Environmental: December 2009 Archives

In Is Mold Causing Your Indoor Air Quality Problem?, environmental health and safety expert James L. Unmack, PT, CIH, CSP, REA, writes:

We have all seen molds on food or paper products (books, bathroom walls, etc.). These visible manifestations are only indicators of potential problem. The problem is actually not seen by the naked eye. It is the reproductive result of these indicators that is of concern.

Molds and yeasts are grouped under a heading of fungus (plural, fungi). Fungus is a primitive plant form that does not contain chlorophyll. Fungi must have a source of food and water to grow. Where there is sufficient food and water, fungi grow and multiply at an astounding rate. It is this growth rate that is one of two conditions for concern. Many fungi grow by expelling (1) spores or (2) small bits of growth material, into the air for creation of colonies in other areas. If these spores or growth material are created in air handling systems for instance, they can be part of the air we breath and can find their way into our bodies, impacting our immune system. The second condition is the dormant stage of fungi. Long after the water has been removed (remember food and moisture are required for growth), colonies can remain quasi-dormant: that is, spores can become air borne by disturbance such as pulling affected books off a shelf, cleaning carpets with a vacuum, removing wall board from affected areas, etc. When this happens, spores can be released and inhaled into the respiratory system where it is moist and may have food sources.

The battle of the experts in the Illinois River watershed pollution lawsuit resumed Monday, as the state of Oklahoma challenged claims by an expert witness for the defense that the poultry industry is not to blame for any water-quality problems.  John Connolly, an expert in water quality and pollutant migration, testified Monday that the state's evidence he reviewed indicated that no correlation existed between poultry production and the amount of phosphorus in Lake Tenkiller.

David Page, an attorney for the state, cross-examined Connolly, asking him to comment on a series of scientific studies on which the state has relied in its case against the poultry industry. Page asked Connolly why so many investigators focused on so-called "nonpoint" sources of phosphorus pollution — meaning pollution that doesn't come from one point, such as a wastewater-treatment center — when they examined water quality in the Illinois River watershed.

For more, see tulsaworld.com.

Consultants from Bureau Veritas spent parts of late November and early December sampling air pockets, liquids, sludges and solids located in and around Bauer Road and Industrial Boulevard, Wooster, OH, and found that the highest concentration of the stench was coming from EnviroClean Services, 515 Industrial Blvd.

The study found high concentrations of dimethyl sulfide in air quality samples taken both inside and directly outside the facility, and at a rear unloading station. Other samples taken away from the property registered significantly lower levels of the chemical, which became even weaker at greater distances from the facility.

City Law Director Richard Benson said the consultant from Bureau Veritas will be available to testify as an environmental expert witness should the matter come before the courts.  According to the Material Safety Data Sheet on dimethyl sulfide, the effects of overexposure to the chemical can include headache, memory loss, confusion, convulsions, and unconsciousness.

For more, see http://www.the-daily-record.com/

Cory Ledeal King, 52, of Burley, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to three years probation for violating the Safe Drinking Water Act and making false statements, the United States Attorney's Office announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, sitting in Pocatello, also ordered King to serve four month's home detention and to pay a fine in the amount of $5000.

In April 2009, King was convicted by a federal jury sitting in Pocatello. During the three-day trial, the jury heard evidence that in 2005, King, the farm manager and part owner of the Double C Farms/Lambert Produce cattle feedlot and farm facility located 12 miles south of Burley, Idaho, had ordered his workers to inject excess surface fluids from various sources into at least four deep agricultural irrigation wells at the Double C ranch on numerous occasions.  

According to groundwater expert witnesses and sworn testimony provided at trial, these injections of fluids occurred without having the required Underground Injection Control permit from the State of Idaho Department of Water Resources.  In addition, the jury heard evidence that King lied to a State of Idaho Department of Agriculture inspector, who was inspecting the facility.  The jury found King guilty of four counts of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act and one count of making false statements.

Source: Press Release: U.S. Department of Justice.

On Tuesday, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Associate Judge Kevin Ward ruled in favor of dairyman A.J. Bos in building and operating a large-scale dairy operation in Nora, IL.  23 neighbors and green lobbyists formed Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards (HOMES) and took the issue to court two years ago, seeking a permanent injunction against the development of Traditions Dairy. 

Geology expert witness Samuel Panno, a staff member of the Illinois Geological Survey and one of the plaintiff’s expert witnesses, said that there were a more tests that could have been performed to provide a more definitive indicator of the presence of karst. The plaintiffs found that the ground water chemistry evaluation, well monitoring, and dye tracing tests were cost prohibitive.

For more, see www.journalstandard.com.