Displaying items by tag: Dust

Ireland: Irish Cement has been fined Euro4000 for dust emissions in December 2017. The subsidiary of CRH pleaded guilty at Limerick District Court to breaking the terms of the industrial licence at its plant in Limerick in early December 2017, according to the Irish Times newspaper. The cement producer reportedly unsuccessfully attempted to clear a build-up of dust in the plant’s kiln. A ‘significant’ amount of dust polluted the local neighbourhood subsequently leading to 21 complaints to the Environment Protection Agency. The cement producer was fined previously in mid-2018 for dust emissions occurred in April and May 2017.

Fiji: The Department of Environment has issued a Stop Work Notice to Pacific Cement’s Lami plant due to complaints about dust emissions. The notice was issued following a visit by Sandeep Singh, the Director of Environment, to the unit, according to the Fiji Sun newspaper. The work orders are normally temporary to give industries time to implement mitigation measures.

Nouzab Fareed, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Pacific Cement’s parent company Fijian Holdings, acknowledged that the plant emitted dust ‘sometimes.’ However, he pointed out that the site imports over 0.1Mt/yr of clinker and that this comes from another plant.

Pakistan: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shut one of Kohat Cement’s production lines for emitting too much dust, following local complaints. The EPA visited the company’s plant and found that Line A at the unit was emitting particulate matter ‘much’ above legal limits, according to the Balochistan Times. The other two lines at the plant were unaffected.

Kenya: The Mombasa county government has ordered the closure of a clinker storage plant run by Corrugated Sheets due to the accusation that is has emitted large amounts of dust. Stephen Wambua, the head of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) in Mombasa said that operations at the Mikindani-based unit had been stopped and would not resume until it was in full compliance with environmental regulations, according to the Business Daily newspaper. The closure followed complaints by local residents.

Wambua said that imported clinker via the Port of Mombasa is stored in a number of premises locally. Dust is emitted during loading and offloading of consignments. Nema is also investigating claims that other companies are storing ‘toxic’ materials in the Jomvu area. In August 2018 the Kenya Star newspaper linked the Corrugated Sheets site to widespread respiratory illness in the local neighbourhood, including some suspected fatalities since clinker storage started in 2010.

Russia: The head of Job Safety, Industrial Safety & the Environment Department at Eurocement’s Nevyanskiy Tsementnik cement plant has been fined Euro42,000. The fine was issued by the local authorities for emissions of non-organic dust with high silicon content, according to URBC Daily News. The plant does not have an emissions permit.

Vietnam: The government of Quang Ngai has threatened to shut the Dai Viet-Dung Quat cement plant if it does not improve its dust emissions. 107 households living within 50m of the unit have been moved but more than 1600 households remain close to the site, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The 0.5Mt/yr cement plant started operation in 2015.

Ireland: Irish Cement has been fined for dust emissions at its Limerick plant. The subsidiary of CRH was convicted by a local court of breaching its industrial emissions licence in April and May 2017 due to ‘fugitive dust emissions,’ according to the Limerick Leader newspaper. The cement producer pleaded guilty to the charges brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it has been fined Euro1250.

During the court session it was revealed that on one of the days of the dust emissions there were dry conditions with a north-easterly wind that exacerbated the situation. There was also a dust leak as a result of a missing bolt from one of the chutes in a clinker silo as well as a number of infrastructural issues. Irish Cement says it has implemented a number of remedial measures such as replacing the missing bolt and replacing gravel around the site with grass or concrete. It has also conducted a risk-assessment of the whole site. The producer committed a similar offence in 2006.

US: BinMaster has launched its new DD-3000 Dust Alert sensor product. The product is targeted to detect baghouse leaks when installed in stacks, ducts or pipes. The sensor is designed to save time by eliminating the need for manual inspections, reduce maintenance and prevent emissions and downtime.

The product uses inductive electrification technology to detect when particulate emissions exceed a preset level. As particles flow past and over the sensing probe, they induce a charge into the probe that creates small electrical currents. This method minimises the influence of sensor contamination, particulate velocity change or temperature drift.

Sensor models are available with either an alarm relay, generally used to alert to a need for maintenance, or a 4-20mA transmitter output option used for monitoring trends and compliance.

Spain: The Port of Alicante is undergoing a Euro3m upgrade to build a new dock that can support larger vessels. Once completed the upgrade will allow ships with a length of up to 240m to dock, according to the Diario Informacion newspaper. Previously the port could only support ships of up to 165m. The site processes large volumes of cement and clinker and dust mitigation measures are also being installed.

Australia: The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has fined Port Kembla Milling’s cement and slag grinding plant US$23,000 for allegedly storing raw materials in the open, in breach of its licence conditions. Raw materials, including gypsum and limestone, were allegedly stored in the open at the subsidiary of Cement Australia on at least five occasions since January 2016 in breach of the site’s planning approval and licence conditions. Such materials should be stored in an enclosed location to prevent dust emissions.

“The requirement to store materials in an enclosed building is a key way to ensure dust emissions from bulk materials are prevented. A measure that is very important given the residential areas near Port Kembla port,” said EPA Regional Director Metropolitan Giselle Howard.

In addition to the fines, the EPA has also required Port Kembla Milling to complete an independent raw materials handling audit to confirm appropriate storage and management systems are put in place. The company has made some initial steps to respond to this request, and the EPA will continue to work with the licensee to ensure full compliance.