Containment

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that for 19 years, a coal ash storage pond owned by the power company Ameren. The unlined pond in Labadie has never been linked to groundwater contamination, but a slow and steady leak from the site has been known of by Ameren and Missouri state regulators for nearly two decades. Similar ponds in Venice, Illinois are most likely to be capped (by state requirement), and a similar strategy may come to Labadie. Learn more here.;

GeoAfrica 2013, Second IGS Regional Conference on Geosynthetics in Africa, will be held 18-20 November 2013 in Accra, Ghana. Accra was listed by The New York Times as the #4 place...

Raven Engineered Films' Quality Assurance Laboratory has been granted accreditation from the Geosynthetic Institute for designated geosynthetic test methods in accordance with the Geosynthetic Accreditation Institute – Laboratory Accreditation Program (GAI-LAP). Raven is one of only 49 laboratories currently granted with the "GAI-LAP" accreditation worldwide. Please visit geosynthetic-institute.org/gai.htm for complete details regarding the Laboratory Accreditation Program (GAI-LAP). Learn more here.;

Henderson County, North Carolina's neutral-revenue tax discussions are telling of the trend in county-level environmental management concerns. Listed among the county's top priorities are school funding, $30 million in new development, erosion and sediment control measures and enforcement, and waste management. Learn more here.;

Lumite Inc., a geotextile-manufacturing subsidiary of Thrace Plastics, has acquired a plant from Propex. The 226,000-sq-ft facility in Alto, Georgia will increase Thrace's geotextile production capacity, a welcomed advent as the company seeks to expand within the domestic market. Learn more here.;

SIBUR contracted acquisition of 50% share in the charter capital of BIAKSPLEN LLC, one of the largest Russian manufacturers of biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BOPP). BIAKSPLEN's production facilities include three plants located in Nizhny Novgorod, Kursk and Moscow Regions. The aggregate capacity of BIAKSPLEN product lines is 87 kta. In 2008 BIAKSPLEN consolidated sales reached RUR 3.9 billion. Read more about this acquisition.

When Sardinia 2011 convenes in Santa Margherita di Pula, Sardinia, Italy 3-7 October 2011, it will mark this event's 13th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. Themes include wastewater, waste management strategies, climate change, decision tools, legislation and more. The preliminary program has now been released, and among the many presentations can be found geosynthetic technologies. A sample of these papers (and their specific session designations) is as follows.

Geosynthetics are helping substantially reduce the carbon footprint of construction, securing the environment, and extending the economical and environmental performance of infrastructures. As Earth Day 2016 is marked around...

The International Erosion Control Association’s (IECA) annual Environmental Connection conference will gather February 16 – 19 in San Antonio, Texas. Geosynthetica will be in the international exhibit hall in...

Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL continues Geosynthetica's planned series of primers on geoelectric leak location technology--how it's used with geosynthetic barrier systems, relevant applications, affiliated issues from the field, and more. In this second article, Dr. Peggs addresses essential design criteria for making an installation surveyable.

Of the two large-scale, experimental sediment control projects the US Army Corps of Engineers is conducting near Mount St. Helens, one of them does seem to be succeeding and may lead to a larger installation next year. The "cross valley structure" involes a series of weirs. Trapped sediment volumes have not been announced, but the Corps is now considering similar structures for the upper Toutle River. Learn more here.;

The PVC Geomembrane Institute (PGI) is offering two new sessions of its "Constructing with GCLs and PVC Geomembranes" day-long short course. Sessions will be held June 17 in Columbus, Ohio and June 19 in Cambridge, Ontario. For more information, see the downloadable registration document.

