Since taking over management of Blue Circle America two years ago, Lafarge North America has focused its U.S. ready mixed production on markets where it has a major position and opportunity to standardize plant operation and design. The company has good reason to adopt equipment and methods that improve environmental and safety records and efficiency, while offering return on investment. Between U.S. and Canadian properties, Lafarge North America has annual ready mixed production of around 15 million yd.

Here, Concrete Products visits management of the former Blue Circle operations in Atlanta, now within Lafarge, to see two very different properties that reflect a strong commitment to working with neighbors, municipalities, and local and federal regulators.

RED OAK

Also known as the airport plant, due to its proximity to Atlanta Hartsfield International and consistent terminal and runway-pavement business, this facility was rebuilt in 2002 according to new safety, pollution control and landscaping guidelines. The rebuilding saw the installation of new aggregate storage and conveyors; a central mixed batch plant with 12-yd. tilting drum; 400 tons of overhead cement storage; and a 60-ton chiller and 5.5 million Btu heating unit for 20,000 gal. and 25,000 gal. water storage.

“The idea with the plant is to keep everything compact and simple, but still be ready for a 1,000 or 1,500 yd. day tied to airport work,” notes Mike Taylor, vice president of Atlanta Concrete Operations. “We have a template for transit and central mixed plants, and brought Red Oak a number of improvements that have been effective at recent greenfield sites or other plant overhauls.”

Standardized design measures at Red Oak, located in the City of College Park, he notes, include:

• Extensive paving, which controls much dust and is configured to divert storm and process water to separate ponds. Although it maintains an NPDES permit under a grandfather clause, the plant has been built with the goal of zero water discharge to the municipal storm sewer. Large ponds and complex plumbing contribute to that goal by enabling many combinations of treated and recycled water or city water to be supplied to the plant, slump rack, or chiller or boiler tanks.

• All traffic routing keeps trucks moving forward, since half of all accidents tend to involve vehicles backing up. Truck traffic other than mixers is limited to dumps delivering stone, as sand and cement are received by rail.

• Small enclosures house admixture meters, keeping them away from the plant and batch office; and air compressors, improving service life up to 50 percent by reducing their exposure to yard dust. Admixture tanks are placed on a 30 ∞ 40-ft. pad with 36-in.-high containment wall.

• Office space, with direct view of the charging alleys and much of the remaining site, and a driver room were created in a small brick building on adjacent land. Although not a landmark, the building was very familiar to the community and had been a longtime home to a key-making business.

• A landscaping commitment helped speed the project permitting and saw the planting of fast-growth leland cypress pine trees along the property's only elevation with community exposure.

ALPHARETTA

The Environmental Protection Agency describes its National Environmental Performance Track program as one “designed to recognize and encourage top environmental performers — those who go beyond compliance with regulatory requirements to attain levels of environmental performance and management that benefit people, communities and the environment.”

When the time came for Lafarge North America to participate in Performance Track, the Construction Materials staff in Atlanta decided to take the hard way: enlist an old plant versus a new one better equipped as an environmental showcase property. “The program required that we have an environmental management system in place,” explains Lafarge Southeast's Jim Forbes, P.E., regional manager, Environmental Services. “It sets up five-year targets to improve in environmental performance.”

A ready mixed operation in Alpharetta, Ga., dating well back into the days of Lafarge's predecessors Blue Circle and Williams Bros., was the candidate. After preliminaries were completed in late 2002, the site became the concrete industry's first operation to join Performance Track. Forbes notes some of the objectives, targets and proposed actions that will be reviewed regularly with EPA staff:

Total water use

Minimize the amount of municipal and well water consumed in production, targeting 5 gal./yd. To this end, spring-loaded hoses will be installed at slump stands and a foam truck-wash system implemented, while drivers are trained to avoid wasting water during tank fill up and mixer rinsing.

Production energy use

Reduce production energy (electricity and natural gas) so that per yard consumption is reduced from 29 MMBtu to 25 MMBtu. Instruct plant operators to be mindful of simple, day-to-day energy-saving functions like turning off cement blowers and other plant equipment, along with office, shop and driver room lights when not in use.

Diesel fuel consumption

Reduce amount of energy used in concrete delivery, from 1.3 gal./yd. to 0.5 gal/yd. Among measures to attain this goal will be training drivers to follow a policy where truck idling is limited to 15 minutes; having dispatchers focus more on sending trucks to closer plants; and broader implementation of advanced dispatching tools.

Recycle/reused materials

Increase concrete recycling, from 4 percent to 10 percent, through reprocessing of leftover material with hydration stabilizer or casting of more armor blocks for sale to outside users. Target more tri-blend mixes (cement, fly ash and slag) and increase the amount of recycled process water used in concrete orders.

Discharges to water

Track and analyze storm water discharge parameters (chemical oxygen demand, pH, oil and grease, total suspended solids). To this end, conduct semi-annual (versus annual) sampling and analyze results; keep roadways clean to reduce total suspended solids in recycled water; promptly clean up diesel spills and truck leaks to reduce oil and grease in ponds.

Release history

Minimize number of reportable releases of process water from the plant; target a level of zero reportable releases.

NRMCA CITES PAYBACK IN PERFORMANCE TRACK

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association reports increasing payback from being a Network Partner in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Performance Track program, to which Lafarge was the first with an enlisted concrete plant. EPA will work with NRMCA to generate a letter attesting to the organization's commitment to environmental excellence for the industry. This letter will be valuable as NRMCA continues preparing the ready mixed concrete industry for the requirements of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. NRMCA will also consult with LEED officials to define requirements for a LEED-friendly plant.

The National Environmental Performance Track is designed to motivate and reward top environmental performance. Through a systematic approach to managing environmental responsibilities, taking extra steps to reduce and prevent pollution, and being good corporate neighbors, these facilities are leading the way toward environmental excellence while saving money and improving their productivity. All U.S. facilities, large and small, public and private, are invited to apply to Performance Track during the current open application period: August 1 - October 31. More information online at www.epa.gov/performancetrack/