In other news below:
-- ServicePower to offer turnkey warranty field service program for Sylvan Source
-- Hector Escamilla Jr. elected president of Trinity River Authority Board
-- Research and Markets report sees potential for real growth in Europe's water market
-- Latin America infrastructure event to support New Orleans recovery
-- American Water offers unique O&M services to municipal leaders at NLC Congress
-- Water Partnership Council workshop on public-private partnerships at Congress of Cities
-- Nalco increases prices for sizing, silicone-based chemistries to the paper industry
-- McDATA disaster recovery solution protects L.A.'s water, power supply
-- Aqua America unit closes $2.2 million purchase of N.C. wastewater system
-- EPA, Army Corps, NJDOT launch Passaic River dredging, decontamination test project
-- Siemens heating, cooling plant to save Chaffey College over $12 million in costs
-- PNM Resources, N.M. parties agree on Afton Generating Station build-out, rate recovery
-- Emerson wins $20.2 million contract to digitally automate Lithuanian power station
-- Sutron receives notice of Indian contract award for $4.56 million
-- Equipment & Systems Engineering holds seminar for Guatemalan ministry of mining, energy
-- URS to provide dam safety services to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Division of Engineering
-- Parsons expands in Europe with office opening in Cork, Ireland that creates 80 new jobs
-- American Ecology names environmental expert VP of hazardous waste operations
Pall technology verified to remove arsenic from drinking water below 2 ppb -- Membrane filtration systems remove arsenic well below levels of detection exceeding EPA standard today and when MCL drops in January -- EAST HILLS, NY, Dec. 7, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Municipal and community water providers are racing to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Jan. 23 deadline for reducing arsenic in drinking water. The new ruling reduces the maximum allowable level of arsenic in drinking water to 10 parts per billion (ppb). Pall Corp. announced that its membrane filtration technology was granted verification by NSF International Drinking Water Systems Center, a partner of the EPA's Environmental Technology Verification Program, to remove arsenic from drinking water. Results of the independent performance testing showed that the Pall Aria™ Microfiltration System reduces arsenic to undetectable levels (below 2 ppb), exceeding the EPA standard for the maximum level of contaminants allowed in drinking water. It is the first microfiltration technology verified to remove arsenic under the new EPA regulation.
"There are many communities throughout the nation that are underserved in their ability to meet the new drinking water standards, oftentimes due to cost," says Jeff Seibert, President of Pall Water Processing. "The Pall Aria System provides them with a proven, cost-efficient solution to be compliant with these regulations for the benefit of the public health."
The Pall Aria System was tested in several areas of the country with high arsenic levels in water. In Fallon, Nevada, where arsenic was found at 160 ppb, the system removed arsenic to undetectable levels, less than 2 ppb. Based on these results, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe is using the Pall Aria System to comply with the new EPA standard and protect its residents from arsenic toxicity.
There are about 4,100 small and community drinking water systems in the U.S.; most serving less than 10,000 people, where arsenic levels exceed the new standard. According to the latest EPA report, about 3000 (5.5%) of the nation's 54,000 community water systems and another 1,300 non-community water systems will need to take measures to lower arsenic in their drinking water.
Membrane filtration technology is emerging as the technology of choice for safe drinking water. Large and small communities around the world currently use the Pall Aria System to remove parasites, including Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts and oocysts that can contaminate drinking water and adversely affect public health. The new verification enables these communities to remove both arsenic and parasites cost efficiently. The Pall system is also employed by a wide range of industries to clean up wastewater to prevent additional arsenic from entering the drinking water supply.
Unlike other methods of arsenic removal, such as reverse osmosis and adsorption media, membrane filtration offers a less costly and long-term solution. It does not require a major upfront capital investment, high costs to operate or frequent regeneration and purchase of media. The Pall Aria System works by the addition of an iron-based coagulant, such as ferric chloride, to the water. The contaminating arsenic is adsorbed onto positively charged ferric hydroxide particles, which are then removed by microfiltration.
"The arsenic removal verification opens up a whole new market for Pall Water Processing, which is currently one of the fastest growing businesses of Pall Corporation. This past year our sales to municipal and community water systems have grown over 26%," adds Seibert.
Arsenic levels across the U.S. can vary greatly. Although there are some geographic hot spots, the highest arsenic levels in the U.S. are found mostly in states west of the continental divide. However, several New England states such as New Hampshire and Maine have reported that as many as 30% and 14%, respectively, of their public water systems have arsenic levels above the new standard.
