Author Archive

Enrst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, US Airways Flight 1549 and 2011 Gold Cup: a Triple Celebration in the Queen City

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Author: David Willauer, Manager, Transportation & Geospatial Technologies Division, IEM

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the YearEarlier this month I was on my way to the Queen City (Charlotte, NC) to celebrate the accomplishments of our company’s founder and CEO, Madhu Beriwal, a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for the Carolinas region. Another 15 of my colleagues and IEM partners were also converging on North Carolina’s largest city to join in the festivities. It turned out the Ernst & Young award ceremony was not the only celebration in the Queen City. US Airways Flight 1549 was on its last journey from the dramatic landing in the Hudson River to its final destination on display at Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport.

2011 Gold Cup: Cuba vs Mexico

Mexico's Javier Hernanadez kicks the ball past Cuba goalkeeper Odelin Molina for the team's fifth goal.

Nearby, fans from Cuba and Mexico were flocking to the Bank of America Stadium to cheer on their respective teams battling for soccer’s coveted 2011 Gold Cup. And 23 distinguished entrepreneurs from around the Carolinas were attending the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Ceremony at the Westin Hotel. This group of outstanding entrepreneurs from the Carolinas region was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous winners of the award, leading CEOs, private capital investors and other regional business leaders. (more…)

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Ethanol: A Growing Market with New Firefighting Challenges

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Author: David Willauer, Manager, Transportation & Geospatial Technologies Division, IEM

Ethanol, also known as “grain alcohol” and derived primarily from a corn fermentation process, is being embraced by federal and state governments through numerous subsidies as a viable bio-fuel. Today, ethanol joins biodiesel in a growing demand for reduced emissions nationwide, resulting in increased ethanol production, distribution and transportation. One consequence of increasing ethanol blends is that the volume of bulk ethanol transported, handled and stored continues to increase, creating new risks and challenges for firefighters worldwide.

Ethanol plantThe impetus for this and previous blogs (see Ethanol, The New Hazmat; and Emerging Ethanol Regulations) was concerns from county officials regarding increasing ethanol shipments and the cost of stockpiling alcohol resistant firefighting foam (one example is AR-AFFF). This is a local response to a national issue: which counties need the most foam, where should we put it and how are we going to pay for it?

As part of a statewide regional hazardous materials study, IEM is helping officials and emergency responders in one state answer these questions in addition to figuring out what other chemicals are being transported through their backyard.

Rail providers are also getting into the act, as bulk ethanol is now the #1 commodity for some Class I railroads. To help local emergency responders, railroads are positioning AR-AFFF Trailers at strategic locations throughout their railroad system to be ready in the event of unforeseen ethanol fire incidents.

Another good example of an ethanol public/private partnership includes an example where multiple petroleum companies have joined forces  to ensure requirements for sufficient supplies of alcohol-resistant foam were written into the local ordinance. In this example, the petroleum companies, not the municipality, helped pay for foam and the foam trailers from which the foam would be deployed. (more…)

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Chemical Company Safety and Security Mandates with Feds on All Sides

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Author: David Willauer, Manager, Transportation & Geospatial Technologies Division, IEM

In a country with many regulatory measures, chemical companies face federal mandates from all sides. Such mandates include operational safety, increased security measures, emergency preparedness and reporting. Some of these mandates from different federal agencies are in conflict with one another. Every federal law related to hazardous materials has its own unique definition.  Common terms are hazardous materials (DOT and OSHA), hazardous substance (CERCLA), listed chemical (TRI and RMP) and listed and characteristic wastes (RCRA).

(more…)

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Emerging Ethanol Regulations

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

Author: David Willauer, Manager, Transportation & Geospatial Technologies Division, IEM

In my previous blog post (Ethanol: The New HazMat?), it was inaccurate to suggest that ethanol is a completely unregulated chemical. While ethanol is not regulated under the EPA Risk Management Program (RMP) or Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) when used as a fuel (like gasoline), it is still regulated under the EPA “General Duty Clause,” and it is subject to other regulations.

HazMat is short for “hazardous material” which is a term used by the Department of Transportation (DOT) for anything that would be placarded for transport or has a UN/NA number. This also applies to chemicals required by the Occupation Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) to have a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) when it applies to an employer.  Ethanol has a UN number of 1170 and is placarded by the DOT for flammability. It is also listed under the National Fire Protection Act (NFPA) with a rating of health (2), fire (3), and reactivity (0) on a scale of 0-4 with 4 being the worst health hazard. Finally, OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) program does establish a 10,000 lb threshold for flammable liquids and gases as defined in 1910.1200(c) of their standard. (more…)

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Ethanol: The New HAZMAT?

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Author: David Willauer, Manager, Transportation & Geospatial Technologies Division, IEM

Train derailment carrying ethanolIs ethanol considered HazMat? This question continues to be debated as we use increasing amounts of this corn-based product to supplement our nation’s fuel supply. Ethanol is not a regulated chemical. Unlike MTBE, ethanol reportedly does not pollute ground water.

However, ask a firefighter about ethanol and you will get a different answer.  Whether blended with gasoline or not, ethanol is highly flammable and corrosive.

Ethanol is an alcohol-based organic com­pound produced chemically by ethylene conversion (a patented process) or through fermentation of sugars using yeasts. Ethanol (C2H5OH) is flammable, colorless, and odorless. Today we are blending ethanol and gasoline to produce E85 (85% ethanol) or E10 (10% ethanol). E85 requires modifications to engines whereas E10 does not. (more…)

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Transportation Infrastructure Damage in Japan

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Japan's infrastructure

Author: David Willauer, Manager, Transportation & Geospatial Technologies Division, IEM

The damage inflicted on infrastructure by an earthquake or tsunami is is fundamentally different than that caused by a hurricane. In particular, while transportation following a hurricane is primarily inhibited by debris resulting from wind damage, an earthquake or tsunami causes substantial damage to infrastructure, including highways, railroads, airports and ferry terminals. Transportation infrastructure damage impacts personal mobility, the movement of goods and the entire global supply chain. In Japan, the earthquake impacted transportation infrastructure in Iwate, Miyage and Fukushima (see figure below). Damage included washed out roadways and highways, damaged bridges, damaged ferry terminals, buried airports and railroads. Details follow.

Japan's infrastructure damage Japan's railway infrastructure damage

Highways

Japan has been aggressively building its highway transportation infrastructure since 1963 when the first expressway opened. Since then, Japan has constructed over 7,600 km of expressways used by more than 1,600 million vehicles each year (see figure below). Highway damage was m ost extensive in Sendai, where major sections were damaged by the earthquake then buried with tsunami debris. (more…)

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