Date: October 13, 2021
Category: Chapter News, Member News, NASF Chapters, Regulation
NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER ANNUAL FALL SEMINAR 2021
The New England Chapter of NASF was grateful to once again be able to host an in-person Seminar for the benefit of its membership and the entire metal finishing community. The event was held on Wednesday October 6, 2021. With the COVID pandemic having forced the adoption of a Virtual format for the past year and a half, the resumption of in-person meetings and the opportunity to not only learn but to network with fellow metal finishers was a welcome change and was enthusiastically received by all in attendance.
The event was once again a four-hour Continuing Education Conference offering continuing education contact hours towards Wastewater license renewal. This was especially significant being that 2021 is a WWT License renewal year for all licensed operators in Massachusetts. The Seminar consisted of four presentations over a four-hour period from 1:00 to 5:00 preceded by a luncheon for all attendees and speakers.
Matt Wright from HRP Associates opened the Seminar with a presentation entitled PFAS What Businesses Need to know stressing the importance of due diligence in preparing for regulatory enforcement of this emerging environmental hot-button issue. He stressed that saying “there is no PFAS in our plant” won’t be enough and everyone should be ready to back up statements with facts. This was followed by a presentation from Jim Walsh of MacDermid-Enthone on another hot-button issue, Sustainability. Jim gave examples of how correct equipment choices can not only lead to a company’s financial success but also to its future environmental success. David Calnan of CCI Chemicals followed with a presentation on Wastewater Treatment Options for the metal finishing industry stressing alternative treatment techniques and water recycling. The seminar closing speaker was Katherine Robertson of the Massachusetts Chemistry & Technology Alliance (MCTA) who gave an eye-opening update on the year-long Ad Hoc Toxic Use Reduction Act (TURA) Committee Hearings on reform to this burdensome Massachusetts environmental regulation and what metal finishers will be facing if certain regulatory changes become effective.
We continue to live in a very different world and it is encouraging that once again we were able to assemble for an in-person conference and networking that this event offered. We must continue to offer, through the combined efforts of NASF Board Members, Committee Members, Chapter Membership and dedicated and talented members of the Metal Finishing Community as a whole, events such as this which can be offered for the benefit of our membership.
Date: March 8, 2021
Category: Chapter News, Events, Member News, NASF Chapters, Regulation
The New England Chapter of NASF once again hosted a virtual seminar for the benefit of their membership and the entire metal finishing community. The event was held on Tuesday March 2, 2021. With the COVID pandemic still forcing the elimination of in-person meetings the executive board is realizing the necessity to continue to have events that will not only educate but, to whatever extent possible, bond those associated with metal finishing community.
The event was once again a four-hour Continuing Education Conference offering continuing education contact hours towards Wastewater license renewal. It was conducted by means of a Zoom format and attracted about forty attendees. It consisted of four presentations in two segments from 9:00 to 11:00 and 1:00 to 3:00, offering a more user-friendly format for all attendees.
Levi McGuire from PAVCO opened the Webinar with a presentation on Zinc-Nickel plating, covering the advantages and drawbacks of alternative chemistries from both an application and wastewater treatment perspective. This was followed by an eye-opening presentation by Paul LaFlamme of Centrend on cyber security highlighting the upcoming very elaborate security requirements that will be necessary to conduct business primarily with, but not exclusive to, all government/defense agencies in the not too distant future.
The afternoon session featured presentations by a team comprised of Jeff Mosholder of Newpath LLC plus Alisa Werst and Roger Booth of HRP Associates.
This trio covered the mandatory RCRA training required of all personnel handling hazardous waste and also covered commonly made environmental record keeping and reporting errors that could result in regulatory inspection citations.
Special thank Rob Capalbo of NBC TV Springfield affiliate WWLP for acting as technical director, support and moderator as he once again helped to successfully bring this Virtual Seminar to reality.
We continue to live in a very different world and, until we can all once again assemble for in-person conferences and networking, must continue to offer, through the combined efforts of NASF Board Members, Committee Members, Chapter Membership and dedicated and talented members of the Metal Finishing Community as a whole, events such as this which can be offered for the benefit of our membership.
Date: February 3, 2021
Category: NASF Chapters, NASF National, Regulation
Date: October 17, 2020
Category: Chapter News, Events, Member News, NASF Chapters, Regulation
The Inaugural Virtual Seminar of the New England Chapter of NASF was held on Wednesday October 14, 2020 for the benefit of their membership and the entire metal finishing community. With the elimination of in-person meetings brought about by the COVID pandemic the executive board realized the necessity to continue to have events that would not only educate but, to some extent, bond those associated with metal finishing.
The event, which was a four-hour Wastewater Treatment Update offering continuing education contact hours for Wastewater license renewal, was conducted by means of a Zoom format and attracted about forty attendees. It offered four presentations in two segments from 9:00 to 11:00 and 1:00 to 3:00.
The first presentation covered an overview, regulations and reporting requirements surrounding PFAS substances and was presented by Katherine Robertson, Executive Director of MCTA (Mass Chemistry & Technology Alliance), along, with a panel of experts on the subject. This was followed by a presentation by Remington Schieffer of Dynapower on electrical maintenance for wastewater treatment equipment efficiency and also featured a glimpse at research being conducted that could electrolytically remediate PFAS substances.
The afternoon session featured Robin Deal, senior wastewater specialist at Hubbard Hall, and a panel of experts, offering a presentation entitled “Don’t let Wastewater slow down your Metal Finishing Operation”. The webinar concluded with Fran DiGiovanni, lifelong technical finishing chemistry specialist and metal finishing consultant, who offered a presentation entitled “Training in the Metal Finishing Shop, What We Do Versus What We Need to Do”.
