundwater and vapour ingress in the recovery wells; By Rod Shaver and Alex Keen, • Straightforward extraction of free product in the well; ALTECH Environmental • Driving the volatility of dissolved Consulting Ltd. product in the water table by lowering 48

the vapour pressure of the hydrocarbon through agitation in the near surface. As the contamination is extracted

from the subsurface, the liquids and va pours are separated in the above ground portion of the MPX system. Generally, the intention of the system is to drive the hydrocarbons that cannot be effectively recovered as free product into the vapour phase. The arrangement of the treatment system is a proprietary design which incorporates the mechanisms ofcyclonic action, oil/water separation, air stripping, and carbon absorption. All water efflu ents are discharged to the municipal sewer system in compliance with bylaw standards. The air stream is directed to

catalytic oxidation for final destruction of all hydrocarbon contaminants. The vacuum extraction system has been working since September 1998 and progress toward full remediation has been excellent. The remediation system has operated reliably over this period. The system is monitored and operated on a daily basis remotely from Altech's offices in Toronto. Using telemetry,staff are able to operate the unit using a num ber of control screens similar to Figure 1. The operating parameters of the sys tem are monitored in real time and the

operator can make adjustments to any part of the system as required. In addition to routine operating ad justments,staff have successfully imple mented a number of troubleshooting manoeuvres remotely when non routine operating problems have occurred. This has minimized the need for more expen sive on-site operation and emergency

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Remediation / instrumentation

Railroad Track Spill Containment

service calls. In addition, staff are on site regularly to moni tor groundwater levels, and to reposition the extraction points as groundwater levels in the recoveiy wells fluctuate. Advantages of the system As expected, remediation in fractured media (bedrock) is a challenge for any contaminant. Multi phase vacuum extraction is the most efficient, cost-effective approach for the remediation of hydrocarbons. Vacuum extraction of contaminants is well matched to

fractured media where typical groundwater modelling and remediation is of limited value. Using an applied vacuum, as opposed to more straightforward pumping systems, in creases the zone ofinfluence on the water table and increases

the potential to remove both the liquid and gas phase through the fractures. Analogous to sucking material through a straw, the bedrock contains the suction of the vacuum and directs

it to the fractures. The vacuum system does not discrimi nate between the liquid and vapour and 'pulls' all contami nants to treatment. The key to minimizing the extraction of excess water into the treatment system is careful control of the extraction points in the well. In summary,the extraction and treatment equipment has

The Ounce of Prevention to Preclude a Ton of Headaches! Unique, Relocatable Spill Containment Pans with Rolling Ralncovers. Opens When You Need It and Closed and Locked When Not Needed. Avoid Collecting Snow, Rainwater and Debris! Lower Your Environmental Liability!

\ ■■■■ \

performed well over the 18 month period of the project. It has proven to be an effective choice as a remediation strat egy. Remote operation of the unit has helped control costs and, for the several problems that have occurred, trouble shooting the situation remotely by computer has proven to be effective.

NMENTAI^ *nc> P.O. Box 40163

800-220-2466

440-871-3214

FAX 440-871-3414 Cleveland, Ohio 44140 www.transenvsys.com

For more information, circle reply card No. 144 For more information, circle reply card No. 145

^cm/'s4fne^ilcan^ Environmental Technology Trade Show, Conference and International Networking Program 4"* Edition

AMERICANA

2001

March 28-30, 2001 Montreal Convention Center, Canada

AMERICANA 2001 viU include:

•10 000 participants •400 exhibitors

•250 technical conferences, workshops and technology showcases •60 foreign delegations •700 1/1 planned business meetings for international partnerships For infonnation:

Telephone:(514) 270-7110 "\

Fax:(514) 270-7154 E-mail;info@americana.org Organized by:

emiroraiement

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

For more information, circle reply card No. 146

49


Site Remediation

Dewatering - dredging - centrlfuging A look at some real environmental heavyweights

Some of the most challenging environmental projects involve

fleets of diverse vessels and

equipment with astonishing capabilities to move vast amounts oftail ings, sludges, and high debris wastes for treatment. An Eastern Canadian com

pany, Consolidated Giroux Environment Inc., a dredging and operating company, have added a new 370 Ellicott Dredge to their already sizeable fleet. This ma chine is completely equipped with 425 HP Caterpillar diesel, a special stern winch attachment and uses 12" pipe line. Having a capacity of up to 6,000/ USGPM, it is capable of moving tail ings at rates of 150 to 300 y'/hr. Its first job called for the relocation of 725,000/y^ of coal tailings from a Nova Scotia coal preparation plant. The project's requirement was to eliminate or substantially reduce acidification of water caused by air exposed tailings by relocating all the water tailings to the deep end of the lake, a distance of4,000 feet. The project was completed on time

Aqua Master cutting trees under water.

clogging pumps. In Canada, they have been involved in some of the largest environmental dredging projects of this type. One such

Brunswick.

project involved relocating 1,000,000 y'

stabilizers and spuds, allowing it to sheer the trees at eight to nine feet below the water level (capability to 20'). The barge had a hydraulic propulsion system to al low it to position itself or move around the pond as required. The shop mainte nance staff named this machine "Aqua

of lime and lime hydroxide waste,com plicated by free-standing trees and brush in a pond, and pumping 10,000 feet us in four months. ing booster stations. The new 370 Ellicott Dredge has Dredging began at a critical point completed jobs in Northern Ontario, where the settling pond discharges into Quebec, New Brunswick and New a river, which feeds into Hudson Bay, foundland. an extremely environmentally sensitive area. The lime material being dredged was laced with heavy metals. For these The project's requirement reasons, the dredge had to have the fol was to eliminate or lowing characteristics; • Low turbidity at the dredge point where substantially reduce little re-suspension of the material could acidification of water caused be tolerated.

by air exposed tailings by relocating all the water tailings to the deep end of the lake, a distance of 4,000 feet. Consolidated Giroux Environment

operate a fleet of eight Ellicott Mud Cats

• Because of the presence of trees, branches and underbrush in the ponds, the dredge pump had to handle a high degree of debris without plugging the system.

The previous year, a local contractor was hired to conduct a test patch with a standard Mud Cat dredge, but the test was unsuccessful.

(MC915-MC915X) for lime and lime

Consolidated Giroux used a Mud Cat

hydroxide relocation, primary and sec ondary paper sludge, chemical sludge, metal recovery, maintenance dredging and encapsulation of hazardous waste. They also operate a variety of water

915 that was modified with a new pump capable of handling high debris waste. A 10" X 12" pump capable of 6,000/ USGPM was chosen, which required a new 375 HP engine and other adapta tions. They also modified the auger and boom system in order to handle the spe cific type of material and higher vol

crafts that can cut trees under water and

transport them along with other debris to shore for disposal. In addition, they operate dredges which are capable of handling high debris material with non50

umes. All modifications were com

pleted at their facility in Charlo, New

The trees and underbrush required specific equipment for removal. A barge was fitted with a backhoe loader, a sheer,

Master".

Working with the Aqua Master was a self-propelled transport barge with a moving conveyor platform. Trees and debris were loaded onto this barge, transported and discharged on land by means of the barge moving conveyor in seconds. All this equipment was truckable. The booster stations consisted of

three 238 HP with 10" pumps which boosted the material the final 7,000 feet

for a total pumping distance of 10,000 feet to a holding area. A total of 23,000 feet of high-density polyethylene pipe in 8-, 10-, and 12-inch diameters was

used on this job. Eleven 48-foot trailer loads ofequip ment were required to set up the job and highway tractors traveled a total of 25,000 miles to mobilize the project. The initial contract to remove

500,000 y^ of material was begun in June 1992. This project was so successful that the smelter owner contracted an

additional 500,000 y^. The entire job was completed by mid October. For more information, circle reply card No. 147

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Addressing Environmental Problems With Sustainable Natural Treatment Methods Jg^fundamental challenge faces the world and all of us who seek to be leaders in the

engineering field—the

challenge of achieving

Two year growth: hybrid poplar trees grow faster than any other northern

sustainable

temperate region tree.

development... Engineers can—and mustplay a critical role in the development of the future.

Sustainable development is about finding new ways to do business. It requires doing more with less—less resource

08

input, and less waste generated. It means that we

consider life-cycle consequences of production. It challenges institutions to create new possibilities for the product design and the use of natural products.

■^r

0

JH*

CG&S is at the forefront of

0

t

>.31*• * ig

m

Poplar tree seedling flourishes In a landfill cap application

using sustainable natural treatment methods to address

environmental problems—we are leaders in the

development of solutions including poplar tree technology and constructed wetlands.

Treatment wetlands often use plant communities of cattails and bulrushes.

CG&S

CH2M Gore & Storrie Limited: Head Office 255 Consumers Road, Toronto, Ontario, !VI2J 5B6 For more information contact (416) 499-9000 Ext. 307 E-Maii askcgs@cti2m.com

For more information, circle reply card No. 148 (See page 25)


PCB Focus

French cement producers use PCBs and recycled wastes as fuel

For some 20 years, French ce

ment plants have been putting their kilns at the disposal of companies and local authorities to incinerate industrial and special wastes. Cement production requires a temperature of 2,642°F for a minimum of thirty-five minutes, a temperature that is much higher than in household waste incinerators. This results in the destruc

tion of most special industrial waste with great efficiency and without generating toxic residues or emitting fly ash. Organic compounds are transformed into simple molecules (water or carbon dioxide), and heavy metals and halogen salts are neutralized in the clinker that

produces the cement. Analyses show that the cement is not affected by the incineration of waste. As usual, the French have a word for it: valorization. Canada was once a leader in cement

kiln technology for PCB disposal but proposals to use these wastes as fuel

were never implemented following demonstrations by activists. French cement producers recognize that besides the ecological advantages

Lemarchand,international development manager at Teris. This approach has been successful. At the present time, some twenty-six cement plants in France

of waste incineration, there are also

are authorized to burn waste.

strong economic reasons as well. With

Incinerating waste in cement works enabled France to save 300,000 oil equi valent metric tonnes in 1998. In total,

Incinerating waste in

the cement industry has contributed to

cement works enabled

the elimination of around 600,000 met ric tonnes of waste. One-third of all the

France to save 300,000

country's special industrial waste is now

oil equivalent metric tonnes

eliminated in joint treatment centres.

in 1998.

The physical requirements of cement manufacturing-high temperatures,long residence time for contaminants, and the

the French water treatment company Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux,they have cre ated a company, Teris, to supply them with replacement fuels. "Cement producers prefer to burn waste that they get almost free rather than fossil fuels for which they have to

pay market prices," explains Daniel

ATTENTION

alkalinity of the limestone used in ce ment making - make it an effective as well as a low-cost solution.

Cement Plant Technology

To produce cement normally, it is necessary to burn a powdered mixture made up of limestone, clay and various additives. Combustion takes place in a

rotating kiln consisting of a large, slightly tilted cylinder which turns slowly and continuously. The mineral mixture is introduced at the top of the kiln and slowly descends. In the opposite direc tion flow very hot gases produced by fossil fuels (fuel oil, coke, heavy bitu minous oils or gas). These gases bake the mineral mixture and transform it into

clinker. At the outlet of the kiln, the

TURN K Y PCB WASTE HANDLING 0 STRUCT GN

clinker is mixed with various products to produce a cement with the properties required by the customer. In France, cement producers use the waste in two ways: as a replacement fuel, and as a replacement material in the cement itself. Much industrial waste

has a high calorific value and can re place fossil fuels. For example, a high proportion of used oils, greases, and solvents today finish their lives in ce ment works. Other waste of a mineral

nature can, under some conditions, be

incorporated into the composition of the cement itself. An example is foundry sand impregnated with resins rich in phenols. This sand, which hardens un der the effect of heat, acts as a mold in www.

PCB Containment Technology Inc.

