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-----Certification of tanks?
1998
Recently the Hayward (Calif.) Fire Dept. inspected my plating facility; they requested "certification" for each of the plating tanks. Is this something new? Has anyone else had that request made for their tanks? Or is this harrassment? Quick responses would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Gary
Gary PatiglerElectro Forming Co.
With 30 years experience, visiting hundreds of shops, it's a new one on me, Gary. But it could be a county thing, or perhaps a state thing I haven't heard of.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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1998
1998
It must be a new wrinkle, I just heard about something similar in New Jersey. The city wanted an environmental firm, who specializes in this kind of thing, to submit a letter saying that a new plating installation would not pose any hazard to the community.
I saw a copy of the letter. It was just blah, blah, normal industrial practice, blah, electroplating involves the use of electricity,blah, no hazard to the city, blah, blah. Obviously, I was unimpressed with the science or the diplomacy. It was all generalizations, without a single recommendation or requirement imposed on anyone.
It was kind of silly, really, since the person writing it obviously knew none of the details of electroplating. For instance, I would not manage a plating shop that did not have double containment of all process tanks. This secondary containment can easily incorporate piping and filter pumps that are running off the process tank. This is where most of the spills and leaks occur. I would prefer that even all rinse tanks and piping were double contained, but I'm not that fussy. It is not 100% foolproof, but it is a major step in the prevention of slug releases of chemicals into the environment.
Tom Pullizzi
Falls Township, Pennsylvania
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