More great work by Perspect Industrial Products, our Benelux distributor!

What is Chromium-6 or Hexavalent chromium? It is the cancer-causing chemical that poisoned the community of Hinkley, Calif., made "famous" in the 2000 film “Erin Brockovich”!  It is commonly used for anti-corrosion metal coating, wood preservation and textile dyeing.

This is where operator health and safety concerns, and environmental protection meet! By using Pinovo's Clean Blasting technology, Wiebe Vermeer and Bart Steggink completed the surface treatment demonstration safely and efficiently, protecting both operators and the environment!

Well done Perspect Industrial Products b.v. ATEX-tools, led by Nico Verloop, spreading the word about Pinovo's Clean Blasting ATEX certified solution!

LinkedIn Post by Wiebe Vermeer from Perspect Industrial Products b.v.
​(https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7269394408108658688)

Last week, my colleague Bart Steggink and I had the privilege of conducting a unique demo in Eemshaven.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: Remove chromium-6 coatings in an ATEX zone, without any downtime. Using the Pinovo blasting machine and tools from Allmet Safety Tools, we demonstrated how to work safely and efficiently, even in environments with chromium-6 and explosion risks.

𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐨:
- Closed blasting system: No hazardous particles released into the air.
- Simultaneous operations: Blast and coat directly, saving valuable time.
- Time savings = fewer opportunities for accidents and creating a safer working environment.

Curious to learn more about this demo? Interested in discovering what Pinovo and our ATEX tools can do for your project? Or would you like more information about our demos and training sessions? Send me a message, and let's schedule something!

At Pinovo, we have been working to put the issue of Paint Microplastic Pollution, and Pinovo's solution, "on the agenda", because #PaintIsPlastic!

This podcast interview with Renita Kalhorn tells the story of how we shone a light on the issue, and about the great support we have received for our mission from Katapult Ocean and UpLink - World Economic Forum 💪 🙏 .

Renita Kalhorn's Post
Here’s something you probably didn’t know:

Nearly 2 million tons of microplastic end up in our oceans every year. Not from water bottles or grocery bags … from paint.

Think about it: Every massive structure in the ocean — oil rigs, wind turbines, bridges — needs regular repainting to prevent rust.

When workers blast off the old paint, guess where it goes? Straight into the water. And those tiny paint particles are actually one of the biggest sources of ocean microplastic pollution.

Norwegian startup Pinovo wants to change that. They’ve designed a sophisticated vacuum that catches old paint particles before they can fall into the ocean.

In the latest episode of The High-EQ Founder, Pinovo’s chairman and co-founder, Declan Mc Adams and I talk about:

→ Why Pinovo decided to pivot and go all in on preventing microplastic pollution.
→ How relying too heavily on one well-paying client was a wake-up call and pushed them to see sustainability as a golden opportunity.
→ Why they took initiative to invest in scientific research to highlight the problem when industry players weren’t stepping up
→ How being prepared for opportunity led to a seat at the table with big brands and NGOs like the World Economic Forum.

Links to listen here: ​ https://renitakalhorn.substack.com/p/pivoting-from-industrial-service

Cue the drum roll🥁!  At our newly expanded workshop in Bergen, we are assembling the latest batch of Pinovo's Clean Blasting PiSys Flex machines.

With our technology, customers get not only these industrial advantages
💪 No need for the expensive scaffolding and sheeting required for the traditional surface treatment methods of open grit blasting, and high pressure water jetting.
💪 You can continue to run other operations beside our equipment when it is operating, and no shut down of activity required.
💪 Because our equipment is #ATEX certified, it can operate in explosive environments.
💪 With our high quality filters, and because we capture all the dust, Pinovo's equipment can also used to remove lead and other toxic paints.
💰 And, Pinovo’s solution is about 33% less expensive than the traditional surface treatment methods for spot blasting. This cost saving can increase to over 60% when our tools are combined with Rope Access.

🌊 On top of all of that, we stop Paint Microplastic Emissions at source, preventing them from entering the Environment, and most often, the Ocean.

♻️ And, because we recycle and reuse the blasting grit at least 20 times, grit usage is up to 80% lower compared to open grit blasting. This means not only significant cost savings for the customer, but also over 60% lower CO2 Emissions thanks to the lower grit usage, transport, collection and disposal.

Pinovo - Clean Blasting Technology that Stops Paint Microplastics to Protect Ocean Health
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Delivering a top quality surface finish, and stopping Paint Microplastics at Nieuwpoort in Belgium.

