Applying tqem practices to pollution prevention at AT&T's columbus works plant

In recent years AT&T changed its focus on environmental policies from compliance to pollution prevention. Pollution prevention is an integrated program that includes design for the environment, “green” manufacturing, and a comprehensive program to reduce existing waste in production. The principles of Total Quality Management can be applied to pollution prevention as well as the more traditional manufacturing concepts. The project described in this article is one of several concurrent programs being conducted at AT&T'S Columbus Works to reduce overall waste produced by the facility by applying TQM practices.     

BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE RESPONSE TO POLLUTION ABATEMENT: STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND FUNCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS1

We examined changes in certain structural and functional aspects of the benthic invertebrate community in the Penobscot River, Maine, between 1974 and 1981. During this period, two pulp and paper manufacturers and three municipalities spent an estimated $33 million to reduce point source effluents harmful to aquatic life. We developed a biotic index based on objectively derived pollution tolerance values for resident taxa. Analysis of the benthic invertebrate community indicated that substantial improvement in water quality had resulted from pollution abatement. We established a four-group water quality classification scheme based on biotic index ranges, and showed that every site that was not in the best water quality classification in 1974 improved its classification to a better water quality group in 1981, and that the sites in the best group did not change. Relative abundances of functional feeding groups also changed, as were predicted by the river continuum theory. The effluents had acted as a “reset mechanism” that shifted polluted areas from autotrophic to more heterotrophic conditions. The direction of the shift was reversed in response to abatement efforts. Functional analyses of energy dynamics could lead to a more ecologically sound classification of water quality.     

Quality and sustainability in the production process: A study of bakeries using an integrated multi-criteria method based on fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS

The objective of the present study is to evaluate, determine, and apply alternatives for improving the quality of the process and the product, with an emphasis on sustainable practices, using an integrated multi-criteria method. For this purpose, an analysis was conducted at a chain of bakeries, aiming to highlight bottlenecks in the production process and in the product. With the support of a literature review, four criteria and seven alternatives were defined to overcome these bottlenecks and, at the same time, contribute to the sustainability of the organization. For data analysis, six decision makers were interviewed and, following their evaluations, an integrated method based on fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS was created. The fuzzy AHP was adopted to establish the importance of the criteria, while the fuzzy TOPSIS was used to evaluate and classify the alternatives developed to bypass the bottlenecks. The results revealed that of the criteria, Criterion “Cr1 – Quality” was prioritized. On the other hand, the alternative with the best performance was “A3 – Physical Layout Reorganization”. Applying this alternative, the study demonstrates the results achieved such as reduction of errors and accident risks, as well as greater fluidity in the productive space. the present study also makes theoretical and managerial contributions to the field, bringing the theory closer to the reality of companies that operate in the food sector.     

Status and fuzzy comprehensive assessment of combined heavy metal and organo-chlorine pesticide pollution in the Taihu Lake region of China

The status of combined heavy metal and organo-chlorine pesticide (OCPs; i.e. HCH and DDT) pollution was investigated and the soil environmental quality of the Taihu Lake watershed, one of the most developed regions in China, was evaluated using a fuzzy comprehensive assessment. Statistical analyses showed the presence of combined pollution in the soil. At many sampling sites, heavy metal concentrations were above corresponding background values, indicating the effects of extraneous pollutants. It has been over 20 years since China banned the use of OCPs, but they can still be found in soil samples of this region. HCH levels at all investigated sites were below the Chinese Environmental Quality Standard for Soils. Fuzzy comprehensive assessment showed that the overall soil quality in this region could be categorized as class I. Nevertheless, the high coefficients of variation for levels of DDT, Cd and Hg indicated the existence of some point-source pollution. Continuous monitoring and further studies of the region are recommended to prevent pollution of farmland from these sources.     

Maintaining quality focus with critical data

Total Quality Management measurement tools are often the very tools necessary to ensure compliance with the rapidly growing regulatory demand for data. At the same time, interest in the environment by average citizens, environmental groups, and regulatory agencies has put increasing pressure on environmental managers for “zero defects.” Violations and exceedances are actively pursued and are, at a minimum, made public to produce incentive for companies to comply. Even companies in compliance face pressure to further improve their performance. No business can afford the lost legal, operational, and public relations costs of noncompliance. There is no room for error. This article discusses the basic tools used at IBM Rochester to better manage and control some key environmental operations and shows how these basic control steps work in an actual wastewater treatment process at the facility.     

