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QuanTEM Chronicle
An informative Newsletter for Environmental Professionals |
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Message from John Barnett, President |
| John Barnett, President. |
Can you say HOT?
Almost everyone I talk to is getting tired to the continuing record high temperatures we are experiencing.
Earlier this week I read a Rasmussen poll which asked the question:
"Has this summer appeared hotter than those in the recent past?"
75% of those replying answered in the affirmative and 25% said no.
What I want to know is where are those 25%, I'm ready to move to where they live.
It goes without saying that when we get hot our tempers get shorter, if you don't believe this just watch the other drivers on the streets. Anyway, it's important for those of us in business to remember that being rude or short to customers doesn't work. It's not a two way street.
The customer is upset for whatever reason and takes it out on you but god forbid you respond in kind. Understanding that some of your customers are going to be rude is just part of the job (obvisouly I'm not talking about our customers.).
As long as they continue to pay their bills it's our job to learn to let it roll off of our backs.
Have a great day and remember, fall is only 2 or 3 or 4 months away.
Sincerely,
John Barnett, President, QuanTEM Laboratories, LLC
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First heat wave, then flood, now mold. |
Published: July 25, 2011 at 9:38 PM Retreived July 27, 2011 online from HERE .
MELROSE PARK, Ill., July 25 (UPI) -- First the Midwest had a string of 100-plus-degree days, then a record 7 inches of rain and now the highest mold count recorded this year, a researcher says.
Dr. Joseph Leija, the allergist who performs the Gottlieb Allergy Count, the official allergy count for the Midwest for the National Allergy Bureau, says Monday's mold count for the Midwest was 30,000 -- just 10,000 short of the threshold for an alert warning -- and that's for the air outdoors.
"This is the highest mold count I have seen this year," Leija, the allergist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of Loyola University Health System, says in a statement.
"Many Midwesterners experienced flooding in their homes which can easily cause indoor mold counts to be much higher -- even to dangerous breathing conditions."
Many homes are pure poison for those with breathing conditions, Leija says.
"All soaked drywall must be cut out and removed as well as carpets, tile, cardboard boxes and the like to prevent mold," Leija says.
Water is both the perpetrator for mold and the recommended cure.
"Plain water should be used to wash off floors, walls and soaked items, and then everything must be dried thoroughly," Leija recommends.
Allergy sufferers should lightly rinse their nostrils with a water-salt solution to rinse off trapped particles and spores, Leija advises.

Symptoms of
respiratory irritation
from mold include nasal congestion,
difficulty breathing,
headaches and post-nasal drip and people with allergies must
stay in air conditioning and use a
dehumidifier, Leija says. READ MORE . |
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Editors Note |
By: Scott Leavell, Business Development Director, QuanTEM Laboratories, LLC
Beginning July 1, 2011, QuanTEM Laboratories is now participating in AIHA's Industrial Hygiene Laboratory Accreditation Program (IHLAP).
QuanTEM's AIHA accreditations which include Environmental Microbiology (EMLAP) and Environmental Lead (ELLAP) will now include Phase-Contrast Microscopy Analysis (PCM) for the Asbestos/Fiber Microscopy Core category.
AIHA LAB CODE 101352
For more information on QuanTEM's lab services and accreditations, please email me at sleavell@quantem.com or call me at (800) 822-1650!
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MOLD INVESTIGATOR TRAINING |
While Summer may not be quite over, it's time to register for QuanTEM's Fall Mold Investigator Training course!
October 5-7 2011
Oklahoma City Oklahoma

Call me for more information!
(800) 822-1650
or... email me at
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Mesothelioma Cases Growing at an Alarming Rate - Expected to Peak by 2020 |
Retreived July 27, 2011 from the San Francisco Chronicle online from HERE .
Published Monday, July 18, 2011.
Mesothelioma is a debilitating disease that is caused from exposure to asbestos. For several years, businesses, schools and even homes had asbestos in the walls. Until just a few years ago, researchers had no idea that this material could cause such a deadly disease. Asbestos dust can pose a health hazard and companies now are under strict regulations to keep asbestos out of their workplaces.
A postal service building in Oak Ridge, TN recently discovered asbestos dust that was coming from old floor tiles. Federal reports state that the dust particles could cause a health hazard for the 40 or so employees who report to work in that building every day. All of the mail for the Oak Ridge area is
 | Asbestos Fibers |
collected in that building and sorted there before heading out to its destination.
OSHA or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a citation in May, 2011 stating that employees of the postal service in Oak Ridge faced the risk of being exposed to asbestos through contact with their mail totes and cases. The postal service however, claims that because the asbestos is in the floor and in an unused area, there is no potential hazard to any of the workers. OSHA officials supported the claim of the postal service whose penalty was reduced from $1,500 to just $750.
Could these workers be in danger of inhaling asbestos and developing Mesothelioma? Many experts
 | Asbestos |
from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry believe that they could.
The Agency states that "Significant exposure to any type of asbestos will increase the risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma and nonmalignant lung and pleural disorders, including asbestosis, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, and pleural effusions", which leaves each worker to determine the best course for themselves. They can continue to report to work and breathe in these potentially deadly particles or simply lose their jobs.
READ MORE .
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TOXIC ASSETS: Many Foreclosed Houses are Infested by Mold |
Retreived online July 28, 2011 from HERE.
NEW YORK--When someone tells you capitalism is efficient, remember the mold houses.
I used to be a banker. Some of my customers had trouble making their loan payments. We usually had recourse to some sort of collateral--often real estate. But my bank really didn't want to foreclose.
 | Mold Growth |
"We're bankers," my boss told me the first time this issue came up. "Not landlords."
My bank did a lot to avoid declaring a default. We lowered interest rates. We allowed skipped payments. Sometimes we even reduced principal.
Banking became exciting during the 1990s. Glass-Steagall got repealed, al
lowing formerly staid bankers to compete with high-flying Wall Street financiers in the securities business.
Banks issued millions of home loans to borrowers whom they knew couldn't afford to pay them back. Credit Suisse estimates that such "liars' loans" accounted for 49 percent of originations by 2006. Why they'd do it? Like mobsters, bank executives were "busting out" their companies--generating false short-term profits in order to collect annual performance bonuses. By the time the toxic chickens came home to roost, as they did in the form of the September 2008 financial crisis, they and their paychecks had moved on.
As the global financial system was in the midst of total collapse, greedy bankers conjured up a way to profit from the very misery they had caused. Rather than work with distressed homeowners who faced foreclosure, they dragged out the process in order to collect more late fees.
Banks were eager to foreclose. They were merciless. They evicted homeowners while they were on active duty serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, a violation of federal law. They evicted people who didn't owