tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83240942461387240622024-02-08T09:52:27.127-08:00ABCOVTony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-51460637103318769852020-02-12T11:09:00.001-08:002020-02-12T11:09:16.426-08:00Asbestos permeates our environment. A minimum of 3,000 people die yearly in the U.S from Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, worldwide 125 million people are exposed to asbestos in the workplace and more people die from the asbestos-related disease than automobile accidents. Let's take asbestos out of our built environment permanently with the only non-thermal, EPA approved process in the world, The ABCOV Method of asbestos destruction (www.abcov.com).<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kwfR9c7xA6g" width="480"></iframe>Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-40058988047902460522020-02-12T10:55:00.001-08:002020-02-12T10:55:43.635-08:00Asbestos permeates our environment. A minimum of 3,000 people yearly die in the U.S die from Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, worldwide 125 million people are exposed to asbestos in the workplace and more people die from the asbestos-related disease than automobile accidents. Let's take asbestos out of our built environment permanently with the only non-thermal, EPA approved process in the world, The ABCOV Method of asbestos destruction (www.abcov.com).<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kwfR9c7xA6g" width="480"></iframe>Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-23928656529259370182020-02-12T10:35:00.001-08:002020-02-12T10:53:38.464-08:00Asbestos permeates our environment. A minimum of 3,000 people die yearly in the U.S. from Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, worldwide 125 million people are exposed to asbestos in the workplace and more people die from the asbestos-related disease than automobile accidents. Let's take asbestos out of our built environment permanently with the only non-thermal, EPA approved process in the world, The ABCOV Method of asbestos destruction (www.abcov.com).<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kwfR9c7xA6g" width="480"></iframe>Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-81564564134427527002014-08-01T12:26:00.000-07:002014-08-01T12:46:12.267-07:00Deadly Hexavalent Chromium in Soil<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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There are three valences of Chromium: 1) Chromium—safe to humans, 2) Trivalent Chromium—safe and an essential element in humans and 3) Hexavalent Chromium—highly carcinogenic to humans. Erin Brockovich’s fame and fortune came from Erin’s dogged and tenacious quest to defeat Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in the poisoning of the residents of Hinckley, CA by its use of Hexavalent Chromium in its Hinckley facility. PG&E stored Hexavalent Chromium in their cooling towers as a coolant and to prevent rust from forming in its natural gas compressors. Then, they discharged and stored the residual Hexavalent Chromium liquid in unlined ponds contaminating soil, subsequently, the Hexavalent Chromium percolated into the water table, which caused life suffering-cancerous diseases to the residents of Hinckley, that would eventually lead to death. Before Erin came along PG&E was buying up homes in Hinckley and paying medical bills for all the sick residents. This was the cheapest way out for PG&E, relieving them of all liabilities. Ultimately, PG&E, a $21 billion company, settled two Hexavalent Chromium lawsuits in Hinckley, CA for $333 million and Kettleman Hills, CA for $335 million (Erin Brokovich, Wikipedia).</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Regulating Hexavalent Chromium</strong></div>
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Hexavalent Chromium has caused a mired amount of suffering and deadly diseases that range from asthma, liver disease, lung cancer, stomach cancer, skin cancer, cardiovascular disease, as well as many other deadly cancerous effects to external and internal human organs. Hexavalent Chromium cancer clusters can be isolated and identified to specific areas of our environment, such as former Chromium manufacturing sites and those dumping sites, as well as in coal ash and their unlined dumping sites.</div>
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Although the EPA has no standard that regulates the cleanup of Hexavalent Chromium, it does regulate the permissible limits for Hexavalent Chromium in soil and Water. The EPA, in order to ensure safe drinking water, has an enforceable drinking water standard of 0.1 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or 100 parts per billion (ppb) for total chromium, which includes Hexavalent chromium and Trivalent Chromium. In fact, California has set its regulatory limit of 10 ppb for Hexchrome, which went into effect July 1st. A national set by EPA won’t be far behind.<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2</sup> The EPA’s permissible limit for Hexavalent Chromium in soil would have to be detected by a Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). When tested by TCLP the hazardous contaminant in the soil must be under 5µg/L. </div>
<h1 style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
EPA’s Exposure Limits</h1>
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Hexavalent Chromium’s allowable permissible exposure limit (PEL) in an eight-hour work period is a Total Weight Average (TWA) of 5 micrograms per cubic meter(µg/m3), meaning that over the course of any 8-hour work shift, the average exposure to the worker cannot exceed 5µg/m3. The Action Level—the level of <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/exposure.html" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;">exposure</a> to a harmful substance or other<a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/hazard.html" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;">hazard</a> present in a <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/work-environment.html" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;">work environment</a> or situation at which an<a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/employer.html" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;">employer</a> must take the<a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/required.html" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;">required</a> precautions to protect the <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/worker.html" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;">workers</a>—is normally one half of the <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/permissible-exposure-limit-PEL.html" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;">permissible exposure limit</a>. For Hexavalent Chromium the action level is setat 2.5 µg/m3 calculated as an eight-hour TWA. Exposures above the Action Leveltrigger specific requirements, and exposures above the PEL trigger additionalrequirements. The substantive provisions of Hexavalent Chromium standard aredescribed below.</div>
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Expo</em><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">s</em><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ure</em> <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Monitoring</em> <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and</em><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Determination</em><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">s</em></h1>
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Each employer who has a workplace or work operation covered by Hexavalent Chromium standards must determine the eight-hour TWA exposure for each worker exposed to Hexavalent Chromium. To comply with this provision, employers can choose between two options for performing exposure determinations:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">A scheduled monitoring option</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">A performance-oriented option</li>
</ul>
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When monitoring for Hexavalent Chromium, employers must use a method of monitoring and analysis that provides values within plus or minus.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Exceptions</strong></div>
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The Hexavalent Chromium standards do not apply in three situations:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">Exposures that occur in the application of pesticides</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">Exposures to Portland cement</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">Where the employer has objective data demonstrating that a material containing Hexavalent Chromium or a specific process, operation or activity involving Hexavalent Chromium cannot release dusts, fumes or mists of Hexavalent Chromium in concentrations at or above 0.5 µg/m3 of air as an eight-hour TWA under any expected conditions of use</li>
</ol>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Concern for the Worker</strong></div>
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The aforementioned EPA exposure limits and exceptions started to make me think and ask myself the question: <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">what do current chrome plating manufacturers do to protect the worker?</em></div>
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Chrome plating is certainly a thriving industry, just look at a decked out Harley Davidson motorcycle or any other motorcycle with chrome. I’ve owed a number of motorcycles and I believe I’ve spent more time cleaning them and polishing the chrome than riding them. Given the fact that there is still existing chrome plating businesses, I started to call manufactures that dealt with chrome and chrome plating.</div>
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The first manufacturer I called was in business for 30 years. His company just ground and made chrome particles, not from Hexavalent Chrome and not from Trivalent Chrome, but the manufacturer used pure Chrome, which is not toxic, without incidence of worker disease. For protection, the manufacturer’s shop workers wore coveralls that were washed on regular basis and respirators for dust protection while either size reducing or grinding the Chrome to specific particle sizes. The manufacturer used all precautionary measures and followed all environmental, health and safety regulations.</div>
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The second manufacturer I called said they switched from using Hexavalent Chromium in their chrome plating operations to the safe-nonhazardous Trivalent Chromium.</div>
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The third manufacturer I called used Hexavalent chromium in its plating operations. I asked if the workers wore protective clothing and respirators; his answer was no. I asked how the workers were protected; his answer was powerful fume hoods over the plating vats that allowed a safe working environment. He also explained that any sludge left over from the plating operation was sent to be incinerated, therefore, avoiding any cradle-to-grave liability.</div>
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If all industry that handled hazardous, toxic and regulated wastes thought to avoid cradle-to-grave liability, our environment and children would thrive in the future and not have to deal with the environmental problems left to them. This brings me to Hexavalent Chromium in soil left to our generation to deal with, as well as the problems with the cleanup processes that have been tested to rid our environment of the deadly chemical compound.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hexavalent Chromium in Soil</strong></div>
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Hexavalent Chromium in soil comes from Chromium ore processing residue that was used as fill, dumped on sites close to or behind the manufacturing processing facility or used as an equipment rust inhibitor that was dumped in unlined ponds. Eventually these sites became Superfund sites that needed to be cleaned up leaving the taxpayer to bare the financial burden.</div>
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Hexavalent Chromium has been found on at least 1,127 of the 1,669 National Priorities List sites identified by the EPA. In New Jersey there are 113 sites contaminated with Hexavalent Chromium in soil.</div>
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For example, the Port of Baltimore, renamed the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, is approximately 580 acres of which approximately 148 acres of soil is contaminated with Hexavalent Chromium. It was used as fill generated by Allied Signals chrome plating operation. The Hexavalent Chromium tailings were dumped into the Port to expand the working area.</div>
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According to Earth Justice (www.earthjustice.org), “…unlined coal ash dump site’s leachate has Hexavalent Chromium that precipitates into the local water table … The federal government does not currently regulate the disposal of coal ash, the toxic waste created by coal-fired power plants that’s known to contain potentially dangerous levels of heavy metals, combustion byproducts and radioactive elements … The report identifies 28 coal ash dump sites from Massachusetts to Nevada where Hexavalent Chromium has been detected in the groundwater at levels exceeding federal or state standards. Most of the sites are at power plants, though the list also includes landfills and a <a href="http://hamptonroads.com.nyud.net/2010/10/former-worker-agencys-ok-use-fly-ash-unconscionable" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;">golf course in Chesapeake, VA</a> that was built on coal ash fill. Given the lack of comprehensive federal monitoring requirements for coal ash disposal facilities, the report says that these 28 sites are likely just ‘the tip of the iceberg.’” Given the above facts, Hexavalent Chromium is a scary and deadly carcinogen that must be treated to a humanly safe state.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hexavalent Chromium Disposal and Treatment Options</strong></div>
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The first option is to send Hexavalent Chromium in soil to a landfill that will take it and is able to treat it to meet the required standard set by the landfill. If it can’t be treated to its required level, the landfill will not take it. The limited amounts of landfills that take Hexavalent Chromium are in remote areas far from the contaminated sites. Trucking and treatment are a huge expense per ton. Also, landfilling does not take the cradle-to-grave liability away.</div>
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The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore has paved over the portion contaminated with Hexavalent Chromium soil with asphalt and cement and has relined its sewer disposal system to minimize the discharge of Hexavalent Chromium into the Bay.</div>
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There are problems with paving over the Hexavalent Chromium in soil: the first is that the Hexavalent Chromium in soil has a high pH and tends to be unstable due to the combination of Carbon Dioxide + Calcium Oxide = Calcium Carbonate that causes the reactive tailings to buckle the pavement or rise up through the pavement; the second is wear and tear on the pavement from heavy industrial traffic; the third is digging into the pavement for a new structure placement or an underground repair, disturbing the Hexavalent Chromium soil, causing it to become airborn.</div>
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Hexavalent Chromium in soil has many other constituents and contaminates in its matrix. Many treatments have been tried, but do not attack the complete matrix to transform the Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium. These treatments include, but are not limited to, Solidification, In Situ with Calcium Polysulphide, Soil Washing, Electrokinetics, Bioremediation, Electron Energy, Extraction, Calcium Polysulfide Remediation and Sol-Gel Stabilization and a few others.</div>
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There is one emerging technology that fully attacks the matrix of Hexavalent Chromium in Soil consistently turning into Trivalent Chromium, holds the pH to 7 and does not swell or buckle</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Chromium Treatment: Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium Test Results</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Overview</strong></div>
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Samples of Hexavalent Chromium were treated to convert Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium. The basis for the treatment is outlined below:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">The soil and rocks were crushed through a shredder and mixed together to make a homogeneous sample.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">After doing several laboratory tests, different combinations of chemicals in combination were used to treat the homogeneous sample.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">pH was checked on each sample of Hexavalent Chromium soil before, pH 12-13, and after conversion of the Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium solid, and residual liquids and solids easily adjusted to pH 6-7.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">Samples were filtered and the solids sent to the lab for total Chromium content, Trivalent Chromium, and Hexavalent Chromium analyses (7196, 6010B analysis).</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;">A swelling study was also done to test if the treated Chromium soil would swell. Photos of the homogeneous Chromium sample expansion study are exhibited in Attachment A. There was no swelling of the converted Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium soil over a six month period, and again, checked approximately a little over two years later 4/2/2014, showed no buckling or swelling of the converted Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium soil, covered or uncovered.</li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
All test results analyzed by EMSL Analytical, Inc. proved the conversion of Hexavalent Chromium (none detected in all the results) to Trivalent Chromium.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Results</em></strong></div>
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The 7196, 6010B test result of total calculations of the conversion of Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium, bench top samples, are consistent with all previous bench top testing exhibited in <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Table 1, page 5</strong>. The 7196, 6010B test result of total calculations of residual liquid filtered from converted Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium treated solids is exhibited in <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Table 2, page 5</strong>. The 7196, 6010B test results of total calculations of the converted Hexavalent Chromium to Trivalent Chromium tested in the Pilot Plant exhibited in <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Table 3, page 5</strong>.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Captions</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Table 1</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Bench Top Sample Analyzed by 7196, 6010B Test.</strong> <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NOTE:</strong><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </strong>7196, 6010B calculations are in parts per million.</div>
<table style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="90"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Sample ID</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="150"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
