Future Environment Designs Training Center specializes in asbestos, indoor air quality, industrial hygiene, and occupational safety training programs. We offer New York State asbestos and mold certification courses. We design, develop, and maintain the various indoor air quality, asbestos, and safety programs that are Keeping Your Employees Safe.
Future Environment Designs is proud to announce the development of several new e-learning and virtual training courses. The first virtual training course is this Friday, May 1, 2020, at 10 AM. We will be providing training on SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) the virus that causes Covid-19. This training course will include three modules covering Covid-19 awareness, Covid-19 Pandemic Response Plan, and Cleaning, Disinfecting, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for SARS-CoV-2. Click here to register for this course. If you can't make the virtual learning course, we also created an e-learning Covid-19 course which also includes the three modules. Click here to register for the e-learning course. We created both courses to cover the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) training requirements for workers that have the potential to be exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus)
We also created a four-hour e-learning course for bloodborne pathogens to meet the requirements of the OSHA bloodborne pathogen standard and NYS's Nassau County training requirement for the Environmental Hazard Remediation Contractors License. See our blog post for more on the Nassau County requirements. In addition, we created a Respirator Hierarchy course to try and clarify some of the confusion out there regarding respirators. You can register to take either of these e-learning courses or any of the other courses we created at https://futureenvironmentdesigns.com/online-courses.html. Also, remember if you take a number of training courses with Future Environment Designs the best value and price would be to sign-up for a training subscription at our patron page https://www.patreon.com/fedtc.
Interesting research from Arizona State University found that the bacteriaLegionella, commonly found in fresh water, was able to survive in certain automobile windshield washer fluids and can grow in washer fluid reservoirs. This could potentially lead to people being exposed to the bacteria and maybe developing Legionnaire's disease or Pontiac Fever.
The Arizona State University research was conducted by Otto Schwake, an Arizona State University student pursuing a doctoral degree in Microbiology under the supervision of Morteza Abbaszadegan, a professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment. Although windshield washer fluid was not normally associated with spreading disease, this research was begun after a series of epidemiological studies found motor vehicle use to be associated with increased risk for Legionnaires' disease. One such study attributed nearly 20% of Legionnaires' disease cases in the United Kingdom not associated with hospitals or outbreaks to automobile windshield washer fluid.
Based on a recent webinar held by EMLab P&K featuring the Dr. Harriet Burge, Legionella is a gram negative bacterium that is a widely distributed natural inhabitants of water and is common in many environments. It is heat loving and will proliferate in temperatures between 20 degrees Celsius to 45 degrees Celsius. Growth is promoted by other micro organisms. Legionella is the causative agent of Legionellosis (Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever). The first recognized outbreak of Legionnaires disease occurred in Philadelphia in 1976. As many as 221 people were treated and 34 deaths occurred. The source was identified as the Legionella bacterium and found in the cooling tower of the hotel's air conditioning system. Over 90% of legionelloses are caused by Legionella pneumophila.
English: A silver stain of Legionella pneumophila , the bacteria that causes Legionellosis. Although I got this image from a commercial website it is clearly labeled as from the CDC. This website routinely uses images from Wikipedia, which is a good thing, so no issue should be taken with using an presumably public domain image from their website. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Legionellosis takes two distinct forms:
Pontiac Fever: respiratory illness without pneumonia, symptoms resemble acute influenza
Legionnaires' Disease: symptoms include fever, chills, cough, muscle achees, headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, loss of coordination (ataxia), and occasionally diarrhea & vomiting.
Legionellosis incubates in 2-10 days. It is one of the top three causes of community-acquired pneumonia. Legionellosis affect 8,000 to 18,000 people in the United States each year. Transmission is not person to person. Legionellosis infection occurs after inhaling droplets that originated from a water source contaminated with Legionella. Environmental sources include freshwater ponds, rivers and creeks. Typical manmade water sources that can be a source of Legionella include: cooling towers, evaporative coolers, hot water systems, showers, whirlpool spas, architectural fountains, room-air humidifiers, ice-making machines, and misting equipment. Based on the above research now windshield washer fluid reservoirs, may be added to this list.
The Centers for Disease Control has updated their Emergency Preparedness and Response website with information on surviving an Earthquake. Considering we had a small one on the east coast this year, that we even felt on Long Island, it is important to be prepared and knowledgeable about what to do. The website discusses the things you can do before, during, and after the earthquake. The key point of the website is that in MOST situations, you will reduce your chance of injury from falling objects (and even building collapse) if you immediately:
The website discusses emergency supplies, and inspecting the home for hazards. One of the more interesting suggestions is the following from "Inspecting Home for Hazards:" - Check to see if your house or garage is securely fastened to the foundation. (If your house was built before 1950, it probably does not have bolts securing the wood structure to the concrete foundation.) If your house is not secured to the foundation, take the following steps:
Using a hammer drill and carbide bit, drill a hole through the sill plate into the foundation. Holes should be approximately 6 feet apart.
