Underground Infrastructure - September 2023 - 8

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
California Company Fined
$5 Million For Illegally Dumping
Wastewater in Mississippi
A California-based company will pay just under
$5 million in fines for discharging wastewater
into a publicly owned sewage treatment plant in
Mississippi without obtaining a valid state permit,
a federal judge ruled.
View Inc., a glass-making firm headquartered
in Silicon Valley, previously pleaded guilty to
negligently discharging wastewater into a city
sewer system from the company's sole manufacturing
facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
That discharge endangered residents in the
north Mississippi community and Memphis suburb
of almost 40,000, federal prosecutors said.
" When companies place profit and
convenience above public safety, we will do all
we can to punish that behavior and protect the
public, " U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said in a news
release. " This illegal discharge of wastewater
into the public treatment facility demonstrated a
blatant disregard for the safety and wellbeing of
citizens in our District. "
In addition to the fines, U.S. District Judge
Sharion Aycock sentenced the company to a
three-year term of probation.
The company discharges about 248,000
gallons of wastewater per day from glasscutting,
grinding, washing and polishing directly
into the city's sewer system. But the company
did so without a proper permit for years,
prosecutors said.
" Unpermitted discharges of industrial
wastewater can pose a serious threat to our
nation's wastewater treatment systems, " said
Charles Carfagno, a special agent with the
Environmental Protection Agency.
The Mississippi glass plant opened by
View Inc. was initially touted as a successful
economic development project by former
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. In 2010, Barbour
lured the company, previously known as
Soladigm, to the state with a $40 million loan,
according to The Commercial Appeal.
According to its website, the company makes
" smart windows " that can lower energy costs
and improve mental health. In July, the company
reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for failing to disclose
$28 million in liabilities to address a defect in its
windows. In a news release, the agency said it
decided not to impose civil penalties because
the company self-reported its misconduct.
8 SEPTEMBER 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
Three People Found Dead
in Texas Underground Tank,
Sewer Gas Suspected as Cause
A Texas sheriff said that three people from Florida
died in an underground tank filled with sewer
gas after one of them apparently tried rescuing
their dog after it fell into the hole, followed by
the other two jumping in to save them.
The bodies of two men and a woman, as
well as the dog, were pulled from the tank
in a cornfield on the rural outskirts of Austin.
Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook said the
hole was a cistern with an opening roughly 4
feet wide and containing 8 feet of water, as well
as hydrogen sulfide gas.
He said the chain of events started in the middle
of the night with one of the men apparently
getting into the cistern to rescue the dog, which
he described as a bloodhound. Clothing and
boots belonging to the other two hunters were
found near the hole, suggesting they removed
them before also jumping in, Cook said.
He said authorities believe the hunters were
overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas in the hole
and sank to the bottom.
" There was no cover. This was just an open
hole in the middle of a cornfield, " Cook said.
Cook said the cistern had a " high level " of hydrogen
sulfide. He said stagnating water and the
decay of other animals that previously died in the
cistern could create levels that would be deadly.
The hunting party included a fourth person,
from Texas, who did not go into the hole. Cook
said that hunter told authorities the dog escaped
from their truck and that they tracked it using a
device on the dog's collar.
Efforts to recover the bodies were hampered
by concerns from dive teams about the gas and
the integrity of the structure's walls, he said. The
tank had " strong fumes, similar to those of a
septic tank, coming from the cistern, " according
to a statement from the sheriff's office.
Caltech Research Reveals
Underground Fiber Optic
Cables as Effective
Earthquake Detectors
In California, an extensive network of
underground fiber optic cables spans thousands
of miles, serving as a vital conduit for internet
connectivity. However, these underground
cables possess an intriguing additional
capability: they can function as earthquake
sensors, detecting and quantifying seismic
activity, according to a study conducted by
California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Researchers at Caltech have recently
conducted an investigation that utilized a
segment of fiber optic cable to intricately
analyze the characteristics of a magnitude 6
earthquake. The study successfully identified
the precise timing and location of four distinct
asperities along the fault line, which are regions
where movement is hindered and eventually
leads to the rupture of the fault.
Zhongwen Zhan, a geophysics professor at
Caltech, and his committed team have spent
years demonstrating how the use of repurposed
fiber optic cables may dramatically improve our
ability to track seismic occurrences. Their strategy
makes use of distributed acoustic sensing,
a method that turns a network of makeshift
seismometers out of fiber optic cables, allowing
for the thorough monitoring of seismic activity.
The study was limited to a 62-mile stretch
of fiber optic cable. The team was able to
learn comprehensive details on the complex
dynamics underpinning a particular earthquake
that took place in 2021 thanks to this piece. The
results highlighted the possibility that easier
access to more fiber optic connections would
open the door to a better understanding of
earthquake physics, advancing seismic earlywarning
systems.
In Southern California's 56,500 square miles,
there are around 500 seismometers, each
of which may cost up to $50,000. However,
installing fiber optic lines all across the state may
be like covering it with millions of seismometers,
the study concluded.
Laser emitters placed at one end of a fiber
optic cable send light beams through the long,
thin glass strands that make up the cable's core
in order to use the cable as a seismometer.
Tiny flaws in the glass cause a very small
amount of light to be reflected back to the
source, where it is captured.
Each flaw serves as a trackable waypoint
along the fiber optic cable in this way. The
cable is normally buried close below ground.
The cable wiggles somewhat as a result of
seismic waves traveling through the earth,
altering the distance traveled by light to reach
these waypoints. Seismologists may examine
the motion of seismic waves because the flaws
throughout the length of the cable function as
thousands of tiny seismometers.
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Underground Infrastructure - September 2023

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