7196, 6010B</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="90"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Sample CS</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="150"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3</sup>: 11000, Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6</sup>: ND</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Table 2</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Filtered Residual Liquid Analyzed by 7196, 6010B Test.</strong></div>
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<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="120"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sample ID</strong></div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="180"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">7196, 6010B Calculation</strong></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="120"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sample CL</strong></div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="180"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Cr</strong><sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3</sup><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">: ND, Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6</sup>: ND</strong></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Table 3</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Samples Tested in the Pilot Plant Analyzed by 7196, 6010B Tests. NOTE:</strong><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </strong>7196, 6010B calculations are in parts per million.</div>
<table style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="90"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Sample ID</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="246"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Samples of Hexavalent Chromium</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="198"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
7196, 6010B Calculations</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="90"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
RM1</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="246"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Test 1</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="198"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3</sup>: 11000, Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6</sup>: ND</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="90"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
RM2</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="246"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Test 2</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="198"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3</sup>: 9200, Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6</sup>: ND</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="90"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
RM3</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="246"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Test 3</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="198"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3</sup>: 8200, Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6</sup>: ND</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="90"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
RM4</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="246"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Test 4</div>
</td><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="198"><div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3</sup>: 7400, Cr<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6</sup>: ND</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Figure 1 – 3</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Photos of the Converted Chromium Soil Expansion Study, No Swelling</strong></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Chromium Soil with Sample FC (Filtered Close Lid) and Sample FO (Filtered Open with No Lid)</strong></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://abcov.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/chrom1.jpg" style="color: #9c4617; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Chrom1" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-244" height="168" src="http://abcov.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/chrom1.jpg?w=300&h=168" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="300" /></a> </div>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Top View of the Chromium Sample with the Closed Lid (No Swelling)</strong></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<img alt="Chrom2" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-245" height="168" src="http://abcov.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/chrom2.jpg?w=300&h=168" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="300" /></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Top View of the Chromium Sample with No Lid, Open Top (No Swelling)</strong></li>
</ul>
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<img alt="Chrom3" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-246" height="168" src="http://abcov.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/chrom3.jpg?w=300&h=168" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="300" /></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Figure 4 – 5</strong></div>
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The photos below taken approximate two years later, 4/02/2014 at 8:17PM show no signs of swelling or buckling.</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Side View of Chromium Soil with Sample FC (Filtered Close Lid) and Sample FO (Filtered Open with No Lid)</strong></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<img alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-247" height="225" src="http://abcov.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/chrom4.jpg?w=300&h=225" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="300" /></div>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Top View of the Chromium Sample with the Closed Lid (No Swelling) and Top View of the Chromium Sample with No Lid, Open Top (No Swelling)</strong></li>
</ul>
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<img alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-248" height="225" src="http://abcov.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/chrom5.jpg?w=300&h=225" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="300" /></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Images courtesy of ABCOV®</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Conclusion and Benefits of Changing Hexavalent Chromium in Soil to Trivalent Chromium in Soil:</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The results of the aforementioned emerging Hexavalent Chromium in soil to Trivalent Chromium in soil technology will solve a multiple of the problems that may be encountered with other treatments of Hexavalent Chromium in soil to Trivalent Chromium in soil:</strong></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The process chemicals adjust the pH to a neutral status, therefore stopping any future swelling or buckling of the soil.</strong></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Once changed from Hexavalent Chromium in soil to Trivalent Chromium in soil it can be put right back into the site, avoiding the cost of buying and trucking fill back into the site.</strong></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Hexavalent Chromium in soil to Trivalent Chromium in soil process treatment is done right on site avoiding long distance trucking of Hexavalent Chromium in soil through neighborhoods and over highways, avoiding any possible exposure and possible liability.</strong></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Using this merging technology will stop all cradle – to – grave liability created by the landfilling of Hexavalent Chromium in soil by insuring the generator from being a Potential Responsible Party under the Superfund Act.</strong></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hexavalent Chromium in soil to Trivalent Chromium in soil will stop the Hexavalent Chromium from becoming dangerously air borne or, more deadly, migrating into the water table.</strong></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The process incorporates the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.</strong></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Most importantly, the aforementioned process attacks the Hexavalent Chromium matrix/binder completely to insure the change from Hexavalent Chromium in soil to Trivalent Chromium in soil. </strong></li>
</ul>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Why Treat Hexavalent Chromium in Soil to Trivalent Chromium on Site</strong></div>
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Landfills that allow Hexavalent Chromium in soil to be dumped must treat Hexavalent Chromium down to a 3 ppm, “Waste Management Site, Emelle, Al”. If the ppm is too high when entering the landfill and the Hexavalent Chromium in soil cannot be treated, it is sent back to its generator, a costly procedure.</div>
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As previously mentioned above there are 113 sites in New Jersey a distance of approximately 1,100 miles or a 16 to 18 hour drive from Jersey City, N.J. to Emelle, Al.</div>
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Between the cost of trucking, taxes and gas charges for the trucking of the Hexavalent Chromium in soil to the dump site, as well treatment, if possible, at the dump site and the cradle – to – grave liability carried through perpetuity, it pays to treat the Hexavalent Chromium in soil to Trivalent Chromium in soil on site.</div>
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Further, there are a very limited amount of hazardous waste landfills that will take Hexavalent Chromium in soil and they are becoming scarcer and scarcer.</div>
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US EPA Report: Valuing Potential Environmental Liabilities for Managerial Decision – Making: “All Landfills and Leachate Systems Will Fail” and “By Definition, All Environmental Liabilities Involve Future Costs.</div>
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Given the above quotes by EPA, we are never going to see the end of poisoning ourselves as long as we continue to landfill hazardous, toxic and regulated disease-causing, deadly wastes instead of finding and employing environmental technologies to treat these wastes.</div>
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“The United States is sinking under a tidal wave of waste with no effective government plan in sight. It is left for us to act (Zero Waste America)!”</div>
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Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-73356477085603145832014-06-09T08:05:00.003-07:002014-06-09T08:05:43.367-07:00Is Waste Going to be Our Apocalypse Without a Noah’s Ark to Save Us?<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
The waste industry: landfilling, reduce, recycle, reuse, composting, landfill mining, waste-to-energy facilities, recapturing methane gas and hazardous toxic waste landfill storage. Before moving forward, I want to discuss the difference between price and cost: price is the price we pay, upfront for a product or service. Cost is what the product costs us to maintain that product or service over its life. Therefore, the final price of a product includes the cost. A simple example of this is the purchase of an automobile. We may purchase the automobile at $30,000.00, but we must maintain that automobile with monthly finance payments; this includes interest, insurance and a maintenance schedule (i.e. oil change, battery replacement, tune-ups, tire replacement, etc.). The end cost that could be double the price, if not more. We don’t think about the full cost when we buy an item, only the price. Waste disposal is a good example. As long as we can get rid of the waste, the price doesn't matter.</div>
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Excess Waste</div>
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In the U.S. we landfill 250 million tons of trash each year. How long can we last with this amount of trash being sent to a landfill each year? Think about this: when you buy from McDonalds or any fast food restaurant, you may order any number of meals, along with a drink. If it is a quarter pounder with cheese meal, it would be packaged in a cardboard box the size of the quarter pounder, french fries in another box, depending on the size of the order, medium or large and a waxed container that would hold a drink with a plastic top and a straw with paper wrapped around for sanitary reasons, along with napkins. All of the aforementioned are not recycled, but put into the trash.</div>
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There are 33,000 McDonalds locations worldwide, McDonalds sells 75 hamburgers every second; McDonalds consumes 1 billion pound of beef each year, at the cost of five and half million head of cattle (think about the carbon footprint taken up by these cattle).</div>
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Although McDonalds has a program for buying recyclable cardboards, recycling its cooking oil and recycling corrugated cardboard behind the counter, the after counter packaging is left for the garbage. The reason that the meal packaging cannot be reused, according to McDonalds’ Web site, “is that food packaging is not widely accepted by recyclers.”</div>
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Although McDonalds saves about 35 percent of its waste by recycling corrugated cardboard and cooking oil, it is landfilling 65 percent of its after counter waste. McDonalds and other fast food restaurants must find ways to develop technologies (Noah’s Ark) to help reach 100 percent of a waste recycling program after the waste leaves the counter in order to reduce the use of landfill space. Without question they certainly have the funds and the ability to pay for its development.</div>
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Landfill Progress</div>
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As we are clearly starting to understand, landfilling is becoming a major issue and public nuisance because of landfill fires, landfill odors, underground water table contamination, methane gas leaks, illegal substance dumping and the eyesore of a high pile of garbage. Granted, landfills are starting to make progress in certain areas, such as:</div>
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<li>Dumping a load before it is landfilled to check for and remove recyclables and natural resources</li>
<li>Landfill mining to capture recyclables and valuable natural resources that can be recycled and reused, realizing that natural resources are starting to dissipate with population growth</li>
<li>Realizing the importance of putting waste-to-energy plants on the landfill to reduce waste and produce needed energy while mining the landfill</li>
<li>Capturing and reusing methane gas for use in vehicles</li>
<li>These landfill efforts ate technologies that continue to improve and support our environment.</li>
</ul>
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Mandatory Recycling</div>
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The aforementioned indicate the progression of landfilling, but given the situation and the massive amount of garbage we create each year, recycling must become mandatory in the U.S. at all costs, as it is mandatory in the European Nations.</div>
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The price of landfilling garbage is cheap, but the cost to maintain a landfill is very high. Landfills require constant monitoring for methane gas odors and other odors, such as Hydrogen Sulfide, as well as greatly adding to the carbon footprint. A closed landfill and Superfund sites once closed and capped, have to be monitored for at least 30 years partially paid for by the owner, if the owner is not in business, then the taxpayers end up paying.</div>
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The aforementioned long-term cost should be an enormous incentive for the taxpayer to participate in and demand mandatory recycling. According to the EPA, all landfills will fail and “By Definition, All Environmental Liabilities Involve Future Costs.” There are mandatory recycling regulations in individual states, but there are no national recycling regulations; however, the European Nations have had mandatory recycling regulations since the early 1990s.</div>
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So, why does the U.S. not have mandatory recycling laws? There is certainly a sustainable way of reusing waste, a sustainable cost incentive, provide a great benefit of reducing our carbon footprint and, more importantly, a sustainable way of life. Our future strongly depends on finding better ways to reduce, recycle and reuse by the use of or invention of technologies, creating a circular economy.</div>
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If we implement those with the sufficient funding to further develop technologies quickly, it could sustain us for a long time and tremendously cut our carbon footprint. Then there would be two remaining apocalypse scenarios: ocean, lake, river and estuary dumping and hazardous/toxic waste landfilling.</div>
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Apocalypse #1</div>
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Marine debris, oil spills and ocean acidification are complicated and serious problem for our waters, and most importantly, our marine life and our life. Human beings have been dumping waste in water, including the ocean, since before the Agricultural Age. The Industrial Age brought with it new materials to dump, chemical wastes and by-products. Some materials are dumped into rivers and find their way to the ocean by running downstream. Other materials are dumped directly into the ocean from boats. Plastic is a harmful pollutant that does not break down easily in the ocean. Plastic accounts for 90 percent of all floating materials in the ocean.</div>
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The U.S. government has implemented the Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988 that makes it unlawful for any person to dump or transport for the purpose of dumping, sewage sludge or industrial waste into ocean waters after December 31, 1991 and provides for the payment of special fees for dumping and any penalties incurred by a dumper to be deposited into certain funds for use in finding alternatives to ocean dumping.</div>
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Ocean dumping, sewage system, road and field run-off into our waters has become a disaster and is very difficult and time consuming to clean up, but the biggest problem in the ocean is dumped plastics that take a long period of time to break down. Plastics are killing our birds and our sea life because as the plastics break down into microplastics that the birds and fish believe are food. Eating these plastics will eventually clog-up the birds and fish’s digestive system, causing death.</div>
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The Ocean contains four large garbage patches, the Western Garbage patch, the Subtropical Coverage Zone, the Eastern Garbage Patch and other Gyres with Marine Debris. With the polluted oceans and water ways being a massive cleanup project, the question I have is when we bring the waste out of these oceans and water ways what are we going to do with it, i.e. landfill it, or incinerate it? We certainly do not have enough landfill space for all the debris. This cleanup project is a herculean task that will take years and the development of multiple new technologies.</div>
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Apocalypse #2:</div>
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The second apocalypse scenario and the one we are going to concentrate on in this article is the fact that hazardous/toxic wastes are materials that are ignitable, reactive, corrosive or toxic to human health. Treatment of hazardous waste is stabilization and solidification, recycling, disposal in isolated areas of landfills, incineration and pyrolysis. The latter two require very high temperatures. The above covers the treatment and/or storage of most hazardous wastes. Please keep in mind that if the hazardous waste cannot be recycled, such as lead and acids from batteries, they are sent to a regulated landfill. The generator or owner who is storing the waste owns it under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), revised as Superfund. CERCLA requires a treatment that permanently and significantly reduces: volume, mobility of hazardous substance and stops toxicity.</div>
