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The Qatar National Convention Centre, one of the world's largest construction projects, is currently underway in Doha, Qatar. For this mega-project, about 135,000 square meters of 2mm PVC geomembrane (Sikaplan WP1100-20HL2) were laid as a single layer, a scale that posed a great challenge -- even for the waterproofing installation, company BMC Qatar -- especially as the work needed to be completed in the span of one year. For the laying work, the professionals at BMC Qatar relied as always on welding equipment from Leister.

Located throughout the U.S. and in 6 other regions of the world, the Chapters of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) are instrumental in providing the erosion and sediment control community with education and networking opportunities through regional conferences, workshops, field days, newsletters, websites and other services. Read the release.

The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) met during the Geo-Frontiers 2011 on March 15. During the FGI meeting, Tim Stark announced the new officers FGI members selected for 2011-2013. See the new officers list here.

Following the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) meeting in Dallas, executive director David Suits announced the results of the NAGS election: The following persons were announced at Geo-Frontiers 2011 as the new Board of Directors for NAGS: President: Dean Sandri; President-elect: Bob Mackey; Treasurer: Corey Bobba; Vice Presidents: Marolo Alfaro, Jay McKelvey, Dhani Narejo, Richard Backman; Immediate Past President - David Elton. Learn more here.;

The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has published a PDF format summary of the geosynthetics marketplace in the United States and Canada. With a primary focus on the American marketplace, this "snapshot" looks at market size, market growth, predominate materials/polymers and applications in which geosynthetics are being utilized, as well as trends, opportunities, threats, and a market outlook. Learn more here.;

Firestone Specialty Products (Booths 407 and 506) will debut new supported and unsupported membranes in new gauges and colors. Visit Firestone's booth for full details. Download the unsupported flexible polypropylene (fPP) geomembrane data sheet here.

Firestone Specialty Products (Booths 407 and 506) will debut new supported and unsupported membranes in new gauges and colors. Visit Firestone's booth for full details. Download the supported flexible polypropylene (fPP-R) geomembrane data sheet here.

Junichi Koseki of the Institute of Industrial Science (University of Tokyo) has been tapped to deliver the Mercer Lecture at Geo-Frontiers 2011. His topic: "Use of Geosynthetics to Improve Seismic Performance of Earth Structures." The Mercer Lecture is a biennial lecture with the endorsement of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) and the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). The lecture is being sponsored by Thrace/LINQ Inc. LEARN MORE about the other plenary lectures at Geo-Frontiers.

Thrace-LINQ, a supplier of woven and nonwoven geosynthetic technical fabrics, announces the expansion of its Quality Assurance Department to include Process Improvement, ensuring the control of all manufacturing processes and the highest quality products for its customers. Leading the Process Improvement team is James H. Brown, quality assurance manager.

Granite Environmental now houses five more qualified and certified Florida Stormwater Management Inspectors making it a grand total seven certified inspectors! For two days the participants studied and tested to complete the Florida Stormwater Erosion and Sedimentation Control Inspector Program, held in Palm Bay, FL on February 2-3.

Inland Tarp and Liner LLC, headquartered in Moses Lake, Wash., is to open a 192,00-square-foot facility in Fostoria, Ohio, which is to enable the company to service most of its customers in the Eastern U.S. in a timely manner. Ron MacKenzie, eastern operations manager, is to oversee production. Learn more here.;

Two papers at Geo-Frontiers will review the relationship between containment geosynthetics and the transmission of VOCs. The first paper, "Diffusion of Volatile Organic Compounds through an HDPE Geomembrane," will be presented on Tuesday, March 15, by Nathalie Touze-Foltz of Cemagref. The paper will describe the findings of Cemagref research on this topic. The second paper, "Sorption and Diffusion of BTEX through Thin-Film EVOH," discusses the ability of modified film to block VOC diffusion. This is a timely subject as new geomembrane materials incorporating EVOH have recently been developed, the first of this kind is now being manufactured by Raven Industries. The second paper will be presented on Tuesday, March 15, between 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM in the "Geosynthetic Properties and Evaluation" track. It is authored by Rebecca S. McWatters and R. Kerry Rowe of Queen's University. Learn more here.;

From February 20-23, Granite Environmental, Inc., will be getting down and dirty with erosion control at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. This local company, specializing in erosion and pollution control product solutions, will be attending the world's largest soil and water event: The International Erosion Control Association's (IECA) 11th Annual Conference, Environmental Connection (EC11), featuring "Environmental Heroes" at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. The IECA calls this conference "the premier educational event for the erosion control, sediment control and stormwater industry."