Drop a 1/2- x 7-inch expansion bolt into each hole and finish by tightening the nut and washer
We suggest you visit the website, so you can be prepared, just in case we get a more severe earthquake, next time.
As the east coast prepares for Hurricane Irene, it is important to remember that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a Hurricane Helpful Hints website. The current topic is "What You Need to Know When the Power Goes Out Unexpectedly." This topic covers food safety, safe drinking water, extreme heat or cold, first aid for electrical shock, powerline hazards and cars, avoid carbon monoxide, safety at work during power recovery, be prepared for an emergency, and the impact of power outage on vaccine storage.
If your looking for a list of emergency supplies you should have on hand, the CDC and Red Cross put together a list at the CDC website for Emergency Preparedness and Response - Get a Kit. From that website is the following list of items you should assemble:
Water—one gallon per person, per day (3day supply for evacuation, 2week supply for home)
Food—nonperishable, easytoprepare items (3day supply for evacuation, 2week supply for home)
Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies)
Image via WikipediaOne February 11, Scott Harper a Career Epidemiology Field Officer (CEFO) for the Centers for Disese Control (CDC) posted "Battling Disease Outbreaks in the Big Apple." Mr. Harper is stationed at the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and currently leads surveillance and response activities for influenza, zoonotic, and vectorborne diseases. The posting discusses New York City's most recent disease importation that came in the form of pandemic H1N1 Influenza in 2009-10. It makes interesting reading and gives you an idea what life as a CEFO is like. Hope you find it as interesting as I did.
The information below was recently published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
"An estimated 50-70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep and wakefulness disorders. Sleep disorders and sleep loss have been associated with mental distress, depression, anxiety, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and certain risk behaviors including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity and heavy drinking. A new report from the CDC found that data collected from adults in all 50 United States, DC, and 3 U.S. territories found that 1 in 3 adults (30.7 percent) in 2008, reported no days of not getting enough rest or sleep in the past 30-days. However, 1 in 10 adults (11.1 percent) reported not getting enough rest or sleep everyday during the past month. Females (12.4 percent) were more likely than males (9.9 percent) and non-Hispanic blacks (13.3 percent) were more likely than other racial/ethnic groups to report not getting enough rest or sleep. State estimates of 30 days of insufficient rest or sleep ranged from 7.4 percent in North Dakota to 19.3 percent in West Virginia."
H1N1 (referred to as “swine flu” early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. Other countries, including Mexico and Canada, have reported people sick with this new virus. This virus is spreading from person-to-person, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. Click on the title and visit the CDC website to answer your questions regarding the H1N1 Flu.
Take these everyday steps to protect your health:
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
Stay home if you are sick for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. This is to keep from infecting others and spreading the virus further.
Monday, March 30, 2009, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Pam Meyer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Dr. Peter Ashley of the U. S. Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) for our internet radio program “Keeping Your Family Safe” (find it at http://www.voiceamerica.com/ on the Green Talk Network). Our discussion was about the Healthy Homes Program. CDC is the nation’s primary public health agency and is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC provides information to help the public make informed decisions and take actions to promote health and wellbeing. HUD makes affordable housing available to low income households, and supports community development and home ownership. Dr. Meyer and Dr. Ashley discussed how CDC and HUD were working together to promote Healthy Homes. Healthy Homes is a century-old concept that promotes safe, decent, and sanitary housing as a means for preventing disease and injury. In our program, we covered the following points:
CDC and HUD support Healthy Homes by providing grants to fund research on Healthy Homes
Increasing amount of scientific evidence linking health outcomes, such as asthma and unintentional injuries, to substandard housing
CDC has a few cooperative agreements with state or local health departments to take a healthy homes approach
HUD’s focus is not health research so they rely heavily on reviews, such as the National Academy of Sciences
HUD recently has funded some research, for example Cuyahoga County Grant – home interventions to address mold/moisture problems resulted in significant improvements in the health of asthmatic children & Seattle Grant – studied new green built public housing units on the health of asthmatic children after they moved into the units (breathe easy homes)
Discussion on research on allergies & asthma in regards to triggers, unintentional injuries, and poisonings
This was our final show for this period, we hope those of you who listened enjoyed the programs. Remember you can continue to access the podcast of the programs at our host page at http://www.voiceamerica.com/ or on our website http://www.keepingyourfamilysafe.net/ under each topic ticker or http://www.futureenv.com/ under the Training tab in the online training section.
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