Cement News tagged under: Environmental

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Cockburn ordered to install new pollution control equipment

17 May 2011, Published under Cement News

Australian cement producer, Cockburn Cement, will be required to install new pollution control equipment to reduce dust emissions from its Munster plant under tough new licence conditions imposed by the State Government. The new conditions, handed down today by Environment Minister Bill Marmion, come after months of growing discord among residents of Cockburn, who say they have been plagued by dust and odour emissions from the plant.

 The conditions include the installation of pollution c...

Lafarge Cementos renews partnership with WWF, Spain

17 May 2011, Published under Cement News

José Antonio Primo, CEO of Lafarge Cementos, and Juan Carlos del Olmo, secretary general of WWF Spain, have signed the renewal of the Red Ibérica de Comercio Forestal (Iberian Forest and Trade Network – IFTN). With the new three-year agreement, Lafarge endorses the objectives of WWF’s IFTN initiative: promoting informed and responsible purchasing of forest products and their legal trade, improve the management of the world’s forests and support credible forest certification. The extension...

EPA agrees to rethink parts of new cement kiln rules, USA

16 May 2011, Published under Cement News

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday that it will reconsider some aspects of its new standards on hazardous air pollution from cement plants, but it won’t delay the regulations as the cement industry had asked. Both cement companies and environmental groups had filed petitions asking EPA to take another look at the regulations, which will limit the amount emissions. In a notice signed by Administrator Lisa Jackson on Wednesday, the agency said it will look into s...

Italcementi 2010 sustainability report

11 May 2011, Published under Cement News

In its latest sustainability report, Italy-based cement maker Italcementi reported advances in energy efficiency in the countries where revamped plants were commissioned. Energy efficiency at its Martinsburg, USA, works benefitted from a new kiln system that replaced the former wet kilns, reducing its specific thermal consumption by 40 per cent and resulting in the reduction of its North American plants by 11 per cent. Further gains were made in Matera (Italy) and Yerraguntla (India). Group-...

EU Carbon Tax to have limited impact on cement industry

11 May 2011, Published under Cement News

The European Commission’s proposal for changes to the way energy is taxed is expected to have limited impact on the cement industry, according to Cembureau, the European association of cement producers. The proposal distinguishes between two types of tax: one based on the energy content of energy products (general energy consumption taxation) and a second type specifically linked to CO2 emissions related to the consumption of energy products. No amendments are expected to the general ener...

Supreme Court reserves order in Lafarge case, India

11 May 2011, Published under Cement News

The Supreme Court has reserved its order over the contentious issue of resumption of mining operations by Lafarge in Meghalaya to supply the limestone to its cement plant in Bangladesh. A special forest bench headed by the Chief Justice S H Kapadia concluded the marathon hearing over the batch of petitions filed by local residents, company and other parties. The bench also asked the Center and Lafarge to file their written submissions before it by Friday. On 5 February 2010, the apex cour...

Apasco enters tyre-fuel agreement with Nuevo Laredo

10 May 2011, Published under Cement News

Apasco and the town of Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas state, Mexico, have agreed to shred over 400,000 waste tyres in an initiative that is designed to improve the local environment and provide Apasco with alternative fuel to fire its kilns. A US$1m shredder will crush 1000-1500 tyres per day rather than leave them in stockpiles or as waste along the streets of the city. The move will help to prevent outbreaks of diseases such as dengue as well as prevent unlawful and polluting incineration. ...

Lafarge and Holcim plants in tyre agreement, Canada

10 May 2011, Published under Cement News

As part of its plan to reduce tire waste in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL, the NL government’s Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) has reached agreements with two Quebec cement manufacturers to eliminate a used tyre stockpile. Through the agreements, Holcim (Canada) Inc and Lafarge Canada Inc will remove the stockpile of used tyres within a two-year period. They will use the tires for tyre-derived fuel, an alternate fuel source. A tender for the transportation of the tires to Quebec wi...

Nirma cement plant must be relocated, India

10 May 2011, Published under Cement News

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that the cement plant of Nirma Industries in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat is situated in an environmentally sensitive wetland area and as a result, must be relocated. The MoEF told the apex court through an affidavit that the plant was constructed in Azone, which is the source of a sweet water body. The MoEF further submitted that it has accepted the report of an expert committee which said that the cemen...

Lafarge charts further sustainability advances

09 May 2011, Published under Cement News

In its newly-released 2010 Sustainability Report, Lafarge tracks its sustainable development advances of the past year. The cement producer reported progress in several fields, including CO2 emissions, specific heat consumption, alternative fuel use and air emissions. The company improved its CO2 emissions record during the year as gross CO2 emissions fell from 632kg/t of cementitious product to 626kg/t while the figure for net CO2 emissions decreased from 614kg/t to 606kg/t – improving th...