Major Recall of Shock Absorbing Lanyards Under Way

Petzl America Inc. of Clearfield, Utah, has voluntarily recalled about 375,000 Scorpio and Absorbica shock-absorbing lanyards that have been sold since 2002, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced July 12. Some of the lanyards are missing a safety stitch on the attachment loop, which could cause the lanyard to separate from the climbing harness, the posted announcement states.

Related articles

• Recall news (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Did You Know?

Under the New York State Department of Labor's (NYS DOL) Industrial Code Rule 56, if you have an Asbestos Certificate (any one of them project monitor, inspector, etc.) and want to work for yourself (self-employed or working on an IRS 1099 form), you also need to get an Asbestos Company License.  In New York State if you employ a person with an Asbestos Certificate they can work under your license.  However, if they are independent, subcontractor, or 1099 worker they must have their own Asbestos Company License (either non-abatement or abatement, dependent upon what certificate the individual has).  The fine for not having a company license is $2,500.  The cost of a company license is $500 for the initial license and $300 for the renewal (which is annual).

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Deutsche Bank Fire Defendants All Acquitted Of Charges.

Last week, the three defendants charged with manslaughter and other charges of causing the fatalities at the former Deutsche Bank building, were acquitted of all charges.  The jury cleared two former managers, Jeffrey Melofchik and Salvatore DePaolo, on June 29, while the Criminal Court Judge Rena K. Uviller acquitted Mitchel Alvo, on July 6.  Uviller also tossed out the major charges against the subcontractor, The John Galt Corp., convicting the company only of a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment.

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The former Deutsche Bank building was undergoing asbestos abatement and demolition at the time of the fire in 2007, that caused the death of firefighters Robert Beddia 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, who died trying to fight the blaze.  Charges included multiple counts of negligent homicide, manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
Defense attorneys were able to convince the judge and jury that the actual causes were more complicated.  Those complications included:

• New York City Fire Dept. did not abide by the 15-day rule of inspections
• Errors made by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (LMDC)
• The negative air system used in the abatement caused rising smoke to descend and block the firefighters vision.

It seems this may not be the end of the Deutsche Bank fire issues, because the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, which felt that the wrong people were charged, and thought the defendants were scapegoats, released the following statement: "We urge the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance heed his self-described duty as to do what is right in every case without fear or favor, wherever that may lead by re-opening an investigation into the Deutsche Bank fire.  In fact, we are demanding that the District Attorney conduct an investigation into the LMDC."

If a Natural Disaster Occurred, Are You Ready to Help?"

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The June issue of the Environmental Marketer Newsletter written by Paul Cochrane, of Cochrane and Associates, asks -"If a Natural Disaster Occurred Tomorrow, Would Your Environmental Business Be Ready to Help?"  Considering 2011 has been a historic year for natural disasters, we've seen everything from flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, and tsunamis.  With hurricane season just starting and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicting this season as being above average with as many as 10 hurricanes.  Is your business prepared to help is an appropriate question.
Unfortunately, when tragedy hits for some people,it leads to opportunities for others.  This article discusses how these opportunities will only come your way if your business is prepared.  In defining prepared, this article is not talking about logistics of handling work but rather what are you doing to market yourself and make sure you are the one being called upon to provide the services or products needed.
So how do you position an environmental or IAQ business for something that hasn't even happened? Here are a few marketing and public relations concepts, from Mr. Cochrane, that can help:

• Online content - Develop information for the company website for dealing with various natural disasters.  
• Online videos - Similar to the concept above, create and post on the company website, as well as on YouTube, online videos about preventing and managing natural disasters.
• Marketing Collateral - Have materials ready and available to hand out that deal with all the natural disasters found in the areas your company services. 

The following was just a summation of the article visit http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs067/1102452067835/archive/1106250374002.html for further information.  Be prepared and be safe this season.

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• Asbestos Dangers Crop Up In Japan's Disaster (futureenv.blogspot.com)
• CDC Providing Resourses for Hurricane Preparedness (futureenv.blogspot.com)
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• NYT: Drought in 14 states means disaster for many - US news - The New York Times - msnbc.com (livingstrongandhappy.blogspot.com)

Summer & Fall 2011 Future Focus Now Available Online

Could This Asbestos Mine Reopen?

Just finished posting the Summer & Fall 2011 Future Focus Newsletter.  We're re-focusing the newsletter to keep it from seeming the same as all the marketing media we do.  We will only publish the newsletter twice per year and the feature article will be more about the future and big picture versus the daily happenings.  You can find our posts and discussions on the daily happenings here in this blog, or our posts on Facebook at Future Environment Designs Training Center, or posts on Linked-In at the New York State Asbestos Group, or you can follow our tweets on Twitter at Angelo Garcia, III.

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• Quebec Government Decides to Back Loan to Restart Asbestos Mine (futureenv.blogspot.com)