Vermont pondering bill to regulate toxic chemicals

The bill would allow regulated use of
some chemicals that are harmful to health.

Federal regulations for reporting toxic chemicals in consumer products have not changed in decades, but Vermont is poised to join other states to label – and possibly ban – products containing chemicals considered harmful to public health.

Vermont has passed legislation to regulate the use of certain chemicals one at a time, including flame retardants, Bisphenol A (BPA), mercury and lead. But a new proposal would allow the Vermont Department of Health to expand this list every other year without legislative approval.

The bill, S.239, asks the department to create a list of potentially harmful chemicals and require manufacturers to label or remove toxic chemicals from their products – a proposal that has alarmed businesses across the country.

“Ultimately, we think industry should welcome some degree of regulation and transparency to provide the public better products and safer products,” Health Commissioner Harry Chen said in testimony last week before the Senate Economic Development Committee.

But some manufacturers say the list of toxic chemicals could be bad for business in Vermont. Some companies spend millions each year to report chemicals in their products in states with similar existing regulations, industry representatives told lawmakers drafting the bill.

The bill cleared the Senate Health and Welfare Committee (where it was introduced by Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden) and was then taken up by Senate Economic Development to address business concerns.

“I’m trying to bring the tension level down and let everybody know we’re not on a witch hunt,” committee Chair Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, said last week. “We’re just trying to protect people from bad chemicals.”

The committee later revised the bill to exempt electronic products and any chemicals found in ammunition for air rifles, such as lead. The bill was voted out of committee Friday and the full Senate will vote on the bill as soon as Wednesday.

Environmental groups support the bill. It would protect consumers against the harmful effects of toxic chemicals, according to Lauren Hierl, political director for the Vermont Conservation Voters.

Asthma, obesity, infertility and cancers are some of the health effects of chemicals found in products sold in Vermont, she said. “They are just exacerbating these bad health trends,” she said. Hierl said she does not expect Vermont to ban chemicals that do not have a replacement.

Under Vermont’s proposed system, the health department and an advisory committee would compile a list of chemicals considered harmful to health, require manufacturers to disclose to the state these chemicals found in their products and mandate that the chemicals be either labeled or not sold in the state.

Source: VT Digger. The article has been edited for length.

Concerned about toxic chemicals in your working environment? Electrocorp offers industrial and commercial air purification systems that remove VOCs, fumes, odors, particles, dust, bacteria, viruses, mold and more. Contact Electrocorp for more information. 

Researchers develop new early warning system for toxins

Turkeys inspire smartphone-capable sensor for airborne chemicals

Turkey skin can shift color.
Photo courtesy of Tom Curtis/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Some may think of turkeys as good for just lunch meat and holiday meals. But bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, saw inspiration in the big birds for a new type of biosensor that changes color when exposed to chemical vapors.

This feature makes the sensors valuable detectors of toxins or airborne pathogens.

Turkey skin, it turns out, can shift from red to blue to white, thanks to bundles of collagen that are interspersed with a dense array of blood vessels. It is this color-shifting characteristic that gives turkeys the name "seven-faced birds" in Korean and Japanese.

The researchers say that spacing between the collagen fibers changes when the blood vessels swell or contract, depending upon whether the bird is excited or angry.

The amount of swelling changes the way light waves are scattered and, in turn, alters the colors we see on the bird's head.

Seung-Wuk Lee, UC Berkeley associate professor of bioengineering, led a research team in mimicking this color-changing ability to create biosensors that can detect volatile chemicals.

"In our lab, we study how light is generated and changes in nature, and then we use what we learn to engineer novel devices," said Lee, who is also a faculty scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The researchers created a mobile app, called the iColour Analyser, to show that a smartphone photo of the sensor's color bands could be used to help identify toxins of interest. They described their experiments in a study to be published Tuesday, Jan. 21, in the journal Nature Communications.

Sensors that give off color readings are easier to use and read than conventional biosensors.

However, the major ones in development elsewhere can only detect a limited range of chemicals and, according to the researchers, they can be very difficult to manufacture.

