PCBs in a variety of schools

Earlier this week, some 100 parents attended a meeting hosted by the Lexington Public Schools in Massachusetts regarding removal of caulk containing polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) from its Joseph Estabrook Elementary School, wrote Boston.com.
We recently wrote that the New York City Department of Education—with the City of New York and the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA)—reached an agreement earlier this year with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 (EPA) regarding assessment and remediation of PCB caulk in New York City public schools. The City initiated a pilot study to evaluate both the presence of PCB caulk in public school buildings and preferred remedial alternatives. Parents in New York are concerned about PCB levels there, as well.
In Massachusetts, the Joseph Estabrook Elementary School closed when removal of PCB caulk did not sufficiently lower PCB levels there, said Boston.com. Administrators announced that the second phase of the cleanup has begun and officials are planning to reopen the school on Tuesday, following the three-day weekend, noted Boston.com. But, test results are not expected until at least next Thursday, said Boston.com, after the school’s scheduled opening.
Tests last spring revealed unsafe PCB levels in the school’s caulking and a plan was created and approved by the EPA for removal to begin August 24th, said Boston.com, citing Gerard Cody, the town’s health director. The plan was scheduled for completion prior to the school opening Tuesday; however, the Lexington Health Division determined even higher unsafe levels of PCBs, according to the school’s director of public facilities, Pat Goddard, wrote Boston.com.
Some parents are up in arms, urging the school be closed until the risk is eradicated. “My children will not go back,” said Angela Gharabegian, whose two young daughters attend Estabrook. “I don’t trust what is safe and what is not—it doesn’t mean anything to me at this point,” she added, quoted Boston.com.
PCBs—which include some 200 compounds—are a class of very toxic chemicals ubiquitously found in construction materials and electrical products in many buildings from the 1950s until 1978, when they were phased out. Despite the phase-out, PCBs may be found in products and materials produced before the 1979 ban because PCBs were an element in school construction and electrical products during this time, as well, noted NY1 previously.
School Superintendent Paul Ash announced at this week’s meeting in Massachusetts that he will convene an expert panel, that will include three parents, to look at the information and come to some decisions, but only after results are received, said Boston.com. The school actually opened for students on Tuesday; however, parents did not learn of the unsuccessful removal of PCB until Tuesday evening at the meeting, said Boston.com.
Parents are concerned that Ash allowed students to return to a school known to be PCB contaminated. “You never gave us a choice,” Gharabegian said to a group of administrators, experts, and consultants, quoted Boston.com. “You did not give us the parental right to protect our children, and you withheld numbers from us,” she added.
According to Ash, the school remained open following information from the EPA. Kim Tisa, a representative from EPA for New England told Ash that if PCB levels exceed so-called “screening” numbers, the building should be examined, not necessarily closed; Ash also blamed pressure to remain open citing the number of days mandated under state law and that closing school so early in the school year would reduce vacation time, said Boston.com. “Who cares about vacation?” Gharabegian said. “If it comes down to our children’s’ health?” wrote Boston.com.

Laboratory Safety Checklist

The following checklist applies to general laboratory activities. There are more specific requirements under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard – 29 CFR 1910.1200 and Laboratory Standard – 29 CFR 1910.1450.
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Broken glass containers not in use

Expired first aid supplies

Chemical containers and labels are compromised or illegible

Eyewash missing or has degrading covers

Chemicals stored alphabetically

Flammable safety cans have flame arrester removed

Chemicals that degrade/decompose (such as peroxides and peroxide formers) are not dated

Goggles not used for handling liquids

Concentrated nitric acid and concentrated acetic stored together

Incompatible gas cylinders stored together

Containers labeled improperly

MSDSs unavailable and/or out-of-date

Current chemical inventory list out-of-date

No logbook for weekly eyewash inspections

Electrical cords used for permanent installations

Old, expired, and/or hazardous chemicals left in inventory when they should be removed because they are unneeded

Synthesized sample labeling not traceable to laboratory notebook


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Fuss & O'Neill EnviroScience offers a variety of services to assist you in maintaining compliance with OSHA's standards. These services include 1) chemical inventory management, 2) chemical hygiene plan development and management, 3) chemical hazards identification, 4) chemical storage, 5) training, 6) waste management, 7) inspections, and more A Certified Chemical-Hygiene Officer, Certified Industrial-Hygienist, and/or another laboratory safety expert will provide you with guidance on maintaining a safe and compliant workplace setting. Fuss & O'Neill EnviroScience has years of experience providing consulting services to industrial clients of all sizes and of diverse backgrounds.
Download a copy of this checklist in PDF
For more information contact:Craig A. Calvert, Ph.D., C-CHO146 Hartford RoadManchester, CT 06040
ccalvert@fando.com(860) 646-2469 x5571
For more information visit: www.craigcalvert.webs.com/ , www.schoolsafetyinfo.blogspot.com/p/lab-safety-links.html
Addressing your environmental needs with professional, safe innovative, responsive, and economical solutions.

