Excerpt that mentions the reinforced-concrete core of each WTC tower: "At the heart of the structure was a vertical steel and concrete core, housing lift shafts and stairwells. Steel beams radiate outwards and connect with steel uprights, forming the building's outer wall. All the steel was covered in concrete to guarantee firefighters a minimum period of one or two hours in which they could operate - although aviation fuel would have driven the fire to higher-than-normal temperatures." ************************************************************ Note: Another version is identical except for: Email ggallon@pcstarnet.com From: NY Transfer News Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive Subject: Gallon Environ.Letter: Engineers on WTC Collapse Followup-To: alt.activism.d Date: 27 Sep 2001 12:42:11 -0500 Organization: ? Lines: 648 Approved: map@pencil.math.missouri.edu Message-ID: <9ovodj$am6$1@pencil.math.missouri.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: pencil.math.missouri.edu X-Trace: dipsy.missouri.edu 1001612531 353 128.206.49.147 (27 Sep 2001 17:42:11 GMT) X-Complaints-To: news@dipsy.missouri.edu NNTP-Posting-Date: 27 Sep 2001 17:42:11 GMT Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit ************************************************************* THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER 506 Victoria Ave., Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5 Ph: (514) 369-0230, Fax (514) 369-3282 Email cibe@web.net Vol. 5, No. 33, September 24, 2001 ************************************************************* ENGINEERS EXAMINE THE COLLAPSE OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTRE'S TWO TOWERS Why did the two World Trade Centre towers collapse like a house of cards killing over 6,600 Americans and other nationalities after being hit by planes a fraction of their size? The two 110-story towers were built to withstand the collision of a Boeing 707 when built in 1973. First, let's get the facts on the towers. The two towers in the financial district of New York were 1,368 and 1,362 feet (417 and 415 meters) high. Owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, they were designed by Minoru Yamasaki, Emery Roth and Sons consulting and engineered by John Skilling and Leslie Robertson of Worthington, Skilling, Helle and Jackson. The twin towers were part of a seven-building complex that covered eight city blocks. An 800 x 400-ft foundation box, 65-ft-deep and with 3-ft-thick retaining walls, is under more than half the complex, including the twin towers and the adjacent hotel. Each tower contained about 100,000 tons of steel and 4 inches of concrete topping on the 40,000-sq-ft floors, according to Henry H. Deutch, assistant to the chief structural engineer for construction manager Tishman Realty & Construction Co. Inc., New York City. The twin towers, framed in structural steel, had exterior moment frames with 14-inch steel box columns spaced 39 inches on centre. The configuration created a complete tube around the building. The central steel core carried gravity loads only. The exterior tube provided all the lateral resistance. Horizontal steel trusses spanned 60 feet from the exterior wall to the core. Concrete on metal deck completed the floor diaphragm. Each 110-story tower had a floor plate that was 208 feet by 208 feet. The central core of each was 86-feet square. Around the perimeter of the buildings, columns were spaced at 3'-3" on centre, with 48-inch deep plate girders at each floor. At the third level, the columns transitioned in an arch-like formation to a 10'-0" spacing for the lower story. Floors were supported by steel trusses spanning 60 feet, from the core to the perimeter wall, on each side of the building. The buildings are also thought to have been the first buildings to use non-asbestos fireproofing. The fibers of the spray-on fireproofing product were reportedly ceramic rather than asbestos. At the heart of the structure was a vertical steel and concrete core, housing lift shafts and stairwells. Steel beams radiate outwards and connect with steel uprights, forming the building's outer wall. All the steel was covered in concrete to guarantee firefighters a minimum period of one or two hours in which they could operate - although aviation fuel would have driven the fire to higher-than-normal temperatures. The floors were also concrete. The building had to be tough enough to withstand not just the impact of a plane - and the previous bomb attack in 1993 - but also of the enormous structural pressures created by strong winds. See the full description at http://www.civil.usyd.edu.au/wtc.htm#why . ****************************************************************** IT WAS THE FIRE THAT BUCKLED THE BUILDINGS: SAY ENGINEERS "It was the fire that killed the buildings - nothing on Earth could survive those temperatures with that amount of fuel burning," said Structural engineer Chris Wise. Once the steel frame on one floor had melted, it collapsed downwards, inflicting massive forces on the already-weakened floor below. From then on, the collapse became inevitable, as each new falling floor added to the downward forces. Further down the building, even steel at normal temperatures gave way under the enormous weight - an