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Hygieneering, Inc.
News & Updates
January 2022
Featured Service
OSHA HAZWOPER TRAINING

OSHA HAZWOPER training provides vital safety and health information to workers who perform cleanup, emergency response or corrective actions involving the uncontrolled release of hazardous substances. This includes work related to hazardous chemical leaks, chemical fires and site preparation that uncovers buried hazardous waste. Hygieneering provides a variety of HAZWOPER training to include:
  • 40-Hour General Hazardous Waste Site Worker
  • First Responder Awareness Level
  • 8-Hour First Responder Operation Level
  • 24-Hour Hazardous Materials Technician / Hazardous Materials Specialist / Incident Commander
  • 8-Hour Annual HAZWOPER Refresher

Hygieneering can provide OSHA HAZWOPER training at your site or at our 10,000 sq. ft. training facility located in Willowbrook, Illinois. Our training includes a mixture of classroom instruction and practical hands on exercises.

Please contact Kevin Konkey at 630.706.6683 | kkonkey@hygieneering.com to discuss your OSHA HAZWOPER Training needs!

Learn more about this service and others by visiting our brochure page.
Project Spotlight
Construction Site Soil Contamination Management
 
A common service we provide is to assist utility and other construction clients to safety manage and protect their workers when there is soil contamination in their work zones. In general, the service consists of 3 main steps:
1. Evaluation of Soil Sampling Analytical Data for Contaminants of Concern (COCs)
Soil sampling data that typically consists of priority pollutant metals, polynuclear aromatics (PNAs), semi-volatile organic compounds, volatile organic compounds and PCBs are evaluated for concentrations of concern. The data are compared to the Tier 1 Soil Remediation Objectives (SROs) for soil within the Illinois Administrative Code (IAC) Title 35, Part 742-Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives (TACO). The results are reviewed with respect to potential inhalation and soil ingestion hazards for the Construction Worker Population. The review identifies any contaminants of concern that must be addressed in Step 2.
2. Preparation of a Site Specific Health and Hygiene Plan
Based on the review of the soil sampling results, a written site-specific Health and Hygiene Plan is prepared. In summary, this document spells out the anticipated site activities, the associated worker
exposure risks to the COCs identified, and the recommended regulatory compliance and worker exposure controls to be implemented. Worker hazard communication, personal protective equipment, engineering controls, air sampling requirements, and action levels are established. This document is typically used to train the site workers and is used as guidance throughout the project.
3. On-site Project Monitoring/Management
The final step in the process is to implement the site-specific Health and Hygiene Plan. Typically one of our industrial hygienists monitors site activities to ensure the safety of the workers interacting with the contaminated soils. By example, our most recent project involved a trenching job adjacent to an abandoned gas station where the soil was contaminated with low level volatile organic compounds. Our client’s project was to install utility lines within a 15’ trench along a street in Chicago. The Plan called for continuous monitoring of VOCs within the trench and street work zones. As shown in the photographs, a photoionization detector (PID) was used to monitor the worker breathing zones for VOCs. We provided on-site consulting to ensure the Plan was implemented, OSHA compliance documented and workers were in a safe environment. 
The Healthy Building Institute
Rosalind Franklin University and New Trier School District 203 have recently enrolled in The Healthy Building Institute's Healthy Building Verification Program.

Our team of EH&S Professionals are working diligently to get these buildings verified so that teachers, staff, and students can feel safe when returning to school.

These facilities are committed to maintaining their buildings in accordance with healthy building guidance established by OSHA, EPA, ASHRAE, AIHA and the CDC. As part of this commitment, they have engaged the Healthy Building Institute’s (HBI) – Healthy Building Verification Program. 
The Healthy Building Verification (HBV) Program will be providing a high-level 3rd party review of these buildings' operations as related to indoor air quality, drinking water quality and surface cleanliness. These facilities' participation within the HBI-HBV program documents their commitment and compliance with healthy building guidance and professionally assists in assuring its building occupant’s that their building is providing Healthy Air to Breath, Water to Drink and Surfaces to Touch in this current COVID -19 world and beyond. 

To learn more about the Healthy Building Verification Program and watch a brief, informative video click here.

Proposal Requests can also be made by visiting The Healthy Building Institute's website www.hbi-usa.com.
New Year, New Website!
Meet the Hygieneering team, learn about our services, recent projects, and more on our newly revamped website!

OSHA News
OSHA extends comment period for proposed rule on heat injury and illness prevention

OSHA has extended until Jan. 26 the comment period for a proposed rule aimed at protecting workers from extreme heat exposure in indoor and outdoor settings.

According to a Dec. 2 press release, the extension allows stakeholders additional time to review the advance notice of proposed rulemaking as well as collect information and data necessary for comment. The agency published the ANPRM in the Oct. 27 Federal Register, with the initial comment period slated to end Dec. 27.

Learn more here.

OSHA has a new online portal for employers to submit applications to the agency’s Voluntary Protection Programs.

VPP is a collaboration among government, industry and labor intended to encourage best practices in employee safety and health. Employers submit their safety records and policies when they apply for VPP status and, if accepted, continue to promote safety at their sites, as well as help other employers improve their safety practices on their way to VPP status. VPP sites are exempt from programmed inspections.

Learn more here.
Hygieneering Celebrations
January Birthdays
Happy birthday to the following team members who celebrate in January!

Carl White 1/23
Shawn McHale - 1/26
Company Anniversaries
Congratulations to the following people who are celebrating milestones this month at Hygieneering! Thank you for your hard work and dedication throughout the years!

Shawn McHale- 4 years
Sarah Dickerson- 22 years
Vicky Igras- 26 years
Jodi Bates- 26 years
Compliance Reminders
This is a friendly reminder that:
 
  • Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Tier II Reports – Due March 1st.
  • OSHA Form 300A - February 1st - The OSHA Form 300A must be posted in a location that is clearly visible to all employees, and it must remain posted until April 30, 2021.
This Month...
January 17th
Martin Luther King Jr. Day