Environmental Management System (EMS)

What is EMS?

An environmental management system is the process used by an organization to manage, review, correct, and improve the organization’s approach to business. Employees are asked to consider how they affect the environment every day.  An EMS offers a structured way to incorporate environmental considerations into day-to-day operations; it promotes continual improvement of the environment and human health.

EMS key all about

1. Systematic way of managing an organization's environmental affairs

2. Based on Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. Some EMS approach being made Policy-Planning-Implementation- Checking corrective action- Management review.

3. Focussed on continual improvement of system

4. Addresses short term and long term impact of a product or services provided by the company to environment

5. A tool/method to improvement environmental's performances

Conducting EMS in an organization require commitment from all department. Some senior management likely stepping back to commitment because EMS depending on voluntary approach.

Conducting EMS in an organization will reduce waste, increase process effieciency, increase environment safety, eliminate insurans claims, provide uniform operations, increase productivity and saving operation cost.

Phosphorus Removal in Activated Sludge Process (by PAOs)

In Anaerobic Treatment Tank

1. Polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) decompose polyphosphate (PP) and produce orthophosphoric acid (called orthophosphates)

2. By decomposing, PAOs gain energy and assimilate organic substances (volatile fatty acid, acetate). It is accumulated in PAOs body as polyhydroxoalkanoate (PHA) (called polyhydroxybutyrate, PHB)

In Aerobic Treatment Tank

3. PAOs decompose PHA which earlier stored in their body

4. By decomposing, PAOs gain energy (live and grow) and uptake orthophosphoric acid and accumulate in PAOs body as PP

5. Phosphorus element being discard from system through wasting (WAS) PAOs from final sedimentation tank.

River in Petaling Jaya, Selangor

There are many river in Petaling Jaya. Most popular is River Klang (Sg. Klang). People also noted that there are two river which continuously undergo monitoring programme which are River Penchala (Sg. Penchala) and River Klang. Popular rivers in Petaling Jaya are:

1. Sg. Buloh
2. Sg. Damansara
3. Sg. Gasi
4. Sg. Kayu Ara
5. Sg. Kelang
6. Sg. Klang
7. Sg. Kuyoh
8. Sg. Penchala
9. Sg. Rumput
10. Sg. Tembul

 

"Save our reserve water"

Sludge Age

Environmental Laws

Source of Environmental Law

• Legislation (federal, state, local)
• Regulations (federal, state, local)
• Court Desicions (interpreting statues and regulations)
• Common Law
• Constitutions (United States, state)
• International Treaties
• Foreign Regulations

Protection of Aquatic Life

Anthropogenic stresses, introduction of chemicals into water, affect many species of aquatic flora and fauna.

Parts that concern to enviromentalis are

• Dissolved oxygen (kill fish at low concentration)
• Phosphates, ammonium and nitrate (cause significant changes in community strcuture)
• Heavy metals and many synthetic chemical (ingested and absorbed by organisms cause bioaccumulated in body)
• Pollutant (cause carcinogenic, reproductive and developmental effects)

Stress in River Basin

1. Rapid urban development

2. Increase Pollution Loads - Sewage

3. Poor water quality

Aeration Tank

Aeration tank is the major of the wastewater treatment structure. Treatment of wastewater using aeration equipment also called secondary treatment. Design of aeration tank absolutely refer to incoming load to the tank.

Aeration tank refers to several design for the activated sludge treatment type. A few secondary treatment tank are listed as below:

1. Extended aeration
2. Oxidation ditch
3. Batch reactor

For extended aeration tank, there are a few mutation where the process actually holding same concept such as:

1. Loyal extended aeration (LEA) - the word "loyal" refers to the designers or the manufacturer of the tank and the tank made from fibers.
2. Hi-Kleen - Normally known as a package plant where the whole structure from equilization tank, aeration tank and clarifier were ready made (fabricate in factory) from fiber or any suitable material.

The manufacturer are significantly using the same procedure in designing the treatment process, whereby the name normally to show to market about their company.

For batch reactor, few mutation of how the treatment stage are arrange prior completion of wastewater treatment process. Batch reactor means, a bulk/volume of wastewater be treated in the same tank. Batch reactor doesn't need clarifier during sedimentation stage. There are significant stage in the batch reactor includes:

1. Aeration stage
2. Settling/Sediment stage
3. Decanting/remove clean water stage

Best arrangement from the stage means reduction of expenditure during STP development/construction. On the other side, the operator will also need extra expertise in order to adapt this situation. The criticality scoring will increase as the situation will increase risk of releasing failed FE to the natural receivers. A few type of arrangement will also produce a few names such as:

1. IDEA - Intermittent Decanting Extended Aeration - become more popular in recent years.
2. IDEAL - Intermittent Decanting Extended Aerated Lagoon.
3. SBR - Sequencing Batch Reactor -most popular arragement in Malaysia because of the capabilty of existing designers and STP operator. (more easy than other 'batch' treatment process)

Equilization Tank

Tank which consist of transfer pump and aerator. Construction of equilization tank may useful to balance treatment intake in the aeration tank. It will also useful in contolling volume of water to be treated in the aeration tank. As such, equilization tank is very important in optimizing treatment process at downstream i.e if water in the aeration tank reach its volume, feed pump will stop feeding the aeration tank while the incoming water will simultaneously accumulated/be in equilization tank before next coming volume.

Like continuos treatment such as extended aeration (EA), Equilization tank will be a buffle tank for the aeration tank during surge flow. Surge flow in treatment process may cause stability of treatment process like 'over' flowing of MLSS which means, the depletion of suspended's food digestor.

Overflowing of digestor to FE will also cause unwanted bacteria (filamentous bacteria) to grow in treatment tank, hence create hard conditions during settlement process.

Guideline by Malaysian authority during wastewater plant construction shows that, construction of equilization tank will subsequently reduce aeration tank size by specific ratio.

Klang Valley Water Pollution

Based on the article which refer to Klang Valley water pollution. we believe that, the

management of development and urbanization is actually very important.

It is important in water management to ensure for health to human and environment. There are

two categories for water pollution sources as listed as below:

1. Point sources

2. Non-point sources

Point source is refer to sources that can define the starting point such as from sewage treatment

plant (STP), effluent from factory, from toilet and etc.

Non-point sources is refer to pollution which release to water without knowing the sharp point

such as surface water runoff, rainwater and etc.

Pollution of water is actually define that the incoming water is contain with excess chemical

constituent such as pesticides, ammonia, spilled carbon petroleum, detergent, fertilizers, organic

matter and etc. Rain which carry sulfur dioxide or nitrogen dioxide also may cause water

pollution.

Instead of chemical release, water pollution also may generated from discharge of heated water

especially industrial process or power stations.

The contamination may harmful to aquatic life and furthermore will destroy the aquifier. Many

of the chemical substances are toxic or even carcinogenic.

Many of the municipal water supplies in developed countries can present health risks. That is

why, proper management of water may save a lot of thing.

There is no other way for water manager at water treatment plant if the water sources has been

polluted except to shut down the plant. They have to ensure the action to be taken to makesure,

there is no unwanted incident will happen to community health.

Every organazation which related to water management must realise that, every discharge to

upstream river must be well treated. They have to follow standard quality effluent which is

earlier regulated by DOE.

Although, there is a regulation behind that, some of incident such as bund broke (refer to landill

leachate release from Semenyih landfill) were likely define as unexpected incident. As the

consequences, there must be a plan to response to this kind of pollution. Idea must be raised

such as to relocated the landfill to downstream area, and it must be planned earlier.