estimated 100,000 tonnes from the upper floors alone. "It was as if the top of the building was acting like a huge pile-driver, crashing down on to the floors underneath," said Chris Wise. "Only the containment building at a nuclear power plant" is designed to withstand such an impact and explosion, says Robert S. Vecchio, principal of metallurgical engineer Lucius Pitkin Inc., referring to the hijacked Boeing 767 airplanes, heavy with fuel, that slammed into each WTC tower. As the fires burned, the structural steel on the breached floors and above would have softened and warped because of the intense heat, say sources. Fireproofed steel is only rated to resist 1,500 to 1,600=B0 F. As the structure warped and weakened at the top of each tower, the frame, along with concrete slabs, furniture, file cabinets, and other materials, became an enormous, consolidated weight that eventually crushed the lower portions of the frame below. When the stability was lost, the exterior columns buckled outward, allowing the floors above to drop down onto floors below, overloading and failing each one as it went down, he says. The good thing is that the two towers of the World Trade Centre, one stood for one hour and the other stood for one and three-quarter hours after impact. The American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc. (AISC) has contacted FEMA and the leading structural engineering associations and is forming a special task force to investigate the structural collapses of the World Trade Center buildings resulting from the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. What is of some concern is the fact that newer skyscrapers in the United States and elsewhere were constructed using cheaper methods and would collapse even quicker. See the full analysis at http://www.civil.usyd.edu.au/wtc.htm#why . ************************************************************* GIVE TO THE SUPPORT EFFORT FOR VICTIMS OF WTC The crashing of the three U.S. airline planes into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon was a terrible tragedy carried out by unscrupulous people. We support the efforts to catch them and bring them to justice. We also ask that you give to the funds for supporting the victims of the tragedy. For example, you can give to the special fund at the American Red Cross. To help provide support for people in need following this disaster as well as emerging human needs resulting from this tragedy, contributions can be made to the American Red Cross by calling 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions may also be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online credit card contribution by visiting http://www.redcross.org . ************************************************************* U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY MONITORING HAZARDOUS AIR AND WATER AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTRE DISASTER The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the Department of Labour's Occupational Health and Safety Administration today announced that the majority of air and dust samples monitored at the crash site and in Lower Manhattan do not indicate levels of concern for asbestos. The new samples confirm previous reports that ambient air quality meets OSHA standards and consequently is not a cause for public concern. New OSHA data also indicates that indoor air quality in downtown buildings will meet standards. The original WTC North Tower may have contained asbestos in its cementitious fireproofing as did the first 30 stories of the WTC South Tower. Some or all of this asbestos may have been removed after the 1993 bombing. EPA has found variable asbestos levels in bulk debris and dust on the ground, but EPA continues to believe that there is no significant health risk to the general public. Air Samples taken on September 13, 2001, inside buildings in New York's financial district were negative for asbestos. Debris samples collected outside buildings on cars and other surfaces contained small percentages of asbestos, ranging from 2.1 to 3.3 - slightly above the 1 percent trigger for defining a hazard of asbestos material in the air. "EPA will be deploying 16 vacuum trucks this weekend in an effort to remove as much of the dust and debris as possible from the site where the samples were obtained," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "In addition, we will be moving six continuous air monitoring stations into the area. We will put five near ground zero and one on Canal Street. The good news continues to be that the air samples we have taken have all been at levels that cause us no concern." HEPA (Highly Efficient Particulate Air) filter vacuum truck at work outside New York Stock Exchange. EPA brought ten of these 3,000 gallon capacity trucks into lower Manhattan to help safely clean streets, vehicles and buildings of potentially hazardous dust. HEPA filters are capable of capturing small particles including asbestos fibbers. The dust and other materials are collected in air tight storage containers which are part of the truck design. Collected material is off-loaded at two city transfer stations. Also, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman reported that the most detailed results to