1-800-324-8997 52

For more Information, circle reply card No. 149 (See page 25)

the manufacture offoundry parts. How ever, after use it is not permitted to be discharged because of the resins it con tains, which is why it is used in cement plants. â?– Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Groundwater Protection

Protecting groundwater during transioading Effective prevention measures can iimit liabilities

A transioading site may cover

only a few acres, but what is done on that piece of land could have a profound im pact on thousands of acres ofland down stream from your facility. The impact may not be seen for years, but once a tainted groundwater plume surfaces or is detected, a company could feel the fi nancial impact. Government agencies now have the "tools" to trace the pollu tion back to your back door! In the not too recent past,looking out the office window at the falling rain on your facility might have brought visions ofrefreshing the grass and flowers. With the current revisions in stonnwater regu lations, and the enforcement of the US

Clean Water Act provisions,a rainstorm on your plant could cost you thousands ofdollars. Let's focus on some common sense

and often inexpensive methods of lim iting the amount of rainwater collected on your transioading sites. Your company will have enough tainted rainwater disposal problems without adding your neighbours' rain water to yours. Often, disposal of this tainted rainwater can cost over a (US) dollar per gallon. If concrete culvert piping of uphill-generated surface wa ter across your property is not possible, at least consider grade diversionary ditches and dikes to route this surface

water away from the primary areas of spills - the transfer areas used by truck

Special rail spill pans prevent an accidental release during a transioading opera tion. With lids open, and flip-flaps extended, they cover an area 12 x 20 ft. tained on site, but it does not need to be

allowed to drain into your transioading areas or across tanker truck backdown

docks. Generally, the EPA cannot call rainwater landing on your plant roof contaminated, so why blend it into the runoff from your tanker loading rack slab or parking lots. Any petrochemical transfer area should have its own direct surface

water storm drain going into a desig nated detention pond. Because of the higher possibilities of accidental releases in these areas, cano

tankers and railroad tank cars.

pies can isolate rainwater or help sur

While facility planners usually take into account the heaviest rain in ten years on the facility, they often miss the fact that a large share of surface water is re ceived and collected on parking lots and truck storage slab areas. A quick cal culation of the amount of square foot age of your building and shed roofs will give you a large number of gallons of "collected" water. By connecting roof downspouts directly to an underground storm sewer, you avoid the opportunity for this pure water to become tainted and require testing, clean-up, or disposal.

face water rinse collection floors.

Parking lot runoff water must be de-

By Merrill Bishop, President, TransEnvironmentai Services Inc.

Canopies are expensive because of safety and fire requirements. Since rail road safety requires that the lowest roof support cannot be lower than 23 feet above top of rail, a canopy over a load ing rack requires heavy wind bracing. If side walls are added, often local fire

marshals will require a dry pipe sprin kler system to compensate for the fire department's lack of access to a possi ble fire under the roof.

Many commodities handled by transloaders cannot be handled in special hoses that have the snapback plugs that stop hose drainback upon disconnecting. If the commodities congeal (freeze) at normal temperatures, these drainback safety measures usually are more of a

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

problem. Most field operators prefer to avoid using them. This exposes your transioading rack collection slab to a reoccurring bath in whatever commod ity is being handled. A few gallons here and a few gallons later are usually washed down into your collection sys tem and contribute to your tainted rain water disposal. Since you may want to isolate sur face water from your transioading areas from the water collected from your building downspouts, the best arrange ment is to have the tainted water pond in an adjacent location. This pond should be lined with a poly material to preclude any possible contamination from penetrating the pond floor into the groundwater. Draining different spill commodities into the same collection system makes disposal more complicated. Often, this mixing will cause chemical reactions you did not plan on. Combinations can generate a deadly gas situation without going into the confined moat space. The cost of disposal of tainted rain water is directly related to the amount and type of impurity in the water. Most US city sewer plants require certified laboratory analysis of tainted rainwater prior to allowing it to be released into their system. Depending upon the Continued overleaf 53


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Groundwater Protection

amount of analysis needed, this may cost around $ 1,000 per sample. When a rainwater sample only has oils or petroleum prod ucts in it, an oil water separator will be needed to remove this impurity. If this water sample also has traces of chlo rinated compounds in it, then perhaps an activated carbon filter will bring the impurity level down to an acceptable level for release to a city system. When other compounds are also mixed into this collected rainwater, reverse osmosis filters may be needed. These require skilled operators to ensure the tainted water is prop erly prepared for release. The cost of multiple processing of tainted rainwater over a number of years will definitely exceed the cost of building separate containments. By using spill pans at the possible source of the acciden tal release, the whole problem of tainted rainwater can be simplified. However,open pans, while collecting the spills, also collect thousands of gallons of water that you are obli gated by both federal and state directives to process and pay for. A simple solution is to install spill pans at the prob able source activity that can be closed up when not needed.

TransEnvironmental™ Systems, Inc. introduced a line of railroad and under truck spill pans that have patented raincovers that close over the collection pans when they are not in use. These re-locatable units lag bolt down to the railroad cross ties and some models will hold up to 500 gal lons without being piped into auxiliary trenches or a moat. Excerpted from a paper presented at a Transload Distribu tion Association Conference in Las Vegas, in 1999.

For more information, circie repiy card No. 175 For more information, circle reply card No. 154

CRA

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We offer a compensation package fully commensurate with experience as well as ample opportunity for professional and personal growth within our supportive setting. For consideration, please forward your resume with salary expectations to: Human Resources Manager, CONESTOGA-ROVERS & ASSOCIATES, 651 Colby Drive, Waterloo, ON N2V 1C2. Fax: (519) 725-5240. E-mail: hr@rovers.com Visit us at www.CRAworld.com Worldwide Engineering, E

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High-efficiency site remediation technoiogy A US groundwater and soil remediation company, Wasatch Environmental, Inc., have developed a high-efficiency in situ aeration technology that adds productivity and cost-sav ings to cleaning up sites contaminated by petrochemicals and other hazardous wastes. According to Wasatch, this proprietary, patented technology - Density-Driven Convec tion(DDC)-can save 50% or more than other groundwater treatment techniques. Wastach President, Les Pennington says DDC sparging is an alternative to both pump-and-treat and forced air sparging and has already removed a broad range of VOCs. Generally known as groundwater recirculation(GRC)sys tems,DDC wells are installed by lowering a perforated, pipe like casing into a wellbore that has been drilled to the lower portion of the contaminated aquifer. The installer connects an air injection tube to a compressor at ground level, and drops the nozzle down to the bottom of the well casing. As air is injected into groundwater at the bottom of the casing, it forms bubbles that flow upwards, aerating the groundwater and producing a vertical gradient within the casing. This draws water in through the lower perforations and pushes it out the upper ones. Volatile water-borne con taminants are stripped from the groundwater inside the DDC well. Volatile compounds emitted from wells in the form of gases may be released to the atmosphere or collected at the wellhead for treatment. Biodegradation of contaminants is enhanced by forcing air into the vadose zone and circulat ing dissolved oxygen through the aquifer. Details: www.wasatch-environmental.com.

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Enuir

ment 000

The 8th Annual Environmental

Conference/Workshops and Tradeshow Ontario's largest and most cost-effective environmental training opportunity

April 26-27, 2000 To be held at the conference and tradeshow facilities of

The Regal Constellation Hotel 900 DIxon Road, Etoblcoke, ON

A unique networking opportunity For eight years, Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine, and Canadian Environmental Regulation and Compliance News have combined to produce the highly successful Environmental Management & Compliance Conference & Workshops.

Environmental Management & Compliance 2000 will also feature its own Two Day Tradeshow. There are a limited number of booths, so call now for details on exhibiting.

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Food Industry

Innovative technology reduces costs for a meat processing plant

When a Wisconsin meat processing plant wanted to reduce the operational

.Skim Tank

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costs associated with

their wastewater treatment system, its head operator searched for a process that would be both cost-effective and reli

able. The existing plant consisted of a chemical pre-treatment system with high chemical and operating costs, along with the surcharges from local municipalities for treating the high volume of wastewater transported to publicly owned treatment works (POTW). Operation

MBBR

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By Jill Bibby, Waterlink, Inc.

ties to 280,000 gallons per day. Aver age influent soluble BOD and soluble COD concentrations were 1,367 mg/L and 1,989 mg/L, respectively. The head operator was introduced to the Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor Process, also known as MBBR, on the

basis that this system was ideal for limited space installations or retrofits. The MBBR is a biological aerobic degradation of organic pollutants. The process utilizes millions of tiny, poly ethylene biofilm elements that provide a high surface area as a home for a vast,

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For more information, circle reply card No. 152 (See page 25)

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Food Industry highly active bacteria culture. This fixed film process features a flexible reactor design, the ability to handle load in creases without the need for extra tank

age, and remains stable under large load variations, including temperature, strength or pH. Like the activated sludge process, the MBBR process utilizes the whole volume of an open tank. Unlike an activated sludge reactor, it does not require sludge return to operate effec tively. The original wastewater treatment system consisted of a chemical pretreatment system, followed by an anae robic system, which in tum was followed by an activated sludge process. To mini mize the amount of wastewater being sent

dissolved air flotation unit, which re

moves 70-90% of the solids generated, prior to being discharged to the activated sludge system. The old anaerobic tank was converted to a sludge storage and digestion tank. Replacing the chemical pre-treatment system with the MBBR process resulted in a 70% reduction of wastewater being hauled to the POTW. The MBBR reac

tors reduced the incoming organic load from an average soluble BOD of 1,367 mg/L down to 59 mg/L, and an average soluble COD of 1, 989 mg/L down to 226 mg/L. This reduction allowed the

treated water sent to a nearby creek, a two-stage MBBR system replaced the chemical pre-treatment system.

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9,357 cubic feet, giving 10 hours hy draulic retention time at average flows and six hours at peak hydraulic flow. When there is no flow from the produc tion facility, the system pulls out of the EQ tank to maintain the system. Efflu

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allowing a higher volume of treated water to be discharged to the creek. The MBBR process is also designed to allow them to increase organic loads in the future without requiring additional tankage to the existing wastewater treat ment system by simply adding media, up to 65% of the reactors' water volume, to the existing MBBR tanks, which are currently filled at 50% with media. For more Information, circle reply card No. 153

ERIS, Environmental Risk Information Services, is a database service that helps envi ronmental professionals spot contamination problems on any property. This service the first of its kind in Canada - screens key federal, provincial and private databases and prepares a detailed information report for a property and its

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57


Sewage Treatment

Bringing head-works nomenciature into the 21st century

A transformation in environ

mental nomenclature has

occurred in the last two dec

ades. Sewage treatment plant, aka pollution control plant, aka wastewater treatment plant, aka waterreclamation plant, aka clean-water plant, how the titles have changed in recent

phere does not need to be made drasti cally obnoxious, by storing wet screen ings and grit in bins surrounded by sep tic puddles. Grit should not be collect ing in the primary clarifiers, rags should not be plugging up sludge pumps. The make-up ofthe incoming flow has changed over the years, to reflect the

tured, compacted, and if necessary, washed and bagged, while biological material is returned to the waste-stream

for treatment in the plant. All this is ac complished with a minimum of power consumption. Grit is removed in aerated tanks or

vortex grit chambers, and pumped to a

years.

stainless steel classifier to

scrub off any biological mat ter. The integral shaft-less screw, running in a replace able liner, transports the clean grit, without clogging,to a dry

The transformation, how

ever, is not one of perception only. Plants have embraced emerging technologies, and the operator's role has been changed radically. Samples are taken automatically; pump speeds are matched to de mands by variable frequency controls; valves and gates are actuated electrically or pneu matically, and all facets of plant operation are monitored and adjusted by the SCADA system,from a central control

1i 41 H container.

1'^sl

age of one minute every eight minutes, to bring up debris from the incoming wastestream, to be dealt with away from the pressure of the flow. The screen is self-cleaning, utilizing the interaction of the interspersed teeth on the belt to discharge the screenings without carry-over. These teeth are of reinforced nylon, resilient enough to absorb shocks from large floating items, and not susceptible to jam-ups experienced by metal

RLAT

centre.

The role of the head-works

has changed too, but in many plants,the equipment does not yet reflect the environmental needs of the community,or the expectations of the neighbours and the operating personnel. Some head-works appear stuck, not just in the past, but firmly back in the 18th cen

teeth. The remainder of the

screen is largely stainless steel to ensure long life. The screenings are trans

tury.

It is no longer necessary to have grit collectors and screens, with submerged chains, sprockets and greased bearings, with all their associated main tenance headaches. The head-works

may be a confined space, but the atmos-

By Barry Jasper Arlat Technologies

Environmental Science

& Engineering magazine is on the world wide web. Check us out at

www.esemag.com 58

Filter screens with a con-

i llP^ I tinuous belt operate an aver

ported wet, by a shaft-less

widespread use of plastics in our daily lives. Many of these plastic items avoid capture by conventional bar-screens, whose minimum practical slot size is half inch or 12 mm. These items find their

way through the clarifiers and into the digesters. They may be ground up on their way to belt presses or centrifuges, but the plastics are still present when the sludge is land applied, composted,or in cinerated. None of these alternatives are

environmentally acceptable. In contrast, head-works of the 21st

century can be relatively pleasant to work in. They are not maintenance in tensive, or offensive to adjacent resi dents. Plastic items and debris are cap

screw to the storage area, compacted to a tenth the vol ume, and dried immediately before discharge, to eliminate odour. If the plant is in a hilly location, and the flow is gravity, rather than being pumped, the screens may capture some biological solids; an in-line or batch washer is added,to break these down,and return them to the stream.

