Safety, security and control:

Energy Control:

An energy management system (EMS) is a system of computer-aided tools used by operators of electric utility grids to monitor, control, and optimize the performance of the generation and/or transmission system. The monitor and control functions are known as SCADA; the optimization packages are often referred to as "advanced applications".

The computer technology is also referred to as SCADA/EMS or EMS/SCADA. In these respects, the terminology EMS then excludes the monitoring and control functions, but more specifically refers to the collective suite of power network applications and to the generation control and scheduling applications.

Manufacturers of EMS also commonly supply a corresponding dispatcher training simulator (DTS). This related technology makes use of components of SCADA and EMS as a training tool for control centre operators. It is also possible to acquire an independent DTS from a non-EMS source such as EPRI

Operating systems

Up to the early 1990s, it was common to find EMS systems being delivered based on proprietary hardware and operating systems. Back then EMS suppliers such as Harris Controls (now GE), Hitachi, Cebyc, Siemens and Toshiba manufactured their own proprietary hardware. EMS suppliers that did not manufacture their own hardware often relied on products developed by Digital Equipment, Gould Electronics and MODCOMP. The VAX 11/780 from Digital Equipment was a popular choice amongst some EMS suppliers.

As proprietary systems became uneconomical, EMS suppliers began to deliver solutions based on industry standard hardware platforms such as those from Digital Equipment (later Compaq), HP, IBM and Sun. The common operating system then was either DEC OpenVMS or UNIX. By 2004, various EMS suppliers including Areva, ABB and OSI had begun to offer Windows based solutions. By 2006 customers had a choice of UNIX, LINUX or Windows-based systems. Some suppliers including NARI, PSI-CNI and Siemens continue to offer UNIX-based solutions. It is now common for suppliers to integrate UNIX-based solutions on either the SUN Solaris or IBM platform. Newer EMS systems based on blade servers occupy a fraction of the space previously required. For instance, a blade rack of 16 servers occupy much the same space as that previously occupied by a single MicroVAX server.

Other meanings

Energy efficiency

In a slightly different context EMS can also refer to a system in an organization to achieve energy efficiency through well laid out procedures and methods, and to ensure continual

improvement, which will spread awareness of energy efficiency throughout an entire organisation.

Automated control of building energy

The term Energy Management System can also refer to a computer system which is designed specifically for the automated control and monitoring of those electromechanical facilities in a building which yield significant energy consumption such as heating, ventilation and lighting installations. The scope may span from of a single building to a group of buildings such as university campuses, office buildings, retail stores networks or factories. Most of these energy management systems also provide facilities for the reading of electricity, gas and water meters. The data obtained from these can then be used to perform self-diagnostic and optimization routines on a frequent basis and to produce trend analysis and annual consumption forecasts.

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is a distinct practice from resource recovery which focuses on delaying the rate of consumption of natural resources. The management of wastes treats all materials as a single class, whether solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive substances, and tried to reduce the harmful environmental impacts of each through different methods.

Waste management practices differ for developed and developing nations, for urban and rural areas, and for residential and industrial producers. Management for non-hazardous waste residential and institutional waste in metropolitan areas is usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator.

Methods of disposal

Landfill

Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying the waste, and this remains a common practice in most countries. Landfills were often established in abandoned or unused quarries, mining voids or borrow pits. A properly designed and well-managed landfill can be a hygienic and relatively inexpensive method of disposing of waste materials. Older, poorly designed or poorly managed landfills can create a number of adverse environmental impacts such as wind-blown litter, attraction of vermin, and generation of liquid leachate. Another common byproduct of landfills is gas (mostly composed of methane and carbon dioxide), which is produced as organic waste breaks down anaerobically. This gas can create odour problems, kill surface vegetation, and is a greenhouse gas.

Design characteristics of a modern landfill include methods to contain leachate such as clay or plastic lining material. Deposited waste is normally compacted to increase its density and

stability, and covered to prevent attracting vermin (such as mice or rats). Many landfills also have landfill gas extraction systems installed to extract the landfill gas. Gas is pumped out of the landfill using perforated pipes and flared off or burnt in a gas engine to generate electricity.

Incineration

Incineration is a disposal method in which solid organic wastes are subjected to combustion so as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. This method is useful for disposal of residue of both solid waste management and solid residue from waste water management.This process reduces the volumes of solid waste to 20 to 30 percent of the original volume. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are sometimes described as "thermal treatment". Incinerators convert waste materials into heat, gas, steam and ash.

Incineration is carried out both on a small scale by individuals and on a large scale by industry. It is used to dispose of solid, liquid and gaseous waste. It is recognized as a practical method of disposing of certain hazardous waste materials (such as biological medical waste). Incineration is a controversial method of waste disposal, due to issues such as emission of gaseous pollutants.

