Monitoring Potential Soil Contamination Is Cheap, Easy And Makes Good Business Sense.
Between provincial regulations and new, relatively inexpensive technology, there is neither a reason nor an excuse not to be testing for soil contamination frequently.
– by Isaac Rudik
Farmers have known for centuries that crops won’t grow in contaminated soil. Likewise, engineers have known for at least a quarter-century or longer that contaminated soil can make a plant – a manufacturing plant, that is – unusable.
Yet far too few factories, warehouses and similar businesses bother testing to see whether they are contaminating the land around their facility. Frequently, the stated reason for this is that it’s either “too complicated” or “too expensive.” But as countless companies have learned the hard way, it is much more complex and costly to clean up soil contamination than it is to monitor it regularly.
Indeed, between provincial regulations and new, relatively inexpensive technology, there is neither a reason nor an excuse not to be testing for soil contamination frequently.
The Gong Show
Early last year, the three owners of a mid-sized manufacturing company not far from Toronto were surprised when pollution inspectors from the province showed up to sample the soil around their facility, which is located in a semi-rural area. Two days later, the owners were stunned when they were served with a sworn complaint that discharge from their factory was seeping into the soil and, eventually, ground water.
The inspection and grievance was prompted by calls to the Ministry from nearby farmers who suspected that contamination from the facility was both damaging crops and causing birth defects in livestock. To make matters worse, not only did the company not realise it was causing problems, the owners had no idea that anything in their manufacturing process was potentially harmful.
The company faced two unpleasant and hugely expensive propositions. Either it could pay for decontaminating the soil or close down; in any event, the business and its owners were facing enormous fines and possible criminal citations.
“It was like being on The Gong Show,” one of the owners told us not long ago. “No matter what we did, we were going to be rung off stage.”
In the end, the business negotiated a settlement with the province and neighbouring farmers, and assumed responsibility for part of the clean-up costs. But threatened with its very existence, the company learned an extremely costly lesson.
An Ounce Of Prevention
Whether located in an urban, semi-rural or country setting, monitoring soil contamination is critical. All companies with a potential risk should be doing so at least one a week; daily testing is even better for businesses that know they are dealing with hazardous material. Moreover, farms should also be testing frequently since agriculture has the most to gain – and lose – by knowing soil quality.
Fortunately, keeping an eye on possible contamination is easy thanks to one of the many “handy” measuring instruments that are available today.
There are four smart, simple ways of providing protection through an ounce of prevention:
· Depending on the industry, there are specific test kits available to determine the contamination level of land surrounding a plant.
· Agribusinesses may use a pH-Meter to determine whether a specific crop has the best condition to grow in a given soil.
· Both industry and agriculture should use dissolved salt meters to determine if drainage is working properly.
· Use standardized samplers to obtain a standard soil sample ensuring all tests are showing comparable results.
Today, new, rapidly emerging technology makes it increasingly easy to manage and prevent soil contamination at an affordable cost. As the Ontario manufacturer and its farm neighbours learned the hard way, testing is cheap and cleaning up a mess is awful.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s leading provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, agricultural, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Measuring Water Flow Reduces Costs And Helps Prevent Contamination.
Measuring Water Flow Reduces Costs And Helps Prevent Contamination.
Groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality: It is more widespread than realised and is cheaper to monitor than ever before.
– by Isaac Rudik
Unplug the cable or satellite cord from a television for a moment and then switch it on. A tiny fraction of the static on the screen is the remains of a radio signal that dates back to the Big Bang. Now turn on the faucet at the kitchen sink. Most of what is flowing out the tap is ground water and a tiny fraction it is nearly as old as the earth itself.
Until sometime during the 1970s, the purity and availability of ground water was taken for granted. After all, H20 has been around forever and what could possibly harm it? Much of ground water is held in aquifers buried deep beneath the surface; the rest saturates the tiny spaces between sand, gravel, silt and clay or the crevices and fractures in rocks.
But some 30 years ago, scientists were beginning to discover that man-made pollutants were seeping into ground water and, within the past five-to-10 years, academics realised to their horror that water was actually disappearing.
Clearly, groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality:
• Approximately one-third of industrial water needs are fulfilled by using groundwater.
• Scientists estimate that groundwater accounts for more than 95% of all available fresh water.
• Nearly 95% of rural residents rely on groundwater for their drinking supply.
• About half of all irrigated cropland uses groundwater.
• On average, about 40% of the flow of the nation’s rivers depends on groundwater.
