Mold in libraries is no small matter; just ask the staff of the Carnegie Library in our nation’s capital. In order to protect patrons and employees from potential harm due to mold-related IAQ problems, the Washington, DC building was closed for nearly four months beginning in September of last year while indoor air quality and mold remediation efforts were underway.
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Triggers for workplace explosions fall into two categories: fumes and dust. While fumes can often be detected by smell, dust is much more insidious. Dust particles can hide in workshop and factory nooks and crannies and can ignite with only the smallest of sparks.
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Back in 1903, German coffee merchant, Ludwig Roselius, invented the first commercially effective decaffeination method. The “Roselius Process” blended steamed coffee beans with a brine solution then coated the mix in a natural chemical solvent to extract the caffeine. Though successful, the practice was no longer used once the extraction compound was deemed unsafe.
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While the number of US airports offering designated smoking areas has declined in the past ten years, many still do exist. A study conducted by the Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) found that the average air pollution levels directly outside airport smoking lounges were 23 times higher than in smoke-free airports.
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Walk into most shopping malls and you’ll find a feast for the senses. Soothing music piped in to relax; lighting meant to please. The smells from food court staples like fresh baked cookies and waffle ice cream cones are expected to rouse your appetite while scents drifting from department store cosmetic counters are emitted so as to calm and drive you to buy things. For many people, these efforts prove successful. They browse. They eat and socialize. They shop.
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While the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides permissible exposure limits for various airborne toxic chemicals, companies should consider analyzing the exposure rate for individual employees.
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The September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001 claimed nearly 3,000 lives and wounded more than 6,000 others. The devastation didn’t end there if you add the number of people who will die from asbestos-related disease resulting from the rescue, recovery, and cleanup efforts in New York City in the weeks that followed. Because asbestos was Read More
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Air pollutants may prove hazardous to rubber industry workers. We Americans like our cars. Our country ranked #3 on a list of countries with the highest car ownership per capita – nearly 800 cars per 1,000 people. At four tires (or more) per vehicle, that’s a lot of tires. In fact, market data compiled by Read More
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One of the most common chemicals welding workers are exposed to is lead, which could be controlled using welding fume extraction systems.
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Those who remember the children’s story, The Elves And The Shoemaker, likely envision the protagonist hunched over his cobbler’s bench, surrounded by tools as he stitched together leather pieces and resoled a pair of boots. Nowhere in the picture books were plumes of dust depicted. Neither the shoemaker nor the elves that made and fixed the shoes were shown coughing from toxic fumes or wincing from the sting of dirty air. And yet, back then, it was most certainly the reality of the trade.
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