Construction to fix voids underneath 500 feet of Route 422 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, near the wonderfully named town of King of Prussia, are about to begin. The $2.7 million project involves aspects such as filling sinkhole voides that have been detected and installing a geosynthetic liner to stop water from penetrating the surface of the grass median and further secure the roadway's integrity. Learn more here.;

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Protech Environmental South Inc., doing business as U.S. Erosion Control Products Inc., following an inspection that uncovered 46 alleged safety and health hazards including worker exposure to heavy accumulations of combustible dust. Proposed penalties total $55,250.

The city of Philadelphia recently completed construction on its first municipal-owned solar power plant. It joins a trend of situating solar farms near where population centers are, getting the power closer to the people.

There are many connections between the geomembrane and roofing membrane industries. A number of manufacturers make both materials; each industry informs the other on critical applications such as green roofing and exposed membrane performance; and both utilize similar panel welding equipment. Leister, a maker of welding equipment, reports that a Swiss team recently won the gold medal in an international competition for flat roof construction techniques. The world champions used Leister gear. Learn more.

In 20 to 40 years, using today's technology, 100% of the world's energy could come from renewable resources, a study by the University of California-Davis and Stanford University found. Wind and solar power, and electric and hydrogen fuel cells would all play roles. "This really involves a large-scale transformation," says Stanford researcher Mark Jacobson. "... But it is possible, without even having to go to new technologies." Learn more here.;

In the January/February 2011 issue of Drainage World from the FocusOn Group, a spotlight is thrown upon Huesker's Fortrac 3D Geogrid. This offering in the long-successful Fortrac series is used for slope stabilization, veneer stability and turf reinforcement. Fortrac 3D® is a flexible, three-dimensional reinforcement grid manufactured from high-tensile strength, creep resistant yarns with a three dimensional structure that enhances its interaction with soil. Learn more. Learn more here.;

The historical success of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) technology has given the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) plenty of data and reasons to promote the use of this quicker, more economical approach to bridge support construction. Reinforced soil foundations and abutments are now the focus of January 2011-published guide from FHWA, "Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge System Interim Implementation Guide." The 174-page publication is available here in PDF. Learn more here.;

When ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics convenes for its winter meeting in Baltimore, Maryland next week, Dr.Aigen Zhao (SynTec LLC) will be discussing geosynthetic drainage in various applications and possible future D35 standardization activities as they relate to these areas. This special discussion has just been announced. It will be held on Wednesday, February 2 from 5:00-6:30 pm in the Harbor D meeting room at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. Learn more. Learn more here.;

The Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) in California has launched a website to show the progress of the Upper Chiquita Reservoir's construction. The site will utilize geomembrane liners and covers from Burke Industries. See live and historical site photos online. Learn more here.;

Scientists from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have developed a process for making fully biodegradable, non-toxic and non-hazardous thermoset resins from readily available, low-cost plant materials. It's hoped that this new range of plastics could be used for panels such as MDF in the construction industry and replace polyurethane and polystyrene packaging ... all without increasing cost or production times. Learn more here.;

The Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) is set to unveil Asia's first testing and certification laboratory in geotextiles at its campus in Ahmedabad. Being set up in association with German lab, Geoscope. Learn more here.;

The proposal to recreate a Roman Villa/ Bath House on an English Heritage site at Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury, for Channel 4's 20 January 2011 programme 'Rome Wasn't Built in a Day', was made possible by constructing it on a reinforced concrete raft foundation over a rock mattress mechanically stabilised with Tensar's TriAx™ geogrid.