Countless Threats
There are countless, serious threats to the purity of groundwater and scientists are discovering new ones on what seems like a weekly basis. They fall into one of several broad categories:
• Inorganic Compounds include all compounds that do not contain carbon. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals are two examples.
• Pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, have been credited with causing more than 50% of the waterborne disease outbreaks in the US.
• Organic Compounds include benzene, toluene, xylene, napthaline, phenol PCBs and pesticides.
They seep into ground water in numerous ways: Discharge from a pipe such as at a sewage treatment plant, factories, livestock farms and stockyards, and landfill. Point sources are easily identified because they usually come out of a "pipe." Examples include sewage treatment plants, large injection wells, industrial plants, livestock facilities, landfills, and others. At the same time, non-point sources like septic systems, cattle grazing, and everyday urban runoff spread seemingly insignificant amounts of pollutants which, cumulatively, threaten water quality and natural systems.
Other sources include underground petroleum storage systems, dry cleaners, restaurants, and auto repair shops. Although a large number of underground storage tanks have been removed or upgraded, a significant number remain. Businesses can threaten groundwater with a wide variety of potentially contaminating substances.
Easy Monitoring
It’s become relatively easy to monitor potential runoff problems, thanks to technology.
Indeed, water flow meters can measure open channels, tubes, partially filled pipes, streams, rivers, wastewater and industrial process waters among other places. Many water flow meters are designed for metering pump pacing or water treatment control, but they can aid in rain water runoff studies and sewer flow measurements, and measuring flows in bodies of water. In plumbing, water flow meters are used to measure the amount of fluid running through a tube for efficiency purposes. Industrial water flow meters are also available for larger-scale applications.
The best thing about the meters is they also provide quick information for simple flow monitoring. They are as convenient as they are lightweight, waterproof, and reliable.
Today’s new technology makes it easier to manage potential contamination and save water at affordable costs.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s leading provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, agricultural, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354
Measuring Water Flow Reduces Costs And Helps Prevent Contamination.
Measuring Water Flow Reduces Costs And Helps Prevent Contamination.
Groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality: It is more widespread than realised and is cheaper to monitor than ever before.
– by Isaac Rudik
Unplug the cable or satellite cord from a television for a moment and then switch it on. A tiny fraction of the static on the screen is the remains of a radio signal that dates back to the Big Bang. Now turn on the faucet at the kitchen sink. Most of what is flowing out the tap is ground water and a tiny fraction it is nearly as old as the earth itself.
Until sometime during the 1970s, the purity and availability of ground water was taken for granted. After all, H20 has been around forever and what could possibly harm it? Much of ground water is held in aquifers buried deep beneath the surface; the rest saturates the tiny spaces between sand, gravel, silt and clay or the crevices and fractures in rocks.
But some 30 years ago, scientists were beginning to discover that man-made pollutants were seeping into ground water and, within the past five-to-10 years, academics realised to their horror that water was actually disappearing.
Clearly, groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality:
• Approximately one-third of industrial water needs are fulfilled by using groundwater.
• Scientists estimate that groundwater accounts for more than 95% of all available fresh water.
• Nearly 95% of rural residents rely on groundwater for their drinking supply.
• About half of all irrigated cropland uses groundwater.
• On average, about 40% of the flow of the nation’s rivers depends on groundwater.
Countless Threats
There are countless, serious threats to the purity of groundwater and scientists are discovering new ones on what seems like a weekly basis. They fall into one of several broad categories:
• Inorganic Compounds include all compounds that do not contain carbon. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals are two examples.
• Pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, have been credited with causing more than 50% of the waterborne disease outbreaks in the US.
• Organic Compounds include benzene, toluene, xylene, napthaline, phenol PCBs and pesticides.
They seep into ground water in numerous ways: Discharge from a pipe such as at a sewage treatment plant, factories, livestock farms and stockyards, and landfill. Point sources are easily identified because they usually come out of a "pipe." Examples include sewage treatment plants, large injection wells, industrial plants, livestock facilities, landfills, and others. At the same time, non-point sources like septic systems, cattle grazing, and everyday urban runoff spread seemingly insignificant amounts of pollutants which, cumulatively, threaten water quality and natural systems.
Other sources include underground petroleum storage systems, dry cleaners, restaurants, and auto repair shops. Although a large number of underground storage tanks have been removed or upgraded, a significant number remain. Businesses can threaten groundwater with a wide variety of potentially contaminating substances.
Easy Monitoring
It’s become relatively easy to monitor potential runoff problems, thanks to technology.
