#screening solution

With increasing urbanization, the number of industries is also growing in India. Moreover, as factories snowball, their wastewater production is also rising. However, many companies do not consider wastewater treatment and release untreated water into rivers, lakes, or landfills. 

This untreated water pollutes natural water sources and spreads waterborne diseases among the residents. 

About 37.7 million Indians suffer from waterborne diseases every year. (Source: India water portal)

Photo credit: WaterAid / Marco Betti

Owing to the fact that tons of wastewater from industries and municipalities are left untreated, the government of India is encouraging effluent and sewage treatment through various laws and awareness programs. 

Industries like textile, paper & pulp, oil & gas, food & beverages, chemical, automobile, pharmaceutical highly require wastewater treatment plants because wastewater treatment removes pollutants like large solid particles, organic & inorganic compounds, toxic & hazardous waste materials, etc. 

However, wastewater treatment is not a single-step process, but consecutive techniques, technologies, and methods are combined to fulfill the treatment requirement. 

Screening

Screening water treatment solutions are considered a pre-treatment of wastewater that removes large floating particles like plastic, wood chips, rags, leaves, etc. These solid materials can obstruct the water flow downstream and lead to the clogging of equipment, pipes, and pumps. Screening solutions reduce the risk of breakdown due to the accumulation of large pollutants by removing them. There are two types of screens based on the pore size, 

Coarse screens: Coarse screens provide a screening solution for bigger-sized particles present in wastewater. They consist of steel bars that are corrosion resistant and positioned at a 60° angle to facilitate the removal of particles ranging from 0.25 to 6 inches. Most industries and municipalities use coarse screens are the first treatment step to get efficient screening solutions.

Fine screens: Fine screens, as the name suggests, remove fine and smaller particles from wastewater and offer the best screening solutions by reducing the majority of suspended solids from water and protecting the downstream processes and equipment. They can remove particles of 1.5 to 6 mm in size. 

Screening water treatment solutions are prominent to reduce equipment breakdown and maintenance costs. It also saves time and additional operational costs. 

Aeration

Aeration is adding air bubbles to wastewater in two ways: air in the water or water in the air. When air bubbles enter the water, they attach themselves to suspended solids like oil & grease particles, eliminate gaseous particles, oxidize metals, and supplement bacteria to facilitate the decomposition of organic matter. 

When air bubbles attach themselves to contaminants, they float on the surface together and allow froth removal, and water is sent for further treatment.

Coagulation & flocculation

Coagulants (chemicals) are added to wastewater under constant mixing, stimulating chemical reactions to neutralize suspended solids, and the neutralized particles come together to form flocs. 

In the flocculation tank, water is gently stirred, which facilitates the bonding of smaller flocs to form larger flocs. Here water is mixed in a way that prevents the dispersion of the bigger flocs. 

Sedimentation

When flocs are formed, they can settle in the sedimentation tank, where material accumulates at the bottom of the tank, called sludge. Then, the clear water is sent for further treatment, and sludge is scraped out for disposal.

Filtration

Filtration is one of the most essential and integral processes in wastewater treatment. 

When solid particles are left out after coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation, they are removed through filtration. Here, wastewater is passed through filters where insoluble particles are retained, and water is allowed to pass. 

Generally, industries use sand filters or gravity filters. In those filters, when filters are fully loaded with solid particles, they are back-washed to unclog. 

If the turbidity of the wastewater is low, it will become pollutant-free by the time it reaches the filtration process and can be reused or released. However, if it is highly turbid, it requires further treatment. 

Disinfection

Disinfection removes microorganisms from water that can be harmful to humans as well as aquatic life. Generally, chlorine is used to disinfect water as it is relatively inexpensive and effective. It kills most bacteria from water, and the residual chlorine left after that prevents the further growth of microorganisms. 

After disinfection, water is tested, and if it has contamination, it will be further treated until it complies with the national wastewater discharge limits.

Our world has constantly evolving security concerns and complex geopolitics. Governments and companies rely on denied-party lists to legally navigate through global trade. Denied-party lists are indexes of entities that should not be accepted as a party in certain or all business transitions.

These lists are extensively used by government agencies to enforce sanctions and embargoes, to protect their economy, to combat the empowerment of their enemies, and to ensure public health and safety. They can range from lists of disbarred individuals or organizations who can no longer participate in business transactions (purchasing, acquiring, or delivering a good or service) to lists of countries that cannot import goods. Moreover, restrictions can span multiple verticals and industries, including; pharmaceutical, manufacturing, government contracting, technology, commercial, government, and private sectors.

Any business participating in international transactions or exports is held responsible for adhering to the limitations imposed by these lists. It is, therefore, in every company’s interests to understand what they are and how to adhere to them.

