A new way to make spills history: made-in-Sudbury cleanup material activated white aims to revolutionize mining health and safety.

• Author: McKinley, Karen
• Position: SUDBURY

Contamination of the air and ground is an inevitable and costly consequence of industry, which has led to a sub-industry of remediation and containment.

This has led one group in Northern Ontario to come up with a made-in-the-North product they say will help make it easier, more cost efficient and safer to clean up wet and dry contamination.

Activated White was formed about two and a half years ago with a mission to get a remediation product to market. The company produces a polymer resin invented by Jake Menard about 10 years ago that absorbs wet contaminants like oil and gasoline and dry contaminants like dust, smoke and diesel exhaust.

"It has a great affinity for oil, it loves hydrocarbons and it's hydrophobic, so it doesn't like water, it loves oil," said Dr. Dennis Reich, CEO and co-owner of Activated White.

"It will suck oil out of water, soil and surfaces and contains it in its structure."

The resin, which has a texture of fine sawdust and clumps easily, has many practical applications. It's non-toxic, biodegrades, enhances the natural biogeneration of the soil and can be used as a fertilizer.

"Cleaning up on site is cheaper and safer. Rather than trucking soil and water to an off-site facility to be processed they do it right there."

It can be utilized as a dry foam or fine sheets. What makes it unique, said Reich, is its hydrophobic properties.

"Water passes right through it, but hydrocarbons are attracted to it," he said. "Other hydrophobic materials used in cleanups absorb contaminants, but stopswater from passing through."

They are using this property and its portability as a selling point for potential customers as an efficient on-site product to clean up contamination, rather than removing contaminated material or water.

"This product can remediate a mine pit within a year," said Reich.

Currently they are packaging the resin in quick clean-up kits that include short booms filled with the resin and small sheets impregnated with the resin.

They also have tubs of dry resin being sold as a quick way to clean up wet spills and to clean hands, as well as 20-foot long booms that can be unfurled and dropped in ditches or cut to fit.

It can be used in filtration systems to clean up spills and mine sites as well as recover oil and other resources for processing and reuse.

One use in particular is in diamond drilling. The drills need oil and water to lubricate and cool the bit. A system like his could recapture the water and filter it...