Table Of ContentPublished by the
Environmental Management Unit
Logan Office Center
A quarterly environmental newsletter.
Issue No. 10, Quarter II - 2002
BUILDING AND THE ENVIRONMENT:
IN THE NEWS
THE IMPACTS
A New Hampshire foundry (a
In the last issue of EnviroNews the first article on the Large Quantity Generator) must
impacts of building and development was presented. pay a penalty of $8,500 for
In this issue Site and Water will be discussed. violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA). RCRA is the Federal regulation that
How many species are endangered? governs the generation, treatment, storage and
· Number of species of plants and animals native to
disposal of solid and hazardous wastes.
the U.S.: 20,500
Inspectors from both the Environmental Protection
· U.S. plants and animals threatened with
Agency and the New Hampshire Department of
extinction: 32%
Environmental Services determined that the company
· Percentage of freshwater mussels species
failed to do the following items:
threatened in the U.S. :67.9%
• Obtain a permit to store hazardous waste for more
How much water do we use?
than 90 days
· Total water use in the U.S.: 124 trillion gallons
• Conduct weekly inspection of the hazardous waste
per year
storage area
Breakdown: 12.2% domestic and commercial;
8.2% industrial; 38.7% electricity generation; • Make hazardous waste determinations (chemical
40.9% irrigation and livestock profiling)
· Average U.S. household use: 146,000 gallons per • Provide hazardous waste training to employees
year (42% indoors, 58% outdoors)
• Properly mark hazardous waste containers
What are the impacts of combined sewage • Accurately complete hazardous waste manifests
overflows?
AIRCRAFT LAVATORY WASTE
· U.S. Communities with combined sewer systems:
950 MANAGEMENT
· People in the U.S. living in communities with
combined sewer systems: 42 million The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
· Average number of combined sewer overflow tentatively established an action level of 200 cfu/100
events per year in the U.S.: 40,000 ml for fecal coliform in stormwater at Logan Airport’s
· Discharges containing raw sewage in the U.S. outfalls. Historical sampling at the airport’s outfalls
each year through CSO systems: 1.2 trillion and catch basins on the terminal aprons have indicated
gallons sampling results as high as 180,000 cfu/100 ml.
Taken from Environmental Building News, May 2001. Massport’s Environmental Management Unit (EMU)
is investigating potential illicit sanitary sewer
RReegguullaattoorryy IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn
connections to the storm drains and has also
developed a stormwater pollution prevention guidance
Aviation regulated solid or liquid – materials that document for aircraft lavatory waste management for
have narcotic, noxious, irritating, or other properties its aviation tenants. The importance of establishing an
that could cause crew members to be unable to aircraft lavatory waste management program was
correctly perform their assigned duties. presented at the Logan Airport Tenant Forum on
January 10, 2002. The program requires airlines and
As defined under Class 9 Miscellaneous Dangerous fixed based operators servicing aircraft to develop a
goods of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. program for managing aircraft lavatory waste.
Continued on Page 2
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SMOKE IS IN THE AIR THE ENVIRONMENT
AND YOU
It is that time of year again when you may notice a plume of black smoke
Water Efficiency in the Home
emanating from the southeastern most portion of Logan Airport. That is
because fire training season has begun again for Massport’s Fire Rescue
The Environmental Protection
Department at Logan Airport. Fire training exercises are conducted from
Agency (EPA) is promoting
April to November and Fire Rescue not only conducts its own fire training
water efficiency in the home by
exercises but also opens up its facility to many other Fire Departments and
offering on-line information on
Airports in New England. Fire training exercises are reported in advance
saving water and reducing utility
to Massport’s Environmental Management Unit (EMU) and the
costs.
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) because of potential
environmental concerns regarding air and groundwater quality. For Water efficiency plays an
example, at the start of each week, the EMU relays the weekly training important role in protecting
human health and the
schedule to DEP Air Quality Division. If winds are out of the south, or if
environment. Efficient water use
the ceiling is less than 1000 feet, fire training is generally not allowed.
can accomplish the following:
To protect groundwater during fire training exercises, Massport built a
state of the art Fire Training Facility that allows residual unburned fuel to v Improve water quality
be captured, collected and sent off-site for recycling purposes. Water that
v Protect valuable sources of
is used for training is also captured within an impervious liner, pumped
drinking water
into a holding tank then treated with carbon filtration before it is
v Reduce the cost of drinking
discharged to Boston Inner Harbor. The quality of the captured water after
water and wastewater
treatment meets strict water standards under an Environmental Protection
treatment
Agency discharge permit.
v Maintain healthy aquatic
To ensure that the liner is functioning properly and that there are no
ecosystems and mitigate
adverse impacts to groundwater, Massport’s EMU samples the
drought impacts
groundwater monitoring wells that encircle the Fire Training Facility. The
monitoring wells are sampled before, during and after each fire training
There are many ways to improve
season.
water efficiency in your home. If
So if you see Smoke in the Air, most likely it is Massport’s Fire Rescue you fix a leaky toilet you may
Department hard at work! save as much as 500 gallons of
water per day. Installation of
Lavatory Waste continued from Page 1 high efficiency plumbing fixtures
and appliances can help a typical
The program should include employee training, record keeping of aircraft
family of four reduce indoor
lavatory waste removal and disposal, and proper cleanup of the lavatory
water use by one-third, save
waste in the event of a spill on the ramp. To facilitate the implementation
about $95 per year on its water
of the program, the EMU has prepared an Environmental Standard
and sewer bill and cut energy use
Operating Procedure and aircraft lavatory waste log form. Both documents
by as much as 6 percent. The
can be found on Massport’s website (www.massport.com) with a quick
largest use of water in the home
jump to “Environmental Mgmt”. The EMU will be evaluating tenant’s
is automatic irrigation for
compliance with the Aircraft Lavatory Waste Management Program during
landscaping. This can be
its environmental audits and routine inspections.
improved by using proper
irrigation and scheduling
If you have questions regarding the program, please call the Environmental
techniques such as cycling the
Management Unit at (617) 568-3525.
sprinklers.
EnviroQuestion There are many ways to save
water and therefore also save
What should you do with your spent Lithium Ion Batteries (used for laptop
energy. Information on what you
computers and cellular phones)?
can do at home can be found at
Answer in the next issue.
www.h2ouse.net.
Quarter I Question: What percent of air pollution is from cars, trucks, and buses?
Answer: 40 percent Excerpted from Environmental Tip of the Week
(3/1/2002)
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