Environmental Compliance

Hean Studio is situated in a rural setting surrounded by glorious Herefordshire countryside, and we strongly wish to protect the natural world for future generations.

The new building, although it may appear to be somewhat traditional in style, is in fact an efficient modern building. There are a number of subtle architectural features that reduce thermal build up in the summer, reducing cooling costs, and at the same time a high level of insulation to minimise heating requirements in the winter.

Bi-products of the casting process. The largest quantity of waste is the left over slurries consisting of casting mould refractories. This consists mainly of gypsum, the same material that makes up the White Cliffs of Dover. This is retained in a slurry pit which when filled is emptied by a licensed waste disposal company. This material is totally inert and is NON-toxic.

Acids used to clean the castings are kept to a minimum by using diluted solutions in heated tanks that are fully enclosed, and the extraction systems "scrub" the air to neutralise it. Spent acids are fully neutralised using the waste gypsum from the casting slurries. Regular tests have demonstrated that these acids have been totally neutralised, and have no further impact.

We are one of the only jewellery casting companies to make use of steam de-waxing, before the mould burnout cycle. Not only does this reduce overall fumes from the furnaces, but also in particular it dramatically reduces the bi-product of sulphuric acid fumes caused by sulphur in the wax (in minute amounts) combining with moisture.

We have recently had the heating and cooling plant renewed with heat exchanger style units, so we no longer burn any gas on site, thus significantly reducing the amount of carbon dioxide produced at this site.