For a typical 10 MGD plant, screen ing, conveying, and compacting each require 1 HP, for a total of 3 HP, about 13% of the power required by a comminutor, for example. If all this sounds like Utopia to you, it is time for a change as we are now in the 21st century. For more information, circie reply card No. 155

Environmental Science <& Engineering, March 2000


Water Treatment

Membranes used for iron and

quent to this, the Commissioners realized the need to pro

manganese removal

sporidium and Giardia contamination. ZeeWeed membranes

tect the water from the potential of any future Cryptowere selected, as they are a proven physical barrier prevent

ing parasites and bacteria from entering the water distribu tion system, while removing the iron and manganese from the water source.

For more information, circie reply card No. 160

Coffee filters heavy metals from tap water Filtered coffee can remove from 78 to 90 percent of dis

Zenon Environmental Inc. of Burlington, Ontario, an nounced February 8, that it has been awarded a $3 million contract to build the largest NSF(National Standards Foun dation) certified, ultrafiltration, membrane-equipped water treatment facility in the United States, specifically designed for the removal of iron and manganese. Once completed,

the facility will provide 4.3 million(US)gallons per day of clean drinking water to the community of Seekonk, Massa chusetts.

The Seekonk area has been experiencing high levels of iron and manganese in their groundwater for nearly two dec ades. After testing a number of treatment processes, the Dis trict chose the ZeeWeedÂŽ membrane filtration system, as the best one for treating their water supply.

The technology reportedly outperformed competing sys tems,including conventional green sand technology. "Dur

ing the pilot testing, it proved to be the most effective in the reduction of manganese," stated Bruce Baldwin, Water Su

perintendent for the Seekonk Water District. "This tech nology will also allow the District to re-use the 'bleed' wa ter from the membrane tanks, bringing the efficiency of our

plant to between 98% and 99%." Currently, the Seekonk Water District obtains 95% of its water directly from four active wells and purchases the other 5% from a neighbouring water supplier. The District has two other wells that are inactive. One was taken off line in

the early 1980s due to algae accumulation, and the other due to an E. coli outbreak in 1998 when the wellfield was

inundated by floodwaters due to torrential rains. Subse-

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solved heavy metals such as lead and copper from tap wa ter, providing coffee lovers with a healthier drink, an inter national scientific team in Sydney, Australia has found. Toxic metals like copper and lead get into drinking wa ter from storage tanks, copper pipes and solder, and from natural sources, says Dr. Mike McLaughlin who works with the Land and Water division of the Australian government

research arm.Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).

The softer the water, the higher the level of heavy metals in solution is likely to be. Both copper and lead have longterm effects on humans, and lead is strongly linked to intel lectual impairment,especially in infants and young chldren. But coffee grounds have a remarkable ability to mop up the heavy metal atoms, research by the Australian, Chilean and US scientists shows. Their findings could mean that

daily human exposures to heavy metals in many cities around the world may have been greatly over-estimated. This could mean that current public health risk assessment models are inaccurate where coffee forms a large proportion of water consumption. "We were at a seminar at the University of Delaware, and a Chilean scientist. Dr. Gustavo Lagos, was presenting

a paper on the problem of heavy metal contamination of drinking water in Santiago," Dr. McLaughlin recounts. "1 asked the question: How do people in Santiago actually drink the water? Because if, as 1 thought, they drank a lot of coffee, chances were the coffee would absorb a lot of the heavy metals."

As a result of Dr. McLaughlin's question, reasearchers decided to run an experiment to find out exactly how much heavy metal does survive the coffee-brewing process, and how much is trapped in the grounds. To their surprise, they found that, using three different commercial brands of cof fee, normal filtered coffee removed 78 to 90 percent ofcop per and lead from the water. "The reason is that coffee grounds have uncharged or negatively charged molecules in them, whereas dissolved heavy metals are positively charged. As a result, the heavy metal ions bind strongly to the coffee," explains Dr. McLaughlin. The deeper the bed of coffee in the drip-maker, the more effective the removal of heavy metals. The main factor influencing the extent of metal removal is contact time, the scientists found.

Dr. McLaughlin says that it is highly likely the process also removes other heavy metals such as mercury,cadmium and zinc from drinking water, although this remains to be tested. "It is also possible tea-bags and tea leaves may work in the same way, but not as well as coffee," he says. â?– 59


Instrumentation

Automatic aeration controls can save money

Maintaining the proper concentration of dis

solved oxygen(DO)in aeration basins is nec essary to keep microorganisms alive to break down organic waste. This can only be effi

ciently accomplished by using an accurate, continuously measuring instrument. When the measured DO decreases below a desired con

centration, the best instrument systems add air automati cally to the aeration basin to provide life-sustaining oxygen for the microorganisms and to facilitate thorough mixing of the organic waste. Without enough DO concentration, the beneficial microorganisms will die while troublesome fila mentous microbes proliferate, causing sludge settling prob lems. If the DO content becomes too high, energy is wasted, and expensive aeration equipment endures unneeded wear. Recently, a small mid-Western city decided to investigate ways to improve the efficiency of its waste treatment plant. The facility operator was interested in pursuing further aera tion system improvements at the plant. He had learned from an operator of a nearby treatment plant that their use of a continuous measurement system for monitoring process DO helped them respond to rapid increases in plant load. The operator wanted to apply this strategy to achieve automatic control of blower speed and further reduce energy costs. The city's consulting engineer and plant operator completed

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For more information, circie reply card No. 157 (See page 25)

GLI self-cleaning D.O. system consisting of a Model D83 analyzer and 5500-Senes membrane cartridge sensor.

a simple study that evaluated the cost-effectiveness of proc ess DO measurement and automatic aeration control. Dur

ing a five-month period, the following data were collected: • DO concentration in the contact tank. • DO concentration in the re-aeration tank.

• Time of day that DO measurement was made. • Energy consumption (in kWh)for the preceding day. •Percent speed at which the variable frequency drive(VFD) had been operating during the preceding day. A portable DO meter was used to obtain DO measure ments in the process tanks. The VFD unit was manually controlled to operate the blower motor at 50%,60%,70%, 80%, and 90% of full speed (1750 rpm). A second blower motor was also operating at 1750 rpm. The operator collected 91 sets of data. Seventy-six per cent of the data sets involved readings at approximately 8:00 a.m. when DO concentrations tended to be high due to the lower night time loading. Twenty-four percent of the data sets involved afternoon DO readings taken during higher load ing conditions. With higher blower speeds, early morning DO values were as high as 8 mg/1. Even with lower blower speeds, afternoon DO values were never unacceptably low. Analysis of the data disclosed that each 10% reduction of blower speed decreased the daily energy use by about 40 kWh. These results confirmed that using an automatic con troller to regulate blower speed would significantly reduce energy use. Subsequently, the plant operator installed an automatic DO monitoring/control system for a six-month trial. A control set point of 2 mg/1 DO concentration was established for the trial. During part of this trial a single blower was used. When two blowers were used, they were operated simultaneously under the control of the automatic system. Both VFDs were set to operate at a minimum speed of 50%. Over the course of this trial period, total plant en ergy consumption was reduced by about 8%. The US Environmental Protection Agency Design Manual on Fine Pore Aeration Systems(EPA/625/1 -89-023) states: "Energy saving achievable by automatic aeration on DO control is 25% to 40%, but can be as high as 50%." Realistically, a waste treatment plant can expect energy sav ings of anywhere from 0% up to 50%. For more information, circle reply card No. 159 Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Environmental Chemistry

Traces of history In the Periodic Table How we went from four to 110 elements

Analytical Methods

1 1.0t

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

i

H

Secorxjary Analysis

Fusion/Instrumental Procedures

He

Method

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There are about 110 elements known to exist. In the 1960s

there were about one hundred.

A hundred years before that, perhaps 60 were known. This is a far cry from the original four "elements" of fire, water, air, and earth proposed by ancient alchemists in China, Egypt, and Greece. (Although a Greek named Democritus believed that everything was made up out of tiny particles he called "atoms".) The huge expansion in our knowledge came about through the efforts of alchemists to transmutate or

dinary metals into gold, and through two of humankind's characteristics - our

love of beauty, and our fascination with, and inventiveness in warfare.

By 3000 B.C., many metals were well-known in the

Middle East. Silver,

copper and gold were found as "free"

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metals in the form of nuggets. They could be worked into a variety of beau tiful shapes and - especially gold - be came highly prized for their ornamen tation value. Alloys of tin and copper (bronze) could be shaped into tools and weapons superior to those made from stone. Iron, possibly from meteorites that were found and investigated, was fash ioned into swords and spears that were vastly superior to the best bronze blades.

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copper carry water to which we have added fluorine and chlorine. In our

kitchens we use sodium chloride (to which we add iodine); if we smoke we

light up with matches made from sulphur and phosphorous; if our stomachs be come upset we take bismuth compounds, and if we are still not well we may have X-rays after we take a barium cocktail. Those of us in the environmental business are also familiar with elements

The arms race was on, as was the race to

that some view as enviro-villains, such

discover new elements for better weap ons and for beautiful jev/ellery. Today, we are familiar with many of the elements. We wear gold, silver and sometimes platinum on our fingers, necks, and ears (and some of us in our eyebrows, noses, nipples and navels).

as arsenic, mercury, cadmium, uranium, and chlorine. This still leaves us with 70 or 80 elements about which we know or care little.

Many of these other elements do not need to be cared about particularly, as they are only known to exist for frac

We drive machines made out of iron al

tions of a second in laboratories, or be

loyed with other metals, and these ma chines have shiny parts from nickel,

cause they are in such short supply that we will hardly be able to find them, let

chromium, and zinc. We use batteries made from lead, from lithium and from nickel and cadmium, and we tell the

temperature with glass tubes containing mercury. Our dwellings often have sid ing made out of aluminum, lighting based on tungsten, and pipes made of

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

alone use them or otherwise come into

contact with them. Examples of the former group are the man-made, labo ratory "hot-house" elements that occur on the Periodic Table after uranium, that is, numbers 93 to 110 on the table. These

Continued on page 62 61


"transuranium" elements became known to us only after the Manhattan Project - the effort that led to the development of the atomic bomb in the 1940s. They are unstable, having very short half-lives. A good example is Element 110, of which one atom was manufactured and reported in 1994. It awaits confir mation as do numbers 114, 116, and 118, which were reported this year. Numbers 116 and 118 were created at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory by their 88-inch cyclotron; ele ment 118 decayed in a millisecond; 116 lasted five times as long. Element 114 was announced by Russian researchers; it was viable for a comparative eternity - about 30 seconds. (Note; The Periodic Table accompanying this article shows 103 elements, even though 110-113 are known or thought to exist. It's a case of the printers not keeping up with the physi

Human beings,like other animals, are part of the biosphere, which includes all life on the planet, from the simplest bacte ria, to algae and other plants, and all animals including us. The biosphere has been described as the locus of interaction of four of the elements, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxy

cists.)

gen.

Examples of naturally occurring but rare elements are as tatine (from the Greek "astatos", meaning "unstable") which has 20 known isotopes, all of which are radioactive, the long est lived of which has a half-life of only 8.3 hours, and fran-

These four account for 99% of the mass of the biosphere. However, about twenty other elements are known to be neces sary to life, and many others are involved in important reac tions at least in some species. If one burns a piece of biomass (as chemists do when they perform an LOI test - a test for "Loss On Ignition") the result is that hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen are converted to their oxides, and a tiny amount of

cium. Francium, named after France, is an alkali metal like

sodium and potassium, but is so rare it is estimated that in our entire planet there are only seventeen atoms of the element at any given time.

terror and loathing on the part of the student, to indifference and boredom on the part of non-chemical engineers, and to awe on the part of chemists. As an environmental chemist, 1 find the Periodic Table to

be the single most useful guide to the world around us. The world, and all of its contents, creatures, and features are made

up out of the elements on the table. Not only do we wear and drive the elements, we live in them, we breathe them, and we eat them - in short, we are the elements.

ash is left behind.

