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In this issue:
Nordiko Wins US EPA
Ozone Award
1
Port of Hamburg makes
Recapture Mandatory
1
Genera NZ takes
delivery of Eight
Nordiko Consoles
2
Did You Know? 2
Profile: Craig Vecellio 2
Article: The Importance
of Maintenance
3
Article: The Giant Snail 3
Nordiko Products 3
Health Effects of MB 4
UK Chemical Scare 4
Malaysian Launch 4
Nordiko Quarantine Systems Pty Ltd
June/July/August 2008 (Winter edition) Volume 3, Issue 1
Nordiko News
Nordiko Quarantine
Systems Pty Ltd
ACN 093 913 225
Level 2
403 Pacific Highway
Artarmon NSW 2064
Australia
Tel: +61 2 9906 5552
Fax: +61 2 9906 1874
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.nordiko.com.au
Sign Up ����
If you would like to subscribe to
this Newsletter, please contact
the Editor, Tehrese Johansson,
via email:
Nordiko Wins US EPA Ozone Protection Award
In May this year, Nordiko Quarantine Systems won the prestigious US EPA
Climate and Stratospheric Ozone Award for 2008. This Award was estab-
lished by the US EPA in 1990 to acknowledge “exceptional leadership, per-
sonal dedication, and technical achievements in protecting the earth’s
stratospheric ozone layer”.
Nordiko has been recognised for its efforts in reducing the release of
ozone-depleting gases, using its range of Australian-developed fumigation
and recapture systems, which trap harmful gases that can otherwise erode
the ozone layer. Nordiko is the major supplier of this type of equipment to
Belgium—the first country in the world to mandate its use. The Port of
Nelson in New Zealand has also made this move.
In addition to its environmental benefits, Nordiko equipment has very sig-
nificant occupational health and safety advantages.
By preventing the release of environmentally dangerous and
highly toxic gases to areas where shipping containers are han-
dled, this technology allows a much higher level of workplace
safety, compared to existing practices.
The Award was presented to Nordiko in Washington DC on
the 19th of May 2008, by Drusilla Hufford (Director, USEPA,
Stratospheric Protection Division) and was accepted by
Nordiko’s Technical Director, Ken Brash.
Photo: Ken Brash accepts the US EPA Award in Washington DC
Port of Hamburg Makes MB Recapture Mandatory
The Port of Hamburg has made the decision to make promptly recapture of methyl bromide and other fumigant
gases (from quarantine fumigations) mandatory. In September 2008, opera-
tors have to apply for new permission. The application must include a
recapture unit. This follows the recent (July 2007) decision by the Belgium
Government to make recapture mandatory. Nordiko attended the Port
on June 3rd 2008 to demonstrate its systems to an audience comprising
the fumigation companies, environment, port, health and related industries.
As well as providing for safe recapture of gas, the same systems can also be
used for fast and efficient removal of residual gases from inside imported
shipping containers. The growing trend to regulate the recapture of
methyl bromide and other toxic gases injurious to worker health and the
environment is gaining momentum in many parts of the world.
Photo: Nordiko recapture system in use in Hamburg—one
of the top 10 conta iner ports in the wor ld .
Page 1
Genera NZ Takes Del ivery o f
E ight Nordiko Consoles
The commissioning was attended by
representatives from the Port of
Nelson, Nelson Council, and the
media. Stevedores and
representatives from Genera and
Nordiko were also in attendance.
Photo: Commiss ion ing at
Genera Fumigat ion , Port of
Nelson , New Zea land
Profile: Craig Vecellio
Craig joined the Nordiko team in 2006, after many years’
experience as a Technician, Maintenance Fitter, Team
Leader and Factory Maintenance Engineer.
Craig is responsible for both training and
maintenance of Nordiko equipment at various
customer sites around Australia. As a result,
he is often on the road or in the air travelling
to service the equipment and ensure that
systems are operating in the optimal way.
Craig has just gained his Cert IV in Train the
Trainer. He is also a licensed maintenance
fitter, fumigator and forklift driver, and has
many years’ experience in welding and
pneumatics.
In May this year, Craig became a first-time
father, when baby Kaelan safely arrived at a
local Sydney hospital.
Craig is a keen restorer of old cars. One of
his finished projects is a VG Valiant
convertible, and he is currently working on
an old street rod. Craig enters his car each
and every year at the “NSW All Chrysler
Day Car Show”.