Indeed, water flow meters can measure open channels, tubes, partially filled pipes, streams, rivers, wastewater and industrial process waters among other places. Many water flow meters are designed for metering pump pacing or water treatment control, but they can aid in rain water runoff studies and sewer flow measurements, and measuring flows in bodies of water. In plumbing, water flow meters are used to measure the amount of fluid running through a tube for efficiency purposes. Industrial water flow meters are also available for larger-scale applications.
The best thing about the meters is they also provide quick information for simple flow monitoring. They are as convenient as they are lightweight, waterproof, and reliable.
Today’s new technology makes it easier to manage potential contamination and save water at affordable costs.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s leading provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, agricultural, institutional and government facilities. E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354
Groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality: It is more widespread than realised and is cheaper to monitor than ever before.
– by Isaac Rudik
Unplug the cable or satellite cord from a television for a moment and then switch it on. A tiny fraction of the static on the screen is the remains of a radio signal that dates back to the Big Bang. Now turn on the faucet at the kitchen sink. Most of what is flowing out the tap is ground water and a tiny fraction it is nearly as old as the earth itself.
Until sometime during the 1970s, the purity and availability of ground water was taken for granted. After all, H20 has been around forever and what could possibly harm it? Much of ground water is held in aquifers buried deep beneath the surface; the rest saturates the tiny spaces between sand, gravel, silt and clay or the crevices and fractures in rocks.
But some 30 years ago, scientists were beginning to discover that man-made pollutants were seeping into ground water and, within the past five-to-10 years, academics realised to their horror that water was actually disappearing.
Clearly, groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality:
• Approximately one-third of industrial water needs are fulfilled by using groundwater.
• Scientists estimate that groundwater accounts for more than 95% of all available fresh water.
• Nearly 95% of rural residents rely on groundwater for their drinking supply.
• About half of all irrigated cropland uses groundwater.
• On average, about 40% of the flow of the nation’s rivers depends on groundwater.
Countless Threats
There are countless, serious threats to the purity of groundwater and scientists are discovering new ones on what seems like a weekly basis. They fall into one of several broad categories:
• Inorganic Compounds include all compounds that do not contain carbon. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals are two examples.
• Pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, have been credited with causing more than 50% of the waterborne disease outbreaks in the US.
• Organic Compounds include benzene, toluene, xylene, napthaline, phenol PCBs and pesticides.
They seep into ground water in numerous ways: Discharge from a pipe such as at a sewage treatment plant, factories, livestock farms and stockyards, and landfill. Point sources are easily identified because they usually come out of a "pipe." Examples include sewage treatment plants, large injection wells, industrial plants, livestock facilities, landfills, and others. At the same time, non-point sources like septic systems, cattle grazing, and everyday urban runoff spread seemingly insignificant amounts of pollutants which, cumulatively, threaten water quality and natural systems.
Other sources include underground petroleum storage systems, dry cleaners, restaurants, and auto repair shops. Although a large number of underground storage tanks have been removed or upgraded, a significant number remain. Businesses can threaten groundwater with a wide variety of potentially contaminating substances.
Easy Monitoring
It’s become relatively easy to monitor potential runoff problems, thanks to technology.
Indeed, water flow meters can measure open channels, tubes, partially filled pipes, streams, rivers, wastewater and industrial process waters among other places. Many water flow meters are designed for metering pump pacing or water treatment control, but they can aid in rain water runoff studies and sewer flow measurements, and measuring flows in bodies of water. In plumbing, water flow meters are used to measure the amount of fluid running through a tube for efficiency purposes. Industrial water flow meters are also available for larger-scale applications.
The best thing about the meters is they also provide quick information for simple flow monitoring. They are as convenient as they are lightweight, waterproof, and reliable.
Today’s new technology makes it easier to manage potential contamination and save water at affordable costs.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s leading provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, agricultural, institutional and government facilities. E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Smart Air Pollution Treatment Cuts Both Your Costs And Footprint.
Smart Air Pollution Treatment Cuts Both Your Costs And Footprint.
It’s hard to grasp the idea of an entire planet undergoing climate change. Yet it is easy to understand the idea that one factory can make simple changes that result in significant cost savings and make the business environmentally friendly.
– By Isaac Rudik
With the new Obama Administration in Washington poised to push for tougher global standards for reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, and boosting energy efficiency, even Canada’s reluctant Harper government is likely to be nudged into becoming more aggressive in acting to cut the risk of climate changes.
But the fact is that even without a new Kyoto-like treaty or tougher laws and regulations, it makes more business sense than ever for companies to review their own air pollution issues because they are key factors in boosting – or cutting – the efficiency of a plant.
