Laundering System Research Articles

Economic and Environmental Benefits of Ozone in Ozone Laundering Systems

Three primary benefits (advantages) of properly designed and operated ozone laundering systems have been proven in successful commercial installations – microbiological kills/inactivation of all microorganisms found in linens to be laundered; economic cost savings and significant environmental benefits. Each of these benefits of ozone laundering is described and quantified in the Ozone Laundry Handbook by Rice et al. (2009). In this paper, two of these benefits, Cost Savings and Significant Environmental Benefits are discussed.

Quantification of the Bactericidal, Fungicidal, and Sporicidal Efficacy of the JLA Ltd. Ozone Laundering System

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the bactericidal, fungicidal, and sporicidal efficacy of the in-use concentration of ozone in solution generated continuously by the JLA Limited OTEX validated ozone laundering system against a range of typical microorganisms associated with laundering applications. The study used the JLA HC 100 laundering machine as the containment vessel. Test microbial suspensions were introduced directly into the drum of the laundering machine containing a known level of water in the presence of soluble ozone. Using standard microbiological techniques, the numbers of surviving bacteria, mold spores or bacterial spores were determined, and reductions in viable counts were calculated. The following test organisms were employed: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Enterococcus faecalis, E. coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Aspergillus niger (spores), and Clostridium difficile (spores). All tests used multiple contact times of 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 11 and 15 minutes at 20 °C±2 °C. Levels of ≤0.25 mg/L of dissolved ozone had minimal effect on the bacteria. Levels of >0.45 mg/L ozone showed good biocidal activity, except against Acinetobacter baumannii, which showed strong resistance to ozone. Against fungal spores, dissolved ozone levels of >1.2 mg/L were required to obtain a 2.8 log reduction. For Clostridium difficile spores, a dissolved ozone level between 0.90 and 1.20 mg/L gave >1.6 log reduction with no discernable spore recovery. In every instance, the control tests (no ozone) recovered levels of microorganisms that proved that the action of the laundering machine has no antimicrobial activity, and that the log reductions obtained are solely due to the effects of dissolved ozone.

Information exchange in business collaboration using grid technologies

With the emergence of service provisioning environments and new networking capabilities, antagonistic businesses have been able to collaborate securely by sharing information in order to have a beneficial result for all. This collaboration has sometimes been imposed by state legislation and sometimes been desirable by the firms themselves so as to resolve frequently occurring abnormalities. In any case, as information exchange takes place between antagonistic firms, security and privacy issues arise. In the context of this paper, a collaborative environment has been analyzed for enterprises that set out in the banking sector. A Grid-based Anti-Money Laundering (AML) system has been developed in an effort to take advantage of the Grid infrastructure, supporting the secure and trustful exchange of information between financial institutions and ensuring the confidentiality of the data transferred and the authentication of the users to whom they are available. Special emphasis is put on security mechanisms for supporting identity and privacy management as well as in Service Level Agreements (SLA) enforcement for enabling a trust enforcement platform in a collaboration business model.

How effective are suspicious transaction reporting systems?

PurposeA fundamental element of international anti‐money laundering (AML) systems is the requirement that financial institutions file suspicious transaction reports (STRs) with financial intelligence units. Although the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has established global standards, there is a range of national laws, practices and experiences with STR systems. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of national STR systems, by using Switzerland as a case study.Design/methodology/approachPrimary source documentation, complemented by observations at FATF meetings, are relied on to evaluate STR systems.FindingsThe FATF ratings of a country's compliance with international standards are objective, expert driven and consistent in application, but are limited as performance measures in that they ignore the costs of AML and STR measures. The effectiveness of the Swiss STR system is questionable because of serious under reporting of suspicious transactions. The Swiss STR system is efficient to the extent that there is a high usage of STRs and that large amounts of money are automatically frozen under the mandatory reporting obligation.Research limitations/implicationsEvaluation of national STR systems is limited because of a lack of reliable statistics on the extent of money laundering.Practical implicationsThis paper is addressed to policy makers who are concerned with assessing the effectiveness of STR systems. Future research would deal with STR systems in developing countries and the role of STRs in uncovering the financing of terrorism.Originality/valueInsider/outsider description of the FATF mutual evaluation process. Compilation and interpretation of statistical data on STR systems, as performance measures.

Little enthusiasm for enhanced CDD of the politically connected

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine whether countries are implementing enhanced customer due diligence (CDD) for financial transactions with the politically connected.Design/methodology/approachPublic information in relation to ratification of the UN anti‐corruption resolution, mutual evaluations of anti‐money laundering systems and Transparency International's (TI's) corruption reports are used to determine governments' attitudes to corruption and enhanced CDD recommended as best practice by the financial action task force (FATF).FindingsIt was found that low levels of compliance with recommended best practice when handling transactions with politically exposed persons, amongst the countries examined, are leaving the global financial network open to abuse by those in public office.Research limitations/implicationsThe release of mutual evaluation reports by the FATF and regional anti‐money laundering bodies has been of immense importance in determining the level of compliance with FATF recommendations. However, until a similar exercise is conducted on a global scale the true situation facing the global financial network cannot be determined.Practical implicationsThe lack of scrutiny of financial transactions of the politically connected puts the global financial system at risk and allows corruption at the highest levels to flourish.Originality/valuePublication of the mutual evaluations of both FATF members and non‐member countries provides an opportunity, not previously available, to analyse the compliance with FATF recommendations across counties around the world. Given the TI findings, levels of corruption increasing and the involvement of public officials at the highest level, it is important to understand how transactions with the politically connected are being handled.