In this article, we will explain:

What are denied-party lists?

What are the penalties associated with them?

What is denied-party list screening?

Why does your business need it?

Features of an Ideal Denied Party Screening Solution

What Is a Denied or Restricted Party Screening List?

Both terms refer to a collection of entities, either individuals or organizations, that are deemed unlawful to do business with to some extent or completely.

Denied-Party Lists contain entities who export, import, and/or exchange services and have been denied by a governing body (e.g. a Government Agency).

Restricted-Party Lists contain entities who have been denied some business privileges. Certain types of transactions may be blocked, or a license may be required before any transactions with this party may take place.

Denied Party Lists are compiled by international governments and International organizations, such as:

U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security [BIS] (Denied Persons List, Entity List, Military End-User List, etc.)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Debarment List)

U.S. Treasury (Office of Foreign Assets Control Sanctions List)

U.S. Securities and Trade Commission (Anti Money Laundering Checklist)

U.S. Department of Justice (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)

United Nations (Sanctions List, Al-Qaida and Taliban UN Consolidated List)

World Bank (List of ineligible firms)

European Union (Financial Sanctions List)

Entities are added to a denied party list because of:

Being a terrorist organization or affiliate

Being a threat to national security

Having a history of corrupt or criminal behavior

There are more than 1,300 such lists an international business must take into account. Every individual and company, small and large, is responsible for adhering to these prohibitions.

Many individuals and businesses are prosecuted for breaches of denied-service lists every year.

Non-adherence Penalties

Every list and associated law have different penalties that can be levied against violators. The following are two examples:

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security maintains several denied and restricted party lists. Not adhering to their restrictions will result in heavy penalties:

Criminal fines up to $1 million dollars per violation.

Incarceration for up to 20 years.

Administrative penalties of $300,000 per violation or twice the transaction’s worth, whichever is higher.

Loss of export privileges.

Deportation of non-U.S. Citizens.

The Arms Export Controls Act (AECA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) are laws that limit what can be exported, rather than to whom. These two laws place restrictions on weapons, armaments, and defense systems. Refusing to abide by them will also result in heavy penalties:

Criminal fines up to $1 million dollars per violation.

Incarceration for up to 10 years.

Civil penalties up to $500,000 per violation.

Voluntary self-reporting done in the proper way can mitigate these penalties, but obviously, the ideal situation is to avoid breaches altogether by carefully screening any business transactions beforehand.

What Is Restricted Party Screening?

With so many different lists and such high penalties, it is vitally important for a business to make sure they adhere to these sanctions, but scanning through the lists manually for every transaction would be a fool’s errand.

The restricted-party screening process provides corporations with the ability to check all individuals, businesses, and countries against the most current restricted, denied, or prohibited party lists to ensure no business transactions occur with an entity that is prohibited by law.

Why Does Your Business Need Denied Party Screening?

Sanctioned party list screening provides an easy solution to otherwise daunting challenges.

The quantity and size of denied party lists are extensive. As an example, the BIS maintains a list strictly for denied individuals, and even that list of such limited scope contains more than 1600 individuals. It includes names, alias, and addresses that must all be taken into account. The same Bureau’s entity list is more than 600 pages long.

The denied party lists are ever-changing. The BIS updated their denied persons list nearly once a day in the last two months of 2021.

Governments require extensive due diligence in preventing and reporting violations.

Features of an Ideal Denied Party Screening Solution

A comprehensive collection of global watch lists. The ideal solution should make sure that every denied party list included is relevant to your sector.

Daily updates. No matter how often a needed list is added to, updated, expired, or changed, the ideal solution should keep your business secure with the most up-to-date information.

Defensible Audit Trails. It should provide detailed reports and extensive notifications for a robust due diligence process.

Cutting Edge Algorithms. The ideal solution should leverage cutting edge technology with fuzzy logic to customize its parameters to match your business needs without sacrificing precision or risk reduction.

User-Friendly Dashboard. It should have a user friendly interface for easy navigation between processes.

Automated Alerts. It should keep users and managers updated on still pending actions like follow-ups, past due cases, and problem resolutions.

Synchronization with other services. It should have the flexibility to fit into the value chain of your export control compliance activities Export Shipment Process and Import Process.

Integration with ERPs and Business Systems. It should have the technical ability (via API’s, adaptors etc.) to fully integrate with your existing internal technology platforms and screen parties directly from your business systems without needing to open any other application.

The solution is restricted party screening software, such as what is offered by OCR Services Inc. To learn more about OCR’s Watch list Screening Solution, trusted by hundreds of organizations globally, please reach out to us at [email protected].