Indeed, everything from the handling of air inside a factory to drying, heating, cooling, process control, and combustion all are key factors that flow straight through to the bottom line of a business. Maximizing the performance of your equipment reduces energy needs which will mean both lower costs and a much smaller environmental footprint.
Sustainable Means Profitable
Despite another recent round of articles and speeches downplaying the importance or impact of climate change based on “phoney science,” the fact is that more than 3,000 of the world’s best, unbiased, scientific minds stated conclusively in a series of UN reports that global warming is happening – and faster than anyone previously thought.
But it’s hard to grasp the idea of an entire planet undergoing climate change; it’s too vast a concept for most people. Yet it is easy to grapple with the notion that one factory can make simple changes that result in significant cost savings while making the business “sustainable,” in the language of green, as it reduces its environmental impact on the entire globe.
Protecting the environment saves money and hassle.
Optimizing air flow, implementing secondary heat recovery systems using heat exchangers, and improving plant heating and cooling systems together deliver environmental compliance – before an inspector shows up from the ministry – and reduces operating costs at the same time.
Easy Implementation
Thanks to advancements in old systems coupled with new, lower cost technology that makes cleaning air cheaper and more effective. For example, many industrial processes move raw material or finished products on a conveyor belt through a heater or cooker. But, typically, the heater is open on both ends, creating enormous, energy robbing, heat loss.
The smart way to protect air quality typically involves three approaches:
· Provide all sources of heat – direct, indirect, or semi-indirect – with heater boxes or plenums to satisfy process-heating needs.
· Steam or either hot or chilled water can be supplied through adding waste heat boilers or absorption chillers.
· In areas where building heat is required, water or glycol systems can be installed to capture heat from the manufacturing process and used to pre-heat building air.
Like it or not, the drive to tougher environmental protection will accelerate. Companies implementing smart air quality measures now will avoid having to do so when the costs are much higher – while avoiding the wrath of environmental inspectors now.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
It’s hard to grasp the idea of an entire planet undergoing climate change. Yet it is easy to understand the idea that one factory can make simple changes that result in significant cost savings and make the business environmentally friendly.
– By Isaac Rudik
With the new Obama Administration in Washington poised to push for tougher global standards for reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, and boosting energy efficiency, even Canada’s reluctant Harper government is likely to be nudged into becoming more aggressive in acting to cut the risk of climate changes.
But the fact is that even without a new Kyoto-like treaty or tougher laws and regulations, it makes more business sense than ever for companies to review their own air pollution issues because they are key factors in boosting – or cutting – the efficiency of a plant.
Indeed, everything from the handling of air inside a factory to drying, heating, cooling, process control, and combustion all are key factors that flow straight through to the bottom line of a business. Maximizing the performance of your equipment reduces energy needs which will mean both lower costs and a much smaller environmental footprint.
Sustainable Means Profitable
Despite another recent round of articles and speeches downplaying the importance or impact of climate change based on “phoney science,” the fact is that more than 3,000 of the world’s best, unbiased, scientific minds stated conclusively in a series of UN reports that global warming is happening – and faster than anyone previously thought.
But it’s hard to grasp the idea of an entire planet undergoing climate change; it’s too vast a concept for most people. Yet it is easy to grapple with the notion that one factory can make simple changes that result in significant cost savings while making the business “sustainable,” in the language of green, as it reduces its environmental impact on the entire globe.
Protecting the environment saves money and hassle.
Optimizing air flow, implementing secondary heat recovery systems using heat exchangers, and improving plant heating and cooling systems together deliver environmental compliance – before an inspector shows up from the ministry – and reduces operating costs at the same time.
Easy Implementation
Thanks to advancements in old systems coupled with new, lower cost technology that makes cleaning air cheaper and more effective. For example, many industrial processes move raw material or finished products on a conveyor belt through a heater or cooker. But, typically, the heater is open on both ends, creating enormous, energy robbing, heat loss.
The smart way to protect air quality typically involves three approaches:
· Provide all sources of heat – direct, indirect, or semi-indirect – with heater boxes or plenums to satisfy process-heating needs.
· Steam or either hot or chilled water can be supplied through adding waste heat boilers or absorption chillers.
· In areas where building heat is required, water or glycol systems can be installed to capture heat from the manufacturing process and used to pre-heat building air.
Like it or not, the drive to tougher environmental protection will accelerate. Companies implementing smart air quality measures now will avoid having to do so when the costs are much higher – while avoiding the wrath of environmental inspectors now.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A New Meaning To “Silent But Deadly”
A New Meaning To “Silent But Deadly”
Working in confined spaces increases the danger to workers of breathing contaminated air. But there’s no longer an excuse not to see a hidden, silent danger.