PREDICTABILITY OF SURFACE WATER POLLUTION LOADING IN PENNSYLVANIA USING WATERSHED‐BASED LANDSCAPE MEASUREMENTS1

ABSTRACT: We formally evaluated the relationship between landscape characteristics and surface water quality in the state of Pennsylvania (USA) by regressing two different types of pollutant responses on landscape variables that were measured for whole watersheds. One response was the monthly exported mass of nitrogen estimated from field measurements, while the other response was a GIS‐modeled pollution potential index. Regression models were built by the stepwise selection protocol, choosing an optimal set of landscape predictors. After factoring out the effect of physiography, the dominant predictors were the proportion of “annual herbaceous” land and “total herbaceous” land for the nitrogen loading and pollution potential index, respectively. The strength of these single predictors is encouraging because the marginal land cover proportions are the simplest landscape measurements to obtain once a land cover map is in hand; however, the optimal set of predictors also included several measurements of spatial pattern. Thus, for watersheds at this general hierarchical scale, gross landscape pattern may be an important influence on instream pollution loading. Overall, there is strong evidence that using landscape measurements alone, obtained solely from remotely sensed data, can explain most of the water quality variability (R²= approx. 0.75) within these watersheds.     

Achieving and maximizing ISM code compliance with ISO 14001

This summer, July 1, 1997, to be exact, marks the deadline for compliance with the International Code for the Safe Management of Ships and Pollution Prevention (ISM Code or simply the Code) as set forth in Chapter IX of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). As widely reported, enforcement officials in the United States, Australia, and other major flag and port states are promising stepped-up criminal enforcement of marine pollution laws and “zero tolerance” for non-compliance with the ISM Code. The Department of Justice has highlighted this area in enforcement policy announcements, including a statement by the Assistant Attorney General last autumn.¹ Especially given Justice's recent indictments of vessel owners for modest pollution events and these new admonitions, prudent vessel owners will be striving to meet the SOLAS timetable. For shipping firms discerning enough to have successfully navigated a course to certification, the issue instead will be how to sustain safety and environmental management improvement and build on this excellence to advance a broader range of objectives. This article will show how firms in either position may find inspiration in ISO 14001—the environmental management system (EMS) specification developed by the International Organization for Standardization.     

Hospital site selection using fuzzy AHP and its derivatives

Environmental managers are commonly faced with sophisticated decisions, such as choosing the location of a new facility subject to multiple conflicting criteria. This paper considers the specific problem of creating a well-distributed network of hospitals that delivers its services to the target population with minimal time, pollution and cost. We develop a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis process that combines Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis with the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP), and use this process to determine the optimum site for a new hospital in the Tehran urban area. The GIS was used to calculate and classify governing criteria, while FAHP was used to evaluate the decision factors and their impacts on alternative sites. Three methods were used to estimate the total weights and priorities of the candidate sites: fuzzy extent analysis, center-of-area defuzzification, and the α-cut method. The three methods yield identical priorities for the five alternatives considered. Fuzzy extent analysis provides less discriminating power, but is simpler to implement and compute than the other two methods. The α-cut method is more complicated, but integrates the uncertainty and overall attitude of the decision-maker. The usefulness of the new hospital site is evaluated by computing an accessibility index for each pixel in the GIS, defined as the ratio of population density to travel time. With the addition of a new hospital at the optimum site, this index improved over about 6.5 percent of the geographical area.     

制冷压缩机生产废水处理工程改造实例

某制冷压缩机生产废水处理工程改造项目采用"物化除磷+生物降解+深度处理"组合工艺,处理后的出水达到《城市污水再生利用—城市杂用水水质》(GB/T18920-2002)要求。实践证明,该改造工程具有处理工艺先进、技术参数合理、自动化程度高、系统运行稳定、抗冲击负荷能力强等特点。     

Global and regional potential of wastewater as a water,nutrient and energy source