"Our system is convenient, and it is cheap to make," said Lee. "We also showed that this technology can be adapted so that smartphones can help analyze the color fingerprint of the target chemical. In the future, we could potentially use this same technology to create a breath test to detect cancer and other diseases."
         
In copying this turkey-skin design, Lee and his team employed a technique they pioneered to mimic nanostructures like collagen fibers. The researchers found a way to get M13 bacteriophages, benign viruses with a shape that closely resembles collagen fibers, to self-assemble into patterns that could be easily fine-tuned.

The researchers found that, like collagen fibers, these phage-bundled nanostructures expanded and contracted, resulting in color changes. The exact mechanism behind the shrinking or expanding phage bundles is still unclear, but it's possible that the small amount of water in the phage is reacting to the chemical vapors, the researchers said.

The turkey-inspired biosensors were exposed to a range of volatile organic compounds, including hexane, isopropyl alcohol and methanol, as well as vapor of the explosive chemical TNT, at concentrations of 300 parts per billion. The researchers found that the viruses swelled rapidly, resulting in specific color patterns that served as "fingerprints" to distinguish the different chemicals tested.

The researchers showed that the biosensor's specificity to a target chemical could be increased by genetically engineering the DNA in the M13 bacteriophage to bind with sites specific to TNT.

The biosensor was then exposed to two additional chemicals, DNT and MNT, which have similar molecular structures to TNT. The engineered biosensor successfully distinguished TNT from the other chemicals with distinct color bands.

The biosensors were also able to signal changes in relative humidity, ranging from 20 percent to 90 percent, becoming redder with moister air and bluer with drier air.

The study lead author is Jin-Woo Oh, a former postdoctoral researcher in Lee's lab and now an assistant professor in the Department of Nanomaterial Engineering at Pusan National University in South Korea.

The National Science Foundation, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and Agency for Defense Development in South Korea, Korea's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and Samsung helped support this work.

Source: University of California, Berkeley via EurekAlert! 

Interested in air quality issues and solutions? Electrocorp offers a wide range of commercial and industrial air purifiers with activated carbon and HEPA to remove airborne toxins quickly and efficiently. Contact Electrocorp for more information and a free consultation.

Manufacturers ignore welders’ health: Experts

Welding is linked to various health risks.

A single welder produces 20 to 40 g of welding fumes per hour, which corresponds to about 35 to 70 kg per year.

Most welders understand the many health risks of working in the fabrication industry, which include electric shocks, fire, explosions and radiation exposure, but it appears that one of the biggest threats to a welder’s health - toxic welding fumes - is being ignored by many welders and their employers.

Research shows a lack of familiarity with the gases used or fumes produced during the welding processes can be a serious health risk. Workers can become ill if dangerous fumes are not removed from the workplace.

OHS groups say it is essential welders are familiar with the materials being used (such as gases, base metals, coatings and cleaners) and their possible health impact.

Research reveals fumes produced during welding processes can lead to workers experiencing eye, skin and respiratory system irritation, nausea, headaches and dizziness.

In some cases, the fumes can cause serious lung diseases and increase the risk of asthma and cancer and possibly lead to asphyxiation.

However, despite all these warnings, many manufacturers are unaware of the need for adequate fume extraction to create a safe working place.

An open roller door and a fan on the roof or in the wall may be able to affect the air changes per hour or minute, but welders are still exposed to the fumes. The area needs to be well ventilated to let toxic fumes and gases escape.

Central ventilation systems and even large extraction hoods over workbenches often fail to provide adequate protection, since the fumes still contaminate the general airflow.

Experts say that extraction-at-source is most effective – removing toxins as soon as the fumes are generated.

Fume extraction air cleaners are the most
effective when it comes to welding fumes.

Fumes from different welding methods

It has been shown that different welding methods give rise to different amounts of fumes containing different concentrations of hazardous substances.

Among the high-risk elements are hexavalent chromium Cr(VI), manganese, nickel and lead.

The particles at source are often extremely small; 0.01-0.1µm which means they are very easy to inhale deep into the lungs.

Furthermore, not only welders are at risk in unsafe environments. Production equipment, as well as end products, are negatively affected by the lack of adequate safety measures.

