Highlight Summary:

Federal

1. Regulatory Actions under TSCA
   • Comments being accepted until November 2019
2. Revised Clean Air Act Regulations
3. Proposed Repeal of Methane Emission Regulations for Oil and Natural Gas Sector
   • Comments being accepted until November 2019

Massachusetts

4. Updated Reporting Schedule for Greenhouse Gas and Air Source Registration Reporting
   • Reports Due December 13, 2019
5. Upcoming Compliance Deadline for Combustible Dust Safety
   • Dust Hazard Analyses due September 7, 2020
6. Updates to Dig Safe Regulations
7. Amendments to MWRA Sewer Discharge Regulations
8. Amendments to Air Emission Standards for Asbestos Abatement
9. Proposed Amendments to Fee Regulations

Rhode Island

10. Amendments for Surface Coating Emissions

IRWIN News Please read about our remediation project under Sample Projects

See the write-up at the end of the April 2019 newsletter.

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Patent granted for: Rapid Perchlorate Destruction in Soil and Groundwater Through Bioaugmentation

IRWIN, together with its co-inventor, has proven that perchlorate contamination can be successfully treated using a new patented process. By adding a registered strain of facultative bacteria, nutrients and appropriate buffering IRWIN showed that even high levels of perchlorate can be rapidly reduced in situ in soil and groundwater.Perchlorate, a propellant used in flares, rockets and fireworks, is a contaminant at more than 400 sites across the United States. To date, in-situ biological treatment of perchlorate has been attempted with anaerobic species using various carbon substrates with limited success.Irwin Engineers Perchlorate Treatment Case Study

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WASTE WATER PRETREATMENT UPGRADE FOR HIGH SOLIDS WASTE WATER

IRWIN Engineers helped a fiber-optic glass manufacturer permit a major upgrade to their industrial wastewater pretreatment system that had been in operation for over 30 years without a shutdown of plant operations during the construction.

The aging system could no longer process wastewater at its design flow rate. The waste contained a high fraction of coarse solids that settled so densely in the clarifier that the sludge was very difficult to remove.  IRWIN performed field experiments using a novel treatment technique that used hydrocyclone units (Figure 1) to remove the coarse solids from the wastewater before the clarifier.  The system also chronically overdosed treatment chemicals used to remove heavy metals based on the dosing control scheme.  Through a revised control scheme, and addition of a precipitation aid, chemical usage for precipitation will be reduced by over 50 percent.  The new design allowed the facility to reduce the footprint of the clarifier and precipitation systems by half (Figure 2).  Rather than replacing the existing rotary vacuum sludge dewatering system, value was found with targeted part replacements to extend the equipment life.  Those changes and operator training decreased sludge dewatering processing time by over 65%.

Figure 1: Hydrocyclone

 

 Figure 2: Precipitation and Clarification System

 

 The system was equipped with new controls providing increased automation, stability, and reliability, and a new HMI with a touchscreen and wireless connectivity, reducing the operator attention and time required to run the system. IRWIN coordinated with the contractor throughout the construction phase implementing temporary systems to avoid interrupting the incoming flow of process wastewater. IRWIN also provided support during the startup of the system, visiting the site to perform testing, assist with troubleshooting, and confirm performance of the new system.

The result of IRWIN’s creative problem solving and hands-on approach is a treatment system that processes wastewater four times faster than the original system, uses significantly less treatment chemistry, produces less than half as much solid hazardous waste, and reduced operating labor costs by 70 percent.

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2016 was another successful Toxic Use Reduction Filing  year

Andy Irwin, PE, LSP, TURP, CPEA is certified for TUR Plans and Resource Conservation Plans. He is a BEAC Certified Professional Environmental Auditor ISO14000 Plus. He is a former President, Treasurer and Board Member of the Toxics Use Reduction Planners Association

The TURA program is intended to facilitate and encourage pollution prevention opportunities by evaluating operations and identifying feasible options for reducing the use of toxics. Facility personnel, along with a certified TUR Planner, work to identify TUR options and evaluate them for their technical and economic feasibility.  In many cases, we have found that implementing various TUR opportunities not only reduced the amount of toxics used, but also reduced costs and improved efficiency for our clients.

Project Examples:

• We worked with one facility that eliminated their use of VOCs, allowing them to turn their emission control catalytic oxidizer off and save over $120,000 a year.
• We identified an option for a processing facility to recover a rare earth metal from a toxic waste stream, eliminating disposal costs of $150,000 a year, and instead generating additional revenue from the recovered material.
• As an alternative to a TUR filing this year, we completed a Resource Conservation (RC) Plan for a facility wishing to reduce energy costs. The audit resulted in recommendations that yield annual energy savings of 13.6% with a financial payback time of just over one year.
• We reduced the amount of planning required for a facility by incorporating TUR into their Environmental Management System. This integration helps reduce the time required to fulfill regulatory obligations and raises awareness of TUR chemical use as significant environmental aspects of the operation.

We serve a wide range of industries including:

For more information visit,

IRWIN Engineers Pollution Prevention & Toxic Use Reduction

IRWIN Engineers Auditing

Massachusetts DEP TURA Program Overview