C.I.Agent Solutions

History

C.I.Agent Solutions was founded in 2000 by Dan Parker. He has served as president and a member of the board of directors since its inception. According to Dan Parker, the company was initially founded to effectively assist businesses to minimize their hazardous waste, reduce their legal liabilities, increase employee productivity and save money at the same time.

Corporate overview

C.I.Agent Solutions has 17 employees and is privately held. The company operates worldwide and has sales agents in 8 territories: United States, Canada, Australia, Ecuador, Nigeria, Sweden, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. C.I.Agent products are manufactured at a factory adjacent to the company headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. C.I.Agent Solutions is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

Solidifier technology

C.I.Agent Solutions develops a proprietary blend of polymers called C.I.Agent that is capable of encapsulating and solidifying hydrocarbon pollutants into an inert, non-leaching, rubber-like mass through a permanent physical bond. C.I.Agent is an environmentally-friendly, dry granular powder consisting of a blend of several USDA food-grade polymers. It is non-toxic, non-hazardous, non-corrosive and non-carcinogenic. The development of C.I.Agent has continued through a series of basic and applied studies that included consultation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), review of both federal and state environmental regulations, and numerous protocols of product testing.

C.I.Agent is listed on EPA's National Contingency Plan Product Schedule.

Pre-approvals

C.I.Agent has been pre-approved for use on oil spills by EPA Regional Response Teams III and IV, and by the Caribbean Regional Response Team, as well as Lake Tahoe – a first in U.S. history.

Secondary containment

The C.I.Agent Barrier Boom has been used for secondary containment in over 7,000 electrical substation installations worldwide. C.I.Agent Barrier Booms are installed to comply with EPA's Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan (SPCC) regulation, requiring any entity storing significant amounts of petroleum-based product to demonstrate a written contingency plan to address the containment and prevention of a possible spill.

Spill remediation products

Spill remediation products include dissolvable packs, spill response kits and bags, quick deployment booms, sheen booms, and marine booms.

Marine de-watering and filtration

C.I.Agent Solutions de-watering and filtration products for the marine industry are centered on bilge water filtration. The Bilge Pillows and De-watering Bags remove hydrocarbon contaminants from the bilge of a vessel, and can then be disposed of in traditional non-hazardous waste collections. C.I.Agent Barge Scupper allows water to freely flow through the scupper holes while permanently capturing pollutants in a layer of C.I.Agent. The C.I.Agent Sheen Machine is designed for use on water with strong current or to be towed in open water. It guides the oil sheen floating on top of water through the device, where the sheen is captured by C.I.Agent material inside the filtration bag.

Water monitoring

C.I.Agent Solutions has developed a continuous low level aquatic monitoring device, the C.L.A.M., to extract water samples using EPA approved SPE (Solid Phase Extraction) media to sequester pesticides, herbicides, PAH's, TPH, and other trace organics from water.

Honors and awards

In 2008, Business First of Louisville awarded C.I.Agent Solutions the #24 position in their Fast 50 list. The Fast 50 awards recognize the fastest-growing privately held companies in the Greater Louisville area. Subsequently, in 2009, C.I.Agent Solutions was awarded the #5 spot on the list.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill

C.I.Agent Solutions was approached by BP (at request of the Alabama Department of Emergency Management) to aid in shoreline protection efforts during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. On Dauphin Island, the Alabama National Guard built a five-mile (eight-kilometer) barricade filled with C.I.Agent that officials called "the longest oil-water separator in the world".

United States Senate Committee hearing

C.I.Agent Solutions founder Dan Parker and business partner Dan Koons appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship in Washington on June 17, 2010. The hearing, dubbed Harnessing Small Business Innovation: Navigating the Evaluation Process for Gulf Coast Oil Cleanup Proposals, focused on small businesses obtaining contracts from the federal government to support clean up of the Gulf Coast oil spill. Dan Parker and Dan Koons were invited to explain the efforts C.I.Agent Solutions has had to go through to get attention to innovative oil spill cleanup technologies.