So far, we have established that there are 110 elements; we are familiar with about 30 or so, and there are about 20 others

The ash contains calcium, potassium, silicon, magnesium, sulphur, and many other elements. We know that some are

that are exceedingly rare or fleeting. We could categorize the elements in this way, but it would be somewhat subjective, and totally redundant, since they have already been catego rized and organized in a "Guidebook" to the elements.

essential to life, but the biochemical functions of most ele

This "Guidebook" is the Periodic Table. Mention of the

words Periodic Table evokes many emotions, ranging from

ments are not presently known. Science is only slowly adding to the list of essential elements, mainly because it is nearly impossible to create a "pure" water, food, and air supply for test plants or animals. The word "pure" means a supply that does not contain any of the element being tested. Because an animal or plant's requirement for a trace element may be so minute as to be undetectable, it is simply impossible to con struct a control group to determine the effects of withholding the element of interest.

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Most of the "essential" elements are relatively "light"-that is, they are in the first third of the Periodic Table. Many of the heavier elements, like mercury or lead (numbers 80 and 82) are harmful to the biosphere, and bismuth, number 83, is the last outpost of stability on the table. Beyond it, all the ele ments are radioactive - they are so overweight they lighten themselves by breaking apart like Michael Palin in a Monty Python skit- often with disastrous results for living creatures. How did we progress from four "elements" to the 110 now known? Not surprisingly, the discovery of many of them is lost in antiquity. The ancient genius who first isolated copper, thereby enabling it to become the first metal to come into wide spread use, is not known. What is known is that once the technology for releasing copper from its ores was developed, its use in weaponry and ornamentation became so widespread that all ancient civilizations depended on it. Many ancient powers quickly depleted their own copper resources,and some, like Egypt, developed intricate trading networks to import copper from as far away as the British Isles. We do not know who first fashioned jewellei^ from gold

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opening the way for the Iron Age that swept the Bronze Age before it. However, we do have reasonable records of discov

ery since the late 1700s, when oxygen was isolated by Karl Scheele in Sweden and in England by Joseph Priestley. The discovery of these and other elements will be explored in subsequent articles. Jim Bishop is President and GOO of BEAK internationai inc., Brampton, ON. He is a iong time member of ES&E's Editorial Advisory Board. Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Industry Update

Feeding the world by cleaning the air A new study, published in the Novem ber 23 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that heavy regional haze in China's most

Porous concrete helps 'greener' water system UK scientists have designed a po

rous concrete paving surface which allows surface water to pass through to a specially designed

important agricultural areas, may be cut ting food production there by as much

sub-base. The water then can be

as one-third. Covering a million square

ing gardens. The paving helps to prevent rapid rainwater run-off and flash flooding, while retaining oils, rubber particles and other surface contamination which might pollute

kilometres or more,the haze scatters and

absorbs solar radiation, reducing the amount of sunlight reaching key rice and winter wheat crops. That decreases plant growth and food production. "For crops that are irrigated and fer tilized, there is often a direct correlation between how much is grown and how

much sunlight reaches those crops," said Dr. William L. Chameides, professor in the School of Earth & Atmospheric Sci ences at the Georgia Institute of Tech nology. In China there is a significant amount of haze that reduces the sunlight reaching the surface by at least five per cent, and perhaps as much as 30 percent. The optimal yields of crops in China are likely reduced by the same percentage. E-mail: wcham@eas.gatech.edu.

used for flushing toilets or water

streams and water courses.

The system was designed and patented by Coventry University, England,and licensed to Formpave Limited.

The long-term experiment is The Formpave stormwater source control sysundergoes a series of porosity tests. designed to last for at least three years. The square-metre concrete block vironmentally friendly constituents and is subjected to simulated rain showers are fed by fertilizer in the experiment. that might occur during the year on a Instruments measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide at various levels on the city the size of London, and oil leak age that might occur in one of its car ground. Research has shown that the paving system has the capacity to retain parks. Bacteria, growing naturally in the in the sub-base, 98.7 percent of oil de ground,break down oil spillage into en- posited on the paving.

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Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

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63


Industry Update sion of QualServe to wastewater andjoint

Environment Canada and the CMMA fast track the

introduction of cleaner marine engines

Instead of meeting once a year at each

marine engine manufacturers, and the CMMA,to fast track the early introduc tion of cleaner engines into Canada. Once the new Canadian Environmental

ProtectionAct,(CEFA1999)is proclaim ed in force later this year, the Govemment of Canada will have the authority to regulate emissions from off-road en gines and the industry will be prepared for the development of regulations. "This agreement sets new standards that equipment suppliers have agreed to meet," said Minister Anderson. "The

Once the new Canadian Environmental

future lies in new technologies that re duce pollution and increase engine effi ciency," he added. This voluntary program is designed to

ProtectionAct,(CERA 1999)is proclaim

offer immediate environmental benefits

ed, the Government of Canada will have

for Canadians by facihtating the introduc tion ofengines designed to meet US fed

the authority to regulate emissions from off-road engines. Photo - Steve Davey Federal Environment Minister David

Anderson, recently signed a Memoran dum of Understanding(MOU)on Ma rine Spark Ignition Engine Exhaust Emission Standards between Environ ment Canada and the Canadian Marine

Manufacturers Association(CMMA). The MOU is a voluntary program be tween Environment Canada,recreational

eral emissions standards into Canada.

The agreement covers outboard en gines and personal watercraft engines. Under its terms, engine manufacturers have voluntarily committed to supply these cleaner engines in Canada, start ing with the 2001 model year. Partici pating companies will also cover all new 2001 and later model-year engines with an emissions warrantly.

Conor Pacific completes

volved in, and pursuing, other sites in

first brownfield

core urban areas in Canada for remedi

redevelopment project

ation and brownfield redevelopment.

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Contact: Jeff Devins,Tel:(604)8721660.

water-wastewater utilities.

other's annual conferences, the AWWA

and WEF officers have set up a series of meetings that will occur through 2000.

Scientists study ozone depletion in the arctic Scientists from Environment Canada's

Meteorological Services of Canada have joined scientists from other countries in the Canadian Arctic to study ozone de pletion at ground level during polar sun rise. The ALERT 2000 experiment is to be conducted from February 7 to May 8, 2000, at the Canadian Forces Station in

Alert, located at the edge of the Lincoln Sea, on the northeast tip of Ellesmere Is land in the Canadian Arctic.

Over the past year, scientists from Meteorological Services of Canada have made discoveries that may mean an im portant and dramatic link exists between ozone depletion and the reactivity of the snow surface. Following recent experi ments in the South Pole and Greenland, researchers now believe that chemical

reactions occur in snow when it is ex

posed to the sun. These reactions may have a significant impact on the air. In winter, these reactions could also affect

large parts of Canada. Further information is available on

the web sites: ALERT 2000 Experiment: arqm.tor.ec.gc.ca/PS2000 or Environment Canada's Green Lane: www.ec.gc.ca.

Papers sought for Watershed 2001 in Tokyo

gies Inc. announced in January,that it has successfully completed its first largeWatershed 2001, a specialty conference AWWA and WEF seek scale brownfield(contaminated property) to be held July 26-27, 2001, at the collaboration redevelopment project. The property, an Tokyo Intemational Exhibition Center in eight-acre commercial site and building The American Water Works Association Japan, is seeking papers on a variety of in the Sheridan Science and Technology (AWWA) and the Water Environment water quality topics. Co-sponsored by Park in Mississauga, Ontario, was con Federation(WEF) have announced that the European Water Association(EWA), taminated with asbestos, PCBs,and fuel they are looking at ways to expand their the Japan Sewage Works Association from an underground storage tank. long history of cooperative ventures. A (JSWA), and the Water Environment A former research and development committee established under the part Federation (WEF), the conference will facility owned by Abitibi Price, it was nering agreement signed by AWWA and be the first in a series entitled Sustain vacant and unmarketable as a real es WEF last year is undertaking a wider able Management of Water Systemsfor tate investment when Conor Pacific pur look at opportunities for collaboration the 21st Century held every 3-5 years. chased the site two years ago. Follow to provide better and more responsive The goal of Watershed 2001 is to ing a multi-million-dollar environmen support for members, water and waste- enhance the discussion of watershed tal clean-up and building renovations water utilities, and public health goals. management among wastewater profes program, the building is now fully oc Cooperative activities already in sionals, administrators, and the public. cupied and is generating significant cash clude the publication of the laboratory Abstract submissions should be made flow of approximately $825,000 annu authority. Standard Methods for the by June 30, 2000 to: Water Environ ally. The building is home to Atomic Examination of Water and Wastewater ment Federation, Attention: EWA/ Energy of Canada Limited, and is also (along with the American Public Health JSWA/WEF Watershed 2001, 601 serving as Conor Pacific's Eastern Re Association); co-sponsorship ofspecialty Wythe Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314gion headquarters. conferences on management, reuse, and 1994, USA. Fax: (703) 684-2413, Conor Pacific is also currently in residuals; and most recently, the expan E-mail: smerther@wef.org. 64

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Industry Update

Villagers poisoned by arsenic to sue Unioef Millions of Bangladeshis are at risk of

arsenic poisoning from wells dug by Unicef. Campaigners are contemplat ing suing the UN body for compensa tion. If the arsenic suspicions are accu rate, it could be the biggest mass poi soning in history. Between 18 and 70 million Bangladeshis could be affected. Iftekhar Hussain, of the ministry of health, said some of the best lawyers in the country would represent the Forum for Arsenic Patients in its court action

against Unicef. "We're aware of the move," said a

Unicef spokesperson in Dhaka, saying that Unicefs safe water program had been launched in good faith. "It's un fortunate that the tube wells (steel cyl inders)sunk to provide water were later

While the process is not complex, neither is it inexpensive. Trucks haul scrap from new construction and reno vation sites, as well as reject board from manufacturers. Tipping fees are paid at one of a network of New West Gypsum transfer stations, or directly at the com pany's three recycling plants in New Westminster,BC;Oakville, Ontario; and

Fife, Washington. Once drywall enters the recycling plant, heavy machinery pulverizes the gypsum core and removes the backing paper. Another machine removes ferrous materials, mostly screws, nails, edging and metal studs, and the paper undergoes a pulping process to make noodle pulp. The elements are then sent off for re

use. The paper comes back to life as new wallboard covering, fibre tubes or cartons. Steel materials are recycled.

and the gypsum is purchased by drywall manufacturers, who mix it with virgin gypsum rock to make new drywall. Gypsum scrap constitutes 12 percent of construction and renovation waste in

North America, and about one percent of the total waste stream. While recy cling volumes vary from year to year because of changes in the rate of new construction, the recycling operations have had a significant effect in easing pressure on landfills. New West Gypsum handles about 90 percent of the scrap drywall produced in Greater Vancouver, mostly from new construction sites. McCamley estimates that recycling the one ton of gypsum scrap generated in the construction of an average house is equivalent to recy cling a householder's blue-box contents over a period of two years.

found to contain arsenic." Tube-wells

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Some 20% of the 300,000 tube wells

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checked so far - out of 4.5 million

throughout Bangladesh - have shown signs of significant contamination. Evi dence presented to the World Health Organization suggests that the high lev els of arsenic may be caused by sedi ments brought by flooding, and only affect shallow wells, not deep ones.

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Standard procedures did not include tests for arsenic, because the toxin had

never been found in the kind of geologi cal formation present in Bangladesh. Campaigners claim that although the problem was detected by Bangladesh government scientists in 1993, nothing

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Industry Update R.V. Anderson Associates Limited

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The state of the ozone layer continues to he of concern, according to the latest up cator Series Stratospheric Ozone Deple tion. Canadian stratospheric ozone lev els, although higher than those in 1997, were still down 3.3% from pre-1980 lev els. In fact, there has been a general downward trend over Canada in the last

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sphere diminish as the result of the in ternational phaseout of CEC production under the Montreal Protocol. In Canada,

for instance, new supplies of ozone-de pleting substances, including CEC,fell from a high point of 27.8 kilotonnes in 1987 to 0.9 Mlotonnes in 1998.

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Industry Update

Activists damage genetically altered forests BC eco-terrorists damaged trees which they dubbed "frankenforests" in a ram page which destroyed more than 3,500 trees and seedlings at two research cen tres. Activists claimed such trees, which

are used for reforestation, are genetically altered to be bigger, stronger, and de signed to resist pests and disease. Victims of the vandalism deny they have been tinkering with the genetics of the Province's trees and spoke out against the vandalism. "To our knowl edge, no one has ever made such a vi cious attack on trees anywhere," said

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couver Island research station lost 3,000 trees and seedlings.

