U.S. Navy Settles Underground Storage Tank Violations at Hampton Roads Facility

The U.S. Navy has agreed to pay a $5,855 penalty to settle alleged underground storage tank (UST) violations at its Building NH94, located at 7918 Blandy St., Norfolk, Va., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. There are three 25,000-gallon underground storage tanks at this facility containing diesel fuel. Each UST is required to be [...]

Pipeline that leaked – safe to reopen

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) has asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to allow the reopening of the 117-kilometer Batangas-to-Manila white oil pipeline being operated by the Lopez-owned First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) after the leak test it conducted in December indicated no more leaks in the pipeline. In a five-page manifestation [...]

Corrosion Mentor & Expert Jeff Didas Joins MATCOR

Doylestown, PA (April 24) – MATCOR, Inc. the trusted full-service provider of proprietary cathodic protection products, systems, and corrosion engineering solutions proudly announced on Corrosion Awareness Day that Jeffrey L. “Jeff” Didas joined the MATCOR Engineering team as Senior Corrosion Engineer. Didas brings to MATCOR more than 38 years of experience in the corrosion industry, [...]

The World Corrosion Organization has designated April 24, 2012 as Corrosion Awareness Day

Corrosion Awareness Day is to highlight the estimated $2.2 trillion annual cost of corrosion worldwide (3 to 4% of GDP of industrialized countries) reflecting in part many decision-makers in industry and government not fully understanding the consequences of corrosion and how critical it is to control it. However, the potential to reduce that cost by [...]

2 of New Jersey’s elected officials call for gas pipeline guidelines to better protect urban areas

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Rep. Albio Sires (D-13th) are calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to better protect highly-populated urban areas from the explosive threat of natural gas pipelines. Arguing that PHMSA fails to safeguard densely-packed large urban populations, the officials are specifically demanding that PHMSA [...]

Anthony Wayne Bridge (Ohio) to close in 2013 for 2 years

Toledo’s Anthony Wayne Bridge will be closed to all traffic for two years, likely to start sometime in 2013, as part of a three-year, $50 million overhaul of the 81-year-old structure by the Ohio Department of Transportation. The fundamental main-span appearance of the bridge — which carries State Rts. 2, 51, and 65 over the [...]

State Hearing to Focus on Increasing Funding for CA Public Utilities Commission

The California Public Utilities Commission is seeking to add seven new positions to its gas safety division  A state assemblyman will be leading a hearing today to talk about possibly beefing up state regulators’ ability to oversee pipeline safety in the wake of the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion. Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, who [...]

PHMSA Proposes New Rule to Increase Enforcement of Pipeline Excavation Programs

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed new procedures geared to strengthen excavation damage prevention programs and increase penalties for violators. Excavation damage continues to be a leading cause of all U.S. pipeline failures and is the single greatest threat to the safety, reliability, and integrity of the [...]

Corrosion Work on George Washington Bridge will take 10 years

Peter Zipf sounds more cardiologist than civil engineer when he talks about subjecting the George Washington Bridge to the equivalent of the classic battery of tests for heart disease and finding the first signs of plaque. “It really is a little like giving somebody an EKG and checking their cholesterol levels,” said Zipf, the Port [...]

Big Dig needs $54 light fix – corroded tunnel fittings must be replaced

The state’s top highway official says all the light fixtures in the Big Dig tunnels must be replaced, a $54 million effort made necessary by design or manufacturing defects that have led to dangerous corrosion. The project, expected to begin next year, will cause frequent lane closings in the tunnels for up to two years, [...]