Laboratory Safety Checklist- Healthy Buildings

Craig A. Calvert, Ph.D., C-CHO
September 4, 2010
Welcome to the September issue of the Industrial Safety Newsletter. There are many components to a laboratory safety program, and it is easy to miss some of the little things. With this in mind, below is a short checklist of common deficiencies that I have found when I perform laboratory inspections. I hope that you find this newsletter useful, and as always, we look forward to providing you with the quality service and information that has made Fuss & O'Neill EnviroScience successful.
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The following checklist applies to general laboratory activities. There are more specific requirements under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard 29 CFR 1910.1200 and Laboratory Standard 29 CFR 1910.1450.
*Listed alphabetically
¨ Broken glass containers not in use
¨ Chemical containers and labels are compromised or illegible
¨ Chemicals stored alphabetically
¨ Chemicals that degrade/decompose (such as peroxides and peroxide formers) are not dated
¨ Concentrated nitric acid and concentrated acetic stored together
¨ Containers labeled improperly
¨ Current chemical inventory list out-of-date
¨ Electrical cords used for permanent installations
¨ Expired first aide supplies
¨ Eyewash missing or has degrading covers
¨ Flammable safety cans have flame arrester removed
¨ Goggles not used for handling liquids
¨ Incompatible gas cylinders stored together
¨ MSDSs unavailable and/or out-of-date
¨ No logbook for weekly eyewash inspections
¨ Old, unneeded, and/or hazardous chemicals
¨ Safety showers not inspected regularly
¨ Synthesized sample labeling not traceable to laboratory notebook
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Fuss & O'Neill EnviroScience offers a variety of services to assist you in maintaining compliance with OSHA’s standards. These services include 1) chemical inventory management, 2) chemical hygiene plan development and management, 3) chemical hazards identification, 4) chemical storage, 5) training, 6) waste management, 7) inspections, and more… A Certified-Chemical Hygiene Officer, Certified Industrial Hygienist, and/or another laboratory safety expert will provide you with guidance on maintaining a safe and compliant workplace setting. Fuss & O'Neill EnviroScience has years of experience providing consulting services to industrial clients of all sizes and of diverse backgrounds .
For more information contact:
Craig A. Calvert, Ph.D., C-CHO
ccalvert@fando.com
(860) 646-2469 x5571


On the web, for more information visit: www.craigcalvert.webs.com/
www.schoolsafetyinfo.blogspot.com/p/lab-safety-links.html

Addressing your needs with professional, safe, innovative, responsive, and economical solutions.

Job Posting- Senior CIH/Hazmaterials Manager

Looking for a Senior Level CIH with 15 plus years experience in dealing with hazardous materials in buliding structures (asbestos, lead, IAQ, PCBs, Mold, Mercury,etc.). The position will be located in our Manchester, CT office.


Please contact.

Kevin W. Miller, Ph.D.
Fuss & O'Neill EnviroScience, LLC
kmiller@fando.com

Allergy and Extra Weight?