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Two groups claim responsibility for

Duke Engineering Services (Canada),Inc. A Duke Energy Company

the separate acts of destruction. Reclaim the Genes says it was behind an inci dent where more than 500 spruce seed

lings at the University of British Colum bia were badly damaged. The Genetix

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was not a prank. "Our staff were in tears when they arrived and saw the trees that

• Risk Assessment

(613) 232-2525 Toronto

(905) 513-9400 Calgary (403) 262-4885

ASBESTOS & LEAD ANALYSIS

they've been working with for 10 years cut down." Damage is estimated at $250,000.

SINCE 1981

AIHA - AIHA ELLAP - NVLAP NY ELAP - CA ELAP - TEXAS DOH

IFAT 2002 to have greater emphasis on water supplies

AIR - BULK - DUST - SOIL - WATER

1-800-220-3675

Preparations for the 13th hiternational Trade Fairfor Environment, Wastewater and Wastewater Disposal: Water Sew age, Refuse and Recycling, are now

TEM - PLM - PCM - SEM - Flame AA - Graphite Furnace

GAP EnviroMicrobial Services Inc.

underway. IFAT 2002 will run May 7-

The concept includes an expansion

Vancouver • Victoria

Specializing in;

Bill Dumont, chief forester of Western

Centre.

London • Hamilton

ENVIRONMENTAL DIVISION

Forest Products. His company's Van

11,2002,at the New Munich Trade Fair

Toronto • Ottawa

□ELCAN

^A

AJP"

and internationalization of the water

supply section, which was first intro duced at IFAT 99. Messe Mlinchen re

sponded to the developments in this sec tor where the trend is towards privati zation and globalization.

Microbiology Laboratory & Consulting Microbial Training Consulting Services Respirometry 1020 Hargrieve Road, London, Ontario. N6E1P5 Telephone: 519-681-0571 Fax: 519-681-7150

* Cryptosporidium & Giardia * Microorganism Identification * Rapid E.coll recreational water

The countries of Central and Eastern

Europe,South America,Asia and Africa will, in future, be looking for solutions to problems in water preparation and supply, and Messe Munchen's advertis ing and marketing campaign will be strong in these countries. Waste disposal and recycling remains the largest sec tion at IFAT. For more information. E-mail: info@messe-muenchen.de.

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

ST. CATHARINES

a

Gartner Lee

Limited

"It's great to be joining Gartner Lee who has such a strong reputation in the marketplace for qual ity service delivery." Ron PorfcIIi, P. Eng., Vice President, (905) 477-8400 ext. 310 Email: rportelli@gartnerIee.com, Website: ivivw.gartnerlee.com 61


Industry Update

Montreal, the capital of water consumption

Geamatrix Consultants Engineers, Geologists,and Environmental Scientists 'Industriol Woter/Wasfewater Treofmenf

We hove moved/

■ Wosfe Minimizofion/Wosfewafer Reuse/Rec/c/e

Our new address is:

■ Treofmenf System Upgrade/Opfimizafion

Suite No. 1\465 Phillip Street

■ Treofmenf System Design and Construction

Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6C7

■ ISO 14000 - Environmental Management Systems

Tel:(519)886 * 7500 Fax:(519)886•7419

HftC ENGINEERING Noise Vibration Acoustics

Howe Gastmeier Chapnik

www.geomatrix.com

Staggering figures on Montrealers' overconsumption of water were presented at the province's environmental review board recently. The amount of water used in Montreal every day would fill the Olympic Stadium, according to the brief the Montreal Urban Community environmental committee presented to the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur

Noise Vibration and Acoustics

I'environnement. That's 1,350 cubic

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Torontonians,and 250 cubic metres used

metres per person per day, compared with 519 cubic metres used daily by

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daily by the citizens of Saskatoon. Montreal's water usage is by far the highest of the 18 major Canadian cities the committee compared. It represents 45% of all water used in Quebec, even though Montreal's population is only a quarter of the province's population. The committee chair pointed out that Montreal residents were not necessar

Hydromantis,Inc.

ily to blame. In fact, the committee has found that only 18% - 26% of the used

Consulting Engineers

water in Montreal comes from its resi dents. The rest comes from businesses

1685 Main Street West, Suite 302, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 1G5

Tel:(905)522-0012 Fax:(905)522-0031

and institutions (54% - 62%), and rain and melted snow (20%). The committee is seeking to reduce

infolShydtomantis.com

water use in the Montreal Urban Com

munity by 20%. In its report, the com

MacViro Designing Environmental <irr Energy Solutions

mittee ruled out the installation of wa ter meters in residences in the medium

term, but said such an installation was a

Consulting Engineers, Planners and Scientists, Specializing In the Environment MacViro Consultants Inc. 90 Allstate Parkway, Suite 600, Markham, Ontario L3R 6H3 (905) 475-7270 • Fax;(905)475-5994

'hoped-for objective'.

SCE grants rights for ciean-up technoiogy to

E-Mail: 103700.2767@compuserve.com

MALROZ

•risk assessment/management

Engineering Inc.

•site remediation

CH2M HILL Southern California Edison (SCE) has granted the right to market a revolution ary toxic clean-up technology to CH2M Hill. The technology speeds the removal of underground liquid contaminants,re ducing the clean-up time at one SCE site

•waste management

from decades to months. The US Envi

•hydrogeoiogy

ronmental Protection Agency estimates that the technology could be useful at

'environmental site assessments

Kingston Ottawa

(613)548-3446 (613)521-8258

about one-fourth of American Superfund toxic clean-up locations. Through

k

Marshall Macklin

the arrangement, CH2M Hill will mar ket the technology, and SCE's expertise

Monaghan

in it, to clients worldwide. Both com

CONSULTING ENGINEERS • SURVEYORS • PLANNERS

Specialists in Environmental Planning and Engineering, Hydrogeoiogy, Waste Management and Water Resources Toronto, Calgary, Mississauga, Whitby 80 Commerce Valley Drive East, Thornhill, ON L3T7N4 Telephone: 905-882-1100 FAX: 905-882-0055

E-mail: mmm@mmm.ca

68

http://vvww.mmm.ca

panies will share the proceeds. SCE has a license from the Lawrence

Livermore National Laboratory, which developed this "dynamic underground stripping"(DUS) technology for clean ing up "dense, non-aqueous-phase liq uids" such as creosote and petroleum disEnvironmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Industry Update tillates, to use it for commercial purposes.

SCE applied Lawrence Livermore technology in its first commercial-scale field test at a four-acre former utility pole treatment facility in Visalia, Cali fornia. Soil and groundwater beneath this Superfund site had become contami

M PI

PI m

A Chemex Labs Albetla / Novamann International Partnership

1 ^^^Analytics inc

Calgary

Ontario

- 2021-4! Avenue N.E.

5540 McAdam Road

Comprehensive Environmental Testing National Service

Certified/Accredited

Mississauga, ON L4Z1PI •- . s ;Calgary. A8 T2E6P2 ■ Tel:(403)291-3077 Tel:(90S)890-2555 Fax:(403)291-9468 Fax:(905)890-0370 Edmonton 9331 -48th Street

Quebec 9420 C6te de Liesse

Source Emissions

nated with creosote, diesel fuel and other

Occupational Health

treatment chemicals. The technology

Rush Analysis

shortened the estimated time needed for

this large clean-up project, from more than a century using previously avail able technology, to a year or two. It involves injecting steam under ground to drive contaminants to recov ery wells, which then pump the contami

Uchine.QC HSTiAl

Edmonton, AB T6B2R4

Tel:(5l4)636-62I8 Fax:(5l4)63l-98i4

Tel:(403)465-9877 • Fax:(403)466-3332

Toll Free: East (800) 563-6266

West(800)386-7247

PARKSON CORPORATION • Aqua Guard* Screen • Biolac* System • DynaSand® Filter •Lamella Gravity Settler • StrainPress' SludgeCleaner

nants to the surface for further treatment.

9050 RYAN AVENUE,DORVAL,QUEBEC H9P 2m8

Since SCE began using the technology in May 1997, the process has removed more than one million pounds of con

TELEPHONE 514-636-8712 FAX 514-636-9718

PARKSONCANADA@COMPUSERVE.COM An Axel Johnson Inc. Company

WWW.PARKSON.COM

taminants. Another feature of this tech

nology is a system of underground sen sors that feed data to computers, allow ing engineers and technicians at video screens to monitor and control the proc

ONTARIO •.BRITISH COLUMBIA • QUEBEC • NOVA SCOTIA PENNSYLVANIA • NEWFOUNDLAND • ALBERTA

PHILIP SERVICES

ess in real time. With- m

Contact: Jon Harris, CH2M Hill, at: Tel:(714)429-2000.

PluLif-AnciLjiicai il

(m kicjU

oa^ cuAi&me/i deMuce. Valerie Geldart, Sales Manager

COjtrade made in Alberta

1•800-263*9040 ext. 275 or valerle geldart@philip-serv.coni Internet: virww.phllipanalytical.com

EPCOR has purchased 18,000 tonnes of

CIVIL/ ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING' CONSULTANTS

emission reductions from TransAlta

Utilities through the newly formed. Alberta-based KEFI Exchange. The

WATER SUPPLY' POLLUTION CONTROL • DRAINAGE SCADA' ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES • ENERGY AUDITS

18,000 tonnes of CO^ represented in the trade, is claimed to be equal to the an nual emissions of about 3,000 automo biles.

SIMCOE ENGINEERINQ GRGUP LIMITED

The KEFI Exchange was designed specifically for the trading of emission reduction certificates from electricity generation. Every month,the Exchange

1815 Ironstone Manor, Suite #10, Pickering, Ont. LIW 5W9 • Tel; 905-831-1715 Fax; 905-831-0531

uses information from the Power Pool

Stantec Consulting Ltd.

Consulting Engineers & Architect

ofAlberta to determine the average CO^ produced per megawatt hour to meet electricity needs in the province. A gen erating unit receives certificates that rep resent how it contributes to reducing the provincial average CO, produced per megawatt hour. One KEFI credit represents 1,000

Environmental/Occupational Health and Safety Stantec

♦ Environmental Engineering ♦ Occupational Health and Safety ♦ Ventilation Assessment & Design ♦ Indoor Air Quality ♦ Air Pollution Control ♦ HS&E Compliance Audits ♦ Clean Air Technologies ♦ EMS Audits 7070 Mississauga Road, Suite 160, MIssissauga, Ontario, L5N 7G2 Canada Tel:(905)858-4424• Fax:(905)858-4428• Website: www.stantec.com

emission free index hours, which in turn

is equal to twelve tonnes of CO^. Simi

"A leader\r\ providing innovative

lar to other commodity exchanges, the identity of the buyers and sellers on the KEFI Exchange is normally kept confi dential to maintain impartial trading.

automation solutions to our customers." We offer a compiete range of proitucts & services in the areas of: • Systems Integration • Process Instrumentation • Control Panels • Programmable Logic Controllers • MMl/SCADA • Computer/Network Services •Service

However, both EPCOR and TransAlta

have agreed to disclose their identities and the volume traded. Price per KEFI remains confidential to avoid creating misleading price signals.

Summa Engineering Limited 6423 Northam Drive, Mississauga, ON L4V1J2 Tel: (905) 678-3388, Fax: (905) 678-0444

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

Summa Enterprises, Place Grilli, 3539 Blvd. St. Charles, #350, Kirkiand, QC H9H 589 Tel: (514) 591-5748, Fax:(514) 455-3587

69


Industry Update Dioxin and furan levels

by more than 90 percent. A growing body of scientific evi

are dropping

and furans in today's environment do not pose a risk to human health.

The Chlorine Chemistiy Council(CCC) dence indicates that the low levels of • Better combustion practices will have says that levels of dioxins and furans in dioxin in today's environment do not the biggest effect on ftirther reducing enthe environment have dropped signifi pose a risk to human health. A study vii'onmental levels of dioxins and furans. cantly in the US over the past 25 years published in the Journal ofthe National •The chlorine industry itself is not a sig and will continue their dramatic decline

Cancer Institute, found increased rates

as new EPA regulations take effect. Ac cording to EPA,estimated emissions of

ofcancer only among workers who were exposed to dioxins at levels 100 to 1,000

dioxins and furans to the environment

times higher than the general population.