Incineration is common in countries such as Japan where land is more scarce, as these facilities generally do not require as much area as landfills. Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) are broad terms for facilities that burn waste in a furnace or boiler to generate heat, steam or electricity. Combustion in an incinerator is not always perfect and there have been concerns about pollutants in gaseous emissions from incinerator stacks. Particular concern has focused on some very persistent organics such as dioxins, furans, PAHs which may be created which may have serious environmental consequences.

Energy recovery

The energy content of waste products can be harnessed directly by using them as a direct combustion fuel, or indirectly by processing them into another type of fuel. Thermal treatment ranges from using waste as a fuel source for cooking or heating and the use of the gas fuel (see above), to fuel for boilers to generate steam and electricity in a turbine. Pyrolysis and gasification are two related forms of thermal treatment where waste materials are heated to high temperatures with limited oxygen availability. The process usually occurs in a sealed vessel under high pressure. Pyrolysis of solid waste converts the material into solid, liquid and gas products. The liquid and gas can be burnt to produce energy or refined into other chemical products (chemical refinery). The solid residue (char) can be further refined into products such as activated carbon. Gasification and advanced Plasma arc gasification are used to convert organic materials directly into a synthetic gas (syngas) composed of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The gas is then burnt to produce electricity and steam. An alternative to pyrolisis is high temperature and pressure supercritical water decomposition (hydrothermal monophasic oxidation).

Resource Recovery

Resource recovery (as opposed to waste management) uses LCA (life cycle analysis) attempts to offer alternatives to waste management. For mixed MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) a number of

broad studies have indicated that administration, source separation and collection followed by reuse and recycling of the non-organic fraction and energy and compost/fertilizer production of the organic waste fraction via anaerobic digestion to be the favoured path.

Avoidance and reduction methods

An important method of waste management is the prevention of waste material being created, also known as waste reduction. Methods of avoidance include reuse of second-hand products, repairing broken items instead of buying new, designing products to be refillable or reusable (such as cotton instead of plastic shopping bags), encouraging consumers to avoid using disposable products (such as disposable cutlery), removing any food/liquid remains from cans, packaging, ...[1] and designing products that use less material to achieve the same purpose (for example, lightweighting of beverage cans).[2]

Waste handling and transport

Waste collection methods vary widely among different countries and regions. Domestic waste collection services are often provided by local government authorities, or by private companies in the industry. Some areas, especially those in less developed countries, do not have a formal waste-collection system. Examples of waste handling systems include:

In Europe and a few other places around the world, a few communities use a proprietary collection system known as Envac, which conveys refuse via underground conduits using a vacuum system. Other vacuum-based solutions include the MetroTaifun single-line and ring-line systems.

In Canadian urban centres curbside collection is the most common method of disposal, whereby the city collects waste and/or recyclables and/or organics on a scheduled basis. In rural areas people often dispose of their waste by hauling it to a transfer station. Waste collected is then transported to a regional landfill.

In Taipei, the city government charges its households and industries for the volume of rubbish they produce. Waste will only be collected by the city council if waste is disposed in government issued rubbish bags. This policy has successfully reduced the amount of waste the city produces and increased the recycling rate.

In Israel, the Arrow Ecology company has developed the ArrowBio system, which takes trash directly from collection trucks and separates organic and inorganic materials through gravitational settling, screening, and hydro-mechanical shredding. The system is capable of sorting huge volumes of solid waste, salvaging recyclables, and turning the rest into biogas and rich agricultural compost. The system is used in California, Australia, Greece, Mexico, the United Kingdom and in Israel. For example, an ArrowBio plant that has been operational at the Hiriya landfill site since December 2003 serves the Tel Aviv area, and processes up to 150 tons of garbage a day.[3]

While waste transport within a given country falls under national regulations, transboundary movement of waste is often subject to international treaties. A major concern to many countries in the world has been hazardous waste. The Basel Convention, ratiefied by 172 countries today, shall prevent movement of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries. The

provisions of the Basel convention have been integrated into the EU waste shipment regulation. Nuclear waste, although considered hazarous, does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Basel Convention.

Technologies

Traditionally the waste management industry has been slow to adopt new technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, GPS and integrated software packages which enable better quality data to be collected without the use of estimation or manual data entry.

Technologies like RFID tags are now being used to collect data on presentation rates for curb-side pick-ups.

Benefits of GPS tracking is particularly evident when considering the efficiency of ad hoc pick-ups (like skip bins or dumpsters) where the collection is done on a consumer request basis.

Integrated software packages are useful in aggregating this data for use in optimisation of operations for waste collection operations.