Antihistamine Use Linked to Extra Pounds
Published August 26, 2010
Reuters
People who use prescription antihistamines to relieve allergy symptoms may be more likely than non-users to carry excess pounds, a new study suggests, although the significance of the connection is not yet clear.
In a study of 867 U.S. adults, researchers at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, found that prescription antihistamine users were more likely to be overweight or obese than non-users were.
Among the 268 antihistamine users, 45 percent were overweight, versus 30 percent of the 599 study participants not on the medications.
The researchers stress, however, that the findings do not prove that antihistamines are the cause of the extra pounds. This type of study, known as an observational study, can only point to an association between two variables — in this case, antihistamine use and body weight — and cannot prove cause-and-effect.
It's possible that some other factor explains the link, according to lead researcher Dr. Joseph Ratliff, a postdoctoral associate in Yale's department of psychiatry.
"There have been studies that show allergies and asthma themselves are associated with obesity," he told Reuters Health in an email, "so these conditions themselves may have an effect."
Still, in a report in the journal Obesity, Ratliff and his colleagues say the findings point to an important question for future studies to explore.
According to Ratliff, the researchers were interested in looking at the relationship between antihistamines and weight because of what's known about medications called atypical antipsychotics.
Those drugs — such as olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal) — are used to treat schizophrenia and other mental illnesses and carry the side effect of weight gain. They also have antihistamine effects.
Histamine is a chemical produced in the body that is best known for its role in promoting the inflammation associated with allergic responses; blocking histamine is a good thing when it comes to relieving hay fever symptoms, for instance.
But cells throughout the brain have receptors for histamine, and the chemical appears to have a hand in a number of physiological functions — with appetite control and calorie burning being among them.
So in theory, Ratliff explained, antihistamines could contribute to overeating and slower fat breakdown.
The current findings are based on 867 adults who took part in a government health survey in 2005 and 2006. All participants had their weight and height measured, as well as their blood sugar, cholesterol and levels of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin.
On average, antihistamine users had a higher body mass index (BMI) — at about 31, which falls into the category of obesity. That compared with a BMI of about 28 among non-users, which correlates to being moderately overweight. BMI is a standard measure of weight in relation to height used to gauge obesity.
When the researchers accounted for participants' age and sex, antihistamine use was linked to a 55 percent increase in the odds of being overweight versus non-use. The medications were not linked to higher odds of elevated blood sugar, insulin or cholesterol, however.
More studies are needed to see whether antihistamines do in fact have an effect on body weight.
The question is important, Ratliff and his colleagues note, as an estimated 50 million Americans have allergies, and anywhere from 35 percent to 50 percent of them use antihistamines.
For now, Ratliff recommended that people with allergies talk with their doctors about all the potential side effects of the different treatment options, and try to find one that works best for them.
Other allergy treatments include corticosteroid nasal sprays and eye drops, decongestants, cromolyn sodium nasal sprays and allergy shots. Non-drug tactics to managing allergies include limiting exposure to symptom triggers — such as pollen, mold or pet dander — and using salt-water nasal washes.

Mequon School Closes For Mold

Mequon School Latest to Close Due to Mold

Posted Tuesday September 7, 2010 

MEQUON, Wis. (WTAQ) - Another Wisconsin school has been hit with mold.

The Oriole Lane Elementary School in Mequon is closed Tuesday, after officials found mold in the building.

An air quality expert tells WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee that at least 30 Wisconsin schools have had some kind of mold problem – and he blames it on the hot and damp summer. He says it takes a thorough cleaning to get rid of it.

At the Stone Bank school near Oconomowoc, crews worked around the clock for 4 days to remove the mold they had. Schools in Middleton and Crivitz were also among those losing class time early in this school year.

Mequon school officials could not say how long Oriole Lane would be closed due to the latest mold discovery.

For original posting visit:  www.whbl.com/news/articles/2010/sep/07/mequon-school-latest-close-due-mold/

Is Raw Milk Safe?

Got E. coli? Raw Milk's Appeal Grows Despite Health Risks
Bacterial outbreaks are traced back to nonpasteurized milk, yet proponents claim it is healthier and tastes better
By Terri Peterson Smith (Scientific American)

UNSAFE OR THE REAL DEAL?: Raw milk has a loyal following, but the unpasteurized product is also linked to illnesses contracted from bacteria that may lurk in milk that comes straight from a cow or goat.