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One such hazardous material is asbestos. Asbestos lawsuits permeate our courts and have created a multimillion dollar industry for the legal firms. Unfortunately, there are billions of tons of asbestos that will permeate into our environment for century’s to come. 125 million people are exposed to asbestos in the work place each year, around the world someone dies of an asbestos related disease every five minutes and more people die from asbestos illnesses each year then are killed in road accidents. Given all that is known about the deadly dangers of asbestos, the generators/owners keep landfilling it because the price is cheaper than permanently destroying it and removing any future liability.</div>
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Climate change has become obvious, causing massive forest fires, droughts, high winds, floods, mudslides, hurricanes and tornadoes. It is only a matter of time before a fluid, hurricane and/or a tornado rips through a landfill cell with toxic waste or asbestos, spreading these toxins for miles. Industry leaders must constantly and consistently seek out or invest in ways to rid our environment of these dangerous toxins.</div>
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Destroying Asbestos</div>
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There are two families of asbestos mineral: Serpentine, which is Chrysotile, and Amphibole—Amosite, Crocidolite, Actinolite, Anthophylite and Actinolite (see Figure 1). There are several destruction technologies that destroy asbestos. Two are high temperature and one is non-thermal. The high temperature processes destroys the asbestos at 2500 degrees F. They are Vitrification and Hearth Oven. They require complicated scrubber systems to limit emissions and a great amount of electrical energy to operate, requiring highly skilled labor to operate these plants. Two other issues are the waste reduction volume is not great and if the treated asbestos is not totally destroyed at the end of the throughput, it must cool down before it can be checked for complete asbestos destruction. If asbestos is found not destroyed in a batch, that batch must be run through the process again. Both of these processes are EPA approved.</div>
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The third process, which is a non-thermal process, is EPA approved, simple to operate, does not require high electrical use and is operated by accredited asbestos workers and one lab technician who can read a polarized microscope. This process, unlike the high temperature processes is built mobile, transportable and sized to meet the client’s needs. It also reduces waste volume by 30 to 50 percent; most importantly, asbestos destruction is verified through process, therefore no asbestos leaves the process undestroyed.</div>
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All three asbestos destruction processes require shredding of asbestos containing material. Not all asbestos containing material can be put through a shredder to be treated asbestos free. The thermal processes leaves an asbestos containing material untreated like pipe or any other materials that cannot be put through the shredder, because they will do harm to the shredder. Whereas the non- thermal process proprietary chemical formulas was granted EPA approval to wash any asbestos containing material asbestos free that could not be shredded.</div>
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The non-thermal process is first shredded through the primary enclosed shredder and then screw conveyed in an enclosed screw conveyor into a finer secondary shredder for further size reduction up to a ¼ inch (note: both shredders are equipped with aerating water spray nozzles to keep the asbestos wet at all times). From the secondary shredder, the asbestos containing material is slowly fed by enclosed screw conveyor into the specially designed primary mixer that has been pre-charged with the proprietary conversion chemical. The primary mixer is equipped with an inverter and amperage meter to properly operate the speed of the mixer. The asbestos is kept in an aqueous solution at all times. The primary mixer has a special blade tolerance to avoid jamming, because of the inconsistencies of the asbestos containing material.</div>
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The primary mixer is started at a slow inverter speed while the allowable amount of asbestos is fed into the primary mixer. Once the asbestos containing material is 95 to 98 percent destroyed in the primary mixer, it is pumped into the secondary mixer. When the asbestos containing material is verified to be completely destroyed, it is pumped into a settling tank to allow the solids to settle out and the proprietary chemicals to be siphoned off and reused. The remaining solids are pumped into a specially built cement mixer for neutralization and recycling.</div>
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Because no asbestos containing material leaves the non-thermal process before it is verified non-asbestos, the non-thermal process is time saving, electrical cost saving, environmentally friendly and the verification that no asbestos has left the process before destroyed. It meets the EPA required final testing for conformation of asbestos destruction by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) as required by 40 CFR 61.155—Standard for Operations that Convert Asbestos-Containing Waste Material into Non—Asbestos (Asbestos—Free) Material.</div>
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Making the Effort</div>
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As human beings, every day we are becoming more and more aware of the damage we have done and are doing to our environment by not recycling and by not practicing conservation. I will leave you with this thought from a Wall Street Journal Salt and Pepper cartoon from 16 years ago: The scene is of a father sitting on a couch and his son standing in front of him. The father is looking at the son’s report card with great despair and disappointment, obviously expressing his opinion about the report card to the son. The son could not have given a better answer to his father for not receiving better grades. His answer: “If your generation doesn't learn to save the planet, it won’t matter if my generation can’t read or write.</div>
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Sixteen years later has become truer and truer. It is up to all who have the power to develop technologies and/ or implement waste solving technologies to make the effort no matter what the price, because we cannot afford the cost.</div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-41703588821638486862014-01-27T09:00:00.000-08:002014-01-27T09:00:37.373-08:00Eliminating the Threat<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
asbestos dangers are well documented, history has long avoided eliminating the
threat it poses to human health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
are starting to progress in our waste habits by recycling different streams of
waste and using closed landfills constructively. Composting food waste and
recycling plastics, glass, metals, cardboard and newspapers is our way of life.
We are realizing the importance of installing waste-to-energy(WTE) plans on
closed and active landfills to capture energy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Separating
recyclables from municipal waste before it is dumped in landfills, as well as
landfill mining for recyclables are now prominent trends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
create 250 million tons of waste per year. By practicing reduce, reuse and
recycle, we are taking the right steps to minimize waste to landfills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><u>Sustainability
Liability </u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Many
companies are touting zero-waste-to-landfill from their manufacturing
operations, however, when the actual facility is taken into account, that may
be a false claim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Companies
are hiring or internally promoting sustainability officers who are responsible
for complying with all environmental regulations, such as the <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). CERCLA
requires treatments that permanently and significantly reduce volume, mobility
of hazardous substances and most importantly, toxicity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">While companies like General
Motors, Ford and Chrysler tout sustainability achievements, over the past five
years these companies have closed or sold approximately 180 manufacturing
facilities. Most of these facilities were built before 1979 and all had to have
asbestos-containing material installed in them when they were built. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">Asbestos permeates most facilities
built before 1979: utilities, military bases, government buildings, refineries,
factories, homes and landfills: collectively known as our “built environment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;">Asbestos has been documented in </span>archaeological<span style="font-size: small;"> diggings found in pottery and chinking of homes in Scandinavia
from 300 B.C.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<em><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b><u>History Lessons</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;">The use of asbestos has a long
history. Asbestos has been used for more than 2,000 years, called by the
ancient Greeks “inextinguishable,” because of superior resistance to fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">The Greek, Strabo, as well as the
Roman, Pliny the Elder, noticed the sickness of the lungs and the early deaths
of slaves who worked in the asbestos mines, and also in slaves who wove asbestos
table clothes, napkins, burial garments and asbestos into wicks for the Eternal
Flame of the Vestal Virgins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">Little known to Strabo and Pliny
the Elder, their observations of slaves contracting lung illness would become a
fatal, proven fact almost 2,000 years later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">Strabo and Pliny never could have
realized or predicted the lung disease caused by asbestos would become the
world’s greatest industrial disaster ever known to man and the largest class
action law suits ever to swamp the court system. As right as their observations
were on the fact that asbestos caused “sickness of the lungs in those who
worked with it,” they also could not have predicted that more than 3,000 people
in the United States are diagnosed with Mesothelioma each year, 125 million
people worldwide encounter asbestos in the home or workplace; every five
minutes someone in the world dies from asbestos-related illnesses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">This number amounts to 100,000
people per year and is expected to increase to 5 to 10 million people by 2030. It
is a fact that every year there are more people killed by asbestos than in road
accidents. Although used through the centuries, the use of asbestos flourished
at the onset of the industrial revolution in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when
factories boomed and asbestos was seen as miracle mineral due to its fire
resistant, chemical resistant and tinsel strength. Industry created many
different products that included asbestos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
the railroad industry it was used to line refrigeration units, boxcars, and
cabosses, and the material was found to be especially useful as insulation for
pipes, boilers and fireboxes in stream locomotives and as refractory brick in
the coal-fired engines and furnaces. The automobile industry used asbestos in
brake linings and clutches, as well as in wiring necessary for lighting and
ignitions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
construction industry found many uses of asbestos for factory and home building
products: roofing material (both felt and cement board with asbestos embedded
in it), pipe and boiler covering, floor tile, taping, acoustical ceiling tiles,
Transite furnace flu, and most dangerously as vermiculite in attic insulation
and plant soil additive. Vermiculite was manufactured in Libby, Mont., by W.R.
Grace who also manufactured asbestos-containing spray-on fireproofing known as
Monokote. Monokote was widely used in thousands of buildings throughout the
world. One well known site being the World Trade Center, which still had asbestos
containing material when it was attacked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Referred
to as “Transite in the United States,” the material permeates Australia and
many other warm climate countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
construction industry, by far, gave asbestos-containing material products a great
deal of uses, as did the shipbuilding industry. Because of the widespread commercial
uses of asbestos, the cases of asbestos and mesothelioma started to come to
light. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
1899, British physician, Dr. H. Montague Murray, discovered the first case of asbestos
and recorded an abstract named “Curious Bodies.” In 1906, French factory
inspector, Auribolt, discovered the first asbestos lung disease, mesothelioma
in 50 people. The use of asbestos and its dangers became so common that by 1918
life insurance companies started to charge higher premiums for asbestos
workers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><u><b>Too
Little, Too Late</b></u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Unfortunately
1918 was too late, because as the years went on and asbestos diseases became
more prevalent and obvious, many financially solid white glove insurance
companies were forced into bankruptcy by asbestos lawsuits, as were myriad of
companies who manufactured asbestos-containing material. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
1930 it was well known to manufactures that asbestos-containing products were a
cause of lung disease with death to follow, but many chose to not expose the
truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
U.S. Public Health Service recognized the effects asbestos has on human health
and recommended guidelines for asbestos exposure as early as 1938, but with the
onset of World War II, the Public Health Service recommendations were ignored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
expansion of existing military bases, the building of new military bases,
amplified shipbuilding, and new government buildings, such as the Pentagon, all
used asbestos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Defense Logistics Agency during World War II bought and stored in silos around
the country raw asbestos in case asbestos did not become available. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">With
so much asbestos in our built environment around the world and the never-ending
and ongoing illnesses caused by asbestos, coupled with the landfill shortage,
why are we not destroying the asbestos to prevent the harm to humans?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><u><b>Methods
of Destruction</b></u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are U.S.-Environmental-Protection-Agency-approved technologies that destroy
asbestos by high temperature: plasma torch, vitrification and hearth oven, and
a non-thermal process, ABCOV®, which works by a chemical-physical reaction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">With
the ABCOV® process, asbestos destruction is followed through the process until
the asbestos is destroyed. In high-temperature processes, asbestos has to run
through the process, be cooled down and be tested for asbestos. If asbestos is
found in the batch that was run through the high temperature units, it must be
put back through the unit until destroyed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Asbestos
is and will be a killer as long as it remains in our built environment. A Wall
Street Journal “Pepper … and Salt” cartoon that has sat on my desk for at least
17 years says it best: A father sitting on the couch looking at his son’s
report card with great disappointment and letting his son know how he felt. The
son replied: “If your generation doesn’t learn to save the planet, it won’t
matter if my generation can’t read or write.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Tony Nocito, Managing Member of the ABCOV® Companies, LLC, has developed, commercialized and markets the ABCOV asbestos destruction process. He has 25 years asbestos abatement experience and 26 years construction/demolition industry experience. Visit </span><a href="http://abcov.com/abcov-blog/">ABCOV® Blog</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.cdrecycler.com/digital/20140102/index.html">Guest Blogger Featured in Construction & Demolition Recycling</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">. </span></div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-73535885985305398412013-11-15T08:21:00.001-08:002013-11-15T08:21:24.861-08:00Warren Buffett Trades Mesothelioma Death for Money<div style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is not for the victims of asbestos diseases, but for the lawyer's self-interest that asbestos litigation occurs, and the self-interest of Mr. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway's group of Insurance companies that are responsible for asbestos liabilities.</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">The asbestos litigation industry is a multibillion dollar industry that spends more on advertising than Coca-Cola. Asbestos litigation provides substantial- steady income to asbestos litigation firms and their litigators as long as payments are made to the victims.</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">We know Mr. Buffett as the Oracle of Omaha, a highly praised investor and a seemingly a nice guy who plays a Ukulele and sings at the conventions of the companies he owns.</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Buffett has proven to make the right investments at the right time, because he sees the future and has the cash to buy it. With cash and enough time, time being the key word, you can make yourself one of the wealthiest men in the world, as Mr. Buffet.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Buffett's, Berkshire Hathaway, has recently purchased a litany of insurance companies that are directly responsible for asbestos and/or hazardous/toxic liabilities, which Mr. Buffett agreed to take on with this purchase.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">So why would the world's wisest investor buy such portentous liability?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">The answer: along with that liability comes tons of billions in cash, known as the float, which is invested at great returns, as long as Mr. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway insurance companies can deny, delay or not pay plaintiffs' (victims) claims. The float is money held by the insurance companies to pay the victims of asbestos and/or hazardous/toxic diseases.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Asbestos and /or hazardous/toxic diseases are a death sentence. In litigation, the defending law firms are always looking for angels to hold off payments, pay as little as possible or nothing at all to the plaintiffs, which buys time.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is estimated by A.M. Best, an insurance company rating firm, that asbestos claim losses will surge to $121 billion dollars with no end in sight.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">A.M. Best also estimates insurers are incurring $2 billion in asbestos claims each year, as well as paying out $2.5 billion to victims each year.