Pollution Control
Guys Like Ray Lucas Make A Shining Example
Having the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show up at your front door on a Monday morning is never a good sign—kind of like Mike Wallace and a 60 Minutes crew, or maybe even your in-laws. But Ray Lucas and his employees at Valley Chrome Plating in Clovis, Calif., just didn’t see it that way.
Read MoreMore PVC Pipe Glue Discussion
I would like to comment on the ongoing pipe glue discussion from your November 2011 column. Users concerned about caustic service could look for what one manufacturer calls “industrial PVC cement” which is made without the fumed silica thickener. For small jobs, I have found that some cements available at home improvement stores do not list colloidal or fumed silica, so consumer protection being what it is, I think it’s a fair bet that those products don’t contain any silica.
Read MoreIs Lean and Green Possible in the Finishing World?
Is it possible to be both lean and green in the finishing world? Lean manufacturing says that money spent on resources for any goal other than the creation of value is wasteful and should be eliminated.
Read MoreEffects of Proposed Label Changes
Over the last year, we have received several correspondences regarding the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposal to modify the existing HazCom standard to conform to the United Nations Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of classification and labeling. Could you provide an update on this proposal and a process a metal finishing shop could follow to meet the GHS?
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Electronic Precision Specialties Wins 'Metal Finishing Model Shop Award'
The California/EPA Department of Toxic Substances and Control has recognized Electronic Precision Specialties, Inc., with the "Metal Finishing Model Shop Award," only the fourth shop to receive the award.
Read MoreNickel Dermatitis
I run a captive-nickel plating shop. Is there some type of a test for allergies to nickel—nickel dermatitis—that can be administered prior to hiring an individual for my shop?
Read MoreMilitary “STARs” Are Born With Paint Facilities
The Yermo Annex Marine Corps. Logistics Base in California and the Corpus Christi Army Depot Aviation Center in Texas have acquired new systems to help train and enhance employees’ painting abilities.
Read MoreThe EPA’s Common Sense Initiative and Its Legacy on the Finishing Industry
The Common Sense Initiative was the centerpiece of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s much-touted regulatory reinvention in 1994. Called a “bold experiment,” the EPA developed the Common Sense Initiative to address claims that its regulatory process had become burdensome, inefficient and costly.
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Valley Chrome Plating Receives National EPA Award
Lead anodes at VCP facility switched for graphite ones and hexavalent chromium replaced with the more environmentally friendly trivalent chromium.
WatchNitrites and Fragrances
We are using a vibratory finishing compound that has been satisfactory for more than 20 years. Recently, a potential new vendor pointed out that it contains sodium nitrite and said we are violating the law in using it. We checked with our supplier, who said that mass finishing compounds are basically cleaners and, as such, are not banned by regulations concerning sodium nitrite.
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