December 2010

QuanTEM Chronicle

An informative Newsletter for Environmental Professionals
Message from John Barnett, President 
John Barnett, President
John Barnett, President.
 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
 
2010 is coming to an end and it's time to gear up for 2011. This has been an interesting year for business.
 
We are all aware that small business is our countries largest employer; we employee more people than all the "big" business put together. And, unless I'm mistaken, none of us have received any bail out money from the feds.

If you feel the economy is improving, I believe it's because of the small businesses who can't afford to loose money for a year or two. Small business managers have had to find ways to be successful in the bad times just as they do in the good times. I guess you could say that 2010 has been a year of character growth. Sometimes doing the things you don't want to but have to just to keep your business alive.

Now it's time to celebrate, not just because we've survived another year, but because of the love and friendship of our families, friends and co-workers.
 
That is what makes it all worth while.
From all of us to all of you, Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
 

 

Sincerely,

John Barnett
President, QuanTEM Laboratories, LLC

Baltimore Landlord Jailed Over Lead Paint Violations

Retreived December 20, 2010 from The Baltimore Sun 

 By:  Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun

December 17, 2010 

 
A Baltimore landlord has been jailed by a city Circuit Court judge for failing after years of pressure to fix lead-paint poisoning hazards in all of his rental units, state officials said Thursday.

Cephus Murrell, whose address is listed in court records as the 600 block of Laurel Hill Lane in Catonsville, was ordered jailed for contempt of court by Judge W. Michel Pierson until the landlord remedies lead-paint risks in all of his units or relocates the tenants to safe housing at his expense.

The judge acted at a hearing Wednesday in which state officials said the landlord had not fully complied with the judge's previous order to fix all his units or face jail.
 
Murrell, who was ordered to report to jail Thursday morning, did not return phone calls. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.

The jailing, only the second time a landlord has been incarcerated for violating the state's lead paint poisoning law, came after years of enforcement actions by the state, including repeated citations and at least $30,000 in fines, said Horacio A. Tablada, land management director for the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Murrell was first cited by the state around 2004 for failing to reduce lead poisoning risks in nearly 70 rental units owned by him or by a corporation he controlled, Tablada said. He agreed to fix them up under a consent order, but the state eventually went to court after he failed to do everything required, the state official said. 

The landlord and a consulting business in his name paid a $20,000 fine in 2007 and agreed to bring 52 properties into compliance with the state lead paint law, the state agency reported at the time.

 

Murrell paid another $10,000 penalty that year after state inspectors found workers supposedly fixing one of his units failing to take required precautions to protect tenants and themselves from lead dust.

Last year, the state petitioned the court to hold Murrell in contempt for not complying with the latest consent decree requiring him to fix his units. Pierson found him in contempt in June, ordered him to relocate tenants in eight untreated units and to pay the state $100,000.

 

After more hearings, the judge in October ordered Murrell jailed, but stayed the order if Murrell finished fixing the units and allowed tenants to live rent-free until January, or relocate them. 

READ MORE.

In This Issue
Baltimore Landlord Jailed Over Lead Paint Violations
Norman, OK Water's Level of Chromium-6 is 200 Times California's Proposed Limit
Jury Finds Asbestos Air Monitoring Company and Employees Guilty of Clean Air Act and Fraud Violation
Lead Hazards in Some Holiday Toys
Barbara's CORNER: QuanTEM's Holiday Hours

Editors Note

Business Development Director,
QuanTEM Laboratories

We would like to take a short moment to give thanks to all of you, whom throughout the years have supported us.

We realize that you have many choices in what environmental labs you chose and we are humbled that you continue to support us. 
If there is ever anything that we can do to help you, please let us know.  We wish you all a great holiday season.  Let's end 2010 with a BANG!

Thanks,
Scott Leavell,
Business Development Director
QuanTEM Laboratories, LLC
(800) 822-1650 or email me HERE.
 



 

 


  


Norman Water's Level of Chromium-6 is 200 Times California's Proposed Limit
Norman water topped a list of 35 cities tested for a potentially toxic chemical. There are no state or federal regulations to limit chromimum-6 in water.

By:  James S. Tyree

Published December 20, 2010

Retreived from newsok.com on December 21, 2010

 

NORMAN - The level of chromium-6 in Norman's drinking water exceeds California's proposed limit for the chemical more than 200 times over, according to a national environmental study released today.

The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group says hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6, in drinking water has been shown in lab tests to increase the risk of cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency has yet to draw the same conclusion, although its website states that chronic exposure to inhaled chromium-6 can lead to cancer.

Some may recall chromium-6 as the chemical discussed in the biographical movie "Erin Brockovich."