Commercial corruption and money laundering: a preliminary analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between commercial corruption and money laundering. The challenge of corruption in the private sector and its relationship with money laundering are neglected subjects. Corruption and money laundering often occur together with the presence of one reinforcing the other. Corruption generates billions of dollars of funds that will need to be concealed through the money laundering process. At the same time, corruption contributes to money laundering activity through payment of bribes to persons who are responsible for the operation of anti‐money laundering (AML) systems.

Australia's New Anti-Money Laundering Strategy

In 2006 the Australian Government undertook major reform of the regulatory framework to detect, prevent and prosecute money laundering. These reforms were responses to the changing nature of money laundering as well as the limitations inherent in the existing compliance or rule-based regulatory approach. Originally intended to deal with the laundering of cash generated mainly by drug trafficking, contemporary anti-money laundering systems must now deal with a range of ‘public bads’, including organised fraud, the financing of terrorism, corruption and the theft of state assets, and the financial weaknesses of ‘failed states’. Existing regulatory systems have generated unwieldy volumes of defensive reports of suspicious transactions, but little in the way of tangible outcomes. Australia's money laundering regulatory deficiencies were highlighted by an evaluation review conducted in 2005 by the Financial Action Task Force. This article considers how the new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) addresses these regulatory deficiencies. It examines the change from a compliance to a risk-based approach, increased customer due diligence requirements and their impact on bank privacy and related issues, and how the new regulatory framework is likely to impact on the role of the Australian Transaction Reporting and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and its relationship with financial institutions and other reporting entities.

Eradication of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile in Hospital Mops and Wiping Cloths by Ozone Cold Water Laundering in the United Kingdom – Comparison of Ozone and Standard Laundering Procedures

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Both MRSA and C. difficile are resistant to many cleaners, disinfectants and institutional laundering techniques. One route of continued transmission of these microorganisms is the laundering system for hospital/nursing facility linens and bed clothing. An evaluation of cold water (ambient temperature) ozone laundering was conducted at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, Herts., UK during 2005.

Application of Modern Automation and Control Processes in Direct Chill Casting Production Equipment

It is well known that magnesium melts exhibit a strong exothermic reaction with oxygen and water and present an explosion hazard during processing. To ensure a safe working environment for operators in magnesium (Mg) direct chill foundries, it was therefore necessary to develop the whole processing chain, from melting, alloying, casting and heat treatment through to the extrusion of Mg profiles. The automation, simulation and process control was a key factor in this development. To fully automate the process, it was necessary to adapt an existing casting plant, to develop both a new launder system from the furnace to the die and new sensors (level control, visualization) and to create control software that is able to control the plant and continuously log various parameters of the casting process for maintenance via the Internet.

Trusts And Money Laundering In English Law. The Duties of Confidentiality and Disclosure of Trustees and the Obligations Arising out of Sections 93a, 93b and 93d of the Criminal Justice Act 1988

With the rise of organised crime, money laundering has become a priority issue both at the national and international levels. In 2001, the OECD issued a report showing that trusts could be the instrument of money launderers. If trusts are usually used for perfectly legal operations, their advantages such as privacy may lead criminals to try and misuse them. But this area of the law has so far remained relatively unexplored and commentators have pointed out that a comprehensive examination of how trusts can be abused has never been carried out. The purpose of this research is admittedly narrower. It rather aims at identifying the possible conflicts between English anti-money laundering legislation and some of the traditional obligations of trustees, namely the duty of confidentiality and the duty to account. For the purpose of combating money laundering, ss. 93A and 93B of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 seem to have abrogated the duty of confidentiality owed by professionals to their clients/customers. These provisions even confer an immunity against actions for breach of confidence. Despite the fact that confidentiality is essential in a trust context, the scope of this immunity remains unclear. The trustees' position is all the more awkward since s. 93D will hold them liable if they disclose information which is likely to prejudice a police investigation in relation to money laundering. Beneficiaries, using their right to information, could possibly make trustees 'tip off'. At the end of the day, the sacrifices that trustees have to accept may not even be rewarded by the courts: the recent case of Bank of Scotland v. A Ltd demonstrates how trustees could be faced with the dilemma of violating either s. 93A or s. 93D. This decision illustrates one of several flaws in the UK anti-money laundering system.

Ozone Laundry Technology for Water and Energy Savings

ABSTRACT Commercial laundering operations are the largest aggregate polluter of water in the United States today. Consider the vast numbers of commercial laundries scattered across the country including those in hotels, motels, hospitals, elderly care, athletic facilities, and prisons. Not only is ozone laundering safe, environmentally friendly but it saves users thousands of dollars each year by reducing water/waste-water consumption, energy consumption, chemical cost, and it has been proven that fabric lasts longer thereby reducing replacement costs. This article will give the reader a background on ozone, why it is used, how it is produced and applied into the laundering system and typical savings results.

The Use of Ceramic Foam Filters in the Production of High Integrity Steels and Ni-base Alloys.

Inclusion removal using ceramic foam filtration in the casting industry is well known, however the effect of ceramic foam filters on removing inclusions from 'clean' metal is not so well documented. This communication provides a preliminary report of the findings to date. Ceramic foam filters have been used in the production of approximately 3.3 tonne casts using the new VIDP furnace at Special Melted Products Ltd. Clean metal is supplied by the use of a specially designed launder system preheated to 900°C prior to teeming.Examination of impregnated filter cross sections from an alloy 718 and FV458 casts have revealed the ability of ceramic foam filters to remove inclusions in the <20 μm size range.The types of inclusion that are removed using this method include, from alloy 718, Titanium Nitride and Primary deoxidation products containing aluminium and magnesium. Examination of FV458 shows deoxidation products containing aluminium and calcium.