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to Ajit Jain Berkshire Hathaway's insurance companies paid out $1.4billion dollars in asbestos and /or hazardous/toxic claims last year. Do the math: that leaves Berkshire, according to A.M. Best, $1.1 billion to invest while fending off the losses of $2 billion a year being held in the float and invested while the cases are being detained or slowly litigated.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, Berkshire Hathaway's insurance company corporate-maneuvers left litigators puzzled, not knowing who to sue, payments are not being made to the plaintiffs while Berkshire's defense litigator's buy time to allow the float money to make required target profits, instead of paying the victims.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the Fox Business News, "Berkshire said its insurance and other revenue jumped 14% to $35.92 billion.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Buffett quote: "We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful".</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are dying from asbestos or hazardous/toxic diseases, you will certainly be fearful of dying, but more so for the future of your loved ones.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear and/or desire are the greatest motivators. If you fear you will die broke from asbestos or a hazardous/toxic disease, leaving your family with nothing, you will quickly have the desire, for peace of mind before dying, to settle for a lesser amount that may be paid sometime in the future to your loved ones.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">But if the Berkshire Hathaway insurance companies outright refuse to pay, because Berkshire Hathaway has to make its targeted bottom-line profits ----- what are your choices? - suffer more and die broke!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">In life our true character shows through at one point or another. If we are lucky to live long enough, we will have enough time to adjust flaws in our character for the better.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Buffet is running out of time, but the aforementioned proves his strong ties to the belief of Gordon Gekko: Greed is good. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would make a suggestion that Mr. Buffett please put a good portion of the money he makes from the float in scientific and medical research that cure diseases caused by asbestos and other hazardous/toxic substances and invest in environmental technologies that permanently remove asbestos and other hazardous/toxic substances from our environment in order to save lives.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead of the beliefs of Gordon Gekko, I recommend Mr. Buffet follow the beliefs of Oscar Schindler, "To save one life is to save the world". </span></div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-66581165670828570482013-10-21T12:01:00.001-07:002013-10-21T12:01:40.173-07:00The Ugly, The Bad and The Good of Waste Disposal<div align="left" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0.825em;">
I know, I know it is supposed to be The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, but I don’t personally know Clint Eastwood and this blog, in my opinion, works better backwards.</div>
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The Ugly: recycler uses recycle operation as landfill; construction supervisor mishandles asbestos, landfill fires, landfill odors and landfill toxic fumes, landfill leachate run-off, illegal E-Waste disposal, manufacturers who knew and know that the products, such as Lead, Chromium, Asbestos were and are lethal to human beings, but manufacture for profit anyway, asbestos companies that dumped asbestos illegally in upstate New York, the asbestos truck that purposely dumped asbestos in the street in front of a grammar school, violators who do not safely handle and dispose toxins, the companies that are not precautious enough to stop environmental disasters, oil companies, the corporations that have toxic, hazardous or regulated waste that can be treated on site, but landfill them for our future generations to deal with, the list goes on and most received prison time, all except the executives that are politically connected, like W.R. Grace, but a Swiss billionaire asbestos manufacturer was sentenced to 18 years in prison for asbestos deaths – in Italy – no less! There is something wrong with the U.S., because no one received prison time for killing a town of people in Libby, Montana. Now that is really UGLY!</div>
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The Bad: The bad are the people who care, but only occasionally, the bad are the people who find it difficult to go out of their way to recycle and only recycle when convenient, the bad are the people who throw everything into one garbage bin, the bad are the people who throw waste in the street instead of carrying it to a garbage bin or a recycle bin.</div>
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The Good: The good ardently believe the more we recycle the better we will become as humans, the better our children will be as they grow, the less future pollution our children will have to deal with and the less pollution will enter the environment, the less garbage will be handled and dumped in a landfill or put through an incinerator, believe in conserving our natural resources, support global climate change and will continue to create new industries and jobs though innovation of recycling products.</div>
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The good believe in a circular economy: what comes out of the manufacturing product, after its end of life’s cycle, is able to go back into the manufacturing the same or similar product. The good understand the importance of buying products that are recyclable and/or are made from recycled material. The good don’t take shopping bags from the grocery store, but they bring their own non-disposable shopping bags to the grocery store.</div>
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The good understand the importance of the separation of recyclables, they buy and use designated recycles bins. They believe in composting, paper, cardboard, bottle, and can recycling.</div>
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Hell! The good believe in recycling everything they can possibly recycle to save our planet.</div>
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Now ask yourself: <span style="font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.7;">Which one am I</span>?</div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-1106551109176809022013-08-21T14:38:00.002-07:002013-08-21T14:39:09.899-07:00Similarities Between the Waste and Death Industry<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
In a blog recently published on Waste & Recycling News, Maria Kirch writes about being environmentally responsible in death.</div>
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The blog discusses the new eco-friendly coffins that can be decorated to your desires and biodegradable corporate clothing line known as the first 100% environmentally responsible tailored funeral wear.</div>
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It started me to think about death, population, garbage, landfilling and burial plots.</div>
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Let's take death and population first. Currently approximately 150,000 people die each day and it is expected that 40% of these people will opt for cremation (incineration). Some who die unforeseen deaths and are healthy at death will hopefully donate their organs to medical institutions for reuse to better the life of humans who need them, i.e. human organ recycling.</div>
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Cemetery space is becoming like landfill space, diminishing greatly. Presently, in the United States, 230 million tons of solid waste is landfilled each year. The population growth of 19.5% for every 1,000 people will not only create a vast increase in garbage disposal, but also create a vast increase in burial ground requirements.</div>
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Will land be used for garbage, for cemetery plots or for food? Statistics point out that one has to realize the future of the earth's limitations and the future use of its land do to population growth. The siting of new landfills, as well as the need for burial space, will forcibly make our earth's livable ground disappear in a short time.</div>
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One thought might be, can we use old landfills for burial grounds? Just the thought of being buried in a garbage dump makes me cringe.</div>
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Landfill mining is starting to be become a trend by digging out the recyclables to create more landfill space. Now done in the Netherlands, the reality will that all landfills will install onsite waste-to-energy units to incinerate or cremate the remaining landfill waste after the recyclable are mined. They are starting to remove the recyclables before landfilled and incinerate (cremate) the rest of the garbage for energy without putting it in a landfill.</div>
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Incineration or cremation of anything leaves a minimal amount of ash that can be disposed of or recycled, and when a human is cremated, the ash can be kept in an urn or spread over the person's favorite spot.</div>
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The aforementioned will give us back our natural resources found in the recyclables, and eliminate a great portion of our solid waste by creating much needed energy and land space.</div>
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As hard as it is we humans have to start to think seriously about our environmental impact while we are busy resting in peace. Each and every one of us must think about organ donation, i.e. recycling, land space, cremation as opposed to cemetery plots, while at the same time taking advantage of the eco-friendly coffins, and biodegradable corporate clothing.</div>
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If the waste industry can do it -- so can us humans!</div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-36324670638587598312013-07-29T12:03:00.000-07:002013-07-29T12:03:57.303-07:00I'm Guilty Of Illegal Dumping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I live in downtown New York City, one block west of City Hall. My office is approximately 2 1/2 blocks north of City Hall. I point this out, because many demonstrations are held right outside City Hall with loud speakers for the protesters to announce their protests so everyone can hear them within a half-mile radius, they march or gather for blocks.</div>
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During these demonstrations, it is common to have a strong police presence lining the streets for safety. Now an additional safety precaution has been implemented since the Boston Marathon bombing, removal of all curbside garbage cans by sanitation.</div>
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If you have never been in New York, it is a city of high-rise office and apartment buildings in most areas. As much as New Yorkers understand the importance of recycling, it is hard to recycle in a large apartment building or office building that do not provide separation recycling bins. Even the curbside separation recycling bins are far and in-between. Although I found a set of garbage, bottles and cans only, and newspapers and magazines only recycling bins outside City Hall and across the street there were two solar powered Big Belly compactors. I guess City Hall politicians were setting an example, but so far they have not provided these bins throughout the city.</div>
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In my office we have water in bottles and soda in cans. When we finish the drink we put them in separate bins for recycling. When the bins are full we recycle and help the homeless at the same time by filling two large shopping bags with the cans and bottles, leaving them for the collectors of these bottles and cans next to a curb side garbage can. These collectors are usually older, short in stature with a hunch, Asian woman who sift through bags of garbage in every block filling large clear plastic bags with bottles and cans carrying them over their shoulder on a broom handle with a bag as large as they filled each end or filled shopping carts with the same size bags.</div>
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They do this for nickel redemption on each returnable.</div>
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The strange thing is if you offer them money they won't take it and consider it an insult.</div>
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On July 3, I left my office with two large shopping bags filled with bottles and cans. When I got downstairs there were no garbage cans in sight, because of labor demonstration at City Hall. I walked down until I got to my block where I finally saw a garbage can across the street. Next to the garbage can where two sanitation workers and a sanitation inspector talking, I asked if it would be OK if I left these bags for the Asian woman.</div>
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His reply: "You know that is illegal dumping and if he," pointing to the inspector, "wanted to, he could arrest you."</div>
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I put them next to the garbage can anyway.</div>
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Besides reminding me that it was illegal dumping (it does state on each curbside garbage container "Liter Only: No Household Trash; No Business Trash, 100 Dollar Fine") he reminded me how much he hated those Asian woman, this was not a prejudice remark, but a complaint that the Asian woman caused them extra work, messing up the waste bags for sanitation to clean-up.</div>
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That afternoon my son and I were going to a movie. I walked across the street where I live to get my son. When I walked back across the street, I found that the sanitation workers where gone and so where the bags of bottles and cans, but no Asian woman were in sight. I guess I wasn't arrested or fined, because the bottles and cans provided coffee money for those sanitation workers.</div>
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This incident set-off my curiosity and sent me on a quest to better understand garbage and recycling in New York City. So I started to walk through the neighborhood to see how much illegal dumping went on, quite a bit.</div>
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I also found a number of curbside garbage cans with white trash bags next to them with the words ACE Empowering the Homeless. ACE stands for The Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless. This program helps people who are either in a rehabilitation program and have a doctor's clearance to work or are homeless. ACE people are street sweepers who use these ACE bags for trash; when full, place them next to a curbside garbage container. After speaking with one of the ACE workers who was happy to have the job, I realized ACE made a great contribution to trash clean-up and to human dignity. The ACE person reminded me that ACE takes donations.</div>
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Back to the Asian woman, in my travels I spotted an Asian woman working on a pile of clear recyclable bags that was five feet high and a half of block long. Mind you these bags are only supposed to contain newspapers and small cardboard items, bottles or cans are supposed to be in separate clear plastic bags.</div>
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This woman worked efficiently, precisely, carefully and extremely quickly, untying the bags picking out the bottles and cans and neatly tying the bags back up. When I left she had four large bags, three and a half feet tall filled to the brim and was only a quarter of the way through the pile.</div>
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The way I see it, these women are doing the city a great service by supporting themselves; not taking welfare; supporting New York's recycling program by lessening the waste burden for the sanitation workers, who had coffee on me.</div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-91061082645181944542013-07-02T13:17:00.000-07:002013-07-02T13:17:53.570-07:00Honest Truths<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">
I have to be honest about my life, a life of sever <strong>Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD</strong><strong>). </strong>My father had it. I know, because I asked him why he only went to one month of high school, he said, I couldn’t study or sit still to read.</div>
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ADHD is hereditary; some of my children have it.</div>
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At age 30, not knowing what ADHD was or that I had it, I made up my mind that I was going to learn how to read and write. So every night I went home and forced myself to read. I had a college PhD English Professor who lived across the hall from me, Elaine Levy. Elaine agreed for $50.00 an hour to give me private English lessons, chapter by chapter.</div>
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I worked for many years to improve my English, vocabulary and writing.</div>
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I am more than appreciative when an environmental magazine publishes one of my articles and more than grateful to Craines Waste and Recycling News editors and Maria Kirch who allow me to be published monthly.</div>
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From one of my writings, I received an email from Garry Van Heest, Vice President -Remediation at Directional Technologies, Inc:</div>
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Tony,</div>
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My Dad was a self-employed carpenter from 1950 to 1970. He was exposed to dust from asbestos-containing building products (as was I as a kid when I worked with him).</div>
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I agree: this material has to be removed from our environment. There are documented cases of people getting meso from one exposure and you do not get the disease unless you are exposed - no documented cases of anyone with the disease that was not exposed.</div>
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As you can see from my LinkedIn profile, I am an environmental professional with industrial hygiene experience. It really blindsided me when my Dad was diagnosed. I thought it was only people who worked in the asbestos industry that contracted the disease.</div>
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I am joining your mailing list.</div>
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Keep up the good work.</div>
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Garry</div>
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I was humbled by the fact that my writing has been able to cause environmental awareness and I was flattered and thankful for Garry’s email. I asked if I could use his email. </div>
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Garry’s answer: “You have my authorization to use my story - anything to help even one more person from contracting mesothelioma”. Garry</div>
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There are many executives of companies, who have allowed pollution for profit; upon their death their children will inherit their money, as I inherited ADHD. The pollution created by that money is also hereditary to their children as well as many others will involuntarily pay, either by environmental clean-up costs or by contracting a detrimental and fatal illness, much like Garry’s father. It is inevitable!</div>
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Science has found a way to deal with ADHD using medication and therapy.</div>
