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Technical Forum Warns Industry to Flush Out Damaging Surface Preparation Practices

03 August 2007

UK companies have been warned to clean up their act at a technical forum hosted by Wheelabrator Group, which questioned the viability of environmentally sensitive and hazardous surface preparation processes

Places at the half-day event, which was held at the world market leading surface preparation specialist’s Surface Technology Centre in Birmingham, were snapped up in advance and the forum proved to be a great success.

The forum provided independent advice on current UK legislation, which permits hefty fines to be levied on companies failing to comply. It also considered machine effluent disposal, aqueous alternatives to carcinogenic chemical Trichloroethylene and ways to recycle and re-use wash water. Experts suggested a range of cost effective solutions to aid compliance, promote operator health and safety, and encourage environmental responsibility.

Industry specialist Malcolm Griffiths, a fellow of the Institute of Metal Finishing and a chartered member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, opened proceedings before handing over to Wheelabrator’s general manager and effluent treatment expert Colin Worthington and sales manager Paul Mitchell representing the group’s Clean-Tek product range.

Mr Griffiths heads up an independent coatings advisory service called Ad Qual Castech. He provided delegates with an overview of the environmental impacts, compliance issues and health and safety considerations relating to surface preparation processes.

Turning to cleaning operations, Mr Mitchell encouraged delegates to consider aqueous degreasing equipment as an environmentally responsible alternative to Trichloroethylene, more commonly known as trike.

He said that with its use being curtailed by the Solvents Emissions Directive (SED), the Health and Safety Executive suggests trike or replacement solvents should no longer be considered in light of aqueous processes. He explained these use the safest solvent of all – water – and are capable of degreasing all types of engineered components.

The technical forum also concentrated on the substantial cost savings available to companies choosing the aqueous degreasing route and incorporating effluent treatment and wash water recycling equipment into their remit.

Following this, Mr Worthington warned delegates a staggering 60 per cent of affected organisations are failing to comply with UK rules governing the disposal of effluent from vibratory mass finishing processes, leaving them open to prosecution and heavy fines.

He explained that all industrial users of mass finishing and associated process equipment must apply for an official consent to discharge to drain, issued by the local water authority.

The session closed with various machine demonstrations showing how centrifugal filters, which can easily be fitted to existing equipment, are capable of removing up to 99 per cent of solids from process water. These enable full recycling and provide a cost effective solution that is both ecological and economical.

John Laycock of Cirteq Ltd and a delegate at the forum said: “This was a thoroughly good day and very informative around the chosen topics. The speakers and people demonstrating the equipment were well versed and presented information at a very practical level.”

Commenting on the day, Rob Goodwin, UK field sales manager at Wheelabrator Group, said: “We devised this informal technical forum to give UK companies the opportunity to learn about how everyday surface preparation practices we take for granted are impacting on the environment around us.

“Compliance with the SED and effluent regulations isn’t an insurmountable hurdle, nor is it a costly process. Simple, easy-to-use techniques are readily available and can help promote employee health and safety at the same time.

“We’re delighted the forum has been such an overwhelming success. It was encouraging to see delegates take an active interest in improving their surface preparation processes.

“At Wheelabrator, we’re committed to helping companies harness new technology and reap the benefits of this. Following exceptional feedback from the forum, which saw every delegate request information on future events, we’re now working on a technical programme, addressing other surface preparation issues.” 

 

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