Rear vision cameras are commonly used for OH&S reasons and video recording devices are becoming more widely used, particularly concerning residential services.

Waste management concepts

Diagram of the waste hierarchy.

There are a number of concepts about waste management which vary in their usage between countries or regions. Some of the most general, widely used concepts include:

Waste hierarchy - The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and recycle, which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimization. The waste hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste see: resource recovery.

Polluter pays principle - the Polluter Pays Principle is a principle where the polluting party pays for the impact caused to the environment. With respect to waste management, this generally refers to the requirement for a waste generator to pay for appropriate disposal of the waste.

Solid waste can be classified into different typesdepending on their source: 1) Industrial waste as hazardous waste 2) Household waste is generally classified as municipal 3) Biomedical waste or hospital waste as infectious waste and 4) E-waste Electronic wastes such as TV's, refrigerators and computer waste

Hazardous WasteDetection of traces of toxic chemicals in drinking water supplies, in polar ice caps, groundwater sources and episodes such as those in Minamata Bay, Japan and Love Canal, USA have focused the attention of the public worldwide on the risks posed by the inappropriate disposal of

hazardous waste and accidental release of toxic chemicals into the environment. In India the concern and need to manage the hazardous waste generated in the country in a scientific manner was felt only in the mid-eighties after the occurrence of the Bhopal gas tragedy on 2/3 December 1984. The Government's attention was then drawn towards environmental damage and the casualties that hazardous chemical substances and toxic wastes can cause. The MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) enacted an umbrella act i.e., the Environment (Protection) Act in 1986. Subsequent to this Act, in order to prevent indiscriminate disposal of hazardous waste, the MoEF promulgated the Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules in 1989, and efforts to inventorise hazardous waste generation were initiated1. Due to the liberalised policy the pace of industrialization has been accelerated, which has resulted in increasing amounts of hazardous wastes every year. This along with a growing amount of municipal solid waste due to rapid urbanisation and hospital waste continues to remain a daunting issue of environmental concern to India.

Municipal Solid WasteThere has been a significant increase in the generation of MSW (Municipal Solid Wastes) in India over the last few decades. This is largely a result of rapid population growth in the country. The daily per capita generation of municipal solid waste in India ranges from about 100 g in small towns to 500 g in large towns. The solid waste generated in Indian cities has increased from 6 million tones in 1947 to 48 million tones in 1997 and is expected to increase to 300 million tones per annum by 2047 (CPCB, 2000). The characteristics of MSW collected from any area depends on a number of factors such as food habits, cultural traditions of inhabitants, lifestyles, climate, etc1. At present most of the MSW in the country is disposed off unscientifically (i.e.) lack of 'sanitary landfill'. This has adverse impacts on not only the ecosystem but also on the human environment. Unscientific disposal practices leave waste unattended at the disposal sites, which attracts birds, rodents, fleas etc., to the waste and creates unhygienic conditions like odour, release of airborne pathogens, etc. The plastic content of the municipal waste is picked up by the rag pickers for recycling either at primary collection centers or at dumpsites. Plastic are recycled mostly in factories, which do not have adequate technologies to process them in a safe manner. This exposes the workers to toxic fumes and unhygienic conditions. Moreover, since the rag picking sector is not organised, not all the recyclables, particularly plastic bags, get picked up and are found littered everywhere, reaching the drains and water bodies ultimately and chokingthem1.

Components of Municipal Solid WasteMunicipal solid waste consists of household waste, construction and demolition debris, sanitation residue, and waste from streets. This garbage is generated mainly from residential and commercial complexes. In Tamil Nadu due to urbanization and change in lifestyle and food habits, the amount of municipal solid waste has been increasing rapidly and its composition changingWaste Management

The type of litter generated and the approximate time it takes to degenerate

Type of litter Approximate time it takes to degenerate

Organic waste such as vegetable and fruit peels, Leftover foodstuff, etc.

a week or two.

Paper 10-30 daysCotton cloth 2-5 monthsWood 10-15 yearsTin, aluminum, and other metal items such as cans

100 to 500 years

Woolen items 1 year

Plastic bags One million years?

