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Locus and Overhoff to Offer Real Time Tritium Monitoring and Compliance Software at Nuclear Facilities

Cloud Computing Solution for Tritium Transparency at Nuclear Power Plants

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 15, 2010 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in web-based environmental compliance and information management software, and Overhoff Technology Corporation, the world’s leader in the design and manufacture of Tritium monitors and radiation monitoring systems, have partnered to offer a complete Tritium monitoring solution for the nuclear industry using Overhoff’s Tritium instrumentation and Locus’ award winning Cloud Computing software.

As the new Administration advocates expansion of America’s nuclear power industry, pushing for billions of dollars in federal incentives and announcing plans to build the first nuclear plant in decades, new issues have arisen regarding leaking and possibly dangerous levels of Tritium, a radioactive byproduct of the nuclear process. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which oversees the inspection and licensing of nuclear facilities, says roughly 30 of the nation’s 104 reactor units have experienced Tritium leaks. According to the NRC, none of the leaks have impacted public health or safety but, the unmonitored and unexpected releases have raised concerns within the industry and among watchdog groups nationwide.

Similar concerns regarding leaks at several plants in the mid 2000’s prompted the members of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) to put forth a Ground Water Protection Initiative (NEI-07-07) in 2007. This Initiative identifies actions that utilities can take to improve their management and response to instances where the inadvertent release of radioactive substances may result in low but detectible levels of plant-related materials in subsurface soils and water, even when these are well below the NRC limits pertaining to the protection of public health and safety. One of the key actions that adoptees of the Initiative are expected to undertake is the establishment of an on-site groundwater monitoring program involving on site monitoring or regular sampling and analyses to ensure the timely detection of inadvertent radiological releases. The Tritium groundwater challenge was addressed in 2009 when Locus introduced the nuclear module for its flagship product EIM that is already deployed at several nuclear power plants.

According to the NRC, additional requirements pertaining to the monitoring of air releases of Tritium and Carbon-14 are likely to be promulgated in the future. To meet these requirements, new monitoring instruments and data management tools will have to be installed since many facilities are still using over 30-year old stack monitors and few, if any currently have H-3 or C-14 stack monitors in place.

For those nuclear facilities wanting to fulfill their responsibility under existing (e.g., 10CFR-51 and 10CFR-52) as well as likely forthcoming regulations, the Locus/TA Overhoff solution provides a complete system for Tritium monitoring. TA-Overhoff has been designing and manufacturing nuclear air and stack monitors since 1946. The company recently announced the new, state-of-the-art CAM-TC and CAM-TCI series monitors. The model CAM-TC is a full-service, state-of the-art, stack monitor that reads, analyzes and records Beta-Gamma Particulates, Iodine, Noble Gases, C-14, Tritium and optionally, Alpha Particulates. The data captured by the CAM-TC monitors is immediately passed to Locus’ EIM where it is managed and integrated with groundwater and other monitoring data. Within EIM, graphs can be plotted, reports generated, maps can be produced and statistical analyses performed.

“Nearly all of the activities associated with water and air protection at nuclear power plants, including the assessment of site characteristics, the ongoing monitoring of site conditions, and decommissioning of old plants or permitting of new plants, involve the collection and/or analysis of data. The tools and systems used to manage and store this information must satisfy strict NRC security and QA/QC requirements such as NQA-1 or ISO 9001:2008 to ensure that only the appropriate people can access the data, and that the quality of the data adheres to the highest NRC standards. It is also critical that these applications allow engineers and scientists to do their work in a cost-effective way, allowing them to focus less of their time on finding the data they need and formatting various outputs, and more on the evaluation and analysis of these data. In addition data must be transparent and verifiable to all stakeholders. All of these requirements are instantly met using Locus/Overhoff monitoring and data management solution. We are very pleased that Overhoff Technology has decided to join forces with Locus. The company’s outstanding reputation for having monitors that excel in performance will enhance Locus’ offering in the important nuclear monitoring market,” said Dr. Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus.

“We are very pleased to join with Locus to bring an integrated and elegant solution to address the nuclear industry’s Tritium monitoring needs. Our experience in producing hundreds of different types of monitors for different users, coupled with Locus’ market leader position in Cloud Computing-based environmental data management, will benefit our joint clients,” said Dr. Robert I. Goldstein, President and CEO of Overhoff.

 

ABOUT OVERHOFF
Founded in 1972, Overhoff Technology Corporation specializes in the design and manufacture of Tritium monitors. With the world’s largest selection of Tritium monitors, Overhoff can offer monitors ranging from simple hand held units to complex integrated digital radiation monitoring systems.

For more information, visit www.overhoff.com or email sales@overhoff.com.

San Francisco Chronicle | One word: emissions

CEO Neno Duplan would not disclose the dollar amount of the contract, which was announced last week, but, he said, “I can tell you, in this industry, it doesn’t get bigger than this.”