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Science must find a way to deal with the many environmental pollutants by creating technologies to take them out of our environment once and for all or we will continue to pay until we are broke or terminally ill. This is the Honest Truth!</div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-7773809802479534162013-05-22T09:19:00.001-07:002013-05-22T09:19:16.390-07:00The Impact of Environmental Litigation<br />
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Let's explore the history of toxic substances in our environment from the time we knew that the toxic substances were harmful and lethal to our health.</div>
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Let us start with asbestos -- the most litigated of the hazardous, toxic materials.</div>
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The Greeks, the earliest users of asbestos 3,000 years ago, considered the value of asbestos almost equal to the value of gold. Chrysotile, the most commonly used asbestos, comes from the Greek word of gold, chysos, and fiber, tilos.</div>
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The Greeks and the Romans recorded that slaves who worked with asbestos and in asbestos mines died early from lung sickness.</div>
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The industrial revolution brought on the expanded use of asbestos, because of its superior fire retardant ability and its tensile strength. Asbestos products were used to contain friction and heated parts of machinery, protecting that part of the machinery from wear and tear and protecting the worker from burns. The use of asbestos in these applications made sense from a manufacturing point of view, but not from a health point of view.</div>
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The vast increase of mining and processing asbestos during the industrial revolution was proven in the late 1800s to damage the lungs, causing death.</div>
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The use of asbestos in manufacturing continued for more than 100 years without regulation pertaining to the safety of the worker. Asbestos is still used today, in spite of the health effects.</div>
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Chromium has been used for over 2,000 years. Although asbestos relates to lung cancer, hexavalent chromium or chromium VI, is related to a mired amount of diseases, lung cancer only being one of them. As early as 1930, the effects of respiratory cancer in workers in the chrome industry were diagnosed. Eventually, a mired amount of other chromium related diseases that ranged from asthma, liver disease and skin cancer to cardiovascular disease, as well as many other lethal effects to the human organs were discovered from exposure to chromium.</div>
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Chromium cancer clusters can be isolated and identified to specific areas of our environment, such as former chromium manufacturing sites and dumping sites from those chromium manufacturing sites.</div>
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Lead has been used for over 6,000 years and the effects of lead poisoning have been known for over 2,500 years. All through history the effects of non-occupational lead poisoning have been documented.</div>
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In recent years publications on the devastating effects of lead paint has permanently impaired the learning ability of children.</div>
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The industries that used the aforementioned hazardous, toxins in their manufacturing operations have caused devastating effects on society and loved ones.</div>
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The business of environmental litigation has cut deeply into industries profits, causing many to go bankrupt.</div>
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Although litigation does not cure or bring back a loved one, it says loudly and clearly that companies must take advanced steps to protect the environment and loved ones, because there is no dollar amount that can buy a human life.</div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-21159069412892630232013-05-14T09:04:00.000-07:002013-05-14T09:04:28.796-07:00The Trouble with Asbestos Disposal<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Hailed as a miracle mineral because of its superior fire resistance and tensile strength, asbestos was installed abundantly into our built environment for over 200 years. However, once it was established that this undeniably useful resource was a dangerous carcinogen, Australia and many other countries enacted strict regulations for handling asbestos and asbestos containing material (ACM). There regulations created an asbestos abatement industry worth billions of dollars worldwide annually, and which will continue to generate millions of ton of asbestos waste long into the future.</div>
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Corporations and insurance companies have paid out billions of dollars in asbestos claims and have increased their reserves by billions of dollars to cover present and future incalculable loses pertaining to asbestos lawsuits. Much of the cement board that permeates Australian residential, commercial, school, and government buildings is a prominent example of such a product.</div>
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The installation and presence of these building products has caused many construction trade workers – including plumbers, pipefitters, boilermakers, carpenters and installers – to contract mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. Besides the construction trades, the people who live and work in buildings containing asbestos are potentially exposed to toxic forms of asbestos. Consequently, the ACM mining, manufacturing and installation industries have created great liability issues for the producers, installers, end users and their associated insurance companies.</div>
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From 1950 to 1970, Australia was the highest per capita user of asbestos in the world, and vast numbers of domestic dwellings built before 1982 contained – or still contain – asbestos.</div>
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Whereas most countries banned the use of asbestos in building products by 1980, Australia’s relatively late bans are likely to lead to more asbestos related exposures and diseases many years into the future. Australia already has one of the world’s highest rates of mesothelioma deaths, as well as many other asbestos related cancers. There late bans will feed the asbestos abatement industry and the disposal of asbestos and ACMs, as well as contribute strongly to ongoing contraction of asbestos diseases.</div>
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In Tasmania, the Australian Workers Union has developed a plan to remove all the ACM by 2030, 17 years from now. But this raises difficult questions. Will all ACM on substrates be removed? Where will the ACM be stored (nothing that asbestos never really goes away, even when landfilled).</div>
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US laws make the owner or generator asbestos or ACM a “Potential Responsible Part”, who is responsible for the cradle-to-grave liability for asbestos stored in a landfill through perpetuity. This means that when the landfill fails and must be cleaned up, the Potential Responsible Party or Parties, become responsible to pay for clean-up. In Australia there is no such regulation, with taxpayers meeting much of the financial burden for clean-up.</div>
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Let us explore the disposal options presently available for asbestos and ACMs.</div>
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<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">Landfilling</span></h4>
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Eventually, all landfills will fail. Modern day landfills liners last around 30 years. What happens when the liners are punctured or deteriorate?</div>
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Although landfilling is the cheapest and most convenient disposal option for asbestos or ACM, it is not the most cost effective – in the long run someone will have to pay to re-abate the asbestos from the landfill before it pollutes the surrounding area.</div>
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So what happens to asbestos or ACM when it is landfilled? By regulation, asbestos and ACM must be wrapped in plastic or a double polythene bag. Every package of asbestos must be clearly marked with a proper shipping name, including UN number, packaging group number, hazchem code and class label. The polythene bags are loaded on to a bin or trailer and driven to the landfill. The vehicle carting the ACM to the landfill must display a placard that is placed at the front and rear of the vehicle stating “Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods”. Next, the polythene bags are dumped from the height of a trailer or container into the landfill. The dumped asbestos polythene bags must then be covered with 15 to 30 cm of non-asbestos covering pushed over by heavy construction equipment.</div>
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What are the possible consequences of this method of disposal? Bags can break, allowing asbestos fibers to become airborne and migrate to the water table. An example of problems encountered in Australia with landfilling asbestos is Wyong Council’s landfill at Shelly Beach, New South Wales. Because ACMs have surfaced above its cover due to erosion and weather conditions, it will cost $12 million to clean up the asbestos dumped into the landfill during the 1970s. Also, there is no way to tell how many people who live and work around Shelly Beach have been exposed to the surfaced asbestos.</div>
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<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">Thermal Options</span></h4>
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There are presently three thermal options to destroy and permanently rid asbestos from our environment: vitrification, plasma torch, and Asbestos Recycling, Inc.’s hearth oven.</div>
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All thermal processes require high heat and high energy to destroy asbestos, because they need to run at 1500 to 2000 °C to glassify the asbestos. The asbestos is fed into the thermal unit for a required residence time. Following this, the end product must be cooled before testing. If no asbestos is detected by transmission electron microscopy, the end product can be recycled or sent to a non-regulated landfill. If asbestos is detected, then the whole previously treated batch must be put back through the thermal unit.</div>
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The high temperatures require substantial electricity at high cost, along with high maintenance costs on the refractory – the inner brick lining of furnace, which over time cracks and wears out due to the high temperature required to destroy the asbestos – which causes approximately 25 to 30% down time. Furthermore, the thermal unit must have an extensive and efficient scrubber system that prevents the escape of potentially harmful byproducts (e.g. furans, dioxins and nitrogen oxides).</div>
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<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">Chemical Options</span></h4>
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There are several chemical options for the permanent disposal for asbestos.</div>
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Soaking chrysotile asbestos in sulfuric acid for an extended period of time destroys the chrysotile, but is slow in its destruction reaction time. Once the reaction is complete, the acid is neutralized with a base, such as lime or baking soda.</div>
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W.R. Grace, Inc. developed an in situ non-thermal chemical process to destroy asbestos containing spray-on fireproofing containing chrysotile. The spray-on fireproofing (trade name Monokote) was developed and sold by Grace when asbestos was still permitted in building materials. When asbestos was banned, Grace developed an in situ chemical asbestos destruction process that destroyed only chrysotile. The process requires full negative air containment with four air changes per hour, but not high electrical use. Ultimately, Grace encountered two problems: 1) for a building with hundreds or thousands of square feet of sprayed-on fireproofing, it was difficult and costly to prove that all the asbestos was destroyed; 2) the process did not fall under the relevant US Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation; therefore Grace could not secure EPA approval for the process. (The aforementioned thermal options are EPA approved, because they do fall under the relevant regulation).</div>
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The ABCOV® Method of asbestos destruction is a non-thermal; EPA approved mixing process that chemically and physically destroys all forms of asbestos in all ACM. The process is performed under negative air containment and employs size reduction of the ACM and high speed dispersion mixing with ABCOV® chemicals, which are contained in a mild acidic solution.</div>
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The asbestos destruction is able to best tested, using polarized light microscopy, as the asbestos is being destroyed, allowing no asbestos to leave the process equipment until completely inert.</div>
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The process requires the negative air containment to have six air changes per hour. There is minimal electrical usage and a negative air scrubber system that includes an activated carbon filter and a high-efficiency particulate air filter that will provide six air changes per hour (as opposed to the four air changes per hour that is required for a typical asbestos abatement project performed under negative air containment.</div>
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Innovative waste treatment technologies are the future of the waste industry – not only for asbestos, but for all hazardous wastes that cannot be recycled.</div>
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Australian bans on asbestos:</div>
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1967 - crocidolite (blue asbestos) - considered the most dangerous of the asbestos minerals.</div>
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1989 - amosite (brown asbestos) - banned from building products (and from other products in 2003).</div>
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2003 - chrysotile (white asbestos).</div>
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2004 - the remaining asbestos minerals, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite.</div>
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Sources: <a data-mce-href="http://www.asbestosdiseasewareness.org" href="http://www.asbestosdiseasewareness.org/">Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization</a>; Australian Council of Trade Unions</div>
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<b><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">Further reading</span></b></div>
<ul style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<li><a data-mce-href="http://www.asbestos.com/" href="http://www.asbestos.com/">www.asbestos.com</a></li>
<li>Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (<a data-mce-href="http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/" href="http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/">www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org</a>)</li>
<li>United States Federal Environmental Protection Agency (<a data-mce-href="http://www.epa.gov/" href="http://www.epa.gov/">www.epa.gov</a>)</li>
<li>Australian Industrial Waste Resource Guidelines: Asbestos Transport and Disposal (<a data-mce-href="http://bit.ly/12EwRvY" href="http://bit.ly/12EwRvY">http://bit.ly/12EwRvY</a>)</li>
</ul>
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<b><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">References</span></b></div>
<ol style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<li>NSW Government: Cabinet Office 2004. <i>Report of the special commission of inquiry into the medical research and compensation foundation</i>. ‘Asbestos and James Hardie’, Annexure J., p.117.</li>
<li>National Occupational Health & Safety Commission 2005. <i>Code of Practice for the Safe Removal of Asbestos 2nd Edition [NOHSC:2002 (2005)]</i>.</li>
</ol>
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<b><i>Disclaimer</i></b><i>: Tony Nocito works for ABCOV</i><i></i><i>®; Description of proprietary technologies does not imply endorsement by </i>Remediation Australasia<i>.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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We would like to thank Australian Remediation Industry Cluster for giving us this great opportunity to publish our content in their quarterly magazine "Remediation Australasia." <a data-mce-href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001EVM8s3mnJvHGEp4blOwhJZXmNAjSQSoqBKscctisoyK66A2Q2tyLLG-g0Mc-aRsklSroYgb9HvcWS2jf-PQZ2TmhL1d-rMixDmIwdgeXWET6QUra97zJMKF0y-8RzJNHqeIt9dTTJwDN55t3c5gElV7JyzytEb_8cvjcOUYf5kIOG9Sg4EEfH-kLARk8JKVH" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001EVM8s3mnJvHGEp4blOwhJZXmNAjSQSoqBKscctisoyK66A2Q2tyLLG-g0Mc-aRsklSroYgb9HvcWS2jf-PQZ2TmhL1d-rMixDmIwdgeXWET6QUra97zJMKF0y-8RzJNHqeIt9dTTJwDN55t3c5gElV7JyzytEb_8cvjcOUYf5kIOG9Sg4EEfH-kLARk8JKVH" shape="rect" target="_blank">Remediation Australasia, Issue 13</a>.</div>
<br />Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-30103976809672307182013-04-15T12:26:00.000-07:002013-04-30T12:18:39.675-07:00Understanding price and cost of hazardous wastes<br />
<span lang="EN">The first line of defense for
companies is they don't have any hazardous, toxic or regulated wastes. And if
they do, it is minimal, gets cleaned up and sent to a safe landfill (if there
is such a thing). So they believe they are safe.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">You may be safe, but our
environment is not and our children for sure are not and your future
stockholders definitely are not.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">I have knowledge of asbestos
problems, because that is my business. I am gaining knowledge of Hexavalent
Chromium problems, a new business for me. I am also somewhat knowledgeable
about other toxic and hazardous wastes, but these wastes are not as well
publicized as asbestos due to mesothelioma litigator's barrage of constant
advertisements.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323864304578318611662911912.html" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal took a look at asbestos trust's
fraudulent claims</a> on March 11. Fact: Where there's money, there will always
be fraud. Who knows better than the Wall Street Journal, they cover Wall Street.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN">With the trusts paying out $100
million a year, "There is growing concerns that the trusts will run out of
money before America runs out of asbestos victims," the article reports.
And that, my friends, is exactly the point.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">One litigator claims that asbestos
"victims are the worst corporate mass genocide in history," a very
true statement.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">Hazardous, toxic and regulated
wastes must be dealt with now! They must be taken out of our environment --
permanently -- or the genocide will continue!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">It doesn't make sense that
companies wouldn't be interested in using available positive environmental
technologies to permanently rid these dangerous wastes. I think corporations
think the price of landfilling is cheaper than treatment. Please keep in mind
that price and cost are two totally different numbers.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">What happens when asbestos is
landfilled: the driver who takes asbestos to the landfill must suit-up in
asbestos protective clothing with respirator before the load can be dumped.
