Click here to see a TV clip in which a box of PIG® Wipers appears TWICE! Watch at least the first 38 seconds  : ) The video also gives interesting information on environmental efforts by NASCAR.

This appearance happened with the help of a friend from Safety-Kleen. Thanks, (name).

By the way, we also sell the type of  used oil storage tank being poured into below (in a screen shot from the video).

A train full of  toxic chemicals is barreling this way. Will Denzel Washington be able to stop it??

I’m talking about the movie Unstoppable. This project is more than a year away from release, but we care about it around here because some scenes will be shot five miles from New Pig in Tyrone. Denzel himself may come to town!

We’ve worked our contacts to let the production people know that we’re ready to provide any assistance they might need. Our message was along the lines of: “You’re making a movie about an imminent toxic spill, we have the world’s largest selection of products for managing liquid messes. If you need anything, give us a squeal!”

Image © raven - Fotolia.com

The secret is pulses that shatter sulfate crystals.

(Sound of my slapping my forehead) Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?

Seriously, this has meant big savings for the Navy and Marines, heavy users of lift truck batteries.

Image © gilles lougassi - Fotolia.com

Related posts:

Grants mean hydrogen-powered material handling for store chain

Free booklet gives tips on cutting material handling costs

I’m here to question a USA Today story that says that the DOT has inadequate info on haz-mat spills.

We’re told that “federal records” show that “nearly half of all ‘serious’ hazardous materials spills on roads, rails, airstrips and waterways go unreported to the government, leaving investigators without data used to identify unsafe carriers and containers.” What “federal records” are they looking at? The National Response Center (NRC) pretty much tracks this info by the minute.

The story could leave the impression that haz-mat carriers in America are blatantly polluting. But if you read very closely, it doesn’t say that they’re not responding to spills, it says that they’re  not always doing the paperwork afterward, and the Department of (DOT) isn’t cracking down on them for that.

Here are the numbers given: “From 2006 through 2008, hazmat carriers failed to report 1,199 ’serious’ incidents, such as larger spills that cause substantial evacuations, major road closures, serious injuries, or releases of especially dangerous materials. The number of serious incidents that were reported: 1,403.”

Okay, but all of this is reported to the NRC by federal, state and local agencies. The DOT can access the info from NRC’s website the same way that you and I can.

Haz-mat carriers are indeed required to report spills to DOT, but it’s an exaggeration to think that having this data will enable DOT to eliminate all hazards of haz-mat transportation. Icy roads … drivers who fall asleep at the wheel: Things will still happen.

In USA Today’s article, the Chairman of the House Transportation Committee paints this picture: Without data on haz-mat spills, DOT “cannot put together a strategic plan for reducing hazardous materials transportation incidents, fatalities, and injuries.” He’s leading a hearing about this today.

If DOT wants accurate data, why not get it from the NRC? They can give you about 20 years of data almost instantly. There are already requirements that haz-mat carriers be “properly trained.” If DOT feels that something is lacking, why not revisit those regulations and revise them to be a little more specific? You don’t need a whole new strategic plan.

The article quotes Rich Moskowitz, VP of the American Trucking Association, as saying that many haz-mat carriers already know reporting requirements. “There needs to be better outreach to the industry and if that fails, then … stepped up enforcement.”

Hello! A voice of reason. Bless you, Rich Moskowitz! Education. Maybe the DOT can work THAT into their “strategic plan.” If they need some help, maybe they can ask their neighbors at OSHA and EPA. Both have created many, many programs to help walk people through a wide variety of regulatory topics.

Image © EyeMark - Fotolia.com

For those transportation companies that find themselves in need of response products, New Pig has spill response products to help protect people, animals and the environment and meet environmental regulations such as 40 CFR 263.30(a) and 40 CFR 263.31. These include:

Spill Kits
Pop-Up Containment Pools
Emergency Response Guidebook

For questions related to hazmat shipping, call the DOT Hazardous Materials info line at 1-800-467-4922.

To report a spill, call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802

For more information on reporting haz-mat incidents, click here.

Quite a few Piggers were in on an email conversation last week regarding static-dissipative absorbent mats. I was asked to post some of my information from that.

A little background: Static-dissipative absorbents help reduce the risk of electrostatic discharge. This increases worker safety in fueling area cleanups and applications near flammable vapors. Static-dissipative mats are specially treated to meet NFPA 99 standards for static decay, which basically means that static charge is safely dissipated within half a second.

The material in our PIG® Stat-Mat® Absorbent Mats performs better than others we’ve tested. A particular competitor’s mat barely passes the .5 second static-dissipation cut-off, while ours does it in 0.01 seconds and has done so consistently for years. Another competitor’s mat isn’t bad, in a range between .25 and .35 seconds, but that’s still not close to our .01 seconds.

The big difference is in how the static-dissipative treatment is applied. We use a topical application while some folks out there use a polymer blend. Counter-intuitively, the topical application is better. The polymer blended material tends to “bloom off” the anti-static agent, as the agent isn’t compatible with the polymer, in as little as 6-12 months.

On the other hand, the topical solution doesn’t bloom off or lose effectiveness. We’ve taken mat from a seven-year-old PIG® Oil-Only Spill Kit at a local marina and sent it out for testing. The results came back like brand-new material.

You just know this will end in resin bacon. Sad.

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LAST SEEN IN A BACK-TO-SCHOOL OUTFIT

T-shirt

Backpack

Beanie

5 feet long, 3 feet high

Here’s news that involves material handling, green technology and New Pig’s home state of Pennsylvania.

Wegmans Food Markets will use $1 million from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) to convert from electric pallet jacks and reach trucks to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles at its Pottsville, Pennsylvania service center. The grant will help with installing an outdoor hydrogen storage tank and indoor fueling dispensers.

Wegmans will use 50 pallet trucks and 9 stand-up reach trucks from Lift Inc. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lift Inc. will install fuel cells in the vehicles. Wegman will expand use of hydrogen fuel cells at Pottsville through 2012.

Interestingly, another company, GENCO Supply Chain Solutions, is buying the fuel cells for Wegmans using federal stimulus money, because the economy derailed a number of GENCO’s own projects.

Image © Studiotouch - Fotolia.com

You have to hoof it … oops, hand it to this animal sanctuary near Los Angeles. As wildfire moved in this week, the residents were moved to an evacuation center all ready and waiting for them. Nice!

On top of being organized, there’s a regular stream of Hollywood visitors. I wouldn’t mind a scratch behind the ears from Alicia Silverstone.

Just looking ahead … I wonder if they take retirees from industry as well as from farming?

Flames image © Miroslava Holasová - Fotolia.com