pH Neutralization, pH adjustment » training contact hours

Association of Boards of Certification

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:26:35 +0000

Practical Applications is pleased to announce our membership with the Association of Boards of Certification (ABC).

ABC offers a voluntary certification program to water treatment, distribution, collection, wastewater treatment, and industrial waste operators, water and wastewater laboratory analysts, plant maintenance technologists, and biosolids land appliers. ABC certification is not only a way to protect public health and the environment, but provides numerous career benefits to both employees and employers. The ABC helps develop many online training exams, including the MA Wastewater Operator Exam.

(from the ABC website)

Our membership with the ABC gives Practical Applications the opportunity to influence some of the material that appears on the MA Wastewater Operator Exam.

Learn more on the ABC website by clicking the link below:

http://ww2.abccert.org/

Wastewater Operator Exam Prep Course

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:05:45 +0000

Starting TUESDAY, JULY 21 Practical Applications will be offering the next session of our rolling Wastewater Exam Prep Course. Wastewater Operators are welcome to attend any or all of the 8 course days we’re offering. If you already have your MA Wastewater Operator License you may audit any of the course days for Training Contact Hours.
The course day is 3 hours long, from 8-11am at our training center in South Boston. The course dates are:

Wednesday, July 21
Wednesday, July 28
Wednesday, August 4
Wednesday, August 11
Wednesday, August 18
Wednesday, August 25
Wednesday, September 1
Wednesday, September 8

See the graphic below for the curriculum for each day. You may attend all of the days or just the days that you feel you’ll need to in order to pass the exam. You will receive 3 TCHs for each course day you attend.

Harbor Cruise TCH Course and FREE Deer Island Plant Tour

Brian — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:36:34 +0000

Join us for a Boston Harbor Cruise TCH Course, followed by a FREE tour of the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant on TUESDAY JUNE 22nd.

The cost for the TCH course, meals and the harbor boat cruise is $800 per person.

The Deer Island tour is FREE.

You will earn up to 5 TCHs for this course. PAI will be conducting the workshops on board one of Boston Harbor Tours’ boats. Breakfast and lunch will be served on board. After the course is complete we will dock at Deer Island and take a tour of the grounds and treatment plant. The Deer Island tour will be run by MWRA staff, and is sponsored by WOOMA, the non-profit Wastewater Operators of Massachusetts Association.

The cost for the TCH course, meals and the harbor boat cruise is $800 per person.

The Deer Island tour is FREE. If you would like to attend ONLY the Deer Island tour, and not earn any TCHs, you are welcome to find transportation to the island and join our group for the tour.

Register today!

Wastewater Operator Status Change

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:51:05 +0000

If you are a current MA Wastewater Operator and need to change your status (active, inactive, etc.), please download the form below, or view our Training Page for more information.

Wastewater Operator Status Change
Download this PDF to change your operator status.

Wastewater Operator Status Change Form

Wastewater Operator Exam Prep Course

Practical Applications — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:21:59 +0000

MA Wastewater Operator Exam Training

The Practical Applications industry-leading Wastewater Operator Training Exam Prep Course will be held for 8 weeks this Autumn.
Participants will be introduced to every element of the state exam, run by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC).
The course is held on Thursday mornings from 8:00 to 11:00 at Practical Applications’ South Boston training center, starting on October 1 and concluding on November 19. The state exam will be held in multiple locations on Saturday, November 21.

THIS COURSE IS FULL

MA DEP Industrial Toxic Reporting Requirements

Practical Applications — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:46:28 +0000

MA DEP

The MA DEP (http://www.mass.gov/dep/) is implementing a new Industrial Toxic Reporting Requirement this year. This requirement has been added to fulfill a provision included along with the regulations changes made in January 2007 for the DEP to better determine the toxics present in industrial wastewater. They realized that despite all the regulations in place for wastewater, they really do not have
a handle on toxics concentrations in industrial wastewater. The DEP set up an advisory committee to determine the best means to gather real information on toxics in industrial wastewater. PAI participated in this advisory
committee. The committee discussed how to gather information on toxics, what companies to target, and what chemicals to target. PAI believes that representative sampling by the DEP within the sewer systems would have been
the best route to accomplish this goal. This was turned down for a number of
reasons. The final program is described below:

Information will be collected through an electronic survey. 1900 chemicals and approximately 3500 individual businesses will be targeted. The survey will be conducted in three phases with the first phase beginning in July.