Glass bottles Undetermined

General composition of the municipal solid wastes

Biodegradable matter 50%

Glass 4%

Plastics 3%

Paper 5%

Metals 1%

Leather and rubber 1%

Rags 5%

Household hazardous 1%

Inert materials 30%

Bio-Medical waste:

Hospital waste is generated during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities in these fields or in the production or testing of biological. It may include wastes like sharps, soiled waste, disposables, anatomical waste, cultures, discarded medicines, chemical wastes, etc. These are in the form of disposable syringes, swabs, bandages, body fluids, human excreta, etc. This waste is highly infectious and can be a serious threat to human health if not managed in a scientific and discriminate manner. It has been roughly estimated that of the 4 kg of waste generated in a hospital at least 1 kg would be infectious

E-Waste

Electronic waste or E-waste as it is popularly called is a collective terminology for the entire stream of electronic wastes such as used TV's, refrigerators, telephones, air conditioners, computers, mobile phones etc. computer waste is the most significant of all waste due to the gigantic amounts as well as the rate at which it is generated. In addition, its recycling is a complex process that involves many hazardous materials and poses significant environmental and health hazard. E-waste is of particular concern to India currently. India is setting a shining example not only in the IT sector, but unfortunately, also in importing e-waste. The primary source of computer waste in India is imports from developed countries though, recently, domestic waste also has shot up due to the astounding growth in the IT sector and its application in various new sectors, including governance.

Hazardous waste (Management and Handling) Amended Rules, 2003: These define hazardous waste as “any waste which by reason of any of its physical, chemical, reactive, toxic, flammable, explosive or corrosive characteristics causes danger, or is likely to cause danger, to health or environment, whether alone or when on contact with other wastes or substances. “In Schedule 1, waste generated from the electronic industry is considered as hazardous waste.

DGFT (Exim policy 2002-07): The Director General of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce governs the EXIM policy, and as per the Para2.17 of EXIM Policy, 2002-07 which says: "All second hand goods shall be restricted for imports and may be imported only in accordance with the provisions of this Policy, ITC (HS), Hand book (Vol.1), Public Notice or a licence/ certificate/ permission issued in this behalf5."

Preparation

♦ Always read the exhibit safety guidelines before preparing and setting up your exhibitA risk assessment must be completed if your exhibit is a fire risk, if you are usingfood products, if you are using lasers, if you are using chemicals, if you are usingbiological materials, if your exhibit has moving or sharp parts, if your exhibit hashot or cold surfaces, if your exhibit is suspended or if your exhibit may posesome other risk.

♦ Use of human and animal blood product and waste products is not permitted.

♦ Use of deceased animals or animal parts is also not permitted.

Installation precautions

♦ If you require the use of contactors or the help from someone other than a COFA staff member they must UNDERGO A SITE INDUCTION before they start work and they must sign in and out each day. They can do this at the facilities office.

♦ No items are allowed to be set-up in front of fire doors, stairways, doorways orwithin the fire stairs♦ If your exhibit is over 16kg ensure you have help lifting and installing the item♦ All items must be secured so they do not fall on anyone♦ Items with sharp, pointed, hot or cold surfaces or moving parts must becordoned off to prevent people coming into contact with them

Electrical precautions

♦ ALL electrical appliances, power boards and power cords must be tested andtagged before installation and the tag must be in date.

If your items are not tested and tagged take them to resources centre for testing.♦ When installing cables try to run them so they do not need to run across pathways.♦ If it is absolutely necessary to run a cable across a pathway ensure it is tapped down.♦ Avoid joining numerous extension cables and power boards together. Measure the length of the cable you will need and use one long extension cable.

♦ The use of Double adapters is not permitted.

Use power boards that have been tested and tagged.

♦ When installing a number of exhibits in a room consider the loading of the power circuit

♦ Do not run cables over fans

Fire safety precautions

♦ Never place or wrap Foil or flammable materials around lights

♦ Combustible materials must not be placed over electrical items, speakers, power boards or power points and there must be sufficient air space around the equipment to prevent overheating

♦ Never block emergency exits

♦ When installing items in pathways ensure there is sufficient space for people to pass by. i.e. at least 1m wide

♦ If you are using candles, oil burners or incense sticks a risk assessment must be completed and an inspection by the OHS coordinator or OHS committee member must take place

Lighting safety precautions

• Combustible materials (particularly fabric) should be kept at a safe distance from the lamps.• Similarly spotlights concentrate the heat and combustible materials should be kept at a safe distance from the lamps.

• Never surround lamps with foil or any other materials. This can cause the lampto overheat and potentially generate a fire.

• If you are using stroboscopic or flashing lig Lifting safety precautions -Follow Lifting safe working procedure. Lifting SWP

Ladder safety precautions - Follow Ladder safe working procedure.

Ladder SWP

Working with tools -Follow safe working procedure for power and hand tools

Hand Tools SWP

Power tools SWP Resources required includingAlways use trolleys or team lifting arrangements to move heavy objects

Hazards and risk controls including specific precautions required

Hazards COFA exhibit safety guidelines Safe working procedures Inspection by OHS coordinator or committee member Risk assessments completed for all exhibits that may pose a risk Instructions given

List legislation, standards

Risk Controls-Electrical-Lighting-Fire-Lifting-Using ladders-Using tools and equipment and codes of practice used in the development