Our hearts go out to the victims of the tornadoes in the Southern U.S. this week.

Below are excerpts from just one of the emails that we’ve received from customers in that region (published with permission). So much devastation in just a few sentences. Thoughts and prayers for everyone involved.

It went North of my house, and we still have power.

My oldest daughter lost power yesterday morning, so she is with us.

It looks like a war zone from Mississippi to Georgia.

The darn things just kept coming, one after another. And, in between, the wind would be howling, then as if a switch was thrown it got deathly silent … and you knew it was time for more prayers …

All our personnel are alive, some are missing relatives. After the Big One went through, there were people looting despite the warning sirens. The National Guard are deployed for Search & Rescue but also to stop the looting.

I have my chainsaw, gas and water in the truck. We are leaving in a little bit to go and cut trees off people’s houses when the Guard lets us through.

A new campaign hopes to bring 12,000 rain gardens to the Puget Sound area by 2016. And, as of this morning, 615 have already been established!

Although this effort is primarily aimed at homeowners and residential areas that aren’t traditionally governed under EPA’s Stormwater Regulations in the same way that industry is regulated; the coordinators of this program say that if it is successful, it will help prevent about 160 million gallons of polluted stormwater runoff from entering storm drains each year. (Remember that sediment is a form of pollution, so residential rooftops, driveways and other hard surfaces can all be sources.)

For more information on this program, visit one of the websites shown below.

http://www.12000raingardens.org/

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/19582-1

And, if you’re looking for creative solutions to help improve your facility’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, (SWPPP) visit our website or give us a call at 1-800-HOT-HOGS® (468-4647). We’ve got products to block drains, filter runoff and discharge, capture fluids for treatment and protect materials stored outdoors.

Yesterday, nine Piggers from the Blue Ribbon Sales Team headed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. to serve dinner to wounded soldiers and their families.

The Armed Forces Foundation serves dinners monthly at major hospitals. Recently, the Foundation started offering opportunities for organizations to sponsor dinners for the troops. New Pig sponsored the dinner on April 14.

Piggers helping make life a little better for people. We call it the New Pig Spirit. We love to do that for our customers, and, when we can, we love to support great causes like this one.

Visit Armed Forces Foundation for more information.

New Pigger Beth Powell will present at the American Institute of Professional Geologists Marcellus Shale Conference April 13 and 14, 2011 in Pittsburgh, PA.

“This is a chance to review regulatory schemes and industry best practices that impact the drilling and hydrofracturing processes,” Beth says. “We have the knowledge, experience and products to help the operators who manage liquids and have to deal with secondary containment problems and state regulations.”

Click here to see the full Conference program (this opens a PDF).

Visit us online to see our wide range of PIG® Products that are of particular interest to shale gas operations.

Click here to see an informative recent Time magazine cover story about shale gas.

Secondary containment is at the heart of many SPCC requirements, and that makes sense, because when spill containment systems are in place, oil spills are less likely to leave a facility, triggering spill reporting requirements.

Providing fuel containment for tanks and drums that don’t really move too often is one thing – but providing secondary containment for things that are always on the go can be a bit more frustrating.

Many facilities have found portable containment pools to be a fast, affordable solution.    They can be set up just about anywhere spill containment is needed; stand up to repeated uses; and can be sized to meet nearly any secondary containment need.

One of the main applications that we see our Collapse-A-Tainer® Systems being used for these days is for providing fuel containment during offloading.   If a hose breaks, a coupling fails, or a tank bursts, everything is contained.    And, for faculties that may only receive bulk oil deliveries once a week or once a month, these secondary containment units can be folded up and stored out of the way until they’re needed again.

For facilities that need something a little more portable, pop-up-pools are another popular spill containment option.   Although they aren’t large enough to contain a catastrophic tank failure, pop-up pools are idea for “likely” failure scenarios, such as coupling failures or hose leaks.     If a receiving area already has secondary containment, these pools can help keep small spills contained so that clean up is faster and easier.

Whether you need a small pool to contain 30 gallons, or one large enough to contain 10,000 gallons, portable pools may be the answer!

Our nation recently marked the centennial of the tragic Triangle Waist Factory Fire that claimed the lives of 146 workers on March 25, 1911. Many of the victims, ranging in age from 14 to 48, were killed by the smoke and flames. Others jumped from the building to avoid being consumed by the fire.

Fortunately, this incident and others like it called many to action, and drew attention to the need to protect America’s workers. The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) was formed on October 14, 1911 as a result of the incident. A handful of unions also used this tragedy to garner support for their organizations and push their plight for better working conditions.

Fire companies started looking at fire prevention opportunities in addition to fire fighting strategies. Building codes were revised, and new ones were developed. To this day, this tragedy is still studied by the fire service community and hard lessons are still learned from it.

In 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created. With the newly created safety regulations came the tooth to enforce them. As we look at workplace safety conditions now that are world apart from the pictures painted 100 years ago, members of the safety community know that there is always room for improvement.

Violations to the hazard communication standard are always in “OSHA’s Top Five.”

Slips, trips and falls are still the number one cause of injury and lost work time.

Exit routes are still deemed to be insufficient or unsuitable.

The difference now is that we have the tools and the knowledge to make workplaces safer. We also have the tragedies of the past as vivid reminders of what can happen when we take shortcuts or ignore these duties.

Need help selecting safety products?    Give us a call.   Helping you keep your workplace cleaner and safer is our top priority.