Arsenic occurs naturally in most water sources and is odorless, colorless and tasteless. Some manmade sources of arsenic can also occur from wood treatment, pesticide use, pharmaceutical manufacturing and miscellaneous industrial facilities. No matter what the source of the arsenic, it needs to be removed to eliminate health risks.
According to the National Academy of Science (NAS), arsenic in drinking water can cause bladder, lung and skin cancers and has also been linked to kidney and liver cancers. NAS studies have also found that arsenic harms the central and peripheral nervous systems as well as heart and blood vessels and may also cause birth defects and reproductive problems.
The new EPA arsenic standard, which became effective in February 2002, was developed in response to these public health and safety concerns. The ruling requires water systems to be in compliance by January 23, 2006 reducing the maximum acceptable level of arsenic in drinking water to 10 ppb (10 micrograms per liter) from 50 ppb (50 micrograms per liter). Some states, such as California and New Jersey, have legislated more stringent standards than the federal regulation, allowing a maximum arsenic level of only 4 ppb and 5 ppb, respectively.
NSF International, in cooperation with the EPA operates the Drinking Water Systems Center, as part of the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program. The NSF Drinking Water System Laboratory provides independent performance evaluations of drinking water technologies.
Pall Corp. (www.pall.com) is a global leader in the rapidly growing field of filtration, separations and purification. Pall's business is organized around two broad markets: Life Sciences and Industrial. Pall provides leading-edge products to meet the demanding needs of customers in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, transfusion medicine, semiconductor, water purification, aerospace and broad industrial markets. Total revenues for fiscal 2005 were $1.9 billion. The company headquarters is in East Hills, N.Y., with extensive operations throughout the world.
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Among other recent headlines:
• ServicePower Field Service Solutions partners with Sylvan Source to offer turnkey warranty service program -- LOUISVILLE, KY, Dec. 7, 2005 -- ServicePower's Field Service Solutions (FSS) Division, a provider of Web-based, automated job scheduling and warranty chain management services for service delivery and installation industries, announced it has entered into an agreement with Sylvan Source Inc., to provide a full, turnkey warranty service solution for Sylvan Source ultra-clean water systems. ServicePower will provide contractor recruiting, network management, call center operations, electronic dispatch, claims processing, payment distribution, and analytics for Sylvan Source products sold in the United States...
• Hector Escamilla Jr. elected president of Trinity River Authority Board -- ARLINGTON, TX, Dec. 7, 2005 -- Trinity River Authority's 24-member board of directors has elected Hector Escamilla, Jr. of Carrollton to a two-year term as president starting Dec. 1. Escamilla is a Certified Public Accountant, real estate broker and founder of Escamilla Capital Group. The TRA board also elected Michael Cronin of Terrell to serve as vice president and John W. Jenkins of Hankamer to serve as chairman of the Executive Committee...
• Research and Markets report sees potential for real growth in Europe's water market -- DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec. 7, 2005 -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of "Water Market Europe: Opportunities in EU Accession, the Framework Directive & the CIS" to its offering of market reports. Europe's water sector has stronger fundamentals than any other regional water market. The combination of high tariffs, increased regulatory standards and generous EU funding gives it a solid foundation for growth over the next decade...
• Event highlighting Latin America's 40 top infrastructure projects to support New Orleans recovery -- City to host 4th Annual Latin American Leadership Forum on March 28-29 -- WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 7, 2005 -- The Latin American Leadership Forum -- featuring the top 40 infrastructure projects in Latin America, and bringing together 500-600 of the top infrastructure executives worldwide -- will be held in March in New Orleans hosted by the World Trade Center and held at the Hilton Riverside Hotel...
• American Water offers unique O&M services to municipal leaders at NLC Congress -- Company highlights public-private partnerships at National League of Cities Congress of Cities -- CHARLOTTE, NC, Dec. 7, 2005 -- Leaders of municipally-owned water systems face a variety of challenges -- from increasingly strict environmental regulations, needed facility upgrades and increasing operational costs -- to increasing insurance risks, and employee training needs. Partnerships are increasing becoming a solution to overcoming these challenges. American Water will highlight the value of private water and wastewater solutions at the 2005 National League of Cities (NLC) Congress of Cities Conference taking place in Charlotte, NC, Dec. 6-10...
• Water Partnership Council workshop on public-private partnerships at Congress of Cities -- Public officials to discuss the benefits of existing partnerships -- WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 6, 2005 -- A workshop illustrating how public-private partnerships in water and wastewater systems can benefit municipalities. Public official participants will discuss how they work with the private sector in their area to tackle challenges -- including disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- and bring benefits to governments and their residents will be held Dec. 8 at the National League of Cities 82nd Annual Congress of Cities. The event will be in Room 213D Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C., at 4:45 p.m...
