Oregon Contractor on trial over asbestos-related charges

SWEET HOME, OR — The owner of Western States Land Reliance Trust will see his asbestos case continue into 2010 after a judge decided to reconvene the hearings January 11, 2010, according to Business & Finance News.

Dan Desler and his company have been charged with crimes related to asbestos air pollution that resulted in fines of $192,343 by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the story stated.

According to the story, Desler was arrested in April on multiple felony air pollution charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of asbestos-related material.

Desler, who faces seven counts of first-degree air pollution, must also answer to three counts of second-degree air pollution, supplying false information and reckless endangerment, the story noted.

Desler, who claims innocence, was performing work on a site, but stopped work in 2007 after the 153-acre property was found to contain asbestos, the story added.

According to the article, Desler immediately stopped work once the asbestos was discovered, but left 4 million pounds of asbestos-tainted debris, which was later cleaned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at an approximate cost of $1.1 million, uncovered on the site.

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Washington Transit Authority set to spend $7.5 million cleaning transit stations

WASHINGTON — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority plans to spend $7.5 million to clean roughly half its stations between January 2010 and June 2011, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Most of the deep cleaning will be performed at night after services are suspended; it will take 20-90 days to completely clean each station, the story stated.

According to the story, the 42-station project will be divided into two stages, with the first round of cleaning slated to occur from January to June 2010.

Paul Gillum, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's director of plant maintenance, said: "Because of the work involved, all station cleaning activities occur in the middle of the night when the system closes and this allows us to conduct a full press on that station. Our dedicated employees take tremendous pride in restoring our train stations to like-new conditions and the work involved is meticulous because of what needs to be done."

The plans include pressure washing and painting ceilings and walls, refinishing station platforms and performing various other cleaning and maintenance tasks, the story noted.

Since the implementation of a station enhancement program in April 1991, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has deep cleaned each of its stations every four years, the story added.

To view the complete list of stations to be cleaned, click here.

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Court in Pnnsylvania says no to protecting janitors' jobs

PITTSBURGH — In a 6-1 decision written by Justice Jane Cutler Greenspan, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a Pittsburgh ordinance designed to protect janitors from losing their jobs in downtown office buildings violates Home Rule law, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Since the Pittsburgh City Council enacted an ordinace in 2004, building owners of facilities with more than 100,000 square feet of floor space, if switching security, janitorial, maintenance, stationary engineering or window washing contractors, must have the new firm hire the old firm's workers.

According to the story, if there are too many workers, some can be let go in order of seniority or fired for just cause; otherwise, they can't be fired or laid off for 180 days.

Several building managers challenged the law in the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court and the Commonwealth Court, claiming that it violated their right to contract, the story stated.

Although Pennsylvania state law prohibits municipalities from placing requirements on businesses, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review the case, the story noted.

Justice Jane Cutler Greenspan said: "By requiring employers to retain certain employees for approximately half a year, the ordinance exemplifies the very essence of the invasive regulations that Home Rule is designed to prevent and, indeed, strictly prohibits."

With the passing of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decission, janitors working in downtown Pittsburgh office buildings have few protections from losing their jobs if service providers are changed, the story added.

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Hamilton College receives LEED certification at the Gold level

CLINTON, NY — Hamilton College was recently awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Gold level for its renovation of the 40-year-old Kirner-Johnson building, according to the Oneida Daily Dispatch.

It is Hamilton College's policy to build all new structures to LEED standards, regardless of whether or not the college decides to seek actual certification, a timely and costly process, the story stated.

Hamilton College has purchased renewable energy certificates for this coming fiscal year that include 100 percent renewable energy to be used in the Kirner-Johnson building, the story noted.

According to the story, by purchasing "green" power, Hamilton College is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Green Power Partnership.

Economics Professor Paul Hagstrom said: "As the users of Kirner-Johnson, we appreciate that, along with the function and aesthetics of the space, the college was dedicated to incorporating sustainable design."

Thanks to environmentally preferable upgrades, the Kirner-Johnson building will operate with a 25-28 percent reduction in energy usage, the story added.

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The EPA fines the University of Florida $175,000

GAINESVILLE, FL — The University of Florida has agreed to pay a $175,000 fine to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for alleged environmental violations that include illegally disposing of hundreds of gallons of a toxic chemical on campus for nearly two decades, according to the Gainesville Sun.

Tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, which the University of Florida has ceased using, is a solvent used to clean lawn mowers and weed eaters, the story stated.

According to the story, although concentrations of the chemical 25 times above the level allowed by the EPA were found in the surrounding soil and groundwater, EPA officials say the level of contamination is low and the risk of human exposure is minimal.

During an unannounced EPA inspection in March 2008, inspectors found that University of Florida employees were spraying lawn equipment with a degreasing agent that was allowed to dry and then washed off with a hose, releasing some potentially harmful contaminants into the local environment, the story noted.

Bill Properzio, director of the University of Florida's Environmental Health and Safety Department, said: "I guess the assumption had been made that if you followed the manufacturer's instructions, you were OK."

According to the article, the University of Florida used between 275 and 412.5 gallons of the chemical over an 18-year period dating back to 1990.

Since the inspection, the University of Florida has spent roughly $67,000 determining the level of contamination, and once testing is complete and a cleanup plan is in place, the university will be required to pay for its implementation, the story added.

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Contractor in Guam can no longer clean restrooms for free

HAGATNA, Guam — Public restrooms in parks around the island of Guam will go uncleaned if the government does not settle its outstanding debt, according to KTGM-TV.

Advanced Management Inc., the company contracted to provide cleaning services in park restrooms on the island, allegedly has not been paid in months and owner Monte Mcdowell can no longer afford to clean the 16 restrooms for free, the story stated.

According to the story, Mcdowell claims he has not been paid since July and that his company is owed $132,000 for services rendered.

The Guam Department of Administration says the only invoices pending in their system total $3,645, the story noted.

Mcdowell, who says if he gets paid in the next couple of days he will continue to honor his contract, notes that Advanced Management Inc. cannot afford to pay its employees without getting paid by the government for the work they've performed, the story added.

According to the article, Mcdowell has yet to bill the Guam Department of Parks and Recreation for the month of December, which he claims will add another $30,000 to the outstanding total.

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Study: Bacteria becoming immune to disinfectants

GALWAY, Ireland — A new study by the National University of Ireland at Galway that was published in the journal Microbiology suggests that certain bacteria have adapted to survive not only common antibiotics, but also the disinfectants used to clean surfaces, according to LiveScience.

According to the story, researchers, who focused on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium responsible for a range of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), found that the bacteria — when exposed to disinfectants — were able to efficiently pump out antimicrobial agents, causing a genetic mutation that allowed them to resist various antibiotics, specifically ciprofloxacin.

Though more research is needed, the new study suggests disinfectants may be part of the problem of resistant bacteria, the story stated.

Dr. Gerard Fleming of the National University of Ireland in Galway and lead researcher said: "In principle, this means that residue from incorrectly diluted disinfectants left on hospital surfaces could promote the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What is more worrying is that bacteria seem to be able to adapt to resist antibiotics without even being exposed to them. We need to investigate the effects of using more than one type of disinfectant on promoting antibiotic-resistant strains. This will increase the effectiveness of both our first and second lines of defense against HAIs."

Studying the environmental factors that might promote resistant bacteria is very important as superbugs like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have become a deadly and growing problem in hospitals in recent years, the story noted.

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