Special thanks to Katherine Robertson of MCTA for offering to act as Moderator for this event, and to Rob Capalbo of NBC TV Springfield affiliate WWLP who acted as technical director and support to successfully bring this Virtual Seminar to reality.
We are living in a very different world today and it is through the combined efforts of NASF Board Members, Committee Members, Chapter Membership and dedicated and talented members of the Metal Finishing Community as a whole that events such as this can be offered for the benefit of our membership.
Date: September 29, 2020
Category: Events, NASF Chapters, NASF National
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Date: July 8, 2020
Category: Chapter News, Member News, NASF Chapters, NASF National
NASF NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER
SUMMER UPDATE 2020
First and foremost the entire Executive Board of the NASF New England Chapter sends their most sincere wishes that everyone and their families in the metal finishing community are all remaining healthy and vigilant through the global pandemic which we are experiencing. We all realize that these are difficult times that have been trying the inner fiber of not only our trade but society as a whole.
Here is a brief update on what has been happening and future events planned at both the local and national levels. As you know, we were forced to cancel our premier event on the association calendar, Suppliers Night, in April. We are happy to announce that that we were still able to award scholarships to deserving college bound students from within the NENASF membership community.
Looking forward to the fall, it does not appear that group gatherings as we have been accustomed will be allowed at that time. The Board has been busy researching alternative formats for the Fall Seminar currently scheduled for October 6th. As it stands right now we have four speakers that have volunteered to give presentations via a virtual webinar based Zoom format as a wastewater continuing ed event. The presentation will take place in early to mid October and will be comprised of a morning and afternoon session each of two hour duration for a total of four continuing ed contact hours. The DEP has indicated that they would be receptive to this method of educational program as long as frequent attendance verification is performed throughout the presentation(s). We will keep you informed as the summer progresses.
At the National level, even though SUR-FIN also had to be cancelled, the Policy Group has been hard at work keeping ahead of regulatory issues impacting our industry, and the educational branch of the NASF (AESF) is continuing to offer training opportunities for all members including CEF certification courses.
On behalf of the entire NENASF Executive Board have an enjoyable summer and, most importantly, remain vigilant and stay safe.
Date: February 8, 2020
Category: Chapter News, Events, Member News, NASF Chapters, Regulation
More than thirty members of the NASF New England Chapter attended a Seminar sponsored by the Chapter on February 6, 2020 at the Courtyard Marriott in Marlborough, Massachusetts to receive their required annual RCRA HazMat and Triennial DOT training. This mandatory training was presented to the membership in a combined joint effort of lead presenter and Chapter Board Member Jeff Mosholder of Newpath LLC and a trio of presenters from HRP Associates out of Albany, New York.
Jeff Mosholder lead off the seminar with a comprehensive RCRA Hazmat training session. This is an annual requirement and can at times be repetitious, but Jeff always manages to peek interest with new facts and updated information for the attendees.
The triennial DOT training was conducted by HRP lead presenter and Senior Project Scientist Alisa Werst accompanied by Regional Manger Jason Beach. Alisa gave an intense fact filled two hour DOT educational training presentation followed by a written test and finally the awarding of Certificates of Completion once the attendees passed the test.
The four hour Seminar was concluded with a presentation by Senior Inspector Roger Booth, also of HRP, who brought attendees up to date on changes and pitfalls of Sara 313 TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) filing requirements. Strong emphasis was placed on the emerging PFAS reporting requirements being added to the coming years data collection and reporting.
This Seminar and other events and educational opportunities offered by the New England Chapter are just another reason to join and actively participate in all that the National Association for Surface Finishing has to offer.
Date: October 1, 2019
Category: Chapter News, Events, Member News, NASF Chapters, Regulation
METAL FINISHING BOOT CAMP 2
The New England chapter of the National Association for Metal Finishing held their second in a series of Metal Finishing Boot Camp Seminars on September 26 , 2019 at the Courtyard Marriott in Marlborough Massachusetts.
This seminar is designed as a training tool for entry level metal finishers as well as a means for veteran finishers to hone their skills by learning about new and innovative technologies within the metal finishing industry.
The seminar featured three highly qualified experienced advisers from within the metal finishing community. Jim Gallman, director of wastewater chemistries at Hubbard Hall introduced the attendees to various non traditional rare earth chemistries as a means to overcoming phosphate compliance issues in the industrial wastewater treatment streams.
Rob Sheldon of Aquasgroup brought to the table a variety of technologies that can be used as tools for achieving discharge limits in wastewater treatment operations. Rob cautioned all to be wary of the one size fits all compliance tool. He stressed the need for application engineering, where the challenge must be determined before choosing the equipment necessary to complete the task. Although a seemingly basic principle, he pointed out that misapplication of treatment technologies is the single biggest cause of failure when tackling wastewater discharge compliance issues.
The third speaker was NENASF’s own Marko Duffy CEF of Marathon Manufacturing Solutions. Marko gave a lively presentation on the fundamentals of blueprint reading for the metal finisher. He instructed attendees in the pitfalls of blueprint reading through the use of numerous instructional and interactive graphic examples, and how a small mistake or oversight can lead to costly errors on the finishing line.
Our thanks to all who gave of their time and effort to bring this top quality presentation to the NENASF membership. This is just another way in which your Association is working for you. The Executive Board is currently working on developing a members only page on our website where the power point presentation of these speakers, as well as other instructional information, will be available to the membership.
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