There is a proactive interest in recovering water, nutrients and energy from waste streams with the increase in municipal wastewater volumes and innovations in resource recovery. Based on the synthesis of wastewater data, this study provides insights into the global and regional “potential” of wastewater as water, nutrient and energy sources while acknowledging the limitations of current resource recovery opportunities and promoting efforts to fast-track high-efficiency returns. The study estimates suggest that, currently, 380 billion m³ (m³ = 1,000 L) of wastewater are produced annually across the world which is a volume five-fold the volume of water passing through Niagara Falls annually. Wastewater production globally is expected to increase by 24% by 2030 and 51% by 2050 over the current level. Among major nutrients, 16.6 Tg (Tg = million metric ton) of nitrogen are embedded in wastewater produced worldwide annually; phosphorus stands at 3.0 Tg and potassium at 6.3 Tg. The full nutrient recovery from wastewater would offset 13.4% of the global demand for these nutrients in agriculture. Beyond nutrient recovery and economic gains, there are critical environmental benefits, such as minimizing eutrophication. At the energy front, the energy embedded in wastewater would be enough to provide electricity to 158 million households. These estimates and projections are based on the maximum theoretical amounts of water, nutrients and energy that exist in the reported municipal wastewater produced worldwide annually. Supporting resource recovery from wastewater will need a step-wise approach to address a range of constraints to deliver a high rate of return in direct support of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6, 7 and 12, but also other Goals, including adaptation to climate change and efforts in advancing “net-zero” energy processes towards a green economy.     

Classification of a Malaysian river using biological indices: a preliminary attempt

Local biota and their ecological attributes as indicators of changing conditions in aquatic ecosystems were used to classify the Bernam River, Malaysia. A biological diversity index and a pollution index were adopted for comparison purposes, namely the Shannon–Weaver diversity index and the saprobic system concept of Kolkwitz and Marsson. The collected data on phytoplankton communities and the dissolved oxygen and nitrate concentrations permitted a comparative evaluation of the two indices in assessing the ecosystem health of the river. The Shannon–Weaver diversity index approach appeared to give interesting and interpretable classification results, as compared with the saprobic condition index. The study illustrates how ecological knowledge may be used in the integrated management of natural river environments. However, the identifed areas of uncertainty and practicability of the developed biological scheme need to be considered critically.     

Flavour Industry Wastewater Management Case Study

Summary This study is carried out to propose an appropriate treatment technology for wastewater discharged from a flavor production factory. Industrial wastewater discharged from this factory ranges between 50–70 m³/d with an average value of 60 m³/d. The major source of pollution in this factory is due to cleaning of the vessels therefore the treatment has been carried out on the end-of pipe wastewater. The wastewater is characterized by high values of COD, BOD, TSS and Oil and grease 4646, 2298, 1790 and 626 mg/l respectively. Primary sedimentation of the wastewater for four hours reduced the COD, BOD, TSS and Oil and grease by 43, 47, 80 and 74%, respectively. For the treatment of the produced wastewater, the biological treatment process such as activated sludge, rotating biological contactor (RBC), up-flow anaerobic sludge bed reactor (UASB) have been selected. The results from each treatment process proved to be efficient for the treatment of such wastewater. The treated wastewater characteristics are in compliance with the Egyptian law which regulates the discharge of industrial wastewater to the sewerage system. The RBC was selected and installed by the factory as it has the advantage of low operating and maintenance costs. The factory RBC performance was monitored; characteristics of the treated effluent in terms of oil and grease, COD, BOD and TSS were 27, 362, 139 and 95 mg/l, respectively.     

Antibacterial behavior of silver-modified clinoptilolite-heulandite rich tuff on coliform microorganisms from wastewater in a column system

The water disinfecting behavior of silver-modified clinoptilolite–heulandite rich tuff (ZSAg) as an antibacterial agent against coliform microorganisms from water in a continuous mode was investigated. Silver recovery from the disinfected effluents by the sodium-modified clinoptilolite–heulandite rich tuff (ZSNa) was also considered. Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) and total coliform microorganisms, as indicators of microbiological contamination of water, were chosen to achieve the disinfection of synthetic wastewater or municipal wastewater. Ammonium (NH₄⁺) and chloride (Cl⁻) ions were added to the synthetic wastewater as an interfering chemical species on the disinfection processes. The antibacterial activity of the ZSAg as a bactericide was measured by the coliform concentration as evaluated by the APHA method. The amount of silver in the disinfected effluents was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The inactivation of the ZSAg was calculated from the breakthrough curves based on the model reported by Gupta et al. It was found that when the silver concentration in the effluent is less than 0.6 μg/mL, the bacterial survival percentage increased and the volume of disinfected water diminished. The total silver amounts found in the effluent at the end of the disinfection processes varied depending on the water treated (synthetic or municipal wastewater). The presence of NH₄⁺ ions in synthetic wastewater influent notably improved the disinfected water volume (zero NVC/100 mL), in comparison to the disinfection of the same influent without NH₄⁺ ions. A contrary water disinfection behavior was observed in the presence of Cl⁻ ions. The silver recovery does not depend on the mass of the sodium zeolitic bed according with the wastewater to be treated (synthetic or municipal wastewater) and the presence of NH₄⁺ or Cl⁻ ions in the influent also influenced the silver recovery from wastewater. The ZSNa did not have antibacterial activity. Therefore the amount of bactericide agent (silver-modified natural zeolite), coliform microorganisms from water (E. coli or consort of coliform microorganisms) as well as the water quality (synthetic wastewater or municipal wastewater) influenced both the disinfection process and the silver recovery in a column system.     