During welding, the intense heat of the electric arc vaporises a fraction of the metal in the electrode and weld pool.

Any metal vapour that escapes the arc area condenses as it cools and oxidises into weld fume. The vapour that develops condenses as it cools and oxidises into weld fume containing a complex mixture of metal oxides.

Particulate fume is formed mainly by vaporisation of metal and flux. As it cools, the vapour condenses and reacts with the atmospheric oxygen to form fine particles.

The size of the particles (0.01 - 1µm) tends to influence the toxicity of the fumes, with smaller particles presenting a greater danger.

Additionally, many processes produce various gases (most commonly carbon dioxide and ozone, but others as well) that can prove dangerous if ventilation is inadequate.

About 90% of the fume originates from the consumable, while the base metal only contributes very little.

The fume contains all the elements present in the consumable, but often in very different proportions. Volatile components have a higher concentration in the fume than in the consumable and the opposite is true for components with a high melting point.

The amount of welding fume varies between different welding processes: Fumes from manual metal arc (MMA) welding and fluxcored arc welding (FCAW) contain a high proportion of components coming from the electrode coating or the flux core. Comparatively little comes from the filler metal.

It has also been shown that particles in welding fumes are small enough to be suspended in the air for a long time. They can be inhaled and penetrate into the innermost area of the lungs. Over time, the particles can even reach the bloodstream.

Editor's note: This article has been edited for length.

Source: Manufacturers' Monthly

Remove toxins at the source with fume extractors

Electrocorp's LD450
welding fume extractor

Welding is dangerous enough, but the risk of inhaling harmful particles and fumes can be minimized by using an industrial welding fume extraction air cleaner from Electrocorp.

The air cleaning systems feature 40+ pounds of activated carbon for the removal of chemicals and volatile compounds, HEPA and pre-filters to trap airborne particles, a direct intake hood on an articulating arm to capture toxins at the source and a spark arrestor for welding applications.

Custom carbon blends are available for targeted chemical control.

For more information, contact Electrocorp.

Airborne workplace hazards may be deadly: Experts

Trades workers, technicians and machine operators
can be exposed to toxic chemicals, dusts and more.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Many workplace hazards are hard to miss – there are those that may cause injury or death and others that can affect a person’s mindset – but those that are not easily recognizable, including invisible fumes, dust and inhalable toxins, may be the most dangerous workplace hazards, experts warn.

These types of toxins have been linked to a wide range of health effects, including

• Asthma
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Asbestosis
• Cancers, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer

The problem with these inhalable hazards is that health effects may take a long time to appear, up to a few decades in some cases, while other exposures may cause immediate health problems.

In Australia, experts say that approximately 39% of workers are regularly exposed to airborne hazards in the workplace. Exposure to fumes, gases and particulates was especially likely for technicians, trades workers and machine operators.

Many of the workers surveyed said they did not receive any safety measures or equipment, while another large portion said they received inadequate controls.

Employers responsible for supplying a safe working environment

Experts recommend the following:

1. Regular monitoring of the workplace air quality and identifying hazards
2. Putting controls into place
3. Capturing dust at the source rather than letting it escape
4. Make sure there are fresh air exchanges and filtering air, if needed

Fume arms, dust collectors and air scrubbers can all help remove contaminants and reduce workers’ exposure to toxins.

Companies that fail to protect workers may have to face substantial fines.

What is your working environment like? Do your employers ensure good air quality? Let us know!


Source: Safe to Work

Air cleaners for chemicals, dust and other toxins

The AirRhino air cleaner can go
from particle to chemical filtration
on site.

Providing cleaner and healthier air can be as easy as using one of Electrocorp’s air cleaners for commercial and industrial applications.

Electrocorp air scrubbers combat workplace hazards such as fumes, gases, chemicals, odors, dust, particulates and more with proven activated carbon and HEPA filters.

The air cleaners come in different sizes and airflow configurations, with custom carbon blends, long-lasting deep-bed filters as well as many additional features to provide the best solution to virtually any IAQ concern.

Contact Electrocorp for more information and recommendations based on your workplace contaminants.

Follow this blog to show your support for a greener and healthier working environment.

