Analysis of Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dams

Abstract

This report explores the use of environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALs) for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dams. This report also identifies above-water and in-water structures where these lubricants would be useful.

Waste Stream and Green Purchasing Analysis at Bonneville Lock and Dam

“…Out of the products investigated in Table 4, currently used products Original KRUD KUTTER from Krud Kutter, Inc. and Simple Green® Industrial Cleaner & Degreaser from Sunshine Makers, Inc. already had a certification. In addition, two products that were investigated, Huskey Hydrolube Grease (All NLGI grades) and Huskey LVI-50 Grease (All NLGI grades), turned out to be a part of a study by USACE and further information was not collected regarding these products [11] .…”

“…Unless requested, paint and motor oil products were excluded to further narrow down the list and due to their potential to be utilized in a critical role at the Project. In addition, the USACE is currently conducting product testing on paints, oils, and lubricants considered to be environmentally friendly [11] . Products that may be affected by the outcome of the testing were avoided from being selected.…”

“…In conjunction with this study, USACE is also investigating several environmentally acceptable lubricants for in-water use structures and is primarily focused on greases [11] . The Bonneville Project is included in this USACE study with the final results to be released sometime in the future.…”

“…In addition, there is also a potential to reduce personnel exposure from potent chemical compounds when using green products. With the ubiquitous use and ease of use of conventional chemical products, there lie many challenges to adopting green chemical products [10,11,13] . However, introducing green products can potentially reduce risk for the…”

Evaluation of water quality/environmental management surveys on USACE managed reservoirs and waterways

“…Concrete mats are commonly placed to protect channels from erosion, which can affect sediment/water column interactions (Frankel 2018). Lubricants have also become an area of concern and the USACE has been studying the implementation of environmentally acceptable lubricants (EAL) (Medina 2015;Paulus et al 2018;Medina et al 2018C).…”