Marine Pollution Control8631 West Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48209 USA
313.849.2333 - 24/hour
11320 E Lakewood Blvd., #11
Holland, MI 49424
800-521-8232 – 24/Hour
GSA Contract #: GS-10F-0268R
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Oil-in-Ice Exercise in St. Ignace, MI
February 20, 2013
Culminating a three-year effort, Marine Pollution Control, in conjunction with the Coast Guard’s Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) program, will participate in an Oil-in-Ice Exercise in St. Ignace, MI, the week of February 18.
The exercise is designed to demonstrate the use of a variety of technologies—from skimmers to fire boom to sonar—and techniques like ice “herding” to help clean up oil in arctic conditions. Additional participants and observers will include personnel from a number of Coast Guard jurisdictions (including the arctic region), other government agencies, and the spill response industry.
Tsunami Debris Litters Alaska Coast; Clean Up Funds Insufficient
February 20, 2013
The beaches of Alaska are piled with debris from the tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, but restoration to their once pristine condition has slowed, as funding remains scarce.
"The amount of debris washing ashore has vastly exceeded most people's expectation...," said Chris Pallister, Vice President of the Gulf of Alaska Keeper, a non-profit organization dedicated to cleaning marine debris from the coastline of Alaska.
Great Lakes Shipping Study Highlights Shipping' Economic, Environmental Benefits
February 6, 2013
Duluth, MN (NNCNOW.com) - "The Environmental and Social impacts of Marine Transport in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway Region," conducted by Ontario transportation consultants Research and Traffic Group, finds that, in terms of energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions:
- The Great Lakes Seaway Fleet is nearly 1.2 times more fuel efficient than rail, and 7 times more than trucks.
It also finds that, if each mode carried the same cargo the same distance:
- rail would emit 19% more greenhouse gas emissions- semi would emit a whopping 533% more greenhouse gases.
"Of course, the ships need the rails and the trucks for the land side of the cargo movements," said Facilities Manager of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Jim Sharrow.
Sharrow says the comprehensive study only confirms what those in the business already knew when it came to shipping's advantages.But even more exciting, says Sharrow, is the fact that these figures aren't coming from only the most efficient lakers.
More Details on Brine Spill
February 7, 2013
State inspectors acting on an anonymous tip caught workers dumping drilling and "fracking" wastes down a storm drain at a Youngstown business on Jan. 31.
Documents the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency released late yesterday show Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials witnessed the dumping at 2761 Salt Springs Road. The spill, according to a federal report, could exceed 20,000 gallons.
An Ohio EPA notice of violation lists the dumped wastes as including oil-based mud, brine and brine residue. Brine is the term commonly used to describe water tainted with naturally occuring toxic metals, radium, salt and industrial chemicals used during fracking.
Environmental Groups Seek Ban of Common Pesticide
February 6, 2013
Three environmental groups will make the case in court Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to act on their petition to the agency to ban a common pesticide, chlorpyrifos.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will be in Seattle to hear oral arguments in the case. The EPA banned home use of chlorpyrifos in 2001 because it can harm the nervous system. But it’s still commonly used on crops like wheat, alfalfa and apples in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and in Eastern Washington.