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   Hazardous waste management giant Clean Harbors, Inc. (Norwell, MA) announced on May 2 that its revenue for the first quarter of 2012 grew by 32% to $572 million from $435 million one year earlier. Income from operations in the first quarter of 2012 increased 55% to $61.7 million from $39.7 million in the same period of 2011. “Each of our operating segments was a key contributor in the quarter,” said Alan McKim, Clean Harbors’ chairman and CEO. “Within Technical Services, utilization at our incinerators climbed to 90% from 85% a year ago, and volumes at our landfills rose by 19%, largely due to energy-related work. Within Field Services, we generated a steady stream of ongoing maintenance and project work in the quarter. “Our Industrial Services segment grew nearly 40% as a result of heightened activity in the oil sands region, continued demand for our broad array of specialty services, and a strong performance from our lodging business,” McKim continue. “Our Oil & Gas Field Services segment essentially doubled in size from the same period of 2011. The increase was driven by demand across Western Canada, a variety of shale play-related work in the U.S. and Canada, and cross-selling opportunities afforded by Peak [Energy Services] and other acquisitions we completed in 2011.”

   Venture capital (VC) investment in developers of water treatment technology for the oil and gas and mining industries has increased over the past five years, particularly in North America, as resource extraction activity accelerates, according to a recent report by the London Environmental Investment Forum (LEIF; London, U.K.). According to the report, 18 water treatment companies have raised more than $400 million in equity and debt in the last half-decade. A handful of VC funds, such as Energy Ventures, XPV Capital, Meidelinger Partners, and Enertech Capital, have focused on this area, while corporate venture funds and development units of large corporations, such as Teck Resources, Cenovus Energy, BASF Venture Capital, and Total Energy Ventures, have taken strategic positions. “Some investors are cottoning on to a very significant change in extractive industries,” said LEIF Chairman Tom Whitehouse. “Water innovation is not a luxury item to decorate your CSR report, but a means of gaining competitive advantage.”

   The Smithers Group, Inc. (Akron, OH), a global provider of technology-based services, and Covance Laboratories (Madison, WI) have reached an agreement whereby Smithers will acquire Environmental Sciences Group (ESG) from Covance. ESG, which employs approximately 60 people, provides product registration and risk assessment services to clients in the agrochemical, pharmaceutical, industrial chemical, and animal health industries. Upon completion of the transaction, ESG will become part of Smithers’ Viscient organization, a contract research organization providing environmental testing, eco-toxicology, and regulatory services for the crop protection, seed technology, pharmaceutical, industrial chemical, and consumer and household product industries.

   IHS, Inc. (Englewood, CO) announced that it has acquired XēDAR Corp. (Arvada, CO), a 134-person provider of geospatial information products and services, for approximately $28 million, net of cash acquired. XēDAR provides imagery processing solutions and related land information to government, oil and gas, utility, and other clients that manage or exploit natural resources. “XēDAR’s proprietary geographic and land information system solutions are a great complement to the IHS energy technical information and analytical tools,” said IHS Chairman and CEO Jerre Stead. “We are looking forward to working with the talented XēDAR team to create even greater value for our global energy customers.”

   Global sales of portable, laboratory, and continuous measurement instruments for air and water will exceed $14.1 billion in 2012, according to a recent forecast by The McIlvaine Co. (Northfield, IL). Dissolved oxygen measurement in water will constitute a major segment, with analyzer revenue approaching $200 million per year, said McIlvaine, while continuous monitoring systems are in demand by the beverage, aquaculture, and remediation industries. One of the fastest-growing segments will be continuous monitors for the oil and gas industry, as water-quality instrumentation is needed to monitor aquifers and surface water in proximity to shale-gas exploration and production operations.