From green buildings to toxin-free buildings: Homes of the future?

Popular green options were not always the least toxic
or "healthy" materials, a couple's research showed.

When a Minneapolis couple decided to replace their mold-riddled, 1950s-era home, they wanted to use the least toxic materials available.

Since the wife had just undergone treatment for ovarian cancer, the couple wanted to reduce their exposure to chemicals and toxins linked to cancer to help prevent occurrences.

Their quest was not an easy one, since there exists no official standard for building a “healthy” home, and the couple had to do their own research into materials, studies and marketing claims to get what they wanted.

The inside of their luxuriously large house now features curved stone and wood walls, high ceilings, glass-and-steel floating stairs and copper accents.

The couple's non-toxic options include:

• Cast-iron pipes instead of PVC piping
• Water purification system
• Air purification system
• American Clay plaster on inside walls that resists mold
• Wood floors with toxin-free, water-based finishes
• A green roof for insulation and better indoor air quality
• Recycled-glass counter tops

It is still a fact that non-toxic and green homes often cost a bit more, but a growing public awareness about chemical exposures and potentially harmful materials may help make them become more available to the general public.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Air cleaners for better indoor air quality

Whether it’s during construction or after completion, the indoor air in most buildings tends to be polluted in some way, exposing people to airborne chemicals, odors, dust, particles, biological contaminants and mold.

Electrocorp has developed portable and extremely powerful air cleaners for a wide range of commercial and industrial applications as well as for residential use.

The air cleaners purify the air with a multistage filtration system containing deep beds of activated carbon for chemicals, odors and gases, HEPA for particles and dust, pre-filters for larger pollutants and optional UV germicidal filtration for the neutralization of molds, bacteria and viruses.

Contact Electrocorp for more information or recommendations.
 

Hundreds of lab accidents involve dangerous toxins

Workplace accidents in laboratories can be a public health risk.

In many laboratories, a workplace spilling accident can mean the release of harmful viruses or toxins into the environment.

In the United States, labs need special approval from the government to handle these toxins, which can pose a severe threat to humans, animals or plant health, and they need to have the appropriate equipment to handle them.

Despite these restrictions, there were 395 “potential release events” of “select agents” in U.S. labs between 2003 and 2009 reported to the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), according to a Scientific American blog.

Those workplace accidents involved loss of containment, spills, accidental needle sticks or sharps injuries, but many are not officially reported, the writer says.

While the U.S. plans to build a new Medical Countermeasures Test and Evaluation facility, the full range of potential exposures for the scientists and residents in the area need to be considered first, experts warn.

Source: Scientific American blog

Lab hoods and industrial-strength air cleaners for additional protection

Electrocorp has designed a range of air cleaners for laboratories, which can remove a wide range of contaminants, including chemicals, pathogens, particles and more.

Along with other preventive health and safety measures, a portable air treatment system with activated carbon, HEPA and UV germicidal filtration will help keep the air clean.

Contact Electrocorp for more information: 1-866-667-0297.

Hospitals: If it’s dusty and dirty, what’s in the air?

A clean environment is important in hospitals and clinics.

An unannounced inspection at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the UK found four out of nine wards had unacceptably high levels of dust and dirt, especially on curtain rails, overhead lights and cable trunking.

The inspectors also found dirty toilets, dusty floors and badly stained walls, according to an article by UKPA.

These surprise inspections are an effective method to remind hospital staff and healthcare personnel about the importance of keeping a clean and healthy patient environment.

After all, if the floor is dusty, what kind of pollutants may be in the air?

Previous air quality studies in hospitals have found that hospital staff and patients are breathing high levels of PCBs, bacteria, viruses, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particles, mold and many chemicals used in cleaning products, sterilizing and preservation fluids and other procedures.

Remove indoor air pollutants with industrial-strength air cleaners

Electrocorp is a global innovator when it comes to making portable, versatile air cleaners for a variety of applications, including hospitals and healthcare centers and laboratories.

The high-performance industrial air cleaners are engineered to treat complex indoor air quality concerns and feature an activated carbon + HEPA filtration system to remove the widest range of indoor air pollutants.