When dumped, inevitably containers are going to break, allowing asbestos to
become airborne. This holds true for other hazards. I sure hope you don't live
around one of these landfills.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">Where the cells asbestos and
other hazardous and toxic wastes are stored (I used the word stored, because
the waste eternally belongs to the generator) cannot be used for any other
purpose. They can't be used for waste-to-energy, recyclables recovery,
installation of wind farms or solar panels or to capture methane gases. The
cells cannot be disturbed forever except by the inevitable wear and tear,
causing exposure to hazards long into the future.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">The fact is the generator's name
is listed on the landfill manifest, container the waste is stored in and, in
some cases, on the waste material itself.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN">Why do the generators keep
landfilling hazards when asbestos has proven that the cost will be much greater
than the price?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-70092465120683247522013-03-07T12:19:00.000-08:002013-04-30T12:19:43.994-07:00Zero waste, circular economy, sustainability impact the bottom lineWhat is zero waste? In manufacturing zero waste's goal is to reuse left over materials from the manufacturing of products, putting them back into the process to manufacture new products. Zero waste can also be carried out when a manufacturer of a product that is recyclable takes it back to its facility to reuse recycled product in the production of a new similar product. This closely resembles circular economy, but not completely, because all older products cannot be brought back for feed for reproduction, due to possible hazardous and toxic contaminants, asbestos being one.<br />
<br />
<div>
The construction industry is continuously toiling to bring construction and demolition debris to zero waste to reduce, reuse, recycle, and salvage, but the construction industry is only accomplishing a 95% recycling rate. Again, hazardous and toxic wastes, like asbestos, are one of the problems standing in the way of 100% recycling.<br />
<br />
Although recycling and zero waste are becoming a way of life, to get to zero waste takes hard work and constant diligent-awareness of how to avoid creating waste.</div>
<div>
Recycling will continue to eliminate waste to the landfill, especially in the construction debris area. This was proven to me when I met the chief environmental engineer for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), Thomas Abdallah, who is faced with a herculean challenge of dealing daily with a subway system that is more than 100 years old. How Abdallah sleeps at night, I haven't been able to figure out. As I got to know Abdallah, I found him to be a "in the present thinker" but always looking to the future of how to improve the system and how to eliminate wastes, like asbestos, that are a constant pain. Abdallah recently told me that in the last renovation project he recycled 95% of the construction debris.<br />
<br />
But the MTA doesn't manufacture; it provides transportation. So when improvements are made to the 100-year-old system, recycling becomes of great importance.<br />
<br />
Our future is to think in terms of how nature works, i.e. re-fertilize to create a new crop, thus a circular economy.<br />
<br />
A circular economy is going to take persistence and time to create, but it will be our environmental savior once created.<br />
<br />
I recently met with the Armstrong flooring and tile company's Andy Lake, recycling infrastructure processing specialist, in charge of bringing used ceiling tile back into the manufacturing system. Lake arranged the meeting with his ceiling group and Armstrong's floor tile group headed by Lisa Y. Cavataio.<br />
<br />
My observation of these two groups was that they are diligently working to develop Armstrong into a circular economy company by bringing back ceiling and floor tile to its birth for fertilizer for a new crop of building materials.<br />
<br />
Lake and Cavataio, like Abdullah, are present and future thinkers.<br />
<br />
The examples above are people who are environmentally conscious and are aware of the importance of sustainability, understanding what it means to the future of our environment and to the company's bottom line.</div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-5194567463024006202013-01-28T08:53:00.000-08:002013-01-28T08:53:05.422-08:00Utilities will be forced to figure out tough environmental issues<br />
I read an article in the Wall Street Journal, a fairly reliable publication, titled <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323689604578217831371436110.html" target="_blank">"U.S. Electricity Use on Wane."</a><br />
<br />
The article cites the fact that although we have more electronic gadgets than ever before "electricity use is barely growing," challenging our nation's utilities.<br />
<br />
I am sure that we all feel sorry for the utilities, because they now have to rethink how they can find a new way to hold us hostage.<br />
<br />
To help solve this financial problem, most of the large utilities will invest in transmission of electricity, abandoning electrical generation. This will allow them to see higher returns, because they no longer have to maintain the generating stations.<br />
<br />
I would bet a dollar that solar panels, wind farms and waste-to-energy facilities played a role in the aforementioned reduction in profits, besides the economy and the movement of manufacturing to other countries.<br />
<br />
But what are going to be the consequences of utilities investing in the transmission of electricity as opposed to generating it?<br />
<br />
The utility industry is in an evolution period, it is slowly evolving from generator to transmitter (think manufacturing of electricity to landlord, renting us their transmission lines, in part, because the growth and use of new cleaner technologies, such as solar, wind and WTE). All of these technologies will grow in use and become a necessity, helping us lessen our carbon footprint, making it imminent to put them to use.<br />
<br />
WTE is coming into its own. Because of diminishing landfill space and the problems with siting new landfills, it will become a necessity just as landfill mining will. We will eventually put a WTE facility on every landfill allowing the generation of power and the digging up of recyclables for reuse. This will lessen our carbon footprint and strengthen our reuse of recyclable resources.<br />
<br />
Utilities are slow to change and only move when they are forced to, because they don't have to, they are our utilities. Also, they have proven to be the financial staple that pays better than average dividends. Now financial stability is threatened. Although the utilities' challenge is to generate more income, they will be faced with larger and more onerous definitive financial and environmental issue that they must figure out a way to solve by answering the following questions:<br />
<br />
How does the utility clean-up all of their retired generating stations with their toxic, hazardous and regulated waste contamination?<br />
<br />
Where does the utility find the money to clean-up these retired assets?<br />
<br />
Is there enough landfill space to take the amount of hazardous, toxic and regulated wastes the retired assets will generate?<br />
<br />
How do we head off the disaster that is going to happen if we don't find and use technology to take these wastes permanently out of our environment?<br />
<br />
I understand that the utilities have to scramble to keep ahead of the financial curve, but the looming disaster will do worse damage. If they don't act now, they will be buried by their own toxins.<br />
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-70595463098004827482013-01-07T12:17:00.001-08:002013-01-07T12:17:39.564-08:00The only four things we are given in lifeI teach my children that we only have four things in this world.<br />
<br />
The four things are:<br />
<br />
*Our health. If you don't take care of your health it won't take care of you.<br />
<br />
*Time. If you don't spend your time constructively, it is a waste of time.<br />
<br />
*People. If you are not good to other people, they will not be good to you.<br />
<br />
*Our Earth, the ground and water.<br />
<br />
Let's explore these four things.<br />
<br />
We know if we eat right and exercise regularly the chances of staying healthy are good, but on the other hand, if we smoke, drink excessively, and over eat, especially fatty foods, we pay for it with sickness and an early death.<br />
<br />
We know that wasting time accomplishes nothing, but if we spend our time constructively, it generally pays off.<br />
<br />
We know that if we are polite, kind and express good will toward people, and help those in need, they will always be grateful and kind to us.<br />
<br />
We know that the Earth is our survival. We cultivate it for food, so we can be nourished; it is the land we live on. It is our life's blood. Without it, we would not exist. A good part of the Earth is our water, ocean, lakes and our reservoirs, from which we get the pure water we drink.<br />
<br />
Like our health, we must treat Earth with the best physical ability we can: nurture and cultivate the soil, treat it with nutrients to maintain the soils rich content, irrigate the soil with non-polluted water and not abuse or over-use the soil by draining it of its nutrients or polluting it with hazardous, toxic or regulated substances.<br />
<br />
When we abuse our body, waste our time, or mistreat other people, the abuse of the body makes us ill with heart disease or cancer or maybe both, the waste of time catches up to us as we age, because we see what we could have done, but didn't and when we mistreat other people, we have no friends to be there when we need them, because we were not there when they needed us.<br />
<br />
It is difficult to overcome the aforementioned, but not impossible. The key, to build back our health, this is possible with technology and modern medicine, which gives us enough time to overcome our shortcomings and be kind to other people, giving us sustainable living.<br />
<br />
We are now in the difficult period of taking care of our earth, but not impossible. We are over-landfilled; over-polluted; have an ocean full of garbage; and global warming causing disastrous hurricanes.<br />
<br />
Therefore, our New Year's resolution must be to stop our earth's deterioration, reduce, reuse and recycle; make sustainability a priority and develop technology that stops hazardous pollutants.<br />
<br />
This will all give us good health, more time, and a chance to be good to others.Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-7250628871559602332012-12-17T10:22:00.002-08:002012-12-17T10:22:51.917-08:00Waste is a perpetual and eternal problemWe all agree that waste has become a Herculean issue.<br />
<br />
We do it every day -- throw garbage in the waste basket (if we recycle we should have no waste basket), send it to a garbage dump (an evil necessity) or to the waste-to-energy facility (best available technology for now), and send hazardous and regulated waste to a regulated landfill (not a good thing at all).<br />
<br />
Waste, easily thrown away, is a very complex issue that is not so easily dealt with in its travel to its final destination, the landfill, which should be avoided at all costs. Waste has been around as long as man, but we are only at the inception of the desire to create a zero waste society. A great accomplishment -- when we accomplish it.<br />
<br />
We see that waste problems, garbage, C&D, hazardous and regulated; they are quickly escalating with population growth. When it comes to waste, are we and the companies we deal with overwhelmed because technologies are not developed and used (most important word) fast enough? Are we a society of "throw it in a landfill" the easiest and cheapest way, especially with hazardous and regulated wastes? Why do we take waste from one Superfund Site and eventually create another? Does someone know the answer?<br />
<br />
Companies are obligated by federal laws. If a public company, they are mandated by federal laws and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to deal with hazardous and regulated waste to eliminate the creation of future liabilities that their stockholders and, inevitably, us taxpayers will be forced to bear the burden of the costly financial clean-up.<br />
<br />
I live in New York City. Sandy put my power out for five days, nothing compared to the havoc and devastation that it caused on the waterfronts of the outer boroughs. Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated that hurricanes are becoming a way of life and we must start to protect ourselves.<br />
<br />
When power was on and I was able to get back into my office, I received a call from the largest asbestos litigation law firms in New York, asking how much and where did I think the asbestos was in homes and buildings that had been destroyed by Sandy. I figure once he knew the answer, he would contact the home and building owners to tell them they were exposed to asbestos and his firm could get them compensation (pre-ambulance chasing). I put him off to Mark Drozdov, knowledgeable asbestos consultant.<br />
<br />
That afternoon I read an article in Waste Connections stating that Steve Last, waste management engineer and expert on landfills, said the region affected by Sandy has the largest concentrations of old abandon landfill sites in the world. Because of the amount of moisture and erosion created by Sandy, landfills could start to emit methane and explode causing injury and death.<br />
<br />
Now you have to ask yourself, if the aforementioned is correct, what happens to the hazardous waste and regulated wastes, such as asbestos, when these landfills explode?Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-20462085780865646362012-11-06T12:40:00.001-08:002012-11-06T12:42:23.421-08:00Corporate Leaders: Don’t Allow the Landfilling of Hazardous and Regulated Waste Haunt Us!