The first phase targets all 1200 large quantity generators within the state. Notification postcards will go out in July and reporting will begin in August.

The second and third phases include a statistical representation of different business categories within the state. Approximately 2500 businesses have been chosen as part of the statistical sample. These
businesses will be split into Phases two and three, with about 1200 businesses participating in each phase. Notification will be via postcard in August for Phase II and December for Phase III. Phase II reporting begins in
mid-October and Phase III in the beginning of February.

All phases will receive a postcard about 45 days before reporting begins and a reporting package about two weeks before reporting begins. Every company will have 60 days in which to complete the report. Non-respondents will
receive a notice of non-compliance(NON). If the NON is ignored, the DEP will implement fines.

The survey is similar to other e-DEP forms. You will receive a toxic discharger id in your reporting packet. The form asks for general facility identification, toxics information, and a standard DEP certification
statement. You will be asked if you discharge wastewater to the sewer, what pretreatment you use, if you are solely or party research, and if you are a health care facility. You are then asked to compare the list of 1900
chemicals to the MSD sheets in your facility for chemicals that are discharged or have a reasonable potential to be discharged to the sewer. You are required to list all of these chemicals on the form and give a very
generalized frequency of discharge. If your company has an electronic file for the MSDSs, you will have the opportunity to upload the file to the DEP system and it will compare your MSDS with their chemical list. Their
chemical list is presented as a database searchable by name and CAS number.

Note: Research and development facilities will not have to fill out the toxics section at this time. If you are solely R&D, you must check off the box stating so and then sign the certification statement. The DEP will look
into R&D facilities further down the road.

The DEP will have training available through their website.

The DEP is looking for volunteers to come in and test the new electronic system during the first week in July. They were working on getting TCH credits for this testing. If you are interested, you can contact John
Reinhardt at: john.reinhardt@state.ma.us

TCH Course at Bayer Siemens

Practical Applications — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:41:48 +0000

Practical Applications, Inc. will be conducting a TCH Course at the Bayer (Siemens) Walpole facility on Wednesday, April 8, 2009.
This course, worth 8 TCH’s, will feature a tour of the facility, hands-on projects, and presentations.

Why Two Tanks – A Back to Basics review of Two Tank pH Neutralization Systems Mechanics and Process Control Strategy
Regulatory Review – New Staffing Regulations for “Fully Automated” treatment systems
The Big S in Sustainable Greywater Systems

Our courses are approved by the Board of Certification of Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators for Training Contact Hours. Our courses are run by industry leaders who have successfully prepared professionals for over ten years. Our chemistry professional, Mr. Martins, has been with our company for over 20 sessions and has extensive industry specific knowledge.

Current MA regulations require licensed Wastewater Treatment Operators to obtain 20 TCHs due at the end of each odd year.

LEED, Don't Follow

admin — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 11:22:09 +0000

Practical Applications recently hosted a TCH course at the Genzyme Center building in Cambridge, MA.

At 350,000 square feet, Genzyme Center is the largest platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building in the United States.

US Green Building Council

The nationally-recognized LEED program is run by the US Green Building Council, a non-profit organization whose members are from the building industry.

Buildings designed according to LEED specifications are awarded gold, silver, or platinum status based on a points system.

Buildings are awarded points based on the following:

Sustainable sites – 14
Water efficiency – 5
Energy and Atmosphere – 17
Materials and resources – 13
Indoor environmental quality – 15
Innovative design – 5

There are currently no tax breaks for adhering to LEED standards. However, LEED-certified buildings are eligible for grants. In addition, companies who adopt LEED building standards can achieve a reduction in operating costs.

For example, companies within the high cost Massachusetts Water Resource Authority service area may see savings within one year of installing a graywater system.

Genzyme Center’s water conservation measures reduced potable water usage by 32%, and the building’s green design, supported by integrated systems, reduced projected overall energy costs by 42%, according to Lou Capozzi from Genzyme Corporation.