– by Isaac Rudik
Recently, Javier del Rio was cleaning an empty tank used to store flaxseed oil. When he lost consciousness, a co-worker jumped in to save him. He also lost consciousness and both men were asphyxiated.
According to investigators, argon gas was pumped into the tank to drive out oxygen when it was filled with oil. Once the tank was empty for cleaning, oxygen was pumped back into it and vents were opened to remove the argon. But some of the argon gas – which is heavier than oxygen – lurked at the bottom of the tank, displacing fresh air del Rio and his colleague needed to breathe.
Government regulations mandate that employees be protected properly against numerous hazards, including breathing noxious gas. And monitoring the workplace for air quality has never been easier. New and emerging technology makes doing so not only more effective but far less costly than even a few years ago, removing an excuse companies hid behind for decades when caught.
With courts imposing hefty fines on companies, and awarding record sums to employees injured after breathing contaminated air, there is new meaning to the old warning “silent but deadly” when referring to bad air.
Don’t Assume
Most people put their faith in knowing they will breathe good air, whether indoors or in a confined space such as the workplace. Not unreasonably, they assume someone is checking for the safety of the air they are breathing.
When someone doesn’t do their job, or there is an undetected leak, the results are disastrous.
Air – whether life sustaining or deadly – is usually colourless, odourless and tasteless. As a result, many gases are infused with an additive to create an aroma. That’s why when someone calls 911 to report smelling gas in their home, what they smell isn’t the gas but the additive designed to alert to a leak or contamination.
The atmosphere in a confined work space may seem like any other. But because many industrial gases have no odour additive, companies can never assume that all is safe.
Confined spaces on a shop floor have fooled scores of injured or killed workers every year after they assumed somebody checked for air quality. But the worst thing for a worker to do is to or “follow their nose,” guessing that since the air smelled alright it was safe to enter. But air may look and smell safe but be filled with enough toxic contaminants to kill anyone breathing it in, especially in an enclosed area.
Smart Prevention
As with every other workplace safety issue, prevention is easier – and far less costly – than fixing a problem.
The best approach is to issue workers who might be at risk with personal multi-gas monitors which monitor air quality continuously as an employee goes about their job, whether at their work station or if moving around the plant. A second option is a “confined space monitor” designed to be used only in small, high risk areas of the factory.
Typically, these devices offer multiple warnings to the worker wearing one: A loud sound warning such as a 95db beeping or horn, a warning light and a vibrating pulse in case the wearer misses either of the other two alerts. At least one of the three should grab a worker’s attention, following the old saw about “if at first you don’t get noticed, keep trying ‘til you do.”
It’s always best to find smart ways to prevent fumes from causing an injury. But, in many cases, fumes are part of the process. Ensuring that workers are alerted now to noxious air before they’re injured helps make certain that your plant won’t be victimised by an incident that could have been prevented.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Working in confined spaces increases the danger to workers of breathing contaminated air. But there’s no longer an excuse not to see a hidden, silent danger.
– by Isaac Rudik
Recently, Javier del Rio was cleaning an empty tank used to store flaxseed oil. When he lost consciousness, a co-worker jumped in to save him. He also lost consciousness and both men were asphyxiated.
According to investigators, argon gas was pumped into the tank to drive out oxygen when it was filled with oil. Once the tank was empty for cleaning, oxygen was pumped back into it and vents were opened to remove the argon. But some of the argon gas – which is heavier than oxygen – lurked at the bottom of the tank, displacing fresh air del Rio and his colleague needed to breathe.
Government regulations mandate that employees be protected properly against numerous hazards, including breathing noxious gas. And monitoring the workplace for air quality has never been easier. New and emerging technology makes doing so not only more effective but far less costly than even a few years ago, removing an excuse companies hid behind for decades when caught.
With courts imposing hefty fines on companies, and awarding record sums to employees injured after breathing contaminated air, there is new meaning to the old warning “silent but deadly” when referring to bad air.
Don’t Assume
Most people put their faith in knowing they will breathe good air, whether indoors or in a confined space such as the workplace. Not unreasonably, they assume someone is checking for the safety of the air they are breathing.
When someone doesn’t do their job, or there is an undetected leak, the results are disastrous.
Air – whether life sustaining or deadly – is usually colourless, odourless and tasteless. As a result, many gases are infused with an additive to create an aroma. That’s why when someone calls 911 to report smelling gas in their home, what they smell isn’t the gas but the additive designed to alert to a leak or contamination.
The atmosphere in a confined work space may seem like any other. But because many industrial gases have no odour additive, companies can never assume that all is safe.