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The holiday season is coming:
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas,</span><span style="color: #1f497d;"> Hanukkah</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, and New Year’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I am asking the corporate
leaders who claim aggressive recycling programs and zero waste to landfills to
think during this holiday season in terms of zero hazardous waste and zero
regulated waste to landfills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I would bet my Halloween
pumpkin that no corporation wants to admit the extent of their hazardous or
regulated waste environmental liabilities or even the fact that they have
asbestos or any other hazardous or regulated wastes in their facilities and/or
stored in landfills, a huge negative to the corporate bottom line!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I give presentations and
demonstrations of my process that stops asbestos cradle-to-grave liability and
I thought you might be interested in some of the corporate feedback I received.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Environmental Manager<u>,</u>
Major City Utility: “Our CEO will be retired by the time this comes back to
haunt us.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Senior Vice President Legal
and General Council of one of the largest oil and refinery companies in the
world: “I spoke to our environmental department and they said it’s not
necessary to destroy our asbestos, we landfill it.” Not a wise decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Head Environmental Attorney
for a major Fortune 500 company: “The next building we buy with asbestos, we’ll
call you.” I walked away and asked myself what about all the asbestos you
presently have in all your many facilities around the world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">My favorite: I was asked to
speak at an Asbestos Litigation Conference. Asbestos litigation is a
multibillion dollar industry that the legal profession possibly spends more
money on advertisement than Coca Cola. Why in God’s name would asbestos
litigation lawyers want to hear from me, when maybe I can start to solve the
asbestos problem? They really didn’t. It was my turn to speak, the moderator,
an attorney, purposely used up my time leaving me two minutes. I saw this
coming so I rapped off all the positives about ridding our environment of
asbestos. He then made this brilliant remark: “I suppose you can turn water
into gold?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Don’t get me totally wrong,
the corporate environment concerning hazardous and regulated wastes is starting
to change --- slowly--- but changing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Thus the holidays:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Halloween: If you think of
hazardous and regulated wastes as Halloween with forever haunting ghosts make
no mistake about it, the ghosts of these hazardous and regulated wastes will
haunt the corporations through eternity unless these corporations do something
about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Thanksgiving: It will be a
great Thanksgiving in a new world when these wastes are out of our environment
by aggressive corporate initiatives <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Christmas and </span><span style="color: #1f497d;">Hanukkah</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gift of Christmas and </span><span style="color: #1f497d;">Hanukkah</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> to all
will be technological solutions to the hazardous and regulated waste problems
with rigorous implementation of these technologies mandated by corporate
leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The New Year: Solving these
problems will provide a myriad of New Years with corporate sustainability and
corporate financial stability through many generations, and most importantly, a
glorious future of a healthy environment for our families, our children and our
grandchildren.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-18023642644781191782012-09-18T14:04:00.001-07:002012-09-18T14:05:18.184-07:00Postal Service can learn from the waste Industry<h1 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 38px; margin: 14px 0px 10px 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: small;">Agency should embrace technology to reduce footprint, create jobs</span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
By: Tony Nocito, ABCOV<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">® </span></b>Conversion Systems, LLC</div>
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My friend, John Crudele, who writes three plus columns a
week for the New York Post on economic issues and one on personal financial
advice, has written several articles concerning the Post Office’s financial
debacle.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In John’s last article he addresses the massive $5.2 billion
loss the Postal Service has suffered in the last three months. In previous articles and in the last article
as well, he addresses the fact that stamp forgery is one of the issues that
have caused this loss. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I like John. He’s got a unique sense of humor (read his
column), we play golf, have dinner and have lunch several times a year. But as
much as I agree with John, over 99% of what he writes and predicts is true, my
personal opinion is that stamp forgery may be an issue, but only a small issue
compared to the explosion in electronic technology.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
John says that if a real businessperson took over the Post
Office they won’t allow their stamps to be forged.</div>
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<br /></div>
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A real businessperson wouldn’t walk into a business that is
colossal, out of control and losing $20 billion plus a year. They would let the taxpayer continue to pay. But
if a businessperson did run the Postal Service, there would be immediate and
drastic cut backs in every sector. Then they would look for or have developed
new technologies that eliminate all physical mail, except packages, and maybe,
Certified Mail.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now think about the positive effect this mail technology
would have on our environment: no junk mail; a lot less motor vehicles on the
road; a lot less garbage to dispose; a lot less paper to recycle; a lot less
carbon emissions; and a lot less traffic. GREEN AS HELL--- RIGHT! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Well you say, what about the people who work at the Postal
Service? They will be unemployed and our
unemployment rate is too high now!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The answer: retrain the people who work for the Postal
Service to use the new technology.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Just as the waste industry is retraining everyone who has
garbage (that’s everyone) by restricting weekly pick-up to one garbage bag, and
requiring recycling or, in some cases, if you don’t recycle, no garbage
pick-up. The aforementioned is starting to become law in many states.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The waste industry is consistently reinventing and
developing itself with new technologies to deal with the colossal ever growing
problems of waste disposal and landfill space shortage.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Instead of technology eliminating jobs in the waste
industry, it has created jobs.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Think about it Postal Service! </div>
</div>
Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-3205621902664586952012-07-24T14:10:00.001-07:002012-07-24T14:10:28.464-07:00Zero Waste – Zero Waste – Zero Waste<br />
<h2>
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By
Tony Nocito</span></b><b style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Planning Group of the Zero waste International Alliance
defines zero waste as: “Zero waste is a goal that is ethical, economical,
efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and
practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials
are designed to become resources for
other use."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I recently posted this question on Linkedin: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/e/-mehxlq-h12in5gu-4e/vaq/92245684/82521/76710430/view_disc/?hs=false&tok=19IB9sUdjcoBc1">Why
do companies claim zero waste when they continue to send their hazardous waste
to a landfill causing incalculable future liabilities to their companies and
their stakeholders?</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I received quite a number of intelligent comments fro</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">m
individuals all over the world, many of whom are in the waste business or deal
with waste in their jobs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The consensus was that zero waste claimed by companies is
hype or rhetoric used to make the companies look greener and some thought that
there is no such thing as zero waste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Most were in agreement that all people should constantly and
vigorously strive to reuse, reduce and recycle (3Rs) or make the generator of
the waste responsible for its waste. These aforementioned approaches to dealing
with waste must become a way of life for all. There is also a consensus: If it
can’t be recycled, don’t make it – good point!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is estimated that $11.4 Billion in recyclable materials
are landfilled in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
every year. Not only is this a waste (pardon the pun) of the landfill space,
but also a flagrant waste of valuable materials that are made from natural
resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">More and more manufacturers are recycling materials used to
manufacture their products back into
newly manufactured products, by salvaging and reusing the leftovers.
This is why they claim zero waste. This recycling approach supports a solid
bottom line and supports good environmental sustainability, but this is only
one form of zero waste. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The employs of the manufacturing facilities, or any employee
for that fact, can recycle all the paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, food, if
there is a composting station on site, etc. leaving zero waste when they leave
work. They also should and can do the same at home, as we all should.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The truth is not everyone has a car, not everyone has a TV,
and not everyone has a computer, but everyone creates waste of one kind or
another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Landfills were named landfills, because they were usually
holes in the ground that could be filled, but landfill space is a scarcity.
Today they are mountains of garbage, taking in millions of tons more garbage
each year and releasing tons of noxious gasses. It is estimated that 1.3
billion tons of municipal solid waste will become 2.6 billion tons of municipal
solid waste in the next decade. Where are we going to put this waste?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Old landfills that are not Superfund sites needing to be
cleaned up have a use: capturing of methane gas for use in power plants and
vehicles, provide space for the construction of Wind Power Turbines, and
provide space for the construction of Solar Panels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Landfill mining, the digging up of a landfill to recapture
and remove recyclables from the landfill, therefore increasing the landfill
space, is becoming a trend, as well as dumping a garbage truck at the gate
before it enters the landfill to separate out of the recyclables. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Towns, cities and states are requiring mandatory recycling
or no garbage pickup. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The purpose of striving towards the 3Rs and zero waste is a
matter of our sustainability through the elimination of Landfilling waste as
much as possible. The reality is that we are running out of landfill space and
no one wants new landfills in their backyard, nor do they want incineration,
even if it is waste to energy, although waste to energy will become more of a reality
in our future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The aforementioned has addressed the two zero waste
initiatives that we are and should continually strive for, business recycling
and personal recycling. Although we are starting to make some progress in the
war against waste, we must keep a diligent and constant awareness every time we
plan to discard something --- anything: we should think about the future and
our children, asking ourselves: do I want land to be used for garbage or do I
want land to be used for farming?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The third most daunting and hardest to address is hazardous,
toxic and regulated waste disposal. How
do we accomplish zero hazardous, toxic and regulated waste? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If we are running out of space for everyday garbage, what
are we doing about hazardous, toxic and regulated wastes landfilling? Asbestos,
which is imbedded in 5,000 matrices, permeates our environment and when removed
is extremely space consuming when landfilled, provides perpetual liability to
its owner and can be of no benefit to after landfill reuse. One cannot build
over the asbestos cell in a landfill in fear of disturbing the asbestos and
contaminating the neighborhood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Because most of these hazardous, toxic and regulated wastes
are in industry’s facilities, it is up to industry to seek out, find, and invest
in research to create new technologies to solve the hazardous waste problem or
use existing technologies to rid their facility and our environment of these
hazardous wastes. We cannot keep sending them to the landfill where they will
create unstable and unusable land, incalculable liability for present and
future stockholders, and could continue to poison us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To rid our environment of these hazardous waste is a major
challenge to industry that can only be solved with investment in technologies
that provide sustainability to our environment. In order to do this, industry
must first admit that they have these hazardous materials in their facilities.
Then address the problems in the most environmentally friendly and sustainable
way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Industry is in business to create jobs and turn a profit.
Industry is also in business for the long haul and the long haul must be
profitable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Land preservation, recycling, eliminating landfilling of
hazardous wastes all lead to sustainability, which is our future. Sustainability
leads to the long haul by allowing profits to continue well into the future,
creating jobs and making better lives. The use of and investment in
technologies that eliminates and reduces waste and hazards in our environment
are of utmost importance to develop and achieve as close to zero waste as
possible. Without waste treatment technologies that provide sustainability,
there will be no environment in our future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-87630267164725225352011-10-11T09:25:00.000-07:002011-10-11T09:25:22.405-07:00Are We Good Physicians of Our Environment?<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong>By Tony Nocito and Tiluna Nocito</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">In ancient <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">China</country-region></place> a physician, who had two brothers, also physicians, was asked by a lord, which of you is the most skilled in the art of healing? Why my oldest brother of course. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">The lord asked why he is the most skilled. Because he sees illness before it happens and cures it, therefore no one knows of him.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">And your second oldest brother, how does he cure illness? He cures illness when it is still small and has not left the neighborhood. Therefore he is only known only by our neighbors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">And you, the lord asked? I treat illness when it is advanced so all know of me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">As the first paragraph depicts, the brother who cures illness before it happens is the superior physician and as the last paragraph depicts, the brother who treats illness when it is advanced, is well known. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today, our environmental awareness and conciseness to save our earth, therefore saving ourselves, are diligently, and as financially possible, moving in the direction of the first brother who treats illness before it happens. Illness, for this blog, is the metaphor for environmental waste and pollution. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Industry, over the past two centuries, has created negative externality, which they have become cognizant of over the past 30± years<span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span> Industry was the “classic</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> example of a negative externality: pollution, generated by some productive enterprise, and affecting others who had no choice and were probably not taken into account” (about.com)</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">.</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">For its own gain, industry has used substances that were known carcinogens, asbestos being the most widely used, known and publicized, sickening and killing multitudes who have worked in industry or government that used asbestos in their products. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">The use of asbestos has caused one of the greatest world wide industrial tragedies in all of history.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Asbestos has polluted entire towns through mining the six minerals, subsequently using these asbestos minerals in over 5,000 asbestos containing products around the world. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">The polluters are well known. They have allowed the advanced pollution to get out of the house and out of the neighborhood, becoming infamous to all; costing them billions of dollars in revenues, i.e. bankruptcy lawyers, legal fees to defend lawsuit and large cash settlements, as well as causing a negative impact on their image and the products they manufacture. They have tied up the courts and have caused high-cost medical expenses paid for, by guess who, the Tax Payer. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is not only true with asbestos, but many other pollutants that would require more than this page to list.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">The polluters are the older brothers who are now trying to cure the illness (pollution) after it has left the neighborhood.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">We, as a society, are starting to drive ourselves towards the first brother’s philosophy: cure the illness before it happens. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">How are we doing this? Through sustainable thinking and sustainable action, sustainable industrial production, renewable energy, positive use of closed landfills, i.e. methane gas recapture, wind farm placement, setting up solar panels on closed landfills, waste to energy facilities being built where a landfill stood, land conservation, food composting, practicing the 3Rs, recycle, reuse and reduce, constantly striving for zero waste, and all growing from our understanding and necessity that we must save ourselves and our planet, yes must.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">We are working to undo something that has taken well over two centuries to create, slowly working ourselves into being the middle brother, industry is striving for zero waste from production of their products, our recycling, waste treatment and conservation efforts are preventing less waste not to leave the neighborhood. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I watched a documentary film produced by Sage Environmental, which makes a solid case that everything is recyclable and that it is up to us to emphasize and implement recycling. The film starts by making the statement: everything in nature is recycled; emphasizing examples that nature recycles itself, and that with a conscious effort we can do the same.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">In this mix of environmental problems our population is growing and our need for space is expanding, leaving less and less of earth’s area to put trash that no one wants in their back yard.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">We are making tremendous progress in dealing with waste. We are making tremendous progress in our recycling and conservation efforts. Recycle, reduce and reuse is the natural solution to our waste problems.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">If we think of recycling as the seatbelt of our planet, we will become more and more aware of the benefits for us and our environment. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Think about it, when seat belt regulations were implemented, most thought it would be a hassle to buckle up. But once we started to use the seatbelt, it became consciously impossible to first buckle up; then drive off. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">THINK: every time we begin to discard something we ask ourselves--- can I or someone use this again? The answer should be yes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Industry is becoming very aware of sustainability and the reuse of waste from production, as well as the importance of land conservation. Many are announcing their ability to create zero waste. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">We support their efforts to conserve by buying their products.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">But what about the wastes that makes us ill, like asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs, heavy metals, chromium, lead, and other environmental pollutants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do we constructively take them out of our environment? ---- One word: Technology.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Treatment of advanced illness takes research and development of new medicines and implementation of technology.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Commitment by industry that has the problems of harmful and lethal environmental pollutants in their factories, facilities, landfills and Superfund Sites should utilize existing technologies and through research and development create new technologies. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">This will be the only way industry will become the first doctor. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">The positive image using technology to rid our environment of hazardous pollutants will make them the most skilled and they will only be known by efforts of good sustainable- environmental practices of preventing future illness before it happens.</span></div><br />
</span>Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-38589851450845687512011-08-23T08:26:00.002-07:002011-08-23T08:32:22.262-07:00The Asbestos Business is Booming – But from the Wrong End <style>
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</style><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I eat dinner somewhere between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. most nights.<br />
<br />
