The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) has found Arsenic and Other Dangerous Pollutants contaminating groundwater and soil at 20 new coal ash dump sites. Since 2010 the EIP has identified 90 such sites. You read that right 90! (read article linked below)

There are solutions to mitigate arsenic and other pollutants. At Midwest we have been dealing with Coal Ash for more than 30 years. Here are some of the things we have learned:

• Geotechnical engineering is an essential part of coal ash storage facility design
• Parameters used for coal ash strength and stability can vary from site to site
• Industry resources are available and can make important contributions to develop solutions (Midwest and other companies have products and services specifically designed to assist with Coal Ash)

Midwest is kicking off a new campaign in 2012 themed “Regulation by Education.” Our goal is for companies and organizations to better understand the implications of the dust control products and services they are using to solve both what seems to be simple and complex challenges. The issues many organizations are having with Coal Ash is an example of how they can self-regulate and prevent dangerous arsenic and pollutants from contaminating the environment.

Read the article here.

Last month’s accident on Wetzel County’s Blake Ridge Road where a natural gas drilling truck rolled over, the third such occurrence in a week, got my attention – really got my attention. No driver error here. The problem was that a chemical that ostensibly was to makes a road safer, may have actually made it dangerous. My ire would be no less – probably more – if it were a Midwest product involved in the incident.

The bottom line is that it is time for someone to step up and bring important change to the game, and that means self regulation. The EPA has risen to the occasion in the last few years, helping to create regulations related to dust as a pollutant. But there is no regulation or industry oversight – none, zippo, zero – regarding the chemicals and their applications used to control dust. It’s 2011 and it’s still the Wild West out there!

I tasked my team to create a plan to help bring awareness and creative solutions to this critical issue so, among other things, we won’t be seeing any more incidents as we did on Blake Ridge Road. They proposed a broad-based communications effort – we are calling it Regulation by Education – to educate industry influencers and decision-makers about the questions they need to ask before committing to a dust-control solution.

Here are some questions you should have answers to before committing to a dust-control solution for roadways:

1. Is the product you are considering certified effective or environmentally safe? By which independent third parties? If so, for what has it been certified and by whom?
2. Do assessments meet ASTM and AASHTO standards?
3. Has any supplier you are considering asked for samples of your roadway materials to determine the optimal dust-control product and application treatment for your problem area?
4. Can the supplier you are considering customize a product solution for your unique needs, based upon laboratory and field testing?
5. Has your supplier done a competitive cost-per-performance comparison for three-, or five- year programs to demonstrate lifecycle cost savings?
6. Have suppliers talked to you about the short- and long-term impacts their products have on the environment?

In the absence of true regulations for product development and application, Midwest has regulated itself for more than 35 years now, a practice started because of our own concern about the environment long before such concern was trendy. We have also learned that products that are gentle on the environment can also, over the not-so-long term be gentler on our customers’ wallets.

Over the next few months Midwest’s R&D teams will help craft “self regulation recommendation” guidelines that will help assure that your project is estimated and executed with a focus on environmentally-friendly, safe products that deliver the best cost/value and have a positive impact on society and your community, not the negative impact of an overturned truck or worse!!

Contact us now if you are in the consideration phase of a project. We’ll be happy to answer the questions above – and many others – so you can make a truly informed decision about which vendor will deliver the most for you.

A recent Wall Street Journal article goes into wonderful detail on how this 60 year-old technique has revitalized our gas industry and is impacting our ability to create energy, LOCALLY. No dealing with foreign countries, no jobs overseas. Right here in our own US of A backyard.

It now accounts for 25% of our gas supply and has brought what was once $15 per million BTUs to $4.

Something to be excited about no? Well not so fast. Environmentalists and their allies have come out against hydraulic fracturing and are raising public concern. The article goes on to separate Fact from Fiction.

•  Fracking contaminates drinking water allowing chemicals to leach into water sources. And Fracking
can release methane gas into our drinking water. Read the article, both NOT TRUE.

•  Fracking releases toxic or radioactive chemicals. With 99.5% of the fluid injected into fracture rock
is water and sand. Again, NOT TRUE.

•  Fracking causes cancer. Fracking causes earthquakes. Shale exploration is unregulated.
Again all untrue.

Pollution from trucks. This however is a fact, and in the article it talks about risk vs reward. It is obvious that the author of the article, and most likely the companies that were interviewed for the research are not connected to the Dust Control Industry. We need to work with energy industry leaders and show them how we can help minimize and prevent pollution that stems from fracking with high-quality dust and road stabilization techniques that are proven and available today. The reality is our solutions did not even exists 10 years ago, so the old way of thinking needs to be transformed with our new solutions.

My personal mission, and the DNA of my company Midwest is to be an environmental steward in the area of dust control, where we can impact the safety of both air and water. As an industry we need to step up and let the environmentalists know there are wonderful solutions that can help keep and grow fracking as a preferred technique to support our energy solutions. There you have it, all fracks.

I hate to read articles like this that give the dust control industry a bad name. One of two things happened here; The developers paid for a short-term dust control solution, or the developers paid for a long-term solution but the wrong product was installed. Either way, no reason for this. Enough said..

Officials of the U.S. Geological Survey in Austin Texas told Long Island Suffolk County lawmakers a ban on coal tar sealers for driveways and parking lots could begin to significantly reduce contamination within five years and cut it in half in 15 years.

