• Filtration technology will address one of the largest sources of water pollution in the U.S.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ, Aug. 9, 2010 -- AbTech Industries is pleased to announce that its innovative Smart Sponge® Plus technology has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the reduction of harmful coliform bacteria in stormwater runoff, responsible for 20,000 beach closures per year.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the renowned environmental advocate and attorney, notes, "Hydrocarbons, bacteria, and other harmful toxins swept from our streets into our rivers, lakes, and oceans are the major source of water pollution in the U.S. AbTech now gives us hope that technology can cure this intractable problem."
"We are excited to provide our Smart Sponge technology to local governments and others who seek to address our nation's most critical water pollution challenges, including coliform bacteria plaguing our public beaches, oil tainting our Gulf Coast region, and stormwater pollution running off our streets into public waterways," says AbTech Industries President and CEO Glenn Rink. "AbTech is prepared to address these challenges, and we are grateful to the EPA for their timely approval of our stormwater pollution filtration technology."
Smart Sponge has long been a cost-effective technology proven to remove oil and other pollutants from stormwater runoff. Smart Sponge Plus contains an antimicrobial agent that is effective in reducing coliform bacteria found in stormwater, industrial wastewater, and municipal wastewater. These types of persistent pollution have been described as "death by a thousand cuts." No one event typically causes dramatic problems, but the gradual buildup of these pollutants in U.S. waterways has a huge environmental impact.
Smart Sponge's versatile technology is currently deployed in more than 15,000 locations throughout the world including, domestically, Long Beach, CA; Norwalk, CT; and Nags Head, NC. The EPA's approval of AbTech's Smart Sponge Plus technology for the reduction of coliform bacteria is an important milestone for AbTech, and will allow municipalities, states, and the private sector to better tackle this growing problem.
AbTech's Smart Sponge technologies can be used to address some of the most critical water pollution challenges facing the nation:
• Smart Sponge Plus has antimicrobial capabilities that make it effective in reducing coliform bacteria found in stormwater, industrial wastewater, and municipal wastewater.
• Smart Sponge has the ability to help reduce pollutant loadings to places like the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, the Long Island Sound, and other important national waters.
• Smart Sponge can help to reduce pollution that contributes to more than 20,000 beach closures in America each year.
• Smart Sponge is a green infrastructure technology that may be used to increase points in a LEED certified development.
• Smart Sponge is also made in the form of booms, skimmers and on-water filtration systems designed to remove oil from marine waters. AbTech is hoping to deploy products soon in the Gulf of Mexico to help address the spill disaster.
See www.abtechindustries.com and www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#docketDetail?R=EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0941 for additional information.
About AbTech Industries Inc.
AbTech Industries Inc. is a leading environmental technologies firm dedicated to providing innovative solutions to communities and industry addressing issues of water pollutants and contamination. AbTech's products are based on polymer technologies capable of removing hydrocarbons, sediment, and other foreign elements from still (ponds, lakes, and marinas) or flowing water (curbside drains, pipe outflows, rivers, and oceans). Smart Sponge Plus contains an antimicrobial agent that is effective in reducing coliform bacteria found in stormwater, industrial wastewater, and municipal wastewater. AbTech's Smart Sponge technology is installed in more than 15,000 locations across the United States and around the world. For more information, please visit: www.abtechindustries.com.
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