Confined spaces on a shop floor have fooled scores of injured or killed workers every year after they assumed somebody checked for air quality. But the worst thing for a worker to do is to or “follow their nose,” guessing that since the air smelled alright it was safe to enter. But air may look and smell safe but be filled with enough toxic contaminants to kill anyone breathing it in, especially in an enclosed area.
Smart Prevention
As with every other workplace safety issue, prevention is easier – and far less costly – than fixing a problem.
The best approach is to issue workers who might be at risk with personal multi-gas monitors which monitor air quality continuously as an employee goes about their job, whether at their work station or if moving around the plant. A second option is a “confined space monitor” designed to be used only in small, high risk areas of the factory.
Typically, these devices offer multiple warnings to the worker wearing one: A loud sound warning such as a 95db beeping or horn, a warning light and a vibrating pulse in case the wearer misses either of the other two alerts. At least one of the three should grab a worker’s attention, following the old saw about “if at first you don’t get noticed, keep trying ‘til you do.”
It’s always best to find smart ways to prevent fumes from causing an injury. But, in many cases, fumes are part of the process. Ensuring that workers are alerted now to noxious air before they’re injured helps make certain that your plant won’t be victimised by an incident that could have been prevented.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Contaminated Water Is More Than Just A Third World Problem
Contaminated Water Is More Than Just A Third World Problem
Even in Canada, where clean water is taken for granted, good water can turn bad and contaminate the processing line if proper precautions aren’t taken. Preventing a problem before a contaminant finds its way into food is a fraction of the cost of fixing it.
– by Isaac Rudik
Recently, a major food processor had to recall tens of thousands of contaminated packaged products. Not only did the recall, and finding and fixing the problem, cost millions of dollars, it did untold damage to the company’s reputation with consumers.
While the source of the problem in the processing line was eventually located and fixed, the issue highlights a major issue every business dealing with food for human consumption faces: Ensuring that contamination from one of dozens of potential trouble spots doesn’t creep into products that people eat.
Even in Canada, where clean water is taken for granted, it’s possible that what starts out as potable can become contaminated, affecting everything from fruits and vegetables to meat processing and harvested grains – and companies that process the products through to the people who consume them.
No Wiggle Room
Ensuring clean water and safe products that use water in processing is a fundamental obligation of government in Canada and other developed nations. Thus, the law leaves no wiggle room for businesses that allow water to become tainted and contaminate food, whether through sloppy procedures at a plant or just by accident.
At its most basic, the Canadian Food Inspection System requires that raw materials and ingredients are cleaned, sorted and prepared in a way that prevents contamination. In handling food, water – used for everything from washing fruit to cleaning machinery – can become tainted easily as microbes, bacteria and other pollutants are transmitted in one of countless ways. And when a food processor runs afoul of the law, penalties are fast, stiff and public.
At a minimum, fines for violations can begin as high as $60,000 per incident – and rise from there. If the government finds the cause is negligence, criminal charges may be brought against the business, its executives and key employees. Generally, expensive consultants and expensive lab work are needed to locate and remedy the cause of the contamination, and product recalls extract a high dollar cost.
Meanwhile, the company suffers enormous damage to its reputation.
Any time a food product is recalled, it attracts big headlines and extensive coverage on television and radio newscasts. The company must launch a far-reaching advertising and public relations campaign, first to alert distributors, retailers and consumers and then to reassure its customers that not only is every effort being made to ensure the problem doesn’t happen again but the steps it is taking to win back consumer confidence.
Indeed, one Harvard Business School study shows that even for a food processing company with an unblemished record of more than a century of providing safe food, it can up to two years to win back customers after a recall. Along the way, sales, margins and profits are adversely affected.
Easy Prevention
Yet it is relatively easy to prevent water used in food processing from becoming contaminated.
Preventing exposure to contaminated water reduces day-to-day operating costs, and can improve profitability along the way. So-called Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in the form of full body suits that include a hood, a full face shield, goggles or a mask that forms a tight bond around the mouth and nose plus shoe covers sounds complicated but is easy to wear and inexpensive to purchase.
For example, a supplier such as CSC carries such safety wear starting as inexpensively as $180 per suit. Moreover, the cost of PPE is more than offset by its positive effect on production time and the quality of work as well as keeping not just the processing line safe from contaminants but also workers. In fact, often overlooked in a contamination-caused recall are work related injuries or sickness that arises when a worker becomes exposed to a contaminant.