FARMERS’ATTITUDES TOWARD GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN PREVENTING AGRICULTURAL NONPOINT SOURCE WATER POLLUTION1

ABSTRACT: Concern over the pollution of our lakes and streams has become a major issue in the United States. Sedimentation from sigricultural lands has been identified as a significant factor in water pollution. Some citizens suggest that government should force compliance with soil loss standards, while others suggest that we ask farmers to voluntarily comply. Related questions are “DO farmers think government should be involved in controlling erosion and protecting water quality?”“To what extent should government be involved?” What level of government should be involved? Federal? State? Local?“Why should pay for water quality projects?” Farmers from a small watershed in northeastern Indiana were interviewed before and after a major demonstration project. Their responses suggest that farmers feel that individual landowners should be responsible for controlling erosion and agricultural nonpoint source water pollution. However, over 60 percent of the study fanners indicated that the federal government should play an important role, in terms of both technical and financial assistance.     

Decolorization and Complete Degradation of Methyl Red by a Mixed Culture

Synthetic dyes, azo dyes in particular, are widely found in the effluents from textile industries. The persistence and toxicity of these compounds cause adverse impacts in the receiving streams. A mixed culture isolated from a domestic wastewater treatment plant was found to remove the colour of the azo dye, methyl red, efficiently. Total decolorization and degradation occurred within 18 h. The mixed culture could degrade 700 mgl^–1 of methyl red efficiently in the presence of 200 mgl^–1 of glucose, whereas in the absence of glucose it could degrade only 100 mgl^–1 of methyl red. The mixed culture, when suspended in phosphate buffer along with methyl red at 100 mgl^–1 concentration could degrade methyl red efficiently within 2 h of incubation. The pH of the medium decreased continuously during degradation. After the complete removal of initial methyl red, another 100 mgl^–1 was added to the culture filtrate and incubated further. The mixed microbial cultures could degrade methyl red efficiently through three cycles but further degradation was not possible as the pH of the medium decreased to 3.5.     

Leaching composted lignocellulosic wastes to prepare container media: Feasibility and environmental concerns

The leaching of salt and mineral elements from three composts prepared with residual vegetable crop biomass (melon, pepper or zucchini) was studied using methacrylate columns and distilled water. The benefits of the leached composts to be used for ornamental potted plant production were also analysed. After leaching 5 container capacities of effluent, both the electrical conductivity and the concentration of soluble mineral elements in compost leachates decreased substantially and remained close to the target levels. Composts reacted differently to leaching due to differences in the raw waste sources and the composting process and hence, in their physical and chemical characteristics. At the end of the experiment, after pouring 8 container capacities of water, the leaching efficiency of the salts was 96%, 93% and 87% for melon, pepper and zucchini-based composts, respectively. Mineral elements differed in their ability to be removed from the composts; N (NH₄⁺ and NO₃^?), K⁺, Na⁺, Cl^?, and SO₄^2? were leached readily, whereas H₂PO₄^?, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ were removed hardly. Leached composts showed a range of physico-chemical and chemical characteristics suitable for use as growing media constituents. Potted Calendula and Calceolaria plants grew in the substrates prepared with the leached composts better than in those made with the non-leached ones. Finally, special emphasis must be paid to the management of the effluents produced under commercial conditions to avoid environmental pollution.     

