Environmental

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced that Calvert County resident Glen Wright Smith, has pled guilty to all 10 felony environmental violations filed against him for illegally handling and disposing of highly toxic mercury. Smith, of Owings, Maryland, was the owner/operator of USA Lights, a Beltsville company that recycled fluorescent light bulbs. Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge William Mulford, II scheduled sentencing for February 29.

“The mercury was improperly handled, stored and discarded, posing a serious health threat to the warehouse workers and the environment,” said Attorney General Gansler. “When done right, recycling protects people and property from toxic chemicals, while preserving our natural resources. When done wrong, this office will seek heavy fines and time behind bars in the name of those same people and the enviro ... more »

Safety

Scientists are reporting that the indoor air in offices is an important source of worker exposure to potentially toxic substances released by carpeting, furniture, paint, and other items. Their report, which documents a link between levels of these so-called polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in office air and in the blood of workers, appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Michael McClean and colleagues explain that PFCs, used in water-repellent coatings on carpet and furniture, may have adverse effects on human health. The substances are widespread in the environment and in humans around the world. Scientists know that potential sources of exposure include food, water, indoor air, indoor dust, and direct contact with PFC-containing objects. The link between levels in a ... more »

Environmental Resource Center is an environmental, health, safety, and transportation consulting firm that leads the way in serving industry, academia, and federal and state government agencies. Since 1981, our team of safety and environmental consultants has been helping organizations like yours identify and comply with all applicable environmental, health, safety, security, and transportation regulations from both federal agencies (EPA, DOT, IATA, DHS, and OSHA) as well as your state and local regulators.

To help you meet your environmental objectives, we hold training seminars on hazardous waste management and hazardous materials management throughout the country; we also offer many of our courses as live interactive webcasts; we conduct environmental audits, DOT audits, and safety audits; we provide customized onsite RCRA, DOT, and OSHA training classes; and, via our answerline service, our environmental consultants work with you to ensure you are in compliance with any permitting requirements as well as other environmental and safety regulatory issues.

To contact one of our safety and environmental consultants, for more information about our RCRA, DOT, IATA, and OSHA seminars or webcasts, onsite hazardous waste training and hazardous materials training, HAZWOPER training, and OSHA training classes, or for more information about our environmental audits, DOT audits, and safety audits click here or call 800-537-2372.