The problems of contaminated water are not just an issue in third world countries. Even in Canada, it’s easy for H20 to become tainted, affecting food production, consumer confidence, and sales and profits. But it’s easier – and far less costly – to prevent a problem from arising in the first place.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Even in Canada, where clean water is taken for granted, good water can turn bad and contaminate the processing line if proper precautions aren’t taken. Preventing a problem before a contaminant finds its way into food is a fraction of the cost of fixing it.
– by Isaac Rudik
Recently, a major food processor had to recall tens of thousands of contaminated packaged products. Not only did the recall, and finding and fixing the problem, cost millions of dollars, it did untold damage to the company’s reputation with consumers.
While the source of the problem in the processing line was eventually located and fixed, the issue highlights a major issue every business dealing with food for human consumption faces: Ensuring that contamination from one of dozens of potential trouble spots doesn’t creep into products that people eat.
Even in Canada, where clean water is taken for granted, it’s possible that what starts out as potable can become contaminated, affecting everything from fruits and vegetables to meat processing and harvested grains – and companies that process the products through to the people who consume them.
No Wiggle Room
Ensuring clean water and safe products that use water in processing is a fundamental obligation of government in Canada and other developed nations. Thus, the law leaves no wiggle room for businesses that allow water to become tainted and contaminate food, whether through sloppy procedures at a plant or just by accident.
At its most basic, the Canadian Food Inspection System requires that raw materials and ingredients are cleaned, sorted and prepared in a way that prevents contamination. In handling food, water – used for everything from washing fruit to cleaning machinery – can become tainted easily as microbes, bacteria and other pollutants are transmitted in one of countless ways. And when a food processor runs afoul of the law, penalties are fast, stiff and public.
At a minimum, fines for violations can begin as high as $60,000 per incident – and rise from there. If the government finds the cause is negligence, criminal charges may be brought against the business, its executives and key employees. Generally, expensive consultants and expensive lab work are needed to locate and remedy the cause of the contamination, and product recalls extract a high dollar cost.
Meanwhile, the company suffers enormous damage to its reputation.
Any time a food product is recalled, it attracts big headlines and extensive coverage on television and radio newscasts. The company must launch a far-reaching advertising and public relations campaign, first to alert distributors, retailers and consumers and then to reassure its customers that not only is every effort being made to ensure the problem doesn’t happen again but the steps it is taking to win back consumer confidence.
Indeed, one Harvard Business School study shows that even for a food processing company with an unblemished record of more than a century of providing safe food, it can up to two years to win back customers after a recall. Along the way, sales, margins and profits are adversely affected.
Easy Prevention
Yet it is relatively easy to prevent water used in food processing from becoming contaminated.
Preventing exposure to contaminated water reduces day-to-day operating costs, and can improve profitability along the way. So-called Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in the form of full body suits that include a hood, a full face shield, goggles or a mask that forms a tight bond around the mouth and nose plus shoe covers sounds complicated but is easy to wear and inexpensive to purchase.
For example, a supplier such as CSC carries such safety wear starting as inexpensively as $180 per suit. Moreover, the cost of PPE is more than offset by its positive effect on production time and the quality of work as well as keeping not just the processing line safe from contaminants but also workers. In fact, often overlooked in a contamination-caused recall are work related injuries or sickness that arises when a worker becomes exposed to a contaminant.
The problems of contaminated water are not just an issue in third world countries. Even in Canada, it’s easy for H20 to become tainted, affecting food production, consumer confidence, and sales and profits. But it’s easier – and far less costly – to prevent a problem from arising in the first place.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Serious Spillover Of Toxic Spills
The Serious Spillover Of Toxic Spills
Business executives and owners can pay a stiff personal and financial price for not taking steps to prevent toxic spills coming from their business. Since prevention costs a fraction of the price, it’s silly not to be proactive.
– by Isaac Rudik
Not long ago, the owner and president of a small company in Belleville, Ontario was found guilty of discharging PCB-contaminated sediment into the environment from his factory. Not only was he held responsible for the spill, a court found that he failed to comply with a provincial order to clean up the site. The man was fined $659,000 and sent to prison for four months.
That’s an expensive personal and financial price for anyone to pay for something that could have been prevented in the first place – at a fraction of the cost and without anyone being locked up. How much less costly? The price of one salvage drum for storing toxic material such as PCB-contaminated sediment is $264.
Indeed, Ontario’s Ministry of Environment is pushing for tougher penalties as it raises fines and hires more inspectors to enforce the Environmental Protection Act. For companies with a potential exposure, the time to deal with a problem is before it happens: To borrow a phrase and adapt it to today’s cleaner, greener world, $264 worth of prevention is worth a lot more than $659,000 of cure.
