Eastman Kodak Company's Rochester, N.Y. location, also known as Kodak Park (KP), produces nearly half of Kodak's worldwide production of imaging materials. About 1,000 types of film and 300 types of photographic paper are produced at this location. Kodak Park is the largest photographic product manufacturing facility in the world and the largest industrial complex in the northeastern United States.
The Kodak Park plant site has 154 manufacturing buildings, nearly 30 miles of roads, two power plants, its own sewer system, and water treatment facilities. More than 200 people are employed at Kodak Park to work on health, safety and environmental programs. They ensure proper operation of the manufacturing and waste treatment facilities.
Compared to the effluents from most other commercial wastewater discharges, the effluents from photo-processors are relatively low in volume. Since photographic processing chemicals respond well to biological treatment they are considered to be acceptable for sewage treatment systems.
The Clean Water Act dictates the limits on the discharge of materials that the EPA has identified as pollutants. A discharge permit is required for the wastewater that first must be pretreated. Discharged wastewater is managed to minimize the volume of water as well as the quantity and toxicity of the pollutants.
The Kings Landing Wastewater Purification Plant (KLWPP) has been in operation at Kodak Park since 1967. The plant has been regularly upgraded to meet the ever-changing discharge standards set under its state operating permit.
Since 1994, Kodak Park began a program to inspect, repair and upgrade 28 miles of industrial sewer lines running beneath Kodak Park. Currently all industrial sewer lines containing hazardous wastes being carried from the plant to the WWTP have been inspected and repaired.
In 1999, a new industrial sewer chamber was constructed to improve the control of industrial sewer flow into the Kings Landing WPP. Other efforts include the installation of impervious liners in the industrial sewer that will reduce the chance of future environmental releases from Kodak.
In keeping with Kodak's high standards concerning environmental issues, an accurate flowmeter was required for the reporting of critical flow measurements for the Kings Landing WPP effluent channel. Glenn Perry, engineering technician at KLWPP, explains that the Flo-Dar Flowmeter system was selected for its non-contact sensor capabilities, low maintenance (no submerged sensors subject to fouling in the flow), and the fact that it did not require factory calibration. The Flo-Dar flowmeter was purchased to replace an existing submerged sensor-type flowmeter that required repeated maintenance due to sensor fouling.
The sensor is installed over a large, 150-in. wide, rectangular channel. A five-foot weir wall is approximately six feet upstream of the measuring point. The flow travels over the weir wall, continues straight, bends 45?, and finally drops 75 feet into an outfall pipe before it emptying into the Genesee river. According to Perry, "The non-contact feature captured it all for me." Costly maintenance will be eliminated and the meter can be easily accessed if necessary. While Kodak continuously works toward meeting their established environmental management goals including waste and water usage reduction, the Marsh-McBirney Flo-Dar flowmeter will also play an important role by accurately reporting flow measurements at the Kings Landing WWPP.
