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U.S SUPERFUND CLEAN-UP AND THE HISTORY OF VESTA
The history of Vesta Technology Ltd. Is linked very closely to the US Superfund Clean-up and the introduction of Environmental Legislation in the United States. Legislation resulted from the discovery of large numbers of abandoned or 'orphaned' hazardous waste sites; the most notorious of which is Love Canal in the New York State.
An EPA site in North Carolina saw the introduction of the first Vesta TDU and is a classic example of the concept in practice. The sithe was located on the sixth fairway of a golfcourse in Pinehurst, the materials were high chlorine pesticides that had been buried and the remote location necessitated trucking of water to the site and power provision by means of a generator.
The Vesta TDU easily passed the EPA supervision test burn and amply demonstrated its operational abilities at a remote location without provision of normal support facilities.
As a rusult of the initial success EPA authorised a further test burn at this site to prove Vest's ability to destroy PCB's. The contaminant used was 10% Carbon Tetrachloride and the test was sucessful, achieving a destruction efficiency of 99.9999%.
Further test burns have been undertaken, under EPA supervision, to prove the destruction of high Sulphur pesticides, Nitro Benzene, Penta Chlorophenol and Creosote. All of these were totally successful.
A notable first for Vesta Technology Ltd. was the first EPA monitored, full spectrum Dioxin test burn. The site of this test was within one hundred meters of the largest dried milk plant in the U.S.A. The test was monitored by Greenpeace and Sierra Club, (organisations well known for their commitment to reducing damage to the environment worldwide) and was a complete success.
Further success has been achieved with a project to destroy contaminants, including Dioxins, for the US Army at a site in Virginia.
During the various operations described above, representatives from Canadian organisations have been in attendance as the capabitities of the Vesta units have been amply demonstrated. The organsiations represented include the Canadian Federal Government, the Provincial Governments of Ontario and Quebec and the public utilities Hydro-Quebec and Ontario Hydro.
All EPA test burn requirements, completed to date, have been achieved at the first attempt and in some instances, the test burn has commenced within 72 hours of the TDU on site.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE VESTA 200
The results of a detailed market study over a three year period during the early 1980's highlighted the need for hazardous waste incinerators with the capacity of handling a broad variety of hazardous materials. A further requirement revealed by the study was for the incineration plant to enable waste to be treated as source, thereby eliminating the need to transport waste to a fixed plant.
In translating these requirements into practice, the concept chosen by Vesta Technology Ltd. For its Thermal Destruction Units (TDU) emphasised the use of proven technology, a modular equipment system and trailer mounting to ensure maximum mobility. In addition, design parameters called for the operations to meet the highest environment standards.
This concept has a number of advantages:
Considerable opposition - generated by local populations to large scale fixed units designed to receive waste from a large catchment area over a long period of time - can be overcome by use of a mobile unit, brought to the location for a temporary period to solve a local problem.
Overcoming opposition to the generation of heavy traffic in connection with material movements to and from a fixed site.
Minimisation of the risks of dusting and spillage inherent in vehicle movements associated with a fixed site.
In the US the rail system has a bad record of chemical spills and environmental damage. The need to tran-ship, by rail, hazardous waste for treatment is removed by bringing a Vesta TDU to the source of the waste.
In some instances transportation of wastes containing PCB's or Dioxins is banned. A Vesta TDU allows on site treatment of the waste.
In developing the concept it was decided to use a rotary kiln with afterburner and to develop a sequence of scrubers in the pollution control train. With this equipment is has proved possible to accommodate many types of waste with various physical and chemical properties, be they solid, liquid or sludge. A high priority was given to providing maximum flexability in the choice of primary fuel source.
As development has continued, plant capacity has increased, with the largest TDU's now capable of handling 8,000 lbs/hr (3,500 Kg/hr).
Development continues with the recent, and ongoing installation of oxygen burners in all kilns resulting in improvements to throughput and pollination control efficiency. Work on the pollution control train has resulted in grant of patents for the sequence of scrubbers used. |