Burned out from starting my Blackberry at 6 a.m. and shutting it down at 12 a.m., as well as sitting in front of the computer all day, I do workout, important for everyone to do, and I do speak with my wife, also important, but I tend to watch brainless television while I eat, as well as keep my Blackberry turned on.<br />
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I switched channels hoping to see a good movie on HBO, which usually has the same old movies that run for months at a high price. I usually look for a movie to take my mind off my business. When I switched to the first HBO channel it was airing an HBO Documentary series Mann vs. Ford, Mann being Mr. Wayne Mann of the Ramapough American Native Tribe, and of course, Ford being the Ford Motor company.<br />
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This series is related to my business, the business of treating hazardous waste to a non-hazardous material. Being the workaholic and craver for more knowledge, I watched the documentary to see if I could learn anything new about hazardous waste.<br />
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The documentary’s premise: that Ford was liable for the short life span of the Ramapough people; that dumping of paint toxic sludge was the cause of a cancer cluster in the surrounding area; Ford dumped the toxic paint sludge in the abandon mines and mountains of Ringwood, New Jersey where the Ramapough live.<br />
The documentary goes on to show the history of the dumping, the suffering, poverty and constant fight of the Ramapough to rid the area of the toxic paint sludge.<br />
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When Ford closed its facility in Mahwah, NJ, Ford graciously donated the land for low-income housing to be built for the Ramapough.<br />
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With this donation, <strong>the taxpayer</strong> gave Ford a huge tax deduction.<br />
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When the Ringwood site became a Superfund site, again, <strong>the taxpayer</strong>, paid for the clean-up, in this case not once, but twice with long-term costs for monitoring the site, which means <strong>the taxpayer</strong> paid twice for the clean-up and continues to pay for the monitoring.<br />
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The lead paint’s attorney in the documentary is Ms.Vicki Gilliam.<br />
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Ms. Gilliam takes us to site of the cancer cluster to personally meet the residents and to point out the poverty and pain of the Ramapough.<br />
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Then, somewhere in the middle of the documentary we get the pain and suffering of Ms. Gilliam, how she was poor growing up on a farm, got married at a young age and had a child while still a teenager. Then her husband left her, she had to live in a trailer, but she was determined to become a lawyer. I am not sure what this portion of the documentary had to do with the Ramapough, because Ms. Gilliam didn’t know them while growing up or while becoming a lawyer.<br />
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Lawyers who take on the lucrative environmental cancer and illness cases know that the fees will be high and that they will be there when they finish, no matter how much they win for their clients. Ms. Gilliam stated that legal fees would cost more than a million, possibly two million before the case was over.<br />
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My favorite scene, while showing the devastation of the Ramapough in this cancer cluster, takes place in an upscale restaurant at a meal with the lawyers, a consulting doctor and an environmental consultant drinking red wine and bottled sparkling water while discussing the Ramapough case. Of course the meal was tax deductible, charged to the Ramapough account, and partially paid for by <strong>the taxpayer.</strong><br />
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Then we cut to the court and the Judge all paid for by <strong>the taxpayer.</strong><br />
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The judge was adamant about not making this a long and drawn out trial.<br />
<br />
In the end it was settled, Ford claimed no wrong doing and said that it was legal to dump at the time that it used the site as a landfill.<br />
<br />
The total dollar settlement was $11,000,000. 00, less than carry-around pocket change for Ford. The monies paid to the plaintiffs ranged from the lowest $700.00 to the highest $34,000,000.00, a very small amount to pay for good health, something no amount of money can buy.<br />
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The lawyers, I would guess, got closer to the million to two million dollar mark and some good meals.<br />
Now take the above law suit and times it by millions of cases with much larger settlements around the world, specifically asbestos cancer cases.<br />
<br />
According to the Buffalo News, Ford paid a chemist with mesothelioma who worked for Durez Plastics with a machine manufactured by Ford that filed and ground brake shoes. Mr. Ginter won a $2.5 million settlement of which Ford paid 15%, or $375,000.00.<br />
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When asbestos containing materials are removed from our built environment we send it to another built environment, a landfill.<br />
<br />
Today it is legal to dump asbestos containing material in a landfill, with two caveats: by law the asbestos containing materials sent to a landfill must have the original owner of the asbestos containing material’s name on the bag it is put in when removed and on manifest this way the lawyers will know who to sue, because there is a sign posted on the landfill that warns of the dangers of asbestos, which indicates that asbestos, although dumped in a legal landfill, can still cause health problems.<br />
<br />
We all see the lawyers on television advertising: “if you have been exposed to asbestos, call us.”<br />
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We are in the awareness stage of recycling and the scarcity of landfill space.<br />
<br />
We are in the awareness stage of toxic material dumping and the consequences of families suffering with illness and loss of loved ones.<br />
<br />
We need to start permanently ridding our built environment of toxic materials, like asbestos, and at the same time reduce landfill storage.<br />
<br />
There is no price big enough to pay for good health, no matter how good your lawyer is.<br />
<br />
And so it goes with hazardous waste, especially asbestos. </span>Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-30683567249933397292011-08-23T08:26:00.000-07:002011-08-23T08:29:44.271-07:00The Asbestos Debacle<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Society and industry are diligently working to find better solutions through waste</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">reduction, recycling and reuse, but what is the plan for hazardous materials, such as</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">asbestos, in buildings and property?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Known as the miracle mineral, asbestos was used for its resiliency against chemical</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">attack and its excellent tensile strength and superior fire-proofing characteristics. The</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">material was used in 3,000 to 5,000 products from the early 1800s through the 1970s.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Recognizing the effects of asbestos on human health, the U.S. Public Health Service</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">recommended guidelines on asbestos exposure as early as 1938.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The start of World War II accelerated the expansion of existing military bases, building</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">new bases and government facilities, and amplified shipbuilding, all of which used</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">asbestos. The government also bought and stored raw asbestos in silos around the country, in case it became unavailable.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Obviously, Public Health Service recommendations were ignored then and many years</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">into the future.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Ubiquitous, asbestos containing materials (ACM) were installed in American factories,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">electric utilities and generating plants, schools, homes, and process industry during the</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">20th century, causing about than 4,000 deaths a year in the United States, making asbestos exposure the deadliest industrial tragedy in American history.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The U.S. EPA says an estimated 27 million people were exposed to asbestos in the</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">workplace between the years of 1940 though the 1970s. As long as asbestos is in the built</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">environment, the exposure will continue.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Asbestos remains one of the costliest environmental challenges facing the United States. Because it was so widely used and permeates our environment, asbestos continues to cost</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">millions of dollars a year for remediation, millions in medical and legal expenses</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">resulting from asbestosis and Mesothelioma, and multi-millions of dollars to American</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">industry and government related to regulatory enforcement and compliance. The tiny</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">fibers also have resulted in a record number of corporate bankruptcies. All these costs</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">have been borne by the taxpayers, who have had no relief.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">A worker removing asbestos from buildings must protect against inhaling the cancer causing fibers. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Negative externality (the theory that those who make a decision do not have to pay the</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">negative cost and effect of that decision) is the best way to describe the asbestos debacle. Companies that were aware of the dangers of asbestos early on continued to profit. Their</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">legacy includes:</div><ul style="color: black;"><li><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-family: SymbolMT; font-size: 10pt;"> </span>Superfund site cleanups as well as brownfield site grants,</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-family: SymbolMT; font-size: 10pt;"></span>U.S. courts flooded with asbestos-related litigation, and</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-family: SymbolMT; font-size: 10pt;"></span>Medical and financial costs paid by taxpayers.</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Society can abate negative externality in several ways. The producer or owner must pay</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">the costs of these hazardous material releases and inevitable cleanups or the producer</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">must pay environmental taxes, both of which negatively affect the bottom line. The best</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">approach for business is to eliminate the release before it occurs.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">(CERCLA), the law designates the owner of the site from which ACM is removed as a</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Potentially Responsible Party that is subject to strict, joint and several perpetual liability</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">that could lead to incalculable-unmitigated cleanup costs, even if the material or waste</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">was deposited before the measure was enacted.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Environmental groups have sued and won against the U.S. Environmental Protection</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Agency, requiring it to enforce Section 108(b) of CERCLA. In that section, companies</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">must prove financial assurance requirements for hazardous releases by acceptable</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">financial vehicle, such as guarantee, surety bond, stand by letter of credit, insurance, self</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">or insurance company generated, all with terms and language incorporated and approved</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">by EPA and carried out by National Enforcement Initiatives. In short, you will protect</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">your bottom line if you prove to EPA that you can pay for the cleanup of hazardous and</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">regulated waste releases years in the future. You also should be aware that EPA supports</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">the reinstatement of the environmental tax.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">By enforcing these regulations, EPA is making it cheaper to treat hazardous and regulated</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">waste onsite to end liability than to landfill, which carries perpetual-incalculable liability.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Besides CERCLA, asbestos is regulated as a solid waste under the Resource</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Conservation and Recovery Act, as a building material under the Toxic Substance</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Control Act, and as an airborne contaminant under the National Emission Standards for</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Hazardous Air Pollutants program in accordance with the Clean Air Act. The agency also</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">limits effluent discharges for asbestos fibers in water under the Clean Water Act.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The immediate costs of the regulations to a company's bottom line should drive a</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">practical and astute CEO to require his or her environmental department heads to find</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">EPA-approved environmental technologies that can eliminate hazardous and regulated</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">wastes releases once and for all. The success of this action would help alleviate the</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">regulatory burden, increase the bottom line, solidify stockholder position and steady</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">stock worth.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div>Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324094246138724062.post-31261261272751591772011-08-23T08:24:00.001-07:002011-08-23T08:35:38.711-07:00Solve CERCLA and SEC Asbestos Liability <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The regulatory whirlpool keeps turning the U.S. power industry every which way but loose.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">At the same time forward-looking industry CEOs and CFOs are challenged by the uncertainties posed by the rising tide of state and federal environmental regulatory requirements, many utilities are engaged in rear guard actions, fighting the regulatory ghosts of industry practices discontinued decades ago.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Until the latter part of the 20th century, the marriage of asbestos and the power industry seemed a match made in heaven. Because of its superior insulating properties, asbestos seemed an ideal fit for coal fired, oil fired and nuclear power plants.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Asbestos containing material (ACM) was used liberally in underground electrical feeds and power plants, to the point where distributors and generators became one of the most ACM-pervasive environments in all of American industry.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But now, asbestos haunts power distributors and generators who once embraced it. ACM's ubiquitous presence in the utility industry has forced shut-downs and work stoppages, increased costs, regulatory scrutiny, employee asbestos related illness, and thousands of law suits, vexing an industry already bedeviled by the lack of public consensus about what's environmentally acceptable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Asbestos may be a utility owner's worst nightmare, but in its heyday, asbestos was a miracle product of American industry. Plentiful and pliable, asbestos provided tensile strength and withstood high heat, and enjoyed nearly 5,000 industrial applications, across the board.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Boilers, turbines, generators and underground cables were assembled and insulated with ACM. In a typical power plant, asbestos not only lined miles of pipes, boilers and electrical wiring, but also was used as fire-proof roofing and flooring, and installed in walls. Since insulation and gaskets were often fitted to specific areas, asbestos dust and particles were released during repairs and renovations, especially when working with friable ACM.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Asbestos fell from favor during the 1970s on news it was carcinogenic. Congress soon moved to give ACM abatement efforts the force of law, enacting legislation governing the handling and disposal of ACM which in turn gave birth to the asbestos abatement industry.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In 1980, Congress passed The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and in 1986 revised it as the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Under this legislation, owners of sites containing ACM that was removed and shipped to a landfill for storage became a "potentially responsible party" (PRP), subject to "strict, joint and several" liability that potentially result in incalculable future cleanup costs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">CERCLA and SARA further mandate that liability can be imposed on PRPs regardless of whether such parties were negligent, environmentally compliant, or participated in or benefitted from handling ACM. Additionally, CERCLA calls for treatment of hazardous substances, to reduce volume, mobility and toxicity.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Even as demand for power continues to rise, the industry is weighted down by asbestos-related factors that are costly and disruptive.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Despite all the steps generators take to comply with their regulatory burden, the issue of present and retroactive liability lives on to haunt them, providing a living for lawyers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Utilities and others who used ACM as insulation are now unable to insure themselves against exposure claims and CERCLA responsibilities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) required environmental accounting principles further add to the bottom line concerns of the utility industry.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In March 2005, a Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Financial Accounting Standards (FAS) clarification raised the bar for hazardous and regulated waste generators and others by requiring the industry to account more fully for its environmental liabilities -- i.e., asbestos abatement costs -- associated with the future retirement of fixed assets and asbestos storage in a landfill.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rather than waiting until the asset is sold or retired to estimate and recognize the costs of addressing embedded environmental liabilities, FASB financial interpretation No. 47 takes a sooner, not later, approach.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Under FIN 47, the cost of abatement generally cannot be deferred indefinitely, nor avoided by selling the asset.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">FIN 47 didn't just narrow the range of industry accounting practices -- it has emerged as a diligence issue in financial transactions that can affect closure. Compliance demonstrates the extent to which companies have good environmental-accounting systems in place, and proves a company is proactively dealing with and accounting for embedded environmental liabilities, which spins off good public relations and adds value.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">FASB 143 applies to "legal obligations" associated with retirement of tangible long-lived assets. FAS 5 and Statement of Position (SOP) 96-1 address hazardous contamination, whether in a facility or landfill. All hazardous waste liabilities require CERCLA enforcement and must be reported on the balance sheet of a public company.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Asbestos is extremely resilient, defies most attempts to destroy it, and takes many decades to degrade naturally. Today, as in years past, the asbestos abatement industry's prevailing modus operandi is to warehouse ACM in landfills. ACM is double bagged in 6 mil plastic, then loaded and enclosed for transport, and finally deposited into a landfill for storage, where it is covered with a six-inch layer of non-asbestos material.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Further liability problems can occur when bags break and asbestos fibers become airborne or migrate into the water table, or the landfill becomes a Superfund site.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Consolidated Edison of New York (Con Ed) ran afoul of regulators during the 1980s when company employee's informed authorities that ACM was mishandled on numerous occasions during removal and transport operations. Adding to Con Ed's woes was a steam pipe explosion in Gramercy Park, N.Y. that killed two workers and contaminated apartment units, setting in motion a far-ranging federal investigation that concluded when Con Ed became the first utility to be placed on federal probation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It has become increasingly important for the CEO and CFO to insure environmental and financial sustainability to their stockholders, employees, and customers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Under CERCLA, for instance, generators responsible for small percentages of site waste may be held liable for the entire costs of site remediation, a burden which frequently falls on the PRP with the deepest pockets, such as utilities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The ideal solution is to meet SEC and CERCLA requirements by treating asbestos and other hazardous waste on site, preventing further contamination and stopping future liability.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On-site treatment eliminates protests and community concerns about the transport of asbestos and hazardous waste through neighborhoods.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cost effective on-site technology development for hazardous and regulated wastes treatment must become our way of life. Landfills are already over burdened and expanding them is increasingly difficult. What little land is left must be preserved.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The sustainability movement is here to stay. Companies that proactively deal with their environmental problems are the winners.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Tony Nocitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878914412480330687noreply@blogger.com0