A CCC information kit. What are the in the United States actually decreased by 75 percent among known sources facts about dioxins and furans? dis cusses five key findings about dioxins from 1987-1995.

hazardous waste incinerators will reduce air emissions of dioxins and furans from

The US pulp and paper industry has virtually eliminated its releases of diox

ins and furans by using chlorine diox ide instead of elemental chlorine in its

bleaching processes, says CCC. As a

and furans:

result, the number of fish advisories for

• Dioxins and furans are by-products of both natural and industrial processes.

water bodies downstream of US pulp mills fell by more than 50 percent from 1990 to 1998. Details: www.c3.org.

CCC claims that strict new EPA

standards for municipal, medical and

nificant source of emissions of dioxins and furans to the environment.

• Levels of dioxins and furans in the

these sources by an estimated 95 per cent, while new rules for pulp and pa

environment have declined significantly over the past 25 years. per mills will reduce releases to water • The extremely low levels of dioxins

THORBURN PENNY Consulting Engineers

Governments wary of feds' water plans It's back to the drawing board for the federal government after five provinces rejected its approach to protecting Cana da's fresh water from export. All par ties at an Alberta meeting of environ

•Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition Systems

• Environmental Audits • Water Resources

ment ministers agreed that water must

•Instrumentation & Controls

• Water Pollution Control

be protected, but could not agree on the

• Environmental Planning

• Water Supply

best way to do it. British Columbia,Al

OTTAWA: (613)247-0111

berta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec refused to endorse a national

BURLINGTON:

TORONTO:

(905)634-9494 (418)361-6135

accord which would provide a common engineers architects

planners

COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE Water Supply•System Optimization • Wastewater Solid Waste Management• Environmental Assessment MiSA • Site Assessment & Remediation • SCADA

t O 11 e n sims

TEL:(905)668-9363•WHITBY• Fax:(905)668-0221

hubicki associates

Ontario Manitoba

Saskatctiewan Alberta British Columbia Northern Terrltorles

& Internationally

COBOURG • TORONTO • KINGSTON • WATERLOO • BRACEBRIDGE OHAWA•SAULT STE. MARIE•ST. CATHARINES• LONDON •ELLIOTT LAKE

XCG CONSULTANTS LTD.

Vancouver (604) 990-0582 Kitchener (519)741-5774 Toronto area (905) 891-2400 Kingston (613)542-5888 www.xcg.commall@xog.com

70

ronmental laws.

The five dissenters want a formal fed

eral trade ban. BC has already passed a provincial law banning bulk water ex ports. Ministers and governments fear that once one jurisdiction sells water, either by tanker or pipeline, the free trade agreement would kick in and it would become a commodity which must

ENVIRONMENTAL DIVISION

be available for sale. The subject will be raised at the next meeting of minis ters in the Spring.

Environmental Engineering Water & Wastewater Engineering

Huge E. co//outbreak

Site Assessment & Remediation

A shallow well located 80 ft. from a cat tle barn was blamed for one of the worst outbreaks of E. coli in the US. Health

Hydrogeoiogy Waste Mar Management

• Urban Drainage Visit our website at www.umagroup.com

XCG

front, but leave it up to each province to legislate a water ban through its envi

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING SPECIALISTS

• Industrial/Municipal Wastewater Management • Watershed and Stormwater Management • Drinking Water Quality and Treatment • Hydrogeoiogy Investigation/Modelling • Environmentai Site Assessment/Auditing • Remediation and Decommissioning • Environmentai Management Systems

officials believe that heavy rains in Greenich, NY, site of the Washington County Fair in September, washed fecal matter into the well which was being used to make ice, drinks, and prepare foods during the fair. Tests showed the well water con tained E. coli 0157:H7 at 32 colonies/

100 L. Days after the fair ended, there were 291 suspected cases of E. coli in fection, with one death and dozens hos

pitalized, including three children on kidney dialysis. Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Date Pad March 22-24, 2000. Globe 2000, Interna tional Conference and Trade Fair, Vancou ver, BC. Contact: Leslie Wootton,Tel:(604)

254-0121, Fax: (604) 666-8123, Web site: www.globe.ca, March 26-31, 2000. Corrosion/2000, NACE's 55th Annual Conference and Exhi

bition, Orlando,EL. Contact: Tel:(281)2286223, Fax:(281) 228-6329, E-mail: msd@ mail.nace.org. Web site: www.nace.org. March 29-31, 2000. Salon des Technolo gies Environnementales du Quebec 2000, St. Hyacinthe, QC. Contact: Reseau environnement, Tel:(514)270-7110, Fax:(514)

May 6-10,2000. Ontario Water Works As sociation Annual Conference, Windsor, ON. Tel: (416) 252-7060, Fax: (416) 252-3908, E-mail: owwa@idirect.com. Web site: www.owwa.org.

for the New Millennium, Denver, CO. Web

May 15-16, 2000. Canadian Water and Wastewater Association Annual Manage ment Seminar and Annual General Meeting, Regina,SK. Tel:(613)241-5692,Fax:(613)

site: www.awwa.org/ace2000. June 18-22, 2000. Air & Waste Manage ment Association, 93rd Annual Conference & Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah. Con tact: Mercedes de la Cruz, Tel: (301) 4935500, Fax: (301) 493-5705, E-mail: delacruz@ejkrause.com. June 21-23, 2000. 53rd Canadian Water

241-5193, E-mail: admin@cwwa.ca. Web site: www.cwwa.ca.

May 16-18,2000. 9th National Conference on Drinking Water, organized by CWWA for the Federal-Provincial Subcommittee on

Resources Association Annual Conference:

Science Meets Policy, Saskatoon, SK. Tel/ Fax: (519) 885-1426, Web site: www.

ment.com.

Drinking Water, Regina, SK. Tel:(613)2415692,Fax:(613)241-5193,E-mail: admin@

April 5, 2000. Specialty Seminar 2000 Disinfection in Drinking Water Treatment,

cwwa.ca. Web site: www.cwwa.ca. June 2-4, 2000. Federation of Canadian

OWWA Treatment Committee,Toronto, ON. Contact: Kendra Brown, Ontario Water

Municipalities Annual Conference and Municipal Expo, London. ON. Web site:

270-7154, E-mail: info@reseau-environne

Works Association, Tel: (416) 252-7060, Fax:(416)252-3908. April 9-12,2000. 'No-Dig 2000', sponsored by The North American Society for Trenchless Technology(NASTT), Anaheim, California. Contact: John Hemphill, Tel: (703) 351-5252,Fax: (703) 351-5261, E-mail: nastt@nastt.org. April 10-12, 2000. Symposium on Envi ronmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment, Toronto, ON. Sponsored by the American Society for Testing and Materials. Contact:

site: www.engga.uwo.ca/civil/csce.htm. June 11-15, 2000. American Water Works Association Annual Conference and Expo sition - Step Up To The Future, Innovation

www.fcm.ca.

June 5-9, 2000. R'2000 - the 5th World Congress on Integrated Resources Manage ment, Toronto, ON. Contact: Dalo Keliar, Tel: (905) 470-0123, E-mail: keliarÂŽ oak.net, website: www.rrr2000.com.

June 7-10,2000. Canadian Society of Civil Engineering 6th Environmental Engineering Specialty Conference, London, ON. Web

cwra.ca.

June 27-30, 2000. International Pulp Bleaching Conference, Halifax, NS. Con tact: Clen D. Black, Pulp and Paper Tech nical Association of Canada,Tel:(514)3926967, Fax:(514)392-0369, Web site: www. paptac.ca.

July 3-7,2000. Paris 2000, 1st World Con gress of the International Water Association (IWA), Paris, FR. All inquiries should be directed to: Web site: www.aghtm.org. E-mail: aghtm@aghtm.org.

Announcement

Announcement

Brian H. Conlln, P.Eng.

Frederick W. Firlotte, P.Eng.

Brian H. Conlin has been appointed

The Board of Directors of Golder

President of Golder Associates Ltd.

Associates is pleased to announce the appointment of Frederick (Rick)

Dr. Bruce M. Greenberg, University of Waterloo, Tel: (519) 888-4567, ext. 3209,

Fax: (519) 746-0614, E-mail: greenberÂŽ sciborg.uwaterloo.ca. April 16-18,2000. Water Environment As sociation of Ontario Conference, Hamilton, ON. Contact: Francesca Davino, WEAO, Tel: (905) 726-1300, Fax: (905) 726-2300,

E-mail: weao@weao.org. April 16-19,2000. British Columbia Water and Waste Association Annual Conference, Victoria, BC. Tel: (604) 540-0111, Fax:

(604) 540-4077, E-mail: bcwwa@bcwwa. org.. Web site: www.bcwwa.org. April 25-27, 2000. Ontario Water Confer ence - Challenges and Solutions, Toronto, ON. Up-to-date information on this confer ence can be found at: www.cwra.org/ ontwmc/.

Mr. Conlin is now responsible for the operation of the Canadian company, which has a staff of 875 in 23 offices

across the country, and the Latin American operations, which have a

April 26-27, 2000. Environmental Man agement and Compliance 2000, the 8th

staff of 40 in four offices in South

Annual Environmental Conference/Work

in Vancouver. Prior to his appoint

shops and Tradeshow. The Regal Constel lation Hotel, Etobicoke, ON. Contact: ES&E, Tel: 1-888-254-8769, or (905) 7274666, Fax:(905) 841-7271.

April 27,2000. Water & Sewer Infrastruc ture Systems: Challenges and Solutions Seminar. Organized by the Institute for Re search in Construction, National Research

Council Canada (NRC). Tel: (613) 9930435, Fax:(613)952-7673. May 1-4, 2000. Control Systems 2000, Victoria, BC. Contact: Glen D. Black, Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada, Tel: (514) 392-6967, Fax: (514) 392-0369. Web site: www.paptac.ca.

America. He will continue to be based

ment, Mr. Conlin held numerous sen

ior positions with Golder Associates. A Professional Engineer, Mr. Conlin holds a Bachelor of Science

degree in Engineering from Queen's University and a Master of Engineer ing degree from the University of Toronto. Mr. Conlin has more than

20 years experience in the consult ing industry.

W. Firlotte as President of Golder

Associates Corporation. In his new role, Mr.Firlotte is respon sible for the worldwide operations of the Corporation. Most recently, Mr. Firlotte was President of Golder

Associates Ltd., and was responsible for the Canadian and Latin American

operations of the Corporation. A Professional Engineer, Mr. Firlotte holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of

Engineering degree from McGill University. He has over 20 years experience in the consulting industry.

Tel: 1-800-414-8314

Tel: 1-800-414-8314

Internet: www.goIder.com E-mail: solutions@golder.com

Internet: www.goider.com E-mail: solutions@golder.com

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

71


Literature Review For information on advertising in this section call ES&E at(905)727-4666. CYANIDI REMOVAi

Cyanide Removal

Hazardous materials

Using sodium hypochlorite (JAVEX-12) to effectively and quickiy remove cyanide wastes

storage Ghem-Loc Buildings are uniquely designed and manufactured by MakLoc Buildings Inc. to provide safety, security, segrega

is detaiied. Bulietin reviews dos

ages, equipment, as weii as stor age, safety and handling data. Particularly applicable to metal recover or refining operations. Contact: www.coigate.ca/javex Colgate-Palmolive

tion, and secondary con tainment of hazardous ma

terials. Since 1971, multi

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national oil and gas companies, the Armed Forces, Govern ment agencies, municipalities and golf courses have chosen

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Ghem-Loc as their economical solution. Tel: 1-888-774-7792,

Web site: www.makloc.com. MakLoc Buildings Inc. Circle reply card No. 194 Brecon pre-insulated pipe

Zebra Mussels

A "SofaJtion" fty

To help control zebra mussels, one

ZEBRA MUSSELS

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JAVEX-12 sodium hypochlorite, which kills the larvae. We are con-

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TEBPIE

Urecon pre-insulated pipe has been used across Canada for shallow bury freeze protection since 1972(with or without Thermocable® heat tracing). Other applications include: central chilled water pipe. Industrial, mining, etc. We also distribute Logstor Ror (Denmark) pre-insulated hot water district heating pipe suitable for serv ice up to 140°C (with or without leak alarm system). Visit our web page at: www.urecon.com.

Urecon Ltd.

