Every day, Clark Seif Clark professionals are deployed across the nation helping both large and small customers resolve health & safety, industrial hygiene, environmental and indoor air quality issues.
At a moment's notice, Clark Seif Clark can send their experts anywhere they are needed. No matter if it's in response to a hurricane, wildfire, flood, tornado or other natural disaster, Clark Seif Clark is ready to help and can respond in no time at all.
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Protecting Emergency Responders from Occupational Exposure Risks to Fentanyl and Other Hazardous Substances
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Several months back, WUSF in Tampa published a story about a deputy from the Lake County Sheriff's Office that passed out after exposure to suspected airborne fentanyl. The event occurred during a traffic stop when the car's occupants tried to hide a white powder. Two responding firefighters also became ill as did one of the people in the car that was pulled over.
Due to cases like this that are increasingly putting emergency responders at risk, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently published information specifically aimed at emergency responders. Illicit Drugs, Including Fentanyl - Preventing Occupational Exposure to Emergency Responders is a 13+ minute video that was produced with the police and fire departments from Fredericksburg, Virginia. The video highlights another case where emergency responders encountered fentanyl and had a similar outcome to the emergency responders from Lake County, Florida. It also offers important information about safe work practices to protect against coming into contact with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
"According to the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), fentanyl
is a synthetic opioid that is incredibly potent,"
said Zahid Iqbal, MPH, CIH and Technical Director at Clark Seif Clark (CSC). "In fact, the DEA says it's
80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, and it, along with other synthetic opioids, are now the most common drugs involved in deaths due to drug overdoses in the United States. This means emergency responders could be at risk each time they respond to a call involving an overdose. NIOSH specifically lists those involved with pre-hospital patient care, law enforcement, investigation and evidence handling, and special operations and decontamination as occupations where workers could be at risk of exposure through inhalation, mucous membrane contact, ingestion and percutaneous exposure."
Working to protect emergency responders and others are the industrial hygiene professionals at Clark Seif Clark. Their experts
identify hazards and exposure risks to a wide range of other substances. CSC offers worksite assessments, inspections, air and bulk testing of suspicious substances, and provides training services on work practices, respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE).
CSC also recently sponsored an educational video about fentanyl and potential occupational exposure risks that can be seen here:
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| Fentanyl & Potential Occupational Exposure |
To learn more about this or other occupational, indoor air quality, environmental, health, and safety testing and training services,
please visit
www.csceng.com
, email
csc@csceng.com
or call (800) 807-1118.
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EPA Offers Preventive Maintenance Tool Designed to Help Schools Improve Indoor Air Quality
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During the months of August and September, students and teachers by the millions return to their classrooms. With thousands of school districts, and tens of thousands of educational facilities, what they return to varies dramatically from brand new schools to aging and neglected buildings that are in need of major improvements.
To help ensure an environment with healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) for students and faculty, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced new
Preventive Maintenance Guidance and associated materials as part of the agency's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools suite of documents and resources. The voluntary guide walks school officials through straightforward steps to develop and implement a sustainable indoor air quality preventive maintenance plan to help create healthy, reliable and efficient school buildings.
Making the case for the importance of IAQ preventive maintenance, the EPA states the following: Ensuring the school environment is healthy is essential because the health and comfort of students and staff are among the many factors that contribute to learning and productivity in the classroom, which in turn affect performance and achievement. Children especially are vulnerable to poor environmental conditions, and being exposed to such contaminants early in life can cause health problems well into adulthood. Indoor pollutants in schools include mold, dust, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radon, lead, asbestos, PCBs, pesticides, secondhand smoke and others. Some of these pollutants can cause or exacerbate such health issues as allergies, respiratory illnesses like asthma and infectious diseases like the flu.
"Preventing problems that could otherwise impact the indoor air quality of a school is almost always quicker, easier and far less expensive than dealing with problems after the fact,"
said Franco Seif, President
of Clark Seif Clark (CSC). "Our team of building science and IAQ professionals
have investigated and resolved countless IAQ issues in schools from coast to coast. They are available to help schools create new, or evaluate existing IAQ preventive maintenance programs, conduct audits and environmental testing, and even train staff on things that need to be monitored and maintained to prevent problems. If an IAQ issue already exists, the CSC team can identify the problem, the root cause and develop solutions to resolve it."
CSC has also recently
sponsored an educational video about the EPA's new Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools: Preventive Maintenance Guidance that can be seen here:
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| EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools: Preventive Maintenance Guidance |
To learn more about this or other indoor air quality, building science, environmental, health and safety testing services,
please visit
www.csceng.com
, email
csc@csceng.com
or call (800) 807-1118.
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About Clark Seif Clark: CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both the public and private sectors address environmental issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering making them the preferred environmental consultants to healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.
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