• Nalco increases prices for sizing, silicone-based chemistries to the paper industry -- NAPERVILLE, IL, Dec. 6, 2005 -- Nalco Holding Company announced a 20% price increase to paper industry clients in the Americas and Europe for paper sizing chemicals and a 10% increase for silicone-based products. The price increases will be effective Jan.1 and are in addition to the price adjustments announced earlier this year. These price increases are a direct result of significant and sustained increases in key raw materials costs resulting from limited supply, increased energy costs impacting manufacturing, and freight-related cost increases...
• McDATA disaster recovery solution protects L.A.'s water and power supply -- BROOMFIELD, CO, Dec. 6, 2005 --McDATA Corp., a provider of storage networking solutions, announced the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest U.S. city-owned public utility, deployed six McDATA UltraNet™ Storage Director-eXtended (USD-X) WAN extension products to seamlessly direct traffic between its main data center and a mirrored disaster recovery site almost 20 miles away...
• Aqua America unit closes $2.2 million purchase of N.C. wastewater system -- BRYN MAWR, PA, Dec. 6, 2005 -- Aqua America Inc. announced that its North Carolina subsidiary acquired the wastewater system serving the Governor's Club residential community on the outskirts of Chapel Hill. The purchase price is about $2.2 million. With this acquisition, Aqua North Carolina Inc. will provide wastewater services for nearly 2,100 residents in this Chatham County community, which includes a 27-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. An additional 1,500 residents are expected when the development is built out...
• EPA, Army Corps of Engineers and NJDOT launch Passaic River dredging, decontamination test project -- NEW YORK & TRENTON, NJ, Dec. 6, 2005--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) this week began an environmental dredging test project on the lower Passaic River in New Jersey. This week's removal of 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a 1.5-acre area in the Passaic River near downtown Newark kicks off a two-part evaluation of environmental dredging and sediment decontamination technologies...
• New central heating, cooling plant from Siemens expected to save Chaffey College over $12 million in energy, operational costs -- BUFFALO GROVE, IL, Dec. 6, 2005 -- Chaffey College, in western San Bernardino County, Calif., has awarded Siemens Building Technologies Inc. a $18.5 million contract to design and build a new energy-efficient central heating and cooling plant to serve its 20-building campus. To help offset a major portion of the project costs, the new plant is expected to provide Chaffey College with more than $12 million in energy and operational savings over the next 20 years. The new central plant will be the heart of college's utility infrastructure, providing a chilled and hot water utility system from a central location on campus. The plant will be housed in a concrete building of about 10,000 square-feet, containing two large boilers and chillers, cooling towers, pumps, piping, and energy management system controls...
In other company news: "Siemens to invest $30 million in Norwood, Ohio, plant revitalization"
• PNM Resources, N.M. parties agree on Afton Generating Station build-out, rate recovery -- ALBUQUERQUE, NM, Dec. 6, 2005 -- PNM Resources and New Mexico parties have reached an agreement that recommends approval to expand and convert the Afton Generating Station to a more efficient combined-cycle unit. As part of the agreement with the parties, the company will install a turbine capable of accommodating a hybrid cooling system. Both measures will provide greater energy and water efficiency. The agreement also provides a road map to recover up to $187.6 million and to designate the unit as a jurisdictional facility instead of a merchant plant...
• Emerson wins $20.2 million contract to digitally automate Lithuania's largest supercritical gas- and oil-fired power station -- AUSTIN, TZ, Dec. 6, 2005 -- Emerson Process Management, a business of Emerson, announced it has received a $20.2 million contract from AB Lietuvos Elektrine to modernize instrumentation and control systems at the power company's Elektrenai facility, the Baltic country's largest supercritical gas- and oil-fired power station. Emerson will install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at three 300-MW supercritical units, which enable operation at elevated steam temperature and pressure, making electricity generation more efficient, while also reducing fuel-related emissions. The Russian-designed plant in the Eastern European nation has eight power generation units overall with the capacity to generate 1,800 megawatts of electricity, but has been operating only as a reserve for the country's Ignalina Nulcear Power Plant when demand peaks. Starting in 2009, however, when the Ignalina plant is scheduled to shut down, Elektrenai will play a major role by generating some 70% of the country's power supply. The project will be implemented by Emerson's Power & Water Solutions industry center...