The Environmental Working Group commissioned a study to test water from 35 cities for chromium-6. Norman's result of 12.9 parts per billion far exceeded runner-up Honolulu, which had two parts per billion, and the study's average city of 0.18 parts per billion.

California is proposing a limit of 0.06 for its cities' water supplies.

"They were not surprised that Norman had a high amount, but maybe a little surprised by how high," said Rebecca Sutton, an environmental chemist who worked on the study, citing Norman's high amount of arsenic in some wells a few years ago.

Chromium-6 differs from chromium-3, or trivalent chromium, which the EPA says is an essential nutrient

The EPA mandates a maximum level of total chromium at 100 parts per billion, or 0.1 milligrams per liter, but the federal agency has set no limit specifically for chromium-6. California could become the first state to set an additional standard for chromium-6.  READ MORE.

Jury Finds Asbestos Air Monitoring Company and Employees Guilty of Clean Air Act and Fraud Violations
Asbestos Air Monitor Conspired With Asbestos Removal Companies to Falsify Lab Results, Hiding Incomplete Asbestos Removal in Homes, Schools and Other Buildings

Retreived online December 22, 2010 from The United States Department of Justice 

 

WASHINGTON - A federal jury in Utica, N.Y. has found Certified Environmental Services Inc. (CES); two of its managers, Nicole Copeland and Elisa Dunn; and one of its employees, Sandy Allen, guilty of conspiring to aid and abet Clean Air Act violations, commit mail fraud, and defraud the United States, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

 

The defendants were also convicted of substantive Clean Air Act violations and mail fraud counts. CES and Elisa Dunn were also convicted of making false statements to federal law enforcement.

As alleged in the indictment, CES (an asbestos air monitoring company and accredited laboratory), and several of its senior employees, together with Aapex Environmental and Paragon Environmental (asbestos removal companies, having already pled guilty) conspired over the course of nearly a decade to falsify lab results used to prove that asbestos removal was done properly.

 

In numerous instances, asbestos removal companies represented that homes, schools and other buildings were free of asbestos contamination when asbestos debris remained behind.

 

Owners of local homes and buildings were unaware that asbestos had been left behind from sloppy abatement work because air quality reports were falsified by CES and its supervisors and employees. Due to the false lab reports, people that lived or worked in these buildings were exposed to asbestos, putting them at risk of developing cancer or other asbestos-related diseases. EPA investigators have notified affected building owners of the asbestos problem so proper clean up can be conducted.

 READ MORE.

Lead Hazards in Some Holiday Toys

Parents should be aware of potential lead hazards associated with some holiday toys and toy jewelry. Review these important facts to keep your loved ones safe this holiday season.

Retrieved December 21, 2010 from cdc.gov 
 
Lead in Toys
Toys that have been made in other countries and then imported into the United States, or antique toys or collectibles passed down through generations; often contain lead that puts children at risk for such exposure. To reduce these risks, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issues recalls of toys that could potentially expose children to lead. Learn more about preventing lead exposure.

Lead may be used in two aspects of toy manufacturing.

  • Paint: Lead may be in the paint on toys. It was banned in house paint, on products marketed to children, and in dishes and cookware in the United States in 1978. However, lead is still widely used in other countries and therefore can be found on imported toys. Lead may also be found on toys made in the United States before the ban.
  • Plastic: While regulated, the use of lead in plastics has not been banned in the United States. It softens and stabilizes the plastic; however, when the plastic is exposed to substances such as sunlight, air, and detergents, the plastic breaks down and may form a lead dust.
  • 
    How can I test a toy for lead?

Only a certified laboratory can accurately test a toy for lead. Although do-it-yourself kits are available, they do not indicate how much lead is present, and their reliability at detecting low levels of lead has not been determined

 READ MORE.

Barbara's CORNER
Barbara Holder, Customer Service Manager
Barbara Holder, Customer Relations Manager

QuanTEM Holiday Hours


December 24, CLOSED
December 25th, CLOSED
December 31st, CLOSED
January 1st, CLOSED 

Barbara Holder has been with QuanTEM since October 2004 as our Customer Relations Manager. Barbara plays an active supervisory role with all customer interactions with QuanTEM.

 
QuanTEM Chronicle Newsletter
Produced & Edited by
Scott Leavell, Business Development Director 
Suggestions or comments?  Email me here.
Disclaimer

Any publication included in this News Letter and/or opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect the views of QuanTEM Laboratories, LLC but remain solely those of the author(s). Such publications have been included only for ease of reference and academic purposes.
 
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(405) 755-2058 facimile
 
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