date of on-going monitoring of drinking water in New York City provide additional reassurance that city residents are not being exposed to dangerous contaminants including asbestos, radiation, mercury and other metals, pesticides, PCBs and bacteria. Results we have just received on drinking water quality show that not only is asbestos not detectable, but also we can not detect any bacterial contamination, PCBs or pesticides. Thus far a total of 13 drinking water samples have been taken from water mains in lower Manhattan. In addition to analyzing the samples for asbestos, pesticides and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls, which are mixtures of synthetic organic chemicals), EPA has also tested drinking water for metals (including mercury), and radioactivity (both alpha and beta). None of these contaminants exceeded EPA drinking water standards. Also the EPA has taken samples at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, where runoff from lower Manhattan goes for treatment, to identify what sort of materials are leaving the disaster site and running into the surrounding waterways. Source, http://www.epa.gov/epahome/headline_091601.htm . ************************************************************* U.S. MILITARY COULD BECOME MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT, AND THEREFORE MORE EFFICIENT As the U.S. military gears up to fight terrorists, a new Department of Defence (DOD) study finds that the military is burdened and made much less efficient because of terrible fuel guzzling problems with many of its units including tanks and fighter planes. The report entitled, "More Capable Warfighting Through Reduced Fuel Burden," said that with some simple technological changes towards fuel efficiencies the military not only would carry out its duties more efficiently but would conserve finite supplies of fossil fuels and better protect the environment including reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the Abrams tank which lumbered through the deserts of Iraq during the Gulf War achieves only 0.2 miles per gallon. During the 6-month deployment before the Persian Gulf War, 70 per cent of the total tonnage shipped was fuel. The Army Research Lab concluded that if the Abrams tank had been 50 per cent more fuel efficient - and the technology exists today to make it so - the set-up time for the Gulf War would have been reduced by a full month and the tank's range would have doubled. The US military spent $3.6 billion for 4.4 billion gallons of fuel in the fiscal year ended September 2000, but that was only a tiny portion of the fuel bill. Far more money was spent on fuel delivery. The Defence Department sells fuel to the military at a set price of $1.01 per gallon. The Air Force, the military's largest consumer of fuel, consumes 2 billion gallons a year. However, the cost of fuel delivered jumps from $1.01 per gallon to $13 per gallon when you factor in the cost of delivering the fuel to the military equipment in the field. As a result of not understanding this, the US Congress voted in 1997 against installing more energy efficient engines in the B-52H bombers because they only calculated a $400 million fuel savings (at $1.01 per gallon) over the 40-year lifetime of the fleet. They were not given the full cost accounting. Had they received it, they would have learned that the cost of the fuel plus its delivery costs to the B-52H bombers would have been $1.7 billion. Plus, they weren't told that with the new fuel efficient jet engines the Air Force could remove 55 refuelling tankers saving an additional $154 million annually, or $6 billion over the fleet's 40-year lifetime. The benefits continue. The 55 tanker planes could have been moved over to supply the new F-22 Stealth bomber fleet, eliminating the need to buy 55 new tanker planes. Overall, the task force found potential savings of US $9 billion if Congress had voted in 1997 to spend the money to put new fuel-efficient engines in the B-52H bombers. Also, the report found that the range of many weapons is limited by the capacity of their fuel tanks, and efforts to resupply them create a military Achilles' heel. The military "overlooked the substantial performance gains that can also be achieved through energy efficiencies, including greater range, lighter weight systems, and reduced combat vulnerability." Source: "The Most Fuel Efficient That You Can Be," by Janet Ginsburg, Business Week Magazine, September 3, 2001. ************************************************************* THE PACIFIC ISLAND OF TUVALU COVERED BY RISING OCEAN: CLIMATE CHANGE Ten thousand people, Tuvalu's entire population, are packing their bags as their homes among nine low?level atolls are being swallowed by the rising sea in the South Pacific Ocean. The earth is warming, sea levels are rising, and Tuvalu is quietly being erased from the surface of the Earth. Leo Falcam, president of the Federated States of Micronesia, made an impassioned plea to senior policy leaders in Hawaii last week to create policies that will curb global warming. He cautioned that the Pacific Islanders' "early experience with real consequences of global warming has been considered analogous to the canary in the coal mine -- providing an early warning to the global