• Sutron receives notice of Indian contract award for $4.56 million -- STERLING, VA, Dec. 6, 2005 -- Sutron Corp. announced official receipt of an eagerly-awaited $4,556,000 Notice of Acceptance from the government of India's Central Water Commission (CWC). The award was granted in response to Sutron's proposal based on CWC specifications for the supply, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of a real-time data acquisition network consisting of 168 Hydro-Met Stations on a turnkey basis for collection, transmission and processing of hydro-meteorological data. Also, associated systems for 12 CWC modelling centers including hardware, software and peripherals, as well as VSAT communication links from two existing digital direct readout ground station facilities in Burla (Orissa) and Jaipur (Rajasthan) to various locations that include the Krishna and Godavari Basin Organization (KGBO), CWC in Hyderabad, the Brahmaputra and the Barak Basin Organization (BBO), CWC in Shiilong, the Mahanadi and Eastern Rivers Organization (MERO), CWC in Bhubaneshwa, the Lower Ganga Basin Organization (LGBO), the Patna and Yamuna Basin Organization (YBO), New Delhi...
• Equipment & Systems Engineering CEO presents two-part seminar for Guatemala's Ministry of Mining and Energy -- MIAMI, FL, Dec. 6, 2005 -- Equipment and Systems Engineering Inc. CEO Jose T. Masis recently presented a two-part seminar entitled "Carburetion Using Propane Gas Instead of Petroleum Products" for representatives of Guatemala's Ministry of Energy & Mining and regional industry constituents. The seminar was part of a day-long conference and sponsored by Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mining and held in Guatemala City. Masis' presentation included a demonstration of alternative fuels conversion systems, which convert gasoline driven engines to operate on gases such as natural gas (CNG) and propane (LPG). In addition to its Alternative Fuels Unit, EQSE also targets the petroleum industry and many navy installations in Latin America through its Waste Water Treatment Unit, which resells electrocatalytical systems manufactured by EnviroVac that convert wastewater into safely disposable water using electrolyzed seawater as a disinfectant...
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• URS to provide dam safety services to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Division of Engineering under possible $10 million contract -- SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 5, 2005 -- URS Corp. has been awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Engineering (USFWS), Dam Safety Branch, to provide dam safety services. The USFWS operates about 200 dams and facilities associated with fish and wildlife conservation, and the Dam Safety Branch is responsible for establishing, managing and overseeing the USFWS' Dam Safety Program. Under the terms of the contract, and as specific task orders are issued, URS will provide the USFWS with various engineering services that include safety evaluation of existing dams; rehabilitation, reconstruction, and/or modification to resolve dam safety deficiencies; new construction design; and other associated work. The five-year contract has a maximum aggregate value of $10 million to URS...
• Parsons expands European operations with office opening in Cork, Ireland that creates 80 new jobs
PASADENA, CA, Dec. 5, 2005 -- Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheal Martin, also a member of the Irish Parliament, announced on Dec. 2 that Parsons, a U.S.-based global leader of engineering, construction and consulting services, is to expand its business in Cork, with the support of the Irish Development Authority (IDA) Ireland, to service its pan-European customers. The Cork-based operation, which has moved to larger premises -- a 15,000-sq.-ft. facility at the Cork Airport Business Park -- will become the center of Parsons' European operations in markets such as biotechnology, industrial, communications, environmental, healthcare and education...
• American Ecology names environmental expert VP of hazardous waste operations -- Former Idaho manager Simon Bell appointed to newly created executive position -- BOISE, ID, Dec. 5, 2005 -- American Ecology Corp., announced that its hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities in Idaho, Nevada and Texas will be managed by a new vice president of Hazardous Waste Operations. Simon Bell, former manager of the company's Grand View, Idaho, facility, was promoted to the newly created executive position. Bell was also appointed an officer by the company's board of directors...
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In earlier newsbriefs, see: "WaterBriefs: Charlotte water utility picks Indus to automate service delivery" -- Also in this report (Dec. 1, 2005): Utilities Field Service event spotlights demand for service delivery management solutions; Axeda Systems ITA Group becomes Wizcon Systems; Consolidated Container Co. to acquire assets of Steel Valley Plastics; Pittcon announces 2006 award recipients; Amiad Filtration Systems Ltd. announces first day of dealings; GreenShift's Mean Green BioFuels announces 30 million gallon biodiesel plant in W. Tenn.; Lanxess selects Open Text to further optimize vendor invoice processing in SAP'R' Solutions; Watts Water Technologies acquires three SPX valve product lines; Bottled water consumption overtakes milk, coffee and beer in U.S. market; Aquair Inc. in pact with Entech Sales and Service in Dallas to work with Munters Corp.; Va. Beach Department of Utilities selects Citect for water utility project...
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