tanks. It is compatible with other
organic and inorganic zinc primers and cures rapidly to enable
accelerated topcoat application.
NSF International also certified
PPG water-tank coating systems incorporating NOVAGUARD 810 coating over Amercoat 68MCZ primer
and NOVAGUARD 810 coating over
SIGMAWELD 199 primer.
Diane Kappas, PPG vice president, protective and marine coatings,
Americas, said the NSF certifications enable PPG to expand its range of coatings
solutions for water-tank builders, fabrication shops, subcontractors and maintenance personnel.
“PPG coatings and primers have a
long history of proven performance in
the water-tank field,” she explained. “The
NSF stamp of approval makes it easier
for customers to specify PPG products as
a single-source solution and to choose a
PPG coating system best suited to a particular application.”
Benjamin Moore Natura
Now Certified asthma &
allergy friendly
Benjamin Moore announced its most environmentally friendly paint, Natura, has
been Certified asthma & allergy friendly
by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation
of America (AAFA). This certification
comes on the heels of Natura becoming
the 2015 Product of the Year in the interior paint category and being Cradle to
Cradle Certified™ Silver earlier this year,
making Natura the most decorated paint
by Benjamin Moore.
Asthma and allergies affect more
than 370 million people worldwide,
with 70 million in the United States
alone. In 2006, AAFA collaborated
with Allergy Standards Limited (ASL),
an international physician-led certification company, to establish a scientific
program to vet and identify consumer
products that are more suitable for people with asthma and allergies.
“This is the latest step in our long
history and commitment to manufactur-
ing green paints that are safer for your
family and the environment,” said Chris
Connelly, director of brand management,
Benjamin Moore. “With zero emissions
and no harsh fumes, Natura truly is an
eco-friendly paint that delivers on perfor-
mance and color integrity.”
The asthma & allergy friendlyTM
Certification Program independently tests
and identities consumer products that are
more suitable for those living with asth-
ma and allergies. Natura earned the cer-
tification with low odor, zero emissions*
and zero volatile organic compounds
(VOCs)**.
“We are proud of the scientific
achievement that Benjamin Moore has
made with this paint,” said Mike Tringale,
Senior Vice President of External Affairs
for AAFA. “Now every family can be con-
fident they are creating a healthier home
when painting.”
To achieve a preferred design aes-
thetic, Natura is available in three fin-
ishes: Flat, Eggshell and Semi-Gloss.
To locate a nearby Benjamin Moore
retailer and learn more about this cer-
tification, visit: http://www.benjamin-
moore.com/en-us/for-your-home/
natura-asthma-allergy-certification.
* Zero emissions - No VOC emissions detected according to CDPH/EHLB/Standard Method V1.1,
2010
** Zero VOC according to EPA Method 24
PPG Foundation Donates
$103,000 to University of
Pittsburgh
The PPG Industries Foundation has donated $103,000 to the University of
Pittsburgh (Pitt) for programs in its engineering school and chemistry department. The funding supports PPG Summer
Undergraduate Research Fellows in the
Swanson School of Engineering, two PPG
Industries Foundation Graduate Fellows
in Civil and Environmental Engineering,
and the annual undergraduate chemistry
laboratory poster session.
“These research-related experiences
offered by Pitt’s engineering and chem-
istry departments promote academic
excellence by encouraging students to
develop a better understanding of how
the scientific process relates to the real
world,” said Sue Sloan, executive director,
PPG Industries Foundation. “Students
participating in these programs will learn
how to combine scientific learning and
research with practical communication
skills, which better prepares them for fu-
ture professional opportunities in science
and engineering fields.”
Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering
received $50,000 to support 12 PPG
Summer Undergraduate Research
Fellowships. The fellows, who are under-
graduate engineering students, are work-
ing full-time during the summer alongside
a faculty mentor, who may be from any
department at Pitt or even from another
university, on an approved research proj-
ect. At the end of the summer, each fellow
will submit a two-page abstract on his or
her research to the department and to the
university’s Science 2015 Student Poster
Fair held in October -- the most promi-
nent on-campus student poster session of
the year.
The Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering at Pitt also
received $50,000 to fund two PPG
Industries Foundation Graduate Fellows
for one year. Fellow Xiao ‘Sean’ Ma, in
the lab of Assistant Professor Kyle Bibby,
has been working on drinking-water
treatment and biofilm growth on antifouling coatings. Fellow Omkar Lokare,
who is working with Radisav Vidic, the
William Kepler Whiteford Professor
and Chair of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, is evaluating the potential
of membrane distillation for treatment of
produced water from unconventional gas
industry. In addition to funding the PPG
Industries Foundation Graduate Fellows’
research efforts, the grant funds opportunities for the students to visit off-campus
laboratories, seeing different intellectual
and research environments and enhancing university-industry collaborations.
Also, a $3,000 PPG Industries
Foundation grant to the Department of
Chemistry helped fund Pitt’s undergraduate chemistry laboratory poster session.
Annually, over 400 students enrolled in
upper-level chemistry laboratory courses
prepare posters explaining experimentation that they conduct. The students’
posters and presentations are graded by
faculty members, judges and peers who
assess how well each student describes
