Key Sustainability Issues for NDT

As the NDT industry continues to modernize and evolve in the 21st century, sustainability has become a hot topic.

From production technology and chemical composition to product packaging and disposal, concerns around the environmental impact of NDT testing have become part of the discussion within the NDT community. These topics have also become a concern for end-users who handle these products daily.

For suppliers and consumers of NDT products, evaluating and adjusting processes and products, investing in innovative technologies, and putting sustainability at the forefront are critical.

Dive into some of the most pressing environmental topics for the NDT industry below.

Production

Production processes differ greatly depending on the types of products and the organizations producing them.

However, these companies all have a common concern, which is how their work impacts the local and global environments. For that reason, NDT manufacturers need to have sustainability and environmental considerations in how they formulate and produce their products.

Formulations

One way NDT manufacturers can address environmental concerns is to examine its product offerings and evaluate how they align with established sustainability goals. This could mean offering more water-based options for end-users, producing bio-degradable single-use chemicals, or even transitioning away from oil-based consumables altogether. As the NDT community places more emphasis on the environmental impact of testing and inspections, NDT manufacturers should be mindful of the needs of the market along with the effects product use can have on local and global ecosystems. 

CO2 Emissions

Another environmental concern for NDT manufacturers is the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases during the production process. Traditional power generation and manufacturing methods are often not as sustainable relative to newer technologies. Fortunately, several recognized international standards can guide an organization's production sustainability initiatives.

Facilities standards such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) provide guidance and certification for an organization's production centers, ensuring conscientious production by grading buildings on a scale emphasizing sustainability. 

There are also production-focused environmental standards such as ISO 14001:2015, which provide a framework for companies to create and optimize environmental management systems (EMS) to minimize their environmental impact. This standard addresses a wide range of concerns such as resource use and waste management.

These frameworks can provide a roadmap for companies to establish or achieve their sustainability goals.

Packaging, Volumes, Transportation, and Sourcing

Environmental and sustainability concerns around NDT testing aren't limited to just the production process itself. These concerns extend to the ancillary components of NDT testing as well.

For companies that produce testing equipment and conduct testing, some supporting contributions include the packaging of testing materials, sourcing of both raw and finished materials, transportation of materials to different facilities, and the volumes of testing materials acquired and used. Each of these factors plays an unsung but essential role in establishing and ensuring NDT sustainability.

Product Packaging

Companies that produce NDT-related products, equipment, chemicals, or both should attempt to reduce the environmental impact of their production methods. This can take several forms including transitioning manuals and batch certificates to digital form, sourcing packing and shipping material from recycled or sustainable sources and reducing packaging when possible. 

In addition to reducing excess packaging and improving the sustainability of required packaging, NDT manufacturers can use containers made from recycled materials that are a majority or entirely recyclable. However, there are limitations to what materials can be used because of compatibility issues between NDT materials and sustainable packaging options, so NDT manufacturers should ensure risk is managed when evaluating sustainable materials.

Volumes

For organizations with high throughputs or that are leveraging dipping application methods in their liquid penetrant testing, another consideration is the amount of consumables being used and the packaging waste that accompanies larger volumes of inspections. When purchasing large amounts of testing consumables, organizations should make efforts to buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste or ensure that large containers such as drums or totes are coming from sustainable sources or consist of recycled materials. 

For companies that work in the field where aerosols and smaller containers are common, buying cases rather than individual cans will reduce cost and unnecessary packaging.

Transportation and Sourcing

Both NDT manufacturers and end-users have a responsibility to source raw and testing materials through sustainable sources. Sustainability in this regard has two circumstances, the first being the transportation of materials. 

Environmentally conscious organizations should make efforts to locate local sources of materials. For NDT manufacturers, this means locating sources of required materials from environmentally conscious and local sources whenever possible. This reduces transportation pollution along with minimizing the risk of environmental incidents if unrefined chemicals are spilled or damaged during transportation from distant locations.

For companies conducting testing in managed facilities, this means sourcing testing consumables from local distributors, ensuring that chemicals are handled appropriately when arriving and being used in a facility, and storing NDT materials securely when not in use.

For inspectors, simply sourcing inspection tools like yokes or testing consumables like aerosols from authorized distributors or local producers can dramatically reduce lead times and limit the harmful environmental impacts of long-distance transportation of products. 

Process

NDT testing procedures and processes can vary widely from company to company and even within an organization from one location to another. Industry, part material and size, testing location, specification requirements, and other semantics. 

For environmentally aware institutions, refining processes and procedures are critical to reduce waste, which limits environmental impact and increases production output.

CO2 Emissions

In the same way that NDT manufacturers have a responsibility to be environmentally considerate in their production processes, end-users have an obligation to address the impact of their testing processes. Be that through investing in carbon-conscious power sources such as solar or wind power or off-setting carbon outputs through focused initiatives such as the previously mentioned LEED and ISO certifications. Testing organizations have an equal responsibility in addressing CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions.

Efficiency

Optimizing testing and quality assurance processes is both an underrated and significantly impactful effort that organizations can undertake to address environmental (and wider) concerns. By analyzing and adjusting testing procedures, an organization can achieve a two-fold benefit in that testing efficiency is improved which increases throughput and reduces production hindrances while also decreasing testing waste which reduces costs.
Additionally, by adopting process guidelines such as ISO 9001:2015, organizations and testing teams can maintain quality and performance which reduces detrimental quality control failures. Organizations can also invest in modern technology including automating processes with the latest NDT technology to ensure that inspections are conducted with consistency and repeatability, limiting the need for retesting.

Disposal

A principal concern of any organization conducting NDT testing is what happens to the consumables and equipment after a completed inspection.
Due to the unique compositions of many common NDT chemicals, disposal of used consumables is often not as simple as pouring liquids down the drain. Some preparations and precautions need to be taken when disposing of used NDT chemicals and equipment, especially regarding environmental concerns.

Used Products

When consumables reach the end of their lifespan and are no longer effective, or their containers are empty, organizations must properly dispose of them. 

For used penetrant or magnetic particle suspensions, this means properly collecting, storing, filtering (if necessary), and transporting waste products. This can be done by an organization that has a proper environmental management system in place, or in conjunction with local or international partners such as hazardous waste removal companies who are specifically equipped and trained to handle such waste products.

For aerosols and smaller-volume containers, the process is much the same. However, organizations must take care to properly empty and clean containers before disposal within the rules of relevant regulations along with properly disposing of the remaining chemicals within said containers.

Unused Product

An oft-forgotten part of NDT material disposal is what to do with unused, excess, or expired consumables. 

In some cases, unused or expired consumables can be donated to educational institutions (if they accept them). These donations allow students to gain practical NDT experience while preventing chemicals from going to waste.

In other cases, organizations should comply with their local municipal, state, and federal regulations while coordinating with their waste management partners to properly dispose of expired or unused chemicals.

By properly disposing of excess consumables, organizations can ensure that they avoid regulatory violations or fines and have confidence that their chemicals will not harm the environment. 

Conclusion

As sustainability becomes a wider topic throughout the NDT world, organizations will have to take increased action to be environmentally conscious. 

Fortunately, there are many actions organizations at every level of the NDT and NDE industry can take to address sustainability. From production to procurement, to procedures, to disposal, organizations can take a wide range of steps to ensure their NDT testing is environmentally conscious and sustainable in the long term.