Craig is also a member of the Canine
Council of NSW and the NSW Bull Terrier
Club. Craig shows his dog “Shelbi” at
various dog shows around NSW.
You can read Craig’s article on
“Maintenance” on page 3 of this
Newsletter.
Meet the Team
This ed it ion… our Maintenance Maestro , Craig
Did You Know?
In 2007, the Top 10 Ports
in the World, in terms of
TEU throughput , were :
Country : 2007 TEU’s
1 . S ingapore 27 ,900,000
2 . Shangha i 26 ,152,000
3 . Hong Kong 23 ,998,000
4 . Shenzhen 21 ,099,000
5 . Busan 13 ,260,477
6 . Rotterdam 10,790,604
7 . Duba i 10 ,650,000
8 . Kaohs iung 10 ,256,829
9 . Hamburg 9 ,890 ,000
10 . Los Angeles 8 ,355 ,038
TEU is a s tandard unit for de-
scr ibing a ship ’s cargo carry ing
capac ity . I t s tands for twenty-
foot equiva lent unit . In other
words , a standard forty- foot con-
ta iner equa ls two TEUs.
A significant development in quarantine fumigation practice took
place in Nelson on August 12th, 2008. Nordiko supplied equip-
ment to Genera - the largest fumigation firm in NZ - to recap-
ture methyl bromide fumigant used to dis-infest shipping contain-
ers. This was the first use of this technology in NZ and oc-
curred in advance of the regulatory requirement established by
the Environment Court to be implemented at the end of 2008.
Public concerns over the unfettered use of methyl bromide had
earlier prompted a petition to parliament on this issue. The
position established by the court decision balances the need for
an effective biosecurity agent to facilitate international trade,
whilst addressing environmental and safety issues through the
use of recapture technology, until an effective replacement for
methyl bromide can be found.
Map : courtesy Lone ly P lanet
Page 2
The Importance o f Maintenance
Artic le wr itten by Cra ig Vecel l io
Maintenance is keeping equipment in a good state of repair so as to minimise the need for more
costly major repair work or replacement. The life of any system can be prolonged through a
continual preventive maintenance program.
There are two different types of maintenance:
1. Preventive Maintenance is conducted to keep equipment working and/or extend the life of the
equipment.
2. Corrective Maintenance, sometimes called "repair", is conducted to get equipment working again.
Preventive maintenance is a schedule of planned maintenance actions aimed at the prevention of
breakdowns and failures. The primary goal of preventive maintenance is to prevent the failure of
equipment before it actually occurs. It is designed to preserve and enhance equipment reliability by
replacing worn components before they actually fail. Corrective maintenance is usually more urgent,
and occurs as a result of a system breakdown.
Nordiko conducts Preventative Maintenance every 3 months, and Corrective Maintenance, as
necessary. By way of example, Australian Customs have been utilising Nordiko’s systems for more
than 6 years and, as a result of regular and ongoing Preventive Maintenance, the systems are in “as
new” condition and remain in excellent working order.
The Giant Afr ican Snai l (Achat ina fu l ica)
Artic le wr itten by Ken Brash
The Giant African Snail comes mainly from Kenya and Tanzania, and is looked upon by most
quarantine authorities as one of the most dangerous invasive species in the world. It is not a fussy
eater and will attack a huge range of plants.
The snail comes from East Africa but has populated
many countries, including several Pacific islands,
which is of particular concern to Australia. There
are two main avenues of invasion: one is that they
hitchhike on or in shipping containers; and the other
is that, in some cases, they have been deliberately
introduced as a food source. Using them as food can
be quite dangerous due to the possibility of ingesting
the rat lungworm parasite and contracting
eosinophilic meningitis.
They are usually around 7cm in size, but can reach 20cm, unlike their West African cousins (Achatina
achatina), which are the largest snails in the world, growing up to 30cm.
They lay up to 200 eggs at a time and will have 5 or 6 clutches of eggs per year. These snails can live
5 or 6 years and sometimes longer depending on the availability of food and climatic conditions.
Although from the tropics, they have the ability to acclimatize to much colder climates, which gives
them the ability to become established over a much wider area. In fact, in times of drought, they are
able to secrete a calcerous compound that dries on contact with air, sealing moisture in their shell.