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Treating odours with Sodium Hypochlorite (JAVEX-12) is

Our 530 page all color mail-or der catalog, has over 12,000

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Canada. USABIueBook

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High quality plastic piping systems Fabricated Plastics Limited offers

industry a full spectrum of high qual ity, corrosion resistant, plastic piping systems, designed and fabricated for a wide range of conditions and tem peratures. End-users now have a choice of a variety of materials from solid FRP to thermoplastic-lined FRP. Lining choices include: PVC,CPVC, PP, PVDF, E-CTFE, FEP, PFA, and

TEFZEL. Our 10-page brochure outlines material selection and prop erties, joining methods and dimen sional details. Fabricated Plastics

Membrane technology for industrial wastewater ZENON's ZenoGem® bioreactor

system can retrofit any existing wastewater treatment facility, im mediately increasing capacity by up to four times. The system in corporates immersed membrane

technology, which assures biomass retention, resulting in a high quality effluent, suitable for direct reuse or discharge. ZENON Environmental Inc.

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72

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Product and Service Showcase Potable water treatment

Cathodic protection/corrosion

Package Wastewater Plants

control

Adapted to Your Needs

Interprovincial Corrosion Control, the Canadian Distributor of the MAXMAG

ProMinent's proven technology for pota ble water treatment is available through

Circle reply card No. 221

We have supplied Package Sewage Treat ment Plants worldwide. The Package Plant concept is a low cost, odourless plant, achieving a high degree of treat ment. It is economical, easy to install and operate, reliable, fulfills regulatory requirements and is ideal for any loca tion unable to connect to municipal sewer systems. Sanitherm Engineering Ltd. Circle reply card No. 222

Free, combined or total

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chlorine residuals

evaporation process

tally friendly Chlorine Dioxide Generator which produces a chlorine-free chlorine dioxide, resulting in negUgible THM for

Magnesium Anode, offers customized services throughout the process of ca thodic protection/corrosion control, in cluding initial surveys,system design,en gineering services, follow-up monitoring and system maintenance. The MAXMAG

mation. For information on ProMinent's

is manufactured to meet ASTM Standard

total services call:(519)836-5692,or visit: www.prominent.ca. ProMinent

Interprovincial Corrosion Control

their advanced Bello Zon® environmen

B843-93, Grade MIC.

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Capital Controls

The AutoFlash is

Chlortrol

a time-proven evaporation sys tem with the capability of using low-grade, reject,

series

17T2000 Amperometric Titrator is

an analytical instru ment for the electri cal determination

waste heat as the

of the end pint of a titration for free,

for fast, accurate titrations. It is easily operated, without special instructions. Visit our website at: www.metconeng .com. Metcon Engineering

only source of en ergy for phase separation. This exclusive feature makes evaporation a very viable treatment method for TDS (total dissolved solids), over 4,500 milli grams per litre. The proprietary,self-regu lating device causes the AutoFlash to be able to operate outside of steady state con ditions in a highly stable manner. Donson Engineering

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Circle reply card No. 224

Level interface control systems

The tough just got tougher!

combined, or total chlorine residual. It can also be used to determine residual

bromine,iodine, ozone, permanganate, or chlorine dioxide. The instrument is used

Hydra-Stop announces the immediate availability of Insta-Valve, the "easy to install" insertable valve. Now gas and water distribution systems can quickly and easily insert valves wherever they need them. Insta-Valve requires only one cut, no reaming, no complicated planning, no excessive pipe strength loss, and no more annoying and dangerous service disrup tions. Insta-Valves are available in sizes

from 4" to 12". Hydra-Stop Circle reply card No. 225

The best keeps getting better

i

Royce Instrument Corporation has added two new Interface Level Detectors to

their lineup. The Model 2110 and Model 2120 Point Level Interface instruments

are optical point level detection systems for the control of blankets in several ap plications. The two instruments are the newest additions to the industry's most extensive line of interface level monitor

ing devices available. Cancoppas Circle reply card No. 226

Armtec introduces Bridge-Plate® which they claim is the strongest comugation available in the bridge market today. It is available in arch and box shapes, 3.5 times stronger than structural plate, more than 10 times stiffer than structural plate, and claimed to be the strongest and stiffest product on the market. Armtec built the first Super-Span® bridge in the world and is taking bridge market to new heights. Armtec Circle reply card No. 227

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

BOSS sewer pipe is a corrugated ther moplastic pipe manufactured from high density polyethylene (HDPE). Engi neered for gravity flow systems, BOSS pipe is available in standard 4-metre lengths in sizes from 100 mm to 900 mm nominal inside diameter. The corrugated exterior provides excellent pipe stiffness characteristics, with 320 kPa at 5% de flection available in all sizes of BOSS 2000 and POLYTITE. Armtec

Circle reply card No. 228 73


Product and Service Showcase Membrane microfiltration

Pleated backwash filters

Quality pumpsfor municipalities to.

Septra'™ back wash

filters,

manufactured by Pall Corporation, provide efficient removal of con taminants from

Pall Corporation has developed the Aria™ family of membrane microfiltra tion systems to filter drinking water in municipalities with populations of 10,000 or less. The Aria family of systems is skid-mounted, fully automated and selfcontained to facilitate installation. Op erator interface is simple and straightfor ward. Once programmed,the system will run unattended at a constant clean water

liquid process streams using fewer filter ele

ments and a more compact system than is typically required in water and chemi cal process applications. Pall's patented crescent-shaped pleat design provides ten times the surface area of standard cylin drical filter cartridges of camparable length and diameter. Pall Corporation

Circle reply card No. 230

production rate. Pall Corporation Circle reply card No. 229

Acid neutraiization system

Inlet Stormceptor® system

eration as the well-

Green Turtle Technologies Ltd. intro

known In-line in-

,

a

continuous stream of acidic wastewater

with no chemical dispensing required. PHIX™ was designed to ensure a trou ble free,low maintenance operation with virtually no electronics. This unique process(patent pending)does not require mixing, reagent preparation, an agitated mixing tank, or a pH controller for reageiit dispensing. Servicing simply in volves periodic refill of the neutralizing media. Green Tlirtle Technologies Ltd.

Circle reply card No. 232

Packaged pump system Designed to han dle sewage and effluents in resi

dential or light in dustrial applica tions, the Flygt Packaged Pump System is fully equipped with a pump and a basin, ready for easy in stallation. Avail

able with one or two pumps, these preassembled pump stations require little maintenance and, if needed, can easily be serviced by Flygt branches and re gional distributors. The system may be equipped to meet the demands of indi vidual applications. ITT Flygt Circle reply card No. 235 74

Smith & Loveless'

Ironman system is designed to effectively pre cipitate and re move high levels

ceptor System employs the same principles of op

PHIt tralization system capable of treating a

Iron and manganese removal

The Inlet Storm

TM

duces PHIX™, an innovative acid neu

Comell Pump Company has been setting the standard for premium quality, effi cient end suction centrifugal pumps for the municipal marketplace since 1946. The products are engineered to be rug ged, durable and dependable and each Comell pump is backed by an industry leading two-year warranty. Cornell pumps can be found hard at work for raw water intake, water processing, pressure boosting, energy recovery, and wastewater process. Indachem Circle reply card No. 231

terceptors. Developed to treat run off from an area of

up to 0.20 ha, the Inlet Stormceptor has inherited the inter nal by-pass function, ensuring that all sediment and oil removed from storm-

water runoff remains trapped within the storage chamber,even during peak flows. There are currently more than 2,500 units in place throughout North America. Stormceptor Canada Inc.

Circle reply card No. 233

Solution for

ganese from well water sources by combining the Fibrotex with an integrated oxidation system. The Fibrotex - recently tested and certified to ANSI/NSF International

Standard 61 - treats groundwater under the direct influence of surface water. This combination makes Smith & Loveless'

Ironman system particularly useful for small towns that rely on well water sources. Smith & Loveless, Inc. Circle reply card No. 234

Cyanide Removal

Zebra Mussels

ZEBRA MUSSELS

of iron and man

To help control

CYANIDI REMOVAI

zebra mussels, one solution in

volves the use of JAVEX-12 so

dium hypochlorite, which kills the larvae. We are

consulting with experts to estab lish dosage levels and techniques best suited to help control their spread. If you'd like to discuss this problem, or be kept informed of the latest information, please contact us. Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc. Professional Products Division

Circle reply card No. 236

Using sodium hypochlorite(JAVEX-12) to effectively and quickly remove cya nide wastes is detailed. Bulletin reviews

dosages, equipment, as well as storage, safety and handling data. Particularly ap plicable to metal recover or refining op erations.

Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc. Circle reply card No. 237 Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Product and Service Showcase Package potable water treatment plant

Groundwater remediation

June 26-29, 2000

Biological removal of iron and manganese Degremont Infilco has portable pilot systems that can be easily installed on

Waterloo In Situ Course

site to demonstrate the effectiveness

Monitored Natural

Attenuation and In Situ Remediation

of Groundwater

The Degremont Infilco Pulsapak®, a package potable water treatment plant, produces a very high quality of water, utilizing technology equivalent to that used in large installations. The Pulsapak is the result of a combination of two

A combination of classroom and field

activities including demonstration of in novative site investigation techniques and remediation at the renowned Borden Re

search Aquifer. Waterloo Barrier Circle reply card No. 238

proven Degremont technologies: the Pulsator® Flocculator-Clarifier, equipped with tube settling modules; and the sand and anthracite dual media gravity filter. Degremont Infilco Ltd. Circle reply card No. 239

Hydro-Kleen'"'" Filter Systems are

The two main characteristics of domes

a cost-effective

tic sewage are Biochemical Oxygen De mand (BOD) and Total Suspended Sol ids (TSS) which are to be 250 mg/1 re spectively. The graph shows the treat ment levels of the BOD and TSS using a

able for use with stormwater catch

basins or drains to

trap sediments and substantially re

septic tank, a secondary treatment device,

duce contaminant

achieve tertiary treatment levels.

or a Whitewater. The Whitewater can

The Whitewater has the capabilities to treat domestic sewage to:

levels from storm-

water and other non-point source runoff. These multi-media filtration systems con tain design features which address con cerns dealing with sedimentation and water flow issues while effectively fil tering out hydrocarbons and other tox ins. Make-Way Plastics Ltd.

Circle reply card No. 241

Bovar's solution to RGBs

DAILY SEWAGE FLOW Model No. DF 50 FF

I.Gals 416

SHIPPING

Cii. Melre.s

Weight

1.9

450 lbs 550 lbs

DF 60 FF

500

2.3

DF 75 FF

625

2.9

750 lbs

DFIOOFF

833

3.8

1,200 lbs

DF150FF

5.7

1,500 lbs

2XDF150

1,250 2,500

11.4

3,000 lbs

3XDF150

3,750

17.0

4.500 lbs

4XDF150

5,000

24.0

6.000 lbs

Larger Flow Rate Whitewater Plants There are available single tankage Whitewater systems for flows greater than 5,000 imp. gals, per day up to and including 300,000 imp. gals, per day.

Reducing waste/waste solutions

Containing tanker leaks

tries produce less WHAT IS WASTE?!

waste

because

they've adopted the principle of

PCBs are ever

shipped. We care fully and thor oughly analyze aD

the 4Rs: reuse,re

cycle, reduce and reclaim.

before

they are received. Our highly quali fied laboratory

Circle reply card No. 244

available to customers interested in a bio

logical solution. Degremont Infilco Ltd. Circle reply card No. 240

Circle reply card No. 243

Increasingly, con

Bovar Waste Management

water in a number of Canadian munici

palities. The pilot systems can be made

Circle reply card No. 242

sumers and indus

technicians 'fingerprint' all waste, chart ing its exact and unique composition. Customer liability ends upon Bovar's ac ceptance of waste materials at point of pick-up. Then the waste is shipped.

have already been used with great suc cess to confirm the treatability of the

1-800-894-4430

Make-Way Plastics Ltd.

Bovar's highly ac

wastes

manganese: the

Ferazur® and the Mangazur®. These units

Make-Way Plastics Ltd.

countable treat

ment process be gins before any

moval of iron and

Daily Sewage Flow

Hydro-Kleen catch basin

technology avail

of its biological so lutions for the re

Bovar

advocates

this

philosophy and other procedures to minimize hazardous waste such as:

source separation, substituting raw ma terials, substitution of product, manufac turing process changes, incineration, stabilization, and physical/chemical. Bovar Waste Management Circle reply card No. 245

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

The Haz-Hammock™ by Trans EnvironmentaF" Systems, Inc. is an emergency response containment pouch that quickly attaches to a leaking tanker truck or tankcar. This polypropylene pouch han dles acids, caustics, solvents, and fuels for many hours(50 gallon capacity). The Haz-Hammock™ comes in three models, with ropes and quick-grip clips or with Velcro belts and magnets. Trans Environmental Systems, Inc.