A section of the Lehigh River towpath in Allentown that had been closed since October has reopened, just in time for joggers, bikers and outdoors aficionados to enjoy Canal Park for the holidays. A breach in the canal forced city officials to close part of the towpath while repairs were made. New clay was added to the towpath and canal channel and a synthetic liner was installed to make the fix watertight. Learn more here.;

The Industrial Fabrics Association International's (IFAI) annual International Achievement Awards (IAA) competition is accepting submissions through 15 July 2010. Among the many entry categories you'll find "Geosynthetics." This year the competition is holding a drawing to award a free full registration to the 2010 IFAI Expo Americas (27-29 October 2010, Orlando, Florida), where IAA winners will be announced. Geosynthetica encourages you to look into this event and share your projects and experience with the larger technical textiles field. Visit the competition website to learn more about the awards and the benefits of the new electronic submission form. Learn more here.;

Sika AG announces that its subsidiary Sika (Japan) Ltd. has acquired the construction sealant business of Henkel Japan Ltd. The acquired business includes the well-known trademarks, Bellace and Duribbon, which are well established in the Japanese construction market with annual sales of JPY 1115 mn (approx. CHF 12.3 mn). With this acquisition, Sika will complement its Sikaflex range and strengthen its market position in the Japanese construction sealant market. Relevant sales and technical employees have agreed to transfer to Sika (Japan) Ltd.

Maccaferri, a leading provider of Civil Engineering and Environmental solutions for over 130 years, has developed the MacDam™ to control ash and fine sediment runoff on burned or barren slopes. Fire is an ever present force in forests and rangeland and is an important natural process in the renewal of ecosystems. However, as human populations expand, people and their homes, businesses and public infrastructure are not only threatened by the incidence of natural and man-induced wildfires, but ultimately areas affected by fire can succumb to a secondary disaster resulting from the erosion of barren soils.

Organizers for GéoMontréal 2013 have announced that the deadline for submission of abstracts has been extended to February 1. The conference will be held at the Hilton Montreal Bonaventure Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada 29 September - 3 October 2013. Organized by the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) in collaboration with the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH/CNC) and the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), GeoMontreal provides an exceptional opportunity to interact with the North American geotechnical community. The geosynthetics field should play a strong role in this 66th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, with the theme "Geoscience for Sustainability." Learn more on the event website. Learn more here.;

A comprehensive heap leach design short course has been announced as part of the opportunities at Heap Leach Solutions 2014. Led by an international team (Renzo Ayala, Jonathan Bray,...

The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal in England is reopening after an £8.5 million (USD $12.2 million) renovation. The upgrade included the installation of a barrier membrane for the canal's clay liner--though referred to in the article as permeable--and geotextile separators to serve as underlay to riprap. Learn more here.;

The Business Standard, an English-language publication in India, reports that water management is set to become a boom field. With the country's industrial and municipal infrastructures expanding quickly, modernization is inevitable and necessary. Canal, reservoir and industrial containment linings are just some of the products in need. Learn more here.;

The long-running, renowned television news magazine 60 Minutes broadcast a report on American infrastructure on its 23 November 2014 episode. It has received a fair amount of attention for...

Concord Geotechnical (USA) has been a division of Leister Process Technologies since 1 September 2010. A distinguished expert has now come on board in the form of Steve Hobbs, the previous owner of Concord. As Business Development Manager, he is sure to contribute his vast expertise in the future. By making this step, Leister aims to boost its civil engineering market. Concord’s previous customers will continue to be supported to the same high standard as existing Leister customers or potential new ones. This means everyone will benefit from the innovative flair, product quality and service spectrum of Leister. Learn more here.;

The organizers for GeoMontreal 2013 have released the latest updates for the event, including a reminder of the 31 July 2013 early-bird registration deadline. GeoMontreal 2013 will be held...

The design and construction of a replacement dam on difficult foundations was recently completed at a salmon smolt facility in Scotland. RM Doake from AECOM explains how the design process was shaped by working in such an environmentally sensitive area--including through the extensive utilization of geosynthetic clay barriers (also known as GCLs) and thick nonwoven geotextiles for seepage control and soil stabilization. Learn more here.;

The E.Coli contamination scares in the United States are having an unusual consequence: encouraging more chemical use and harder erosion solutions. Farmers don't agree with those changes. New solutions from geosynthetic and erosion control companies may help curb fears, manage manure, contain runoff, and provide softer, greener edges to erosion control. Learn more here.;