Milk is well known as a great dietary source of protein and calcium, not to mention an indispensable companion to cookies. But "nature's perfect food," a label given to milk over time by a variety of boosters, including consumer activists, government nutritionists and the American Dairy Council, has become a great source of controversy, too. The long-running dispute over whether milk, both from cows and goats, should be consumed in raw or pasteurized form—an argument more than a century old—has heated up in the last five years, according to Bill Marler, a Washington State lawyer who takes raw milk and other food poisoning cases.A bumper crop of recent illness related to raw milk accentuates the problem. Last month, at least 30 people, including two children, tested positive for strains of campylobacter and Escherichia coli bacteria traced to raw (nonpasteurized) goat milk. In June five people in Minnesota were diagnosed with E. coli traced to raw cow's milk from a local dairy. One, a toddler, was hospitalized after he developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure that is a potentially deadly E. coli complication.They are hardly isolated cases. In fact, there have already been more reports of raw milk-related illness outbreaks this year in the U.S. than in any of the past five years.Such outbreaks are largely preventable if milk is pasteurized, says Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The process (known as high temperature, short time (HTST) pasteurization) was invented more than a century ago and relies on heat at least 72 degrees Celsius for 15 seconds to kill the stew of E. coli, campylobacter, Listeria, salmonella and other microbes that may lurk in milk that comes straight from a cow or goat. Medical experts consider pasteurization as one of the major breakthroughs in public health history. "A triumph," Tauxe adds.Keeping it realRaw milk proponents, including The Weston A. Price Foundation, deny its dangers and praise its superior flavor. They believe raw milk obtained from healthy, pasture-fed animals strengthens the immune system in a manner similar to human breast milk and that it cures digestive tract conditions such as Crohn's disease. Sally Fallon Morell, the foundation's president and founder of the Campaign for Real Milk, disputes the claims of raw milk-related illness. "We have analyzed those reports, and 95 percent should go in the trash can because they're biased," she says. "The pasteurization argument is based on 40-year-old science."Raw milk advocates also claim that pasteurization destroys key nutrients. "Real milk contains a complex system of enzymes, fats, carbohydrates and fragile proteins that are wonders of the microscopic world," Fallon Morell says. "They are destroyed with rapid heating."That assertion is debatable. As with any cooking process, pasteurization causes some chemical change, says Jennifer Nelson, a nutritionist with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., although she says that nutrition researchers are still testing to see if nutrients, enzymes and other health-related components are significantly altered. Whatever the nutritional change, Nelson cautions, "Raw milk can carry pathogens that can cause illness and death." Certain high risk groups should never drink raw milk: infants, growing children, the elderly and people who are immune compromised because their immune systems may not be strong enough to fight off the pathogens often found in raw milk, she adds.Given the number of disease outbreaks related to raw milk, one might expect the demand for raw milk to dry up. Not so—in fact, demand for raw milk has risen faster than cream in a milk bottle, commanding prices as high as $10 per gallon. Despite the warnings of public health officials, including the Web site Real Raw Milk Facts, raw milk has become a national cause célèbre, and dairymen who sell it have become local folk heroes."It's a political issue," Fallon Morell says. "It's also a health, small farm and economic issue. I'm not advocating that we all go back and live on farms, but the pendulum has gone too far in the direction of industry. What we need [are] small farms with Space Age technology."

Shrimp in your drinking water?

Invisible shrimp could very well be living in every drop of water you drink -- but that's OK, they're nothing to worry about.
A photo posted to the online sharing site Reddit has the Internet abuzz. It shows a tiny animal -- a shrimp-like crustacean called a copepod -- and announces that the reader found it in his New York City tap water.
"You swallow these invisible shrimp with every gulp of NYC tap water," trumpeted online blog Gizmodo about the discovery. Time magazine's website also announced the find breathlessly, exhorting New Yorkers to "drink up" -- but noting that the critters may pose a problem for many of the city's Jewish residents.
"Besides a serious 'ick' factor, the copepods are technically crustaceans, which means they aren't kosher for the city's large Orthodox, observant Jewish population," the site warned.
It's all true. There are, indeed, copepods in New York's drinking water -- and the reason they're there is that the city's water is superb for drinking. In fact, people across the country with excellent natural water supplies swallow invisible bugs like these every day.
Most copepods are so small -- barely 1 to 2 millimeters long -- that they're more or less transparent. And they can be found in most freshwater habitats, including the reservoirs that supply public drinking water to cities like New York.
"It's one of those interesting facts you learn about local drinking water -- but it's in no way dangerous," Farrell Sklerov, a spokesman for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), told FoxNews.com.
He explained that many cities filter their water, but if the water quality exceeds federal standards -- which New York City tap water does -- it doesn't require filtering, a process that would remove the copepods. Among other cities that don't filter their water are Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Sklerov said.
He said the copepods "pose no risk to human health. It's not something that's regulated because there's no harmful effects from them."
A representative of NOAA's Fisheries Services explained that copepods are a form of plankton, the minuscule creatures that form the majority of the biomass in the ocean and feed many animals, notably whales.
"There are areas that have blooms of copepods at certain times of year, such as Cape Cod bay in the spring," said NOAA's Teri Frady. "Right whales eat them, and that's why you see right whales near Cape Cod at that time of year."
They're also harmless for humans, though if you're disturbed, simply pass your water through an ordinary, over-the-counter filter.
Many people do have allergies to crustaceans