Circle reply card No. 246 75


Product and Service Showcase On-site lead testing

PCB treatment options

FilterTrak 660 Laser

Nephelometer Applying

Itust Ibe Comacn

new

NotSi Ameftaat PCStieatnent

technology in la ser detection and

1

.— fiber optics, the new FilterTrak

660 Laser Neph elometer enables

drinking water A new portable analyzer from Hach Com pany is ideal for municipalities currently relying on outside laboratories for dis solved lead determinations. The Hach

Scanning Analyzer HSA-1000 provides low parts-per-billion(ppb)lead readings at any point of the distribution system, including point of use, without invest ment in expensive equipment or highlytrained technicians. Hach Company Circle reply card No. 247

and wastewater utilities to moni

tor water quality with greater accuracy, reliability and economy than ever before. Hach claims that the instrument operates with 150 times greater sensitivity than a conventional turbidimeter, and it is

optimized to measure turbidity in the range of 0-1 NTU - the range that mat ters most. Hach Company

Circle reply card No. 248

Reduce VOC oxidizer fuel costs

PCB Containment Technology or

ConTech, is engaged solely in the safe management of PCB waste. Our serv ices involve all aspects of handling, trans portation and destruction for any mate rial impacted by PCBs. Fully approved and insured with offices across Canada.

PCB Containment Technology Circle reply card No. 249

Professional liability in the construction process The liability issues faced by owners ^nd risk managers

'HmlfflH can be far-ranging. ^ Retrofit your Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer with Monsanto Enviro-Chem

catalyst and achieve lower fuel consump mac^CuucM

tion, lower NOx and C02 emissions and litnSthi.

lower operating temperatures. Retrofits can also increase flowrates with no im

pact to current operating costs. We can retrofit your RTO in only 1-2 days. The catalyst is poison resistant and has a five 1-800-428-3311

www.eaglebrook.net Circle reply card No. 250

University of Toronto Professional Development Centre

year guarantee.

Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems

To control these

exposures, risk

managers call on a combination

of

risk management methods. By im posing certain risk allocation techniques, air-tight contracts and strict insurance requirements, owners hope they can pro tect their assets while minimizing the likelihood of expensive delays, disputes and litigation on the project. Security Insurance of Hartford

Circle reply card No. 252

Circle reply card No. 251

Getting the red out with PipePac

Concrete Pipe Design Manual

The Professional Devel

opment Centre is commit ted to enhancing the skills of all professionals by of fering courses that cut across all disciplines of engineering. PDC even ing classes are ideal for upgrading skills; our comprehensive seminars led by industry experts, give you up to date information; and our cer tificate and diploma programs allow you to become expert in your field without having to lose sight of your professional duties. University of Toronto

$

Circle reply card No. 253

The new updated version is available now from the OCPA. This indispensable manual offers the most current

information on the design, manufacture, apphcation and installation of precast concrete drainage systems. Get your FREE copy and read all about it!

ocpa

Ontario

concrete pipe

association â– Thej cho oho ice of a (ifetime

Circle reply card No. 254 76

PipePac is a software that has merged 3EB (Three-Edge-Bearing), SAMM (Spangler & Marston Method of pipe design), CAPE (Cost Analysis of Pipe Envelope), and LCA (Life Cycle Analysis). Merging of the programs into one application has resulted in a uniform interface, a single database for each project, simplified use, reduced data entry, minimized emors, and standardized design process. OCPA Circle reply card No. 255

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Product and Service Showcase H S and mercaptan scavenging

New CMF-S Technology

Proven water and process fluid treatment systems Ecodyne offers a hroad range of en gineered systems to make water

suitable for use,

USFilter Gas Technology Products an nounces the release of a new hydrogen sulfide (H,S) and light mercaptan scav enger system called Sulfur-Rite™. The process employs a solid, iron-based ma terial which reacts with H,S and mer captan sulfur to form environmentally safe iron pyrite (fool's gold). The spent product may be sent to any sanitary landfill or may be applied to land as a fertilizer. USFilter

USFilter Corporation introduces a sub merged microfiltration system designed for very large drinking water applica tions. The new Memcor CMF-S continu

ous microfiltration system was created to compete in large scale (>20 MCD)sur face water treatment plant process evalu ations. This system provides 6-log re moval of Cryptosporidium and Giardia, easily meeting the new and future drink ing water regulations. USFilter

Circle reply card No. 256

Circle reply card No. 257

Petrolatum tape

Underground double wall jacketed tanks

recycle or dis charge. Available are proprietary designs in clarifiers and filters;

lamellas; hot process softeners; oil coalescers, ion exchange; reverse osmo sis and deaerators - any of which can be combined in exactly the right way to pro vide the most suitable water treatment

process. Ecodyne Limited Circle reply card No. 258

Mobile refuelling

When fuels are required in small quanti ties, to fill construction machinery on

Denso's innovative petrolatum tape. Color Tape,does not require initial primer application, and is UV stable. This prod uct is ideal for above gi'ound applications. To enhance appeal, it is manufactured in a variety ofcolours,including white,grey and blue, and provides long-term corro sion protection to above and below ground pipes,flanges, valves and related

Superior corrosion protection and sec ondary containment; inner tank can be compartmentalized; total compatibility with petroleum fuels, as well as a wide range of chemicals; sand, pea gravel or crushed stone may be used for backfill; globally recognized third-party approv als; flat and dished end caps.

various sites, truck-mounted tanks with hold-down straps and internal baffles to avoid dangerous load shifts are provided in warning red enamel. Special venting device, fill cap and labels are included. Capacities are 454-4540 litres(100-1000 gallons). Also available in doublewall

steel surfaces. Dense North America

DTE Industries Limited

safety margin. DTE Industries Limited Circle reply card No. 261

Circle reply card No. 259

Circle reply card No. 260

PlantPRO™ Trash Pumps

Membrane technology for industrial wastewater

that won't bust your budget! All of our pumps are made of heavy duty cast aluminum with cast iron replaceable wear parts. Both 3" and 4" models are avail

ZENON's ZenoCem® bioreactor system can retrofit any existing wastewater treat ment facility, immediately increasing capacity by up to four times. The sys tem incorporates immersed membrane technology, which assures biomass reten tion, resulting in a high quality effluent, suitable for direct reuse or discharge.

able. USABIueBook

ZENON Environmental Inc.

PlantPRO™ Trash Pumps offer high quality, premium performance at a price

Circle reply card No. 262 Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000

Circle reply card No. 263

vacuum-monitored version for added

JetMix

The JetMix Vortex Mixing System can be used in biosolids storage where solids suspension is important. Benefits of us ing the JetMix system include: Intermit tent operation saves 60-90% in power consumption; expensive tank cleanout and scheduled maintenance not required; easily installed in existing tanks; multi ple tank mixing using a central pump house. JetMix was a recipient of a 1997 Innovative Technology Award from the Water Environment Federation.

Greatario Engineered Storage Systems Circle reply card No. 264 77


Environmental Insurance

Solid business practices are key to controlling risks

The environmental business is

big business and getting big ger. But, with growth, comes additional risk. As the indus

try matures, environmental firms are having to deal with heightened compe tition, growing customer sophistication, mergers and acquisitions, and pricing pressure. Along with all that comes an increased potential for claims. Some experts say three out of ten insured en vironmental firms will receive a claim

each year, and loss payments in excess of the deductible are approaching an

average of $250,000- almost doubling in the last ten years. Professional Liability Insurer, DPIC Companies' analysis of claims cases

your insurer's ability to defend you against a claim. Taking the time up front to develop a clear agreement outlining expectations and performance with your client can save you a lot of headaches- as well as rework and added expense - down the line. Samples of some key provisions that may serve as a means to improve communication with your client,follow: Scope of services Work with your client to develop a comprehensive scope of services. This will assist your client in defining the expectations of the project and how they may be met. Be very specific as to your basic services, additional services and

excluded services. It is impossible to

shows that there is a common denomi

know all the services that will be re

nator in many of these costly claims;

quired based on changed or unantici pated conditions during the project. Identifying additional services helps clients understand that you can provide services they may not have been aware of and ensures that you can recoup ad equate compensation for those services. An effective method to identify your scope of services is with a matrix or checklist that can be appended to your

lack of communication between the con

sultant and client. This is, in fact, good news as practising risk management gives you the power and tools to mini mize or avoid the risk.

Environmental professionals are no different from the rest of the design pro fessions. They need to communicate clearly in all phases of their projects even when only doing a Phase 1 assess ment. For example, in several claim cases, clients were dissatisfied because

the project did not meet their expecta tions. But were those expectations ever clearly communicated? Did the client communicate all the requirements and expectations to the environmental con sultant? Did the consultant take the time

to fully understand the client's needs? Those are tough -and uncomfortable -questions to answer after the fact. One of the most effective communication

tools is your contract with the client. Every project you acceptinvolves a con tract, whether you put it down on paper or not. Most people think of written agreements when they think about con tracts but oral agreements,confirmed by a telephone conversation or a hand shake, are as legally binding as written contracts. If agreements and under standings are not made in writing and problems occur, it not only increases the potential of a claim but also can reduce

By Tim J. Corbett DPIC Companies 78

weigh the risks. In fact, the experience of environmental consultants and geotechnical engineers has shown that loss prevention benefits gained from site ob servation more than counterbalance li abilities costs.

Claim Example: In cases where site ob servation was included as a professional service for the environmental consult

ant, claims arose when a consultant failed to provide the service, dedicate the time needed to make meaningful visits, or assigned unqualified person nel to perform the site observation. For example, an inexperienced engi neer performed a site observation and failed to identify that groundwater had risen above the design depth for the de velopment of a cell in a landfill. Once completed, the landfill cell failed and a claim was filed against the consultant. The consultant was found negligent, and

was responsible for $500,000 in repair costs.

Changing conditions Early discussion with clients regard ing the possibility of conditions chang ing on a project are essential. The origi nal agreement is based on the assess

agreement.

ment and evaluation of the site and can

Claim Example: A consultant was con tracted to remove an underground stor age tank from a closed fuel station. Near the completion of the project, the client expressed his understanding that the consultant would also be responsible for the transportation and disposal of the tank. The scope of service on the con tract - written by the client - indicated the services provided would be "appro priate" for the project, and not specifi cally addressing the transportation and disposal of the tank.

not possibly contemplate all potential changed conditions. Conditions do change and it is important to establish a means of identifying them as they oc cur so you can recoup the expenses that they generate. Claim Example: A routine project changed significantly when asbestos was found soon after work began. The envi ronmental consultant requested that the project scope be revised based on the law (and costs) related to the handling of as bestos. The client disagreed and said the consultant was responsible, based on his "negligent" assessment of the project. Unfortunately the consultant had not included any provisions for changed conditions in his agreement and was held responsible for the additional cost.

The court ruled in the client's favour

and the consultant was responsible for the transportation and disposal of the tank. The consultant not only lost the case, but also had to incur the additional

expense that was not included in the project cost. Site Observation

Site observation is a powerful weapon in your loss prevention arsenal and a very important service you can provide your client. While additional responsi bility almost always brings increased liability, in this case the benefits out

Lessons learned

Insurance provides valuable protec tion, but improving your business prac tices by focusing on communication skills can be one of your greatest assets in avoiding risk. For more information,

circle reply card No. 162

Environmental Science & Engineering, March 2000


Concrete Pipe

UBIi

Out of sight Out of mind Everyone deserves rest, relaxation and peace of mind. If you're thinking of specifying HDPE pipe, consider this. It's "installation critical", which means if the bedding and backfill hasn't been properly executed, the pipe will shift. With less inspections and reduced on site testing, that's a real problem. Consider concrete pipe. You bury it and forget about it. It's your project. Now turn your mind to the sweeter things in life... Ontario

O O C P A

Concrete Pipe Association The choice of a lifetime

5045 South Service Road, First Floor, Burlington, Ont. L7L 5Y7 (905)631-9696 Fax:(905)631-1905 www.ocpa.com

For more information, ciroie repiy card No. 163(See page 25)


ftrST ni«

WASTEWATER

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We sell and support everything you need to keep your water and wastewater systems running smoothly. Our all new 530 page color

mail-order catalog has over 12,000 items. Simply pick up the phone and call for expert technical support and same day shipping. Call Toll Free 800-548-1234. Helpful, Easy and Fast.™

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Your Water & Wastewater Supply Superstore For more information, circle reply card No. 161 (See page 25)


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