Hats off to the great team at our Distributor in the Benelux Region, Perspect Industrial Products B.V. ATEX-tools, for providing another innovative solution to its customers!  Follow this link to see the video 
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/atex-tools_atex-perspect-surfacepreparation-activity-7244241014322794496-jXwW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Some of the world’s leading scientific experts on the subject of Microplastics, led by Prof. RICHARD THOMPSON OBE FRS, the “Godfather of Microplastics”, have come together to write an Article for the journal Science, bringing us up-to-date on the current state of scientific knowledge on the problem of Microplastic Pollution.  Link to the Article - https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl2746

You should check out the infographics in the Article, which are brilliant 👏 !

Some key insights 💡 in this new Article are

"To underscore the urgency, forecasting models indicate that, under business-as-usual scenarios, microplastic leakage to the environment could rise by 1.5 to 2.5 times by 2040.....The overarching message is clear, environmental concentrations and exposure of biota and humans are set to increase.”

“...there is clear evidence of growing public concern about the potential for such (human health) effects... and the wider human health and social justice implications and, given the persistence of microplastic and the near impossibility of their removal once dispersed in the environment, an increasing emphasis should be placed on taking a precautionary approach.”

“...Many actions (as solutions to microplastic pollution) to date have focused on downstream, end-of-pipe solutions,….There is growing evidence that upstream approaches will be most effective.”

“...policy action does not have to wait, it can be justified on the basis of the precautionary principle and so measures can, and arguably should, be taken now to reduce emissions."

This new Article is timely because Microplastic Pollution is a very live topic, not just in the world of science, but also now in the regulatory and political spheres.

Just yesterday, at the UN General Assembly in New York, the Nordic Co-operation on the Environment and Climate issued a Declaration calling for the proposed UN Plastics Treaty to include “….dedicated measures for regulating microplastics related to their source and routes of leakage…”. This comprises specific land and sea based sources of microplastics including Paint.

Link to Declaration 👉 https://lnkd.in/eUPW-xPc

The next step is #INC-5 in Busan, Korea in November, and (hopefully🤞) agreement on a UN #PlasticsTreaty which the Science Article says “…now brings tangible opportunity for international actions….in which dedicated provisions on microplastic pollution will be essential.”
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Fig. 2. Sources and pathways leading to environmental accumulation of microplastics.
(A) Human activities leading to six key sources of microplastics; (B) the relative contribution of each to the marine environment , together with (C) quantities reported in various environmental compartments. Note that inter-comparisons between environmental compartments should be made with caution because of variations in methods of sampling and enumeration.

This disturbing Financial Times article👇 asks if the rising rates of cancer in young people could be caused by #microplastic #pollution?

Recent scientific research is showing that cancer may no longer be "a disease of old age", given the rates of several cancers are rising faster among the young than among the old. As the FT reports, "Scientists at the American Cancer Society have confirmed the trend across a wider range of cancers, with statistics broadly suggesting that a Gen X or Millennial is more likely to develop certain types of the disease than her Baby-boomer parents."

While known cancer risk factors such as sedentary behaviour, changes in diet, rising levels of obesity and diabetes, may account for some of this increase, the presence of cancer patients in Harvard University’s Cancer Institute clinic who are young, fit and healthy, has led the scientists to look for environmental carcinogens capable of affecting entire generations.

The FT journalist, Anjana Ahuja goes on "Last year, New Zealand researchers showed that microplastics, now found everywhere and ingested from infancy onwards, could disrupt the gut lining. The prevalence of microplastic pollution since the 1960s — the tiny plastic particles come from consumer products and the breakdown of industrial waste — has the right timeline and might explain the compounding effect between generations, but it needs further investigation."

This tells us why the current negotiations of a #UN #Plastics #Treaty really, really matter!

Those negotiations will come to a head in Busan, Korea in November at #INC-5, when hopefully, Global Rules that seek to address problematic and avoidable plastic products, chemicals of concern and product design will be approved.

This includes Microplastics, and Pinovo applauds the fact that Microplastic Pollution is now firmly “on the agenda” in the UN Plastic Treaty negotiations.

https://on.ft.com/4gp0efo​

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Clean Blasting is now being used for surface maintenance in the Food Industry! A first for Pinovo and for Toro, and confirmation of the switch to clean methods of paint and corrosion removal!

Toro has, since 1946, made its way into every Norwegian home as a manufacturer of soups, sauces and similar products. It is a subsidiary of Orkla Foods Norge AS and one of their biggest brands. As you can imagine, for Toro, hygiene is mission critical in all aspects of production and maintenance, for food safety reasons. So, a clean dustless solution like Pinovo’s fits the bill!

Glad to say that the clean spot blasting undertaken with Pinovo’s technology, on the painted steel beams, floors and tanks in Toro's production facilities in Arne, near Bergen, was successfully completed, and will be continued in their ongoing maintenance programme. Hats off to Toro for leading the way in the food industry, and for choosing the sustainable surface maintenance solution!

We would like to thank Toro/Orkla Foods Norge AS, and KTV Group AS for their confidence in our clean blasting technology. ​