ExxonMobil to Implement Locus EIM Worldwide

ExxonMobil to Implement Locus EIM Worldwide

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., February 22, 2010 — Locus Technologies, the industry leader in Cloud Computing-based environmental compliance and information management software, today announced that it has received a 2009 Business Achievement Award in Information Technology (IT) from the Environmental Business Journal (EBJ). This award recognizes Locus for significantly expanding its client base and its product line.

In 2009, Locus expanded its Software as a Service (SaaS) applications in the areas of environmental compliance, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring, Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) and sustainability, and added clients in the utilities, grocery and engineered materials industry sectors. Locus also expanded its presence in its key market—oil and gas—by starting worldwide implementation of its environmental information management (EIM) product at ExxonMobil. In addition, the company expanded its presence in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) market.

Locus also gained recognition among key IT independent research analysts with initiation of coverage by Gartner, Verdantix, and UtiliPoint for its position in enterprise-level environmental software offered through its Cloud Computing platform. Also in 2009, Locus received accreditation by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to provide GHG emissions verification services, one of just a few companies to obtain this status.

“We are honored to be recognized for the fourth time by the Environmental Business Journal with its Business Achievement Award,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus Technologies. “The year 2009 was an outstanding one for Locus. As one of the oldest and most established providers of EH&S software using the Cloud Computing model, we broadened our offerings by introducing an entirely new category of SaaS GHG and sustainability products for the environmental industry, while at the same time solidifying our position at the top of water quality management services. We also significantly enhanced our Fortune 100 customer base, who embraced our new offerings.”

Said Environmental Business Journal Editor Grant Ferrier: “Locus has continued to innovate and demonstrate its leadership position in the environmental software industry by expanding its Cloud Computing-based services from water quality management to GHG and Sustainability offerings. We congratulate them on their continued innovation and success in serving the environmental business community.”

The EBJ Business Achievement Awards will be presented during the Environmental Industry Summit 2010, scheduled for March 3-5 in San Diego.

 

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
Environmental Business Journal (EBJ), a ZweigWhite publication, is the leading business publication for companies operating in the environmental industry. EBJ provides a strategic overview and an independent perspective on market trends and business strategies that affect this changing industry including competitive strategies, new business opportunities, and up-to-date market trends and data.

For more information, visit www.ebionline.org.

ZDNet GreenTech Pastures | Need to verify your greenhouse gas emissions? Locus Tech has your back

Environmental software developer Locus Technologies has earned the right to provider greenhouse gas emissions verification services by the California Air Resources Board.

Locus Recognized as Carbon Software Leader

Emissions Trading & Monitoring Software Study Applauds Locus

 

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., December 14, 2009 — In the midst of climate change discussions in Copenhagen, Locus Technologies (Locus), was recognized as one of the oldest and most comprehensive providers of greenhouse gas (GHG) software in a study just published by UtiliPoint International, Inc., a key utility and energy industry analysis and consulting firm.

The UtiliPoint study focuses on both software aimed at emission reporting and software aimed at emissions trading as well as the need for a link between the two types of software. “We are very pleased with leading industry analyst UtiliPoint’s comprehensive study of software providers for greenhouse gas management and with their recognition of Locus,” said Dr. Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus.

The Emissions Trading & Monitoring Software Study highlights Locus’ experience in the domain of Software as a Service (SaaS), not only for GHG emissions management, but also as a general leader in the complex space of environmental sustainability software, including water quality management. UtiliPoint predicts that Locus’ record of environmental software expertise will help Locus to become a top player in the emerging field of GHG data management and reporting.

eGHG, Locus’ GHG emissions monitoring software, is applauded in the UtiliPoint report. This software can create an emissions inventory that can be easily verified and reported to various emissions reporting programs in the US and internationally.

“Whether or not carbon is regulated through the Clean Air Act as announced by EPA last week, or a United States Federal cap-and-trade program is created in the near future, a comprehensive monitoring and reporting system is still needed for compliance with the Clean Air Act, various voluntary registries such as The Climate Registry or Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), and for trading with the various international programs already in place. We are already witnessing an explosive growth in carbon data, analysis, and reporting that comes on top of other environmental data streams such as water and sustainability. Locus provides one stop shopping for all enterprise environmental software needs,” added Dr. Duplan.

ZDNet GreenTech Pastures | Locus adds water module to environment software application portfolio

Water management problems capture more attention from environmental technology player Locus.

Locus Adds Cost Cutting Tool to EIM Software

New EIM tool, LTMO, helps customers reduce groundwater well monitoring

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., November 23, 2009 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in web-based environmental software, announced today the release of its Long Term Monitoring Optimization (LTMO) software that helps customers cut the cost of groundwater remediation projects. LTMO is built-in to EIM, Locus’ web-based application for managing sampling, analytical and geological data associated with environmental projects.