Now take a moment to think about this. Think about our driveways that are coal tar-based blacktops. Our kids are playing basketball on them, drawing chalk games and down on their hands and knees on them. How many times have you seen your kids hands and skin black from playing on these blacktops. And now discussions are taking place about the environmental impact on coal tar sealers.

There is a solution; Non-asphaltic alternative paving system that are “green” and eco-friendly. Many of your neighbors have already installed them. Many parks and town walking trails as well. If you are involved with your local schools or communities, and there are construction projects being considered, look for alternatives to coal tar blacktop.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is increasing their focus on Federal Regulations Standards for exposure monitoring to safeguard workers from airborne contaminates.

Conducting surveys to identify unhealthful levels of contaminants is critical to preventing disease. The MSHA points to a number of illnesses that can be caused by overexposure to harmful airborne contaminants, including lead poisoning, nervous system damage, lung cancer, bronchitis and metal fume fever.

Of course, there are many dust control solutions that focus purely on the reduction of airborne contaminates within the mining industry.

Midwest applauds the NSSGA (Natural Stone, Sand & Gravel Association) for developing a number of communications to help educate industry. There are PowerPoint Presentations and other communications materials available with much detail. If you have any questions, please direct them to Louis Griesemer, NSSGA co-chair of the MSHA-NSSGA Alliance at (417) 874-1400 (lagriesemer@springfieldunderground.com), or Neal Merrifield, MSHA’s co-chair, at (202) 693-9600(Merrifield.neal@dol.gov).

My attorney recently sent me this article, which I must admit did shock me. The FTC alleged that the company Tested Green, the nation’s leading green certification program with over 45,000 companies in the U.S. never tested any of the companies it provided with environmental certifications, and would certify anyone willing to pay a certification fee.

After almost 40 years in business, I try not to be naïve, and I’m sure some of these companies that requested certification had wonderful products, but I really could not believe what I was reading. The FTC allegation has major implications to Green/Environmental Marketing. The good news is the FTC is cracking down and my company could not be happier.

We’ve taken the position of environmental stewards from the moment we formed Midwest. Dust Control ultimately is all about protecting our air and water and the people that work within industries where dust can affect their health. As technology has changed we changed our manufacturing process, always looking for the most environmentally-friendly compounds and chemicals to manufacture our products. Most importantly, product certification, whether EPA, FTC, Industry, State of local governments is something we take extremely seriously, and believe sets us apart.

Our advice; when issuing an RFP for Dust Control Services require proof of certification and if the certification is not government regulated, double check the organization issuing the certification.

I have written about this before, and now the EPA is starting to impose their power to change the way manufactures hide behind classifying ingredients in their chemical formulations as “trade secrets” when we all know it’s simply their way to hide from their responsibility to deliver safe products.

The EPA decision, is a welcome and important decision, in so many ways. It will help protect the people working with industrial chemicals as well as business and consumers at large who are exposed to these chemicals.

A case in point is an industrial deicing product whose marketing claims its product is non-corrosive but which contains calcium chloride. Calcium chloride should be disclosed as a hazardous ingredient but isn’t. A more responsible product disclosure for calcium chloride and products containing calcium chloride should contain warning such as:

• “moist calcium chloride can corrode steel and that empty containers may be hazardous when empty since they retain product residues. Calcium chloride is dangerous when it is heated to decomposition; toxic chlorine fumes are emitted. It is also dangerous in its natural state. It can irritate the skin if handled without gloves and can irritate the respiratory system if inhaled. Care should be taken when handling calcium chloride.”

The reality is this is more about self-regulation now. Chemical manufacturing companies should issue full disclosure on their chemical formulations. If you are in the market to buy such products, go to the manufactures website and research their certifications and see if they are hiding behind “trade secret” messaging there. You will be surprised how many do.

It’s great to see the ongoing commitment and impact the EPA is having in their efforts to reduce air, land and water pollution. The agency just reported that 2010 was their best year ever with respect to enforcement and compliance actions; $110 million in civil penalties and spend of approximately $12 billion on pollution relief, reducing pollution by more than 1.4 billion lb. Civil facility violations rose to 575 facilities from 318 facilities in 2009. In 2010, the EPA also received its highest funding level ever at $600 million.

The big win for our country is for industry to be thinking proactively about air, land and water pollution, which we know so many industry leaders are doing. As we at Midwest consider ourselves pollution stewards, we take pride in seeing the EPA continue their diligence, but more importantly take pride in how organizations are building pollution reduction into their budgets from the start of every project.

As we move into 2011 environmental protection amendments continue to move to the forefront of the news. Take this recent case in Mt. Pleasant Twnp, PA. The township has put forth an amendment for consideration that would require gas and drilling operators to purchase environmental pollution liability coverage in case of release for vapor or fumes, provide copies of water testing of private wells and springs and prohibit any brine or hydrocarbon mixtures with water to be used for dust abatement on roads.

It’s been long known that these mixtures used for dust abatement are simply not environmentally friendly, and have caused irrefutable damages to local communities, and should simply never be used. It’s the old “trying to save a dollar” syndrome, instead of “lets do it right from the start.”

We’re hoping as we move into the new decade, builders, developers and industry executives will start with an Environmental Friendly Plan, and look to use this to their competitive advantage. And when it comes to dust abatement, go to a specialist, like Midwest.