RAP Series: Powerful air cleaners.

Options include UV germicidal filtration for the neutralization of bacteria, viruses and mold mycotoxins and custom carbon blends for the targeted adsorption of certain chemicals, gases and odors.

Apart from the stand-alone air cleaners, Electrocorp also offers HVAC-compatible units and ceiling mount air cleaners.

Contact Electrocorp for more information and recommendations based on your needs and requirements, space size and budget.
  
Related posts:

• Hospital workers and patients breathing poisoned air
• Indoor air concerns in the healthcare industry
• Pediatricians want tougher chemical safety law

Wildfires and air quality concerns

Wildfires can lead to poor air quality
and affect people in nearby regions.

Out-of-control wildfires driven by strong winds are destroying hundreds of homes in Central Texas.

Firefighters have been battling the blazes non-stop since the beginning of the week.

The scope of the damage may only become apparent over the next couple of days, but experts warn that there can be immediate and long-term health effects linked to wildfire smoke exposure.

Wildfire smoke poses a very serious health risk as 80 to 90% of wildfire smoke is within the fine particle range. These fine particles are generally less than 2.5 microns in diameter and can penetrate deep into the body. 

An increase in this type of airborne particulate matter has been linked to numerous health problems including headaches, nausea, dizziness, respiratory problems, strokes and heart attacks.

Homeowners and facility managers in nearby regions should also take precautions. Smoke can travel far beyond the main burn zone and studies show that even a small increase in airborne fine particulate matter can affect overall health.

In fact, wildfire smoke can stay suspended for a long time, they can travel far and wide and may easily enter buildings.

In an EPA-led study, ERs saw a 66 percent increase in people complaining about heart and lung conditions such as asthma, heart failure, heart attacks and others while the wildfires were burning and for several days afterwards.

Related posts:

• Wildfires lead to busier ERs
• First wildfires, then flash floods? New Mexico officials worried
• Environmental fallout from wildfires and IAQ concerns

Contact Electrocorp for more information and indoor air treatment solutions.
  

Facility management and chemical toxins

Toxic compounds lurk in older and newer
buildings and may affect people's health.

People are spending so much time indoors – either at work or at home – that they have become more and more concerned about the substances and chemicals that may affect their health and well-being.

Big office complexes and small commercial spaces alike harbor a huge number of chemical toxins that can be inhaled or ingested. 

Many of these indoor air chemicals have been linked to serious health conditions such as cancer, respiratory diseases, birth defects and chronic illnesses.

Whether you talk about Sick Building Syndrome or the dangers of poor indoor air quality, one factor remains the same – in order to protect workers and occupants of commercial and institutional buildings, facility managers must know about the dangers and face them head on.

Here are some tips for facility managers:
  

• Make IAQ a priority in facility management: Poor IAQ does not only affect the health and well-being of workers, it can also affect productivity, absenteeism rates and morale
    
• Educate yourself and other about the harmful effects of indoor air pollutants:
  - VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
  - Green building constructions and renovations and safe materials
  - Chemical products (such as harsh cleaning agents) and how to replace them with safer alternatives
    
• Know the history of the building and the materials that were used: Materials that went into walls, insulation, ductwork and mechanical systems for decades might have contained chemical compounds that are now considered dangerous. As a result, many chemicals are in the DNA of buildings
    
• Regularly check the ventilation system. In many older buildings, the ventilation system may not be enough to provide fresh air to occupants. Rather than undertaking costly renovations, an industrial air cleaner for offices and facility management provides a highly effective and versatile air cleaning solution

RAP air cleaner
from Electrocorp

Electrocorp offers portable as well as HVAC-compatible air cleaners for commercial and industrial applications, which remove a wide range of indoor air contaminants, including chemicals, odors, gases, fumes, particles, bacteria, viruses and mold mycotoxins and mold spores.

The units feature the most relevant filtration media, the largest adsorbent surface areas and the most customizable options in the industry.

The multistage filtration system in Electrocorp air cleaners contains

• Granular activated carbon
• HEPA
• UV germicidal filtration (optional)
• Pre-filters

Contact Electrocorp for more information: 1-866-667-0297.