Kickstart: PVC booms and Helene recovery

A mile-long set of inflatable PVC booms has been deployed to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

The Tennessee Valley Authority says debris in Lake Douglas, a reservoir in Tennessee's Jefferson and Sevier counties, has collected logs, cars, parts of buildings and other items swept away by flooding in the French Broad, Nolichucky and Pigeon rivers. The debris field is a mile wide and moving at 1 mph toward Douglas Dam. The boom — one of the largest ever deployed by TVA — is needed to protect water supply intake systems and other infrastructure that is at risk.

"By containing the debris, we can provide more time for our partner agencies and groups to explore options for removing the debris," TVA said in a news release.

The work by TVA comes as state officials in Tennessee expand an investigation into the deaths of workers at Impact Plastics in Erwin caught by floodwaters when Helene struck the region Sept. 27.

Plastics News' Catherine Kavanaugh writes that the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Oct. 3 that it has opened an investigation into the deaths. It will work alongside the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on its own probe that was announced Oct. 1.

Some consumers who heard about the strikes at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports — which reached a settlement Oct. 3 — responded by hoarding. But they're not really making purchases that make sense.

News reports from across the U.S. note that shoppers are clearing shelves of toilet paper and bottled water. But, of course, those items are made locally.

PET bottle resin? Made in the U.S. and with an oversupply of the material on a global stage, there's no current risk of a shortage. Bottle preforms are injection molded close to home and bottles are blow molded and filled close to regional markets to reduce shipping costs. Companies are even expanding bottle production, as PN's Jim Johnson writes.

And, for the record, 90 percent of toilet paper purchased in the U.S. is made in the U.S., with other supplies coming from Canada and Mexico, so they're not reliant on international ports either. The things buyers may find in short supply are fresh fruits, especially bananas.

But now that International Longshoremen's Association and port owners have reached an agreement allowing the sites to reopen, all that panic buying appears to have been for nothing. But at least they should be fully stocked for whatever rumor crops up next.

Think your company is too small to be of interest to hackers and cybercriminals? It's actually the opposite.

Cybersecurity experts are warning that small companies are increasingly at risk. John Irwin from our sister paper Automotive News writes that cybercriminals believe that smaller manufacturing firms are behind on their security measures, so they are both more vulnerable and more likely to pay a ransom so their production isn't interrupted.

Small companies also lack the resources of international firms, said Mike Stone, an attorney at law firm Warner Norcross + Judd's Detroit office.

A study from IBM shows that manufacturing accounted for 26 percent of all cyberattacks in 2023, more than any other sector, Irwin writes.