They are able to exist in this state for up to 3 years. It is this ability to seal their shell that makes
them so difficult to kill. In Australia, containers arriving from countries deemed to be high risk for
Giant African Snail are fumigated with Methyl Bromide at a very high dose of 128g/M3 (almost three
times the normal dose for timber pests). Both the USDA and AQIS are extremely vigilant in their
efforts to keep these pests from breaching their borders, as they would have a devastating effect on
the agricultural industries of both countries.
Not only do they have a face only a mother would love, but they are also highly dangerous to human
health, agriculture and the ecology.
Some of Nordiko’s
Product Range
L ightweight Fumigat ion
Console - Be lg ium
Max i F low Vent i lat ion
Console (without f i l ter )
- Sydney
Under-Tarp Fumigat ion/
Recapture System - Ind ia
Vent i la t ion Console
(with f i l ter ) - Sydney
Page 3
UNEP Report
Shows
Level 2
403 Pacific Highway
Tel: +61 2 9906 5552
Fax: +61 2 9906 1874
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.nordiko.com.au
Nordiko Quarantine Systems
Pty Ltd
ACN 093 913 225
Health Ef fects o f Methyl Bromide
Methyl Bromide is an extremely toxic gas. Methyl bromide dissipates to the atmosphere,
but is dangerous as a residual gas often found inside shipping containers. Human exposure
to high concentrations of methyl bromide can result in central nervous system and
respiratory system failure, as well as specific and severe deleterious actions on the lungs,
eyes and skin. Common initial problems include weakness, despondency, headache, visual
disturbances, nausea, and vomiting.
Later, central nervous symptoms can emerge,
including numbness, defective muscular
coordination, tremor and muscle spasms, and
lack of balance, extreme agitation, coma and
convulsions. Exposure of pregnant women
may result in fetal defects.
Fumigation related exposures have resulted in
significant incidences of throat and eye
irritation, skin injuries, shortness of breath,
pain in chest, nausea, fatigue, dizziness,
numbness, and weakness of extremities.
Exposure to high concentrations has
resulted in a number of human deaths.
Source : Fact Sheet : Methy l Bromide . Hazard Eva luat ion and In format ion
Serv ice , Department of Hea lth Serv ices , R ichmond, USA
UK Inc ident: Chemical Scare Art ic le courtesy Shropshire Star Newspaper UK,
as reported on 7 August 2008
Three workers from a Telford toy factory were taken to hospital after being overcome by
fumes when they opened a shipping container.
Firefighters were called out to Golden Bear Products in Hortonwood to deal with the
chemical incident, believed to involve potentially dangerous methyl bromide.
Two firefighters wore airtight suits and breathing apparatus as they sealed the container.
Their colleagues decontaminated them at the scene, which was made safe by 2pm.
Andy Joseph, sub-officer at Wellington Fire Station said: “We believe the chemical was
being used to fumigate the containers.”
Laura Taylor, Telford & Wrekin Council spokeswoman, said: “The environmental health
department was notified that three Golden Bear employees had been exposed to methyl
bromide after opening a 20ft shipping container delivered to the company.
“The employees were overcome by fumes and were
taken to hospital where they were decontaminated
and treated. The council will now work with the
company to investigate how this incident occurred
and to arrange for decontamination or disposal as
necessary.”
Kellee Foulkes, marketing manager for Golden Bear
said an investigation was underway.
Photo: courtesy Shropsh ire Star Newspaper
Malays ian Launch
On Monday, May 26th 2008, Nordiko signed an
agency agreement with Life Sciences at a public
launching ceremony in Putrijaya (near Kuala
Lumpur) in Malaysia. This launch was combined
with a practical demonstration of Nordiko sys-
tems in operation.
Over 180 attendees included representatives
from the Departments of Environment, Agricul-
ture and Health, as well as a large contingent
from the Malaysian fumigation industry, were
present at the launch.
International visitors from Belgium (where re-
capture is mandatory), India, USA and Australia,
as well as other countries presented the latest
practical and technological developments in
fumigation equipment and training. The impor-
tance of safe and effective fumigations under
quarantine programs such as AFAS was re-
enforced.
Image courtesy : Br igham and Women’s
Hosp ita l , Harvard Medica l School
Page 4