STATE WATER QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM IN ARIZONA1

ABSTRACT: Arizona's water pollution control program is based on authorties of Arizona Revised Statutes and Public Law 92–500, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. The primary areas of this program are monitoring, facility inspections, plan review, planning, discharge permits and grants for the construction of publicly-owned waste water treatment facilities. The discharge permit program deals with control of point-source discharges and is administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The planning and construction grants programs are administered by the State Water Quality Control Council and are implemented by the Bureau of Water Quality Control, which serves as staff to the Council. There are several challenges that face the State in this program. First is the adaptation of the “eastern law” to deal with Arizona's water quality problems. Second is to address problems caused by a long history of “laissez-faire” environmental quality management. Third is a mutual cooperation and coordination among the many entities involved in water resources management. Areas of particular interest in the State's program is the process setting water quality standards and the involvement of people of diversified backgrounds in the field of areawide planning under Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which is primarily concerned with non-point sources of water pollution.     

“Lean and Green” at a Romanian secondary tissue paper and board mill—putting theory into practice

A three-year environmental project was implemented at the Petrocart S.A. paper and board mill, through the Danish Support Programme for Eastern Europe (DANCEE). The aim was to use “Lean and Green” Production to improve industrial compliance with the effluent regulations and with EUs IPPC Directive under implementation in Romania, thereby improving the environmental conditions in the Bistrita River running through the town. The results obtained included an 87% reduction of the discharge of wastewater from 5300 to about 700 m³/day. Previously, the effluent was subjected to primary treatment only. The reduction in flow reduced mill fibre losses and allowed discharge to an existing, underloaded, municipal treatment system, where primary and secondary treatment is operated. Further results obtained were better housekeeping (5S and Kaizen) and a Total Quality Management (TQM) organisation was implemented where product quality, environment and occupational health and safety are merged into one system. Twenty-eight TQM groups were formed, each with a representative from management and elected among workers. The mill's employment is slightly higher today, and the gross turnover and profitability has almost tripled. Had Petrocart had the financial resources themselves carried the project through without DANCEE support, the payback time for the project would have been 3.7 years for the total of €2 million spent. Petrocart no longer pays penalties for environmental non-compliance. The performance contributes to IPPC-approval. The project was implemented within the framework of DANCEE's procedures, which is based on the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) for project management. The PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2™) model for project management was also applied. This article analyses how the results were achieved and how Lean and Green thinking as well as good project management practices, such as LFA and PRINCE2 were applied to turn around an old Eastern European company to survive privatization.     

An imprecise fuzzy risk approach for water quality management of a river system

Uncertainty plays an important role in water quality management problems. The major sources of uncertainty in a water quality management problem are the random nature of hydrologic variables and imprecision (fuzziness) associated with goals of the dischargers and pollution control agencies (PCA). Many Waste Load Allocation (WLA) problems are solved by considering these two sources of uncertainty. Apart from randomness and fuzziness, missing data in the time series of a hydrologic variable may result in additional uncertainty due to partial ignorance. These uncertainties render the input parameters as imprecise parameters in water quality decision making. In this paper an Imprecise Fuzzy Waste Load Allocation Model (IFWLAM) is developed for water quality management of a river system subject to uncertainty arising from partial ignorance. In a WLA problem, both randomness and imprecision can be addressed simultaneously by fuzzy risk of low water quality. A methodology is developed for the computation of imprecise fuzzy risk of low water quality, when the parameters are characterized by uncertainty due to partial ignorance. A Monte-Carlo simulation is performed to evaluate the imprecise fuzzy risk of low water quality by considering the input variables as imprecise. Fuzzy multiobjective optimization is used to formulate the multiobjective model. The model developed is based on a fuzzy multiobjective optimization problem with max–min as the operator. This usually does not result in a unique solution but gives multiple solutions. Two optimization models are developed to capture all the decision alternatives or multiple solutions. The objective of the two optimization models is to obtain a range of fractional removal levels for the dischargers, such that the resultant fuzzy risk will be within acceptable limits. Specification of a range for fractional removal levels enhances flexibility in decision making. The methodology is demonstrated with a case study of the Tunga–Bhadra river system in India.     

新疆某油区土壤污染状况研究

对新疆某油区的土壤污染状况进行研究,以期为石油开采区土壤生态环境保护与治理提供基础资料。通过对新疆某油区内的土壤环境状况调查发现,油田开发过程中产生的钻井废水、原油脱出水、井下作业废水、钻井废弃泥浆、钻井岩屑、污水处理厂污泥、罐底油泥是土壤污染的重要来源;该油区土壤受油田开发活动的影响,石油类、铬、总盐的含量升高,土壤有机质含量降低,pH趋于弱酸性。油气田开发项目应加强对污染物的管理,及时完善环保措施,并建立有效的环境管理制度,将油气田开发活动对环境的影响降到最低。