LG Electronics and Carbonfund.org Foundation announced that LG products have earned the new CarbonFree certification label, marking the first time that certified LCD TV, LCD monitor, refrigerator, clothes washer, LED lamp and solar panel products will be available to the public, according to Carbonfund.org Foundation president Eric Carlson. LG completed a life cycle analysis on six core products to determine their carbon footprints from raw material extraction and production to use and disposal.
LG Electronics and the non-profit Basel Action Network have announced that LG is the first “Global e-Stewards Enterprise,” a company committed to responsible recycling of its electronic waste and choosing to use e-Stewards Certified electronics recyclers worldwide.
To comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Chevron Puerto Rico LLC has agreed to spend about $5 million to improve leak detection and operations at its Texaco stations in Puerto Rico, the EPA said on Tuesday. The agency found violations at approximately 100 of the company’s underground storage tank facilities in Puerto Rico. Chevron also will pay a $600,000 penalty.
Delta Electronics, Schneider Electric, Dahanu Power Station, AU Optronics, and the city of Bad Eisenkappel in Austria were all early adopters of ISO 50001, an energy management standard. According to ISO, they have already reported benefits from implementation, including significant reductions in power consumption, carbon emissions, and energy costs.
Following an $826 million renovation and expansion of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., the facility has earned a LEED gold for new construction certification. WIDN said the new facility has six stories, spans 560,000 square feet and includes advanced heating, ventilation and cooling systems as well as energy-saving lighting and a heat recovery wheel.
The lack of secondary containment for its bulk storage tanks resulted in a $24,450 fine for Martin Operating Partnership LP in Berwick, La., the EPA said. The company’s Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure plan failed to describe training and discharge procedures for employees, the agency added.
To support a new LEED advanced energy metering initiative, Agilewaves has developed a system that meets permanent metering, data collection and storage and energy use management, according to the company. With Advanced Energy Metering and Reconcile Projected and Actual Energy Performance credits, the LEED program is charting a new course for measurement and verification, the company said.
Tesoro Corp. said it will pay $500,000 in fines for 46 air pollution citations at its Golden Eagle oil refinery in Martinez, Calif. Fuel Fix reported that emissions exceeded Bay Area Air Quality Management District standards between 2006 and 2009. A company spokesman said that about 40 per cent of the self-reported violations involved paperwork errors.
Reuters said Wednesday that President Obama will announce new fuel economy standards, reportedly set for 54.5 mpg by 2025, on Friday. The compromise likely will increase fuel efficiency but also raise vehicle costs.
FX Energy will take an oil pipeline out of service and plug two wells following a spill near the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana, according to the Great Falls Tribune. Andy Pierce, vice president of the company, said the fiberglass line probably broke when the ground shifted following high precipitation, and the crews are cleaning up to 20 barrels of oil from the canyon. EPA is investigating whether the company violated reporting requirements following the spill, which was reported by a landowner on July 12.
An underground saltwater pipeline owned by Petro Harvester Operating burst this month near Mohall, S.D., the Minot Daily News said. The spill flooded about 40 acres of farmland and wetlands and was reported to the North Dakota Industrial Commission and North Dakota Department of Health. A company spokesman estimated the rupture occurred before July 14 but the extent of the problem was not determined until July 20.
A study commissioned by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries shows that the U.S. industry has created 459,131 jobs and generated $10.3 billion in tax revenues for state and local governments.