Heavy Costs
Even without the stiff fine and jail time handed down to the Belleville businessman, the cost of cleaning up a spill and preventing another one is high.
Simply removing the toxins after-the-fact is an expensive proposition. A consultant will be needed to assess the damage and create a clean-up implementation plan. Specialists will be needed for the actual clean-up and removal. Transporting and disposing of toxic waste once it has been let loose in an uncontrolled way is as expensive as it is time-consuming and dangerous.
Moreover, if the toxins spread into the atmosphere, ground water or property beyond the site of the actual spill, the negligent company is likely to face enormous legal bills for negotiating settlements with municipalities, regions, the province and adjoining businesses or homes. If the accident causes injury or death, the resulting lawsuits might make the rest of the costs seem like lunch money by comparison.
While some of the cost of a first accident may be covered by insurance, one toxic discharge will mean that either insurance is no longer available or the premiums are so steep a business cannot afford them.
Proactive Solutions
Every business dealing with toxic materials is under a number of serious legal obligations. The law says that companies having control over a pollutant that spills must notify the ministry within a short period of time; more to the point, it must also implement a program to eliminate, fix and prevent the negative effects of the accident on the environment, restoring it to the condition it was in before the damage.
There is a smart way to prevent damaging the environment – and the business.
The easiest, and the one that is cost-effective for many locations, is a simple spill kit. They are available for use inside a facility as well as outdoor locations. A supplier such as CSC can provide these as well as specialised spill kits for vehicles. Spill containment systems are placed under barrels and other containers of all sizes carrying substances that are harmful to the environment.
Preventing spills is a much less expensive than cleaning up a site. As the Belleville company and its president learned too late, $264 worth of prevention is worth a lot more than $659,000 of cure.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of providing health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities. E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Business executives and owners can pay a stiff personal and financial price for not taking steps to prevent toxic spills coming from their business. Since prevention costs a fraction of the price, it’s silly not to be proactive.
– by Isaac Rudik
Not long ago, the owner and president of a small company in Belleville, Ontario was found guilty of discharging PCB-contaminated sediment into the environment from his factory. Not only was he held responsible for the spill, a court found that he failed to comply with a provincial order to clean up the site. The man was fined $659,000 and sent to prison for four months.
That’s an expensive personal and financial price for anyone to pay for something that could have been prevented in the first place – at a fraction of the cost and without anyone being locked up. How much less costly? The price of one salvage drum for storing toxic material such as PCB-contaminated sediment is $264.
Indeed, Ontario’s Ministry of Environment is pushing for tougher penalties as it raises fines and hires more inspectors to enforce the Environmental Protection Act. For companies with a potential exposure, the time to deal with a problem is before it happens: To borrow a phrase and adapt it to today’s cleaner, greener world, $264 worth of prevention is worth a lot more than $659,000 of cure.
Heavy Costs
Even without the stiff fine and jail time handed down to the Belleville businessman, the cost of cleaning up a spill and preventing another one is high.
Simply removing the toxins after-the-fact is an expensive proposition. A consultant will be needed to assess the damage and create a clean-up implementation plan. Specialists will be needed for the actual clean-up and removal. Transporting and disposing of toxic waste once it has been let loose in an uncontrolled way is as expensive as it is time-consuming and dangerous.
Moreover, if the toxins spread into the atmosphere, ground water or property beyond the site of the actual spill, the negligent company is likely to face enormous legal bills for negotiating settlements with municipalities, regions, the province and adjoining businesses or homes. If the accident causes injury or death, the resulting lawsuits might make the rest of the costs seem like lunch money by comparison.
While some of the cost of a first accident may be covered by insurance, one toxic discharge will mean that either insurance is no longer available or the premiums are so steep a business cannot afford them.
Proactive Solutions
Every business dealing with toxic materials is under a number of serious legal obligations. The law says that companies having control over a pollutant that spills must notify the ministry within a short period of time; more to the point, it must also implement a program to eliminate, fix and prevent the negative effects of the accident on the environment, restoring it to the condition it was in before the damage.
There is a smart way to prevent damaging the environment – and the business.
The easiest, and the one that is cost-effective for many locations, is a simple spill kit. They are available for use inside a facility as well as outdoor locations. A supplier such as CSC can provide these as well as specialised spill kits for vehicles. Spill containment systems are placed under barrels and other containers of all sizes carrying substances that are harmful to the environment.
Preventing spills is a much less expensive than cleaning up a site. As the Belleville company and its president learned too late, $264 worth of prevention is worth a lot more than $659,000 of cure.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of providing health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities. E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
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