The Green Edge

ASSE Standard Project to Protect Green Workers

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) recently announced a new A10 Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) standard project to protect the safety and health of workers involved in construction and demolition operations for wind generation/turbine facilities, known as the "American National Standard for the Safe Construction and Demolition of Wind Generation/Turbine Facilities" (A10.21-20xx).

"The committee decided to develop this standard because of the national emphasis on green energy, recognizing that thousands of these ‘green' structures are going to be built and as such present challenging safety and health issues," A10 Committee Chair Richard King said.

Ryan J. Jacobson, P.E., manager of wind energy services for Black & Veatch, will serve as the subgroup chair and Walter A. Jones, M.S., associate director, occupational safety and health for Laborers' Health & Safety Fund of North America, will serve as the A10.21 liaison.

Safety and health issues the A10.21 subgroup will address include working at heights, mechanical assembly of large components, medium voltage electrical safety and working in exposed environments. The subgroup will cite and recognize other existing voluntary national consensus standards in the development process. Major construction on a wind project as well as major activities also will be considered.

ASSE serves as the secretariat for the A10 Accredited Standards Committee on construction and demolition operations. The A10 standards serve as guides to contractors, labor and equipment manufacturers in the construction and demolition industry.

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100%-Recycled Industrial Absorbent

Kadant GranTek has enhanced its environmentally friendly granular product offerings with its latest fiber-based absorbent. Gran-sorb industrial absorbent is made from 100% recycled post-consumer paper waste and used for spill cleanup, liquid stabilization, bioremediation and site remediation, among other industrial absorbent uses. This environmentally responsible product absorbs oils, solvents, lubricants, coolants, water and most non-aggressive liquids on contact. While traditional clay-based absorbents are dusty, dirty, have relatively low absorption rates and respiratory drawbacks, Gran-sorb is dust- and silica-free, leaves no stains, cleans up quickly, has low ash content and is safe for disposal by incineration. Additionally, because Gran-sorb is created using fibrous sludge waste from select paper mills, it is safe for both the environment and employee use. It has a weight-to-weight absorbency of one-to-one, meaning 30 lbs. of Gran-sorb will absorb 30 lbs. (or four gallons) of oil. Gran-sorb is available in 30 lb. poly bags, 65 bags per pallet and 1430 bags per palletized truckload.

Kadant GranTek Inc.,
a subsidiary of Kadant Inc.
Green Bay, WI

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ExxonMobil Increases Global Cogeneration Capacity

ExxonMobil recently inaugurated its newest high efficiency cogeneration plant at its Antwerp refinery in Belgium. According to the company, this facility is more efficient than many traditional cogeneration plants because of its heat recovery system. In addition to generating steam, the cogeneration facility utilizes heat created in the gas-turbine exhaust to heat crude oil, the initial step in the process of converting crude oil into refined products. It will generate 125 megawatts and reduce Belgium's carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 200,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of removing about 90,000 cars from Europe's roads.

"This new cogeneration plant allows for the efficient generation of electricity to run pumps, compressors and other equipment in our facilities, while at the same time, producing additional steam that is needed in processes that transform crude oil into refined products," said Gilbert Asselman, manager of the Antwerp refinery. "With the latest technology, cogeneration is significantly more efficient than traditional methods of producing steam and power separately. This results in lower operating costs and significantly less greenhouse gas emissions."

With the launch of the Antwerp facility, ExxonMobil now has interests in about 4600 megawatts of cogeneration capacity in about 100 individual installations at more than 30 sites worldwide. Additional new facilities under construction in Singapore and China will increase ExxonMobil's cogeneration capacity to more than 5000 megawatts in the next three years.

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