community of its own impending doom." The Tuvalu islands are only the first casualties of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), predicts a 50-cm to one-meter rise in sea levels over the next century. A rise of one meter would place 17.5 percent of Bangladesh, 6 percent of the Netherlands, and 80 percent of Atoll Majuro of the Marshall Islands under water, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Low?lying coastal zones of developed countries and small islands could also be seriously affected. The 1.4 to 5.8-degree centigrade rise over the next century will also increase flooding, the intensity of storms, and droughts in Asia and Africa. Climate change is not a future concern; it is an immediate national security threat. A Diaspora of a people is being created. It is difficult to understand what this means. The Tuvalu people need to build new lives in a new land. Source: "Tuvalu: First Casualty of Climate Change," by Eun Jung Cahill Che, The Japan Times, Tokyo, August 2001. ************************************************************* WINDPOWER BECOMING AS CHEAP AS COAL-FIRED ELECTRICITY Wind power will soon be cheaper than coal and could become a leading source of electricity with the right political support and investment, according Stanford University engineers. They calculated that building some 225,000 wind turbines across the United States would be expensive -- at an initial cost of $338 billion -- but that the payback would include a huge drop in emissions tied to global warming, a reduction in the destructive practices of coal mining, and provide new competitive advantages in clean technology. Writing in the journal Science, the team calculated that wind?generated energy would cost 3 to 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, the same price as coal-fired electricity. However, when you factor in associated costs of coal power including environmental and structural damage done by acid gases and soot and pollution fallout, the real cost of coal power moves closer to 5.5 cents to 8.3 cents per kilowatt hour, the engineers calculated. Source, MSNBC.COM, August 24, 2001. See the feature at http://www.msnbc.com/news/617631.asp. Also see "US Researchers Argue for Harnessing Wind Power From Planet Ark" at the website http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12147/story.htm . ************************************************************* SPECTROLAB, CALIFORNIA, DEVELOPS NEW SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY A solar PV cell that uses concentrators is among the year's 100 most significant technologies selected by Research & Development Magazine. The cell was designed and built by Spectrolab, Inc., and its efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity provides the cell with the potential to be competitive with conventional electricity generation technologies in the future. The triple-junction terrestrial concentrator solar cell has achieved a record conversion efficiency of 34 percent in laboratory tests, which makes it the first to exceed the goal of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) 'One-Third-of-a-Sun' initiative. The solar cell employs a three-layered structure that is effective in capturing and converting solar spectrum. Each of the three junctions captures and converts a different portion of the solar spectrum. Spectrolab, a Los Angeles company that was bought by Boeing last year, has already received an order from Arizona Public Service, the state's largest electric utility, for 140 kilowatts of terrestrial concentrator receivers using triple-junction solar cells. Spectrolab shares the magazine's award with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), DOE's premier laboratory for renewable energy research. The two groups applied jointly for the award and have collaborated on advanced solar cell technologies since the mid-1990s. NREL validated the 34 percent efficiency of the Spectrolab solar cells. Another key feature of the solar cells is their ability to withstand the energy of highly concentrated sunlight. Using concentrated sunlight reduces the number of cells needed to generate power, which lowers the cost per watt represented by solar cells. At 400 suns concentration and with megawatt?scale production, officials estimate the PV cells could be manufactured for less than US $1 per watt. In addition, the capability of Spectrolab's cells to operate at higher solar concentrations allows for further cost reduction, approaching 50 cents per watt. This has the potential to make such concentrator systems cost-competitive with conventional power generation. http://www.spectrolab.com. Source: "Solar Cell Receives Prestigious Award," Los Angeles, August 28, 2001, from http://www.solaraccess.com . ************************************************************* AUSTRALIA OPENS HUGE WINDFARM IN SOUTHWEST VICTORIA The largest and first non-government windfarm in Australia has been officially opened, after less than a year of construction. The Codrington windfarm near Port Fairy in southwest Victoria, has 14 turbines, each of 1.3 megawatts, generating electricity for 14,000 homes. The facility will abate 76,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum through the generation of renewable energy in a country where coal and gas-fired generation is the main source of power. With a combined capacity of 18.2 MW and total capital cost of AUS $33 million, the Codrington windfarm was developed by Pacific Hydro after extensive consultation with local council, land holders, environmental groups and other local stakeholders. The company is completing another environmental statement for a further four?site windfarm in the Portland region, to generate another 150 MW. This new facility may begin construction inside of 12 months and again take only about a year to build. The growing interest in cleaner energy sources and the roaring forties wind pattern along Australia's south coast, offers a major opportunity for wind power generation in at least three of Australia's states. Pacific Hydro is launching a Blue Wind Energy brand for marketing its renewable energy production through electricity retailers. The Australian government has ruled that, by 2010, retailers must find an extra 9,500-gigawatt hours of electricity from renewable energy, driving an increased demand for alternative power supplies. Visit the website http://www.pacifichydro.com.au. Source: "Roaring Forties Power Up Australian Windfarm Industry," Codrington, Victoria, Australia, August 28, 2001, by http://www.solaraccess.com . ************************************************************* EMISSIONS MARKETING ASSOCIATION TO HOLD ANNUAL MEETING, SEPTEMBER 30, 2001 IN SOUTH CAROLINA The Emissions Marketing Association (EMA), a not-for-profit international membership organisation, is promoting market?based trading solutions air pollution and greenhouse gas credits. The EMA is hosting its 5th Annual Fall Meeting & International Conference to provide education, training, and information exchange for members and the emissions trading community. The Fall Meeting & International Conference will take place from September 30 to October 2, 2001 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. This meeting marks the return of "Emissions Trading 101", a pre-conference session geared towards those new to the industry and for those looking to expand their focus in the air emissions trading industry. The Fall Meeting, which begins October 1, 2001, will include a dual-track program format for you to choose which sessions to attend. Some of the topics that will be addressed include: Linkages Between Energy & Climate Policy, Perspective On What To Expect At COP-7, Voluntary CO2 Commitments/ GHG Trading Pilots, NOx and SO2 Emissions Trading Trends, etc. There will also be a Poster Session with opportunities to meet the authors throughout the meeting and an exhibit hall with vendors of emissions trading products and services. For more information contact David Feldner, EMA Executive Director, email dfeldner@emissions.org, phone (414) 276-3819, fax (414) 276-3349, Emissions Marketing Association, 611 East Wells Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202. Go to the EMA website at http://www.emissions.org for all of the EMA Fall Meeting and International Conference information. ************************************************************* NUCLEAR POWER LARGE ENERGY CONSUMER; CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE CREATES GREENHOUSE GASES Anti-nuclear advocate, Helen Caldicott, reports that a nuclear plant must operate for 18 years before it is able to produce one net calorie of energy. She reports that the mining, milling and manufacturing of nuclear fuel for reactors is energy intensive, and creates significant carbon dioxide emissions during these phases. Add to that the heavy energy demands for cooling and maintaining nuclear fuel rods both in the reactor and in the spent fuel storage pools, the energy demands grow substantially. She stated that "among the many departures from the truth by opponents of the Kyoto protocol, one of the most invidious is that nuclear power is "clean" and, therefore, the answer to global warming." She warned about the proposal from Australia's Environment Minister, Senator Hill, who proposed the idea that developing countries should be encouraged to take the clean nuclear route to limiting greenhouse gases ? thereby becoming customers for Australian uranium. She states that enormous quantities of fossil fuel are used to mine, mill and enrich the uranium needed to fuel a nuclear power plant, as well as to construct the enormous concrete reactor itself. During the 1970s the US deployed seven huge 1,000-megawatt coal-fired plants, which themselves pumped out hundreds of thousands of tons of greenhouse gases, to enrich its uranium and it is still using coal to enrich much of the world's uranium. So, to recoup the equivalent of the amount of fossil fuel used in preparation and construction before the first switch is thrown to initiate nuclear fission, the plant must operate for almost two decades. But that is not the end of fossil fuel use because disassembling nuclear plants at the end of their 30 to 40 year operating life will require yet more vast quantities of energy. Taking apart, piece by radioactive piece, a nuclear reactor and its surrounding infrastructure is a massive, energy-intensive operation. She said, "Imagine, for example, the amount of petrol, diesel and electricity that would be used if the Sydney Opera House were to be dismantled. That's the scale we're talking about. And that is not the end of fossil use because much will also be required for the final transport and long?term storage of nuclear waste generated by every reactor." Dr Helen Caldicott is the founding president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. See their website at http://www.psr.org and the website http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0827?02.htm. "Caldicott: Nuclear Plant Must Operate for 18 Years Before Producing One Net Calorie of Energy," by Helen Caldicott, August 27, 2001 in the Sydney Morning Herald, website http://www.smh.com.au/index.html. ************************************************************* CHINA GETTING INTO THE SOLAR ENERGY BUSINESS Surf the Internet and you will find several companies in China beginning to sell solar energy systems as solutions to climate change. One of these companies is Suntopway Solar Co. Ltd. It calls itself a leading manufacturer and exporter of full range of solar products in China. They offer solar home power system, solar panels, solar lanterns, solar garden lights, solar radios, solar torch, and solar home lighting kits. For more information contact Sam Hua, Sales Manager, Shenzhen Topway Solar Co., Ltd., Suntopway Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., 10L,Western Coast Mansion, Nanyou Dadao, Shenzhen, China, Tel: 6070440; 6070402; 6490200; 6490201 Fax:+86-755-6070222;6402722, email samsolar@21cn.com. Visit their website http://www.suntopway.com. ************************************************************* EARTH TECHNOLOGIES FORUM ON CLIMATE CHANGE, MARCH 2002 IN WASHINGTON, D.C. The Earth Technologies Forum (ETF), the pre-eminent conference and exhibition on global climate change and ozone protection technologies and policies, will be held March 25 - 27, 2002 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. A Call for Papers is available now at http://www.earthforum.com. The conference is sponsored by the International Climate Change Partnership (ICCP) and the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy in co-operation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Agency for International Development, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme, Environment Canada, Industry Canada, Australian Greenhouse Office, Netherlands' Reduction Plan for the Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, as well as over 80 industry groups. The conference will provide an opportunity for discussion of current technologies and efforts to bring them into the marketplace. One of the main features of the conference will be an exhibition of climate and ozone-friendly technologies and programs. For a copy of the Call for Papers or additional information, please call ETF at (703) 807-4052. You may also check the Forum's home page at http://www.earthforum.com, or e?mail them at earthforum@alcalde?fay.com. ************************************************************* JEB BUSH ANNOUNCES WATER CRISIS IN FLORIDA Governor Jeb Bush announced that the State of Florida has a serious drinking water shortage. The population of 16 million people relies on groundwater for 93 per cent of their drinking water. With additional fresh water no longer available, Florida is planning to supply its growing drinking water demand with the construction of desalinisation plants that will process less salty water from brackish aquifers (as opposed to the saltier ocean water). The desal plants will use either electrodialysis (electricity) or a pressure driven reverse osmosis. This RO filtration process incorporates semi-permeable membranes to remove salts, calcium, and other undesirable dissolved products to produce potable drinking water. Currently there are 127 membrane plants listed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) using reverse osmosis (RO) desalination; most are in south Florida. "Florida is the leading source of desalination membrane plants in the world," says Dr. Steven J. Duranceau, Director of Water Quality and Treatment, Boyle Engineering Corp. a leading designer of desalinisation plants in Florida. "This is a huge market for membrane use being driven by stringent disinfection regulations, coastal saltwater intrusion, and stressed shallow underground sources of drinking water (USDW) supplies," says Dr. Duranceau. Sources of drinking water are at record low levels stressed by unfettered permitted growth and a four-year drought. Throughout south Florida overuse of aquifer supplies by expanding communities has aggravated saltwater intrusion into drinking water aquifers requiring expensive well relocations and desalination plant use. Source, "Florida Turns to Membrane Filtration Plants to Provide Unfettered Growth for Drinking Water, researched and written by Donald Sutherland, June 6, 2001. Visit the website http://www.watermakers.com/how.htm. Also see http://www.boyleengineering.com/index_ie.htm. And see the website http://fl.water.usgs.gov/Water_data/miami_drought.html#Current ************************************************************* DESALINIZATION PLANT CONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA GROWS The US Geological Survey reports of saline ground water (desal/ro & blended) as a source of public supply in Florida show a jump from 17.3 million gallons per day (mgd) in 1985 to 75.1 mgd in 1998 (out of a total 2,275.4 mgd overall water use in 1998). The City of Cape Coral, Florida, on the Gulf Coast (where population has risen from 12,000 to 85,000 in 25 years) is almost entirely dependent on desalinated water for drinking water and has one of the biggest desal plants in the state with a 15 mgd capacity. In Sarasota County, the largest municipal water treatment facility of its type in the world using Ionics' Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) was commissioned in 1995 to demineralize the brackish well water to drinking water standards and produces over 12 mgd. Rapidly growing coastal communities of Jupiter, Melbourne, Hollywood, Cape Coral, Naples, Fort Myers, Carlton, Dunedin, Marco Island, Sanibel, Palm Coast, and Pine Island have constructed plants in the last 10 years with a total capacity of 145.6 mgd. Sarasota, Collier, Palm Beach, and Indian River Counties are also expanding their RO/Desal plants. "The big issue is finding alternatives and enacting stricter conservation measures, a politically tough act," says Marella. "There is a lot of pressure being put on growth management with water resources," says Bart Weiss, Senior Project Manager for the Resource Conservation and Development Department of the South West Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). Increasing existing inland wellfield use to supply booming coastal community use is hotly contested under the Local Sources First legislation that governs moving water across county lines. "Removal of water from existing inland wellfields is conditional the withdrawal won't cause saltwater intrusion, harm the environment and hurt others ability to withdraw water," says Michael Molligan, communications & community affairs manager for SWFWMD. Based on the SWFWMD agreement with three counties in the Tampa Bay area, the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere is planned to be built and operated in Tampa by December 2002 at an estimated cost of $74 million dollars by Poseidon Resources Corporation and Covanta Energy Corp. Poseidon Resources, a leading developer of water projects is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The Tampa Bay Water officials say the project will provide 25 mgd, meeting roughly one-tenth of the drinking water needs of the city and the surrounding counties. "Estimating desal plant costs is difficult with smaller plant operations costing more per gallon then large plants but Florida's desal treated water capacity is currently about 230 million gallons per day with costs ranging from $2?$3 per gallon," says Dr. Duranceau. "Desalination plants have capacity limits and they will process only a small percentage of the needed potable drinking water in the state," says Morella. Source: "Florida Turns to Membrane Filtration Plants to Provide Unfettered Growth for Drinking Water, researched and written by Donald Sutherland, June 6, 2001. Visit the websites http://www.pepps.fsu.edu/safe/environ/wqn4.html and http://fl?water.usgs.gov/. Also see the website http://www.ionics.com/Markets/municipalities/sarasota.htm, and http://www.covantaenergy.com; www.tampabaydesal.com. *************************************************************** CHEVRON ORDERED TO PAY $2 MILLION POLLUTION FINE IN LOUISIANA Chevron Corp. must pay at least US $2 million to compensate landowners for oil waste damage at an11?acre, unlined pit in southwestern Louisiana, a jury ruled. The plaintiffs, Hazelwood Farms Inc. of Opelousas, Louisiana, had sought up to $80 million in compensation and punitive damages for pollution associated with oil production on land it has leased since 1926 to Gulf Oil Corp. which was bought by Chevron in 1984. Instead, Chevron was ordered to pay only for damages related to pollution left behind until 1957, when Gulf began to sublease the land to other smaller, independent oil companies. "The jury verdict was fair and reasonable," said Chevron lawyer Stephen Carleton, adding, "We had always said we would stand responsible for any damages attributable to Gulf during the time frame suggested." Most of the companies which leased the land from Gulf or Chevron have since declared bankruptcy or are out of business. Three of them, International Petroleum and Exploration Inc., Liberty Oil and Gas Inc. and Meyers-Lasher Inc., agreed in separate smaller settlements to clean up their portions of the damage. Hazelwood lawyer Stuart Smith said, "The jury sent clear message that it doesn't matter how long ago oil companies dumped pollution and walked away from it, they're still going to have to pay." Because the lawsuit stems from an alleged breach of a 1997 agreement by Chevron to clean up the property, the final payout, with interest, is expected to be closer to $3 million, Smith said. Source: "Chevron Ordered to Pay $2 Million for Oil Waste Cleanup," by Brett Martel, Associated Press, August 29, 2001. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2001 Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment Montreal & Toronto All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org =================================================================