Long term monitoring of contaminated groundwater is one of the biggest costs of many environmental projects, often requiring that hundreds or more wells be sampled at regular intervals, with each sample event costing hundreds of dollars. Over time, changes in site conditions may mean the number of sampled wells or the frequency of sampling can be reduced. A number of analytical tools and approaches exist to identify redundant wells and pinpoint opportunities for sampling and monitoring reductions. MAROS (Monitoring And Remediation Optimization System) software application, developed by the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment, is one of the most popular of these tools. With the LTMO tool, Locus has incorporated many of the techniques and methodologies of MAROS, including trend analyses and the Delaunay triangulation method.

The Locus EIM LTMO tool offers several distinct advantages over MAROS and other existing stand-alone or spreadsheet-based applications that perform similar analyses. First of all, there is no need to export data in a special format to another application. All analyses are performed under the umbrella of EIM. Secondly, robust integrated Web 2.0 graphical tools and reports provide a wealth of options for examining the results of the analyses, including extensive backup data that can be supplied to regulatory agencies as needed. Finally, the results of any analysis can be saved and easily pulled up for review or modification.

“We expect the incorporation of the LTMO tool into EIM to be extremely beneficial to our large enterprise customers that have thousands of groundwater sites. Instead of the analyses being performed on the desktops of their many consultants, long-term groundwater management data resides in a single, central, web-accessible database. LTMO is a very powerful tool that significantly reduces the cost of long term stewardship of groundwater contaminated sites,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus.

“The recent $11 billion bill passed to fix California’s water infrastructure includes a provision for mandatory monitoring of the state’s groundwater, which is often used during times of drought and is most vulnerable to contamination. From the onset of the new bill, Locus’ LTMO tool will be there to help industry and government to optimize groundwater monitoring programs,” added Duplan.

Contact Locus today for a demonstration of this exciting new feature and see how Locus EIM can help you reduce your long-term sampling and analytical costs.

Locus Technologies Joins The Climate Registry and The Global Reporting Initiative

Industry Leader Takes Action on Climate Change

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., September 28, 2009 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in web-based environmental software, announced today that it has joined The Climate Registry and The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to report its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and GRI Performance Indicators and to assist its clients with doing the same. The Climate Registry is a nonprofit organization established to support organizations in calculating and publicly reporting GHG emissions in a common, accurate and transparent manner consistent across industry sectors and geographical borders. The Global Reporting Initiative has pioneered the development of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework and is committed to its continuous improvement and application worldwide. This framework sets out the principles and indicators that organizations can use to measure and report their economic, environmental, and social performance.

“Locus Technologies has demonstrated exemplary environmental leadership by taking the critical first step toward analyzing its impact on the environment” said Doug Scott, Chair of The Climate Registry and Chair of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. “In order to manage and reduce emissions, it is important to calculate and verify emissions data accurately. By measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions according to the most rigorous and comprehensive standards, Locus is holding itself to the highest level of accountability and responsibility.”

Registry Members calculate and verify their GHG emissions according to The Climate Registry’s protocols, which are based on and consistent with international standards such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and WRI/WBCSD. By calculating, reporting and verifying their GHG emissions, Members serve as international role models for environmental responsibility and commitment. Because they have experience in managing their emissions, they also serve as valuable resources in developing future policies.

The GRI Guidelines are the world’s most widely-used sustainability reporting framework. The common framework enables like-for-like comparison to be made between companies, and for change to be effected from within a company. GRI’s mission is to create conditions for the transparent and reliable exchange of sustainability information through the development and continuous improvement of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. The GRI vision is that disclosure on economic, environmental, and social performance is as commonplace and comparable as financial reporting, and as important to organizational success.

“Locus is very happy to join these organizations that are leading initiatives to standardize reporting of GHG and Sustainability Indicators for the benefit of the planet and business community. For the last several years Locus has been developing web-based software that incorporates guidance documents from these organizations to help its clients with reporting needs in various jurisdictions around the world. Locus’ goal is to provide its clients with Software as a Service (SaaS) tools where clients need to input GHG and Sustainability information only once and report it many times in accordance with various geographies and standards. This is particularly important because many regions around the world still don’t have a clear set of enterprise GHG reporting standards. With passage of the Federal Greenhouse Gases Rule on 22 September 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will, for the first time, require large emitters to begin reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) data under a new reporting system. This new program covers approximately 85 percent of the U.S. GHG emissions and applies to roughly 10,000 facilities. The owners of these facilities need to be ready to organize and report their data in the most efficient way. Furthermore, by organizing their GHG and Sustainability data in a system like Locus’, companies will not only be able to lower the reporting costs and organize their data better, but also use the very same data to improve their operational efficiency across their organization in a way that could self-fund these important initiatives,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus.

“We hope that Locus will pave the way for many other companies from the US and other regions of the world to recognize the importance of GRI and GHG reporting. Embedding the GRI guidance in ePortal applications through a multi-stakeholder process will help industry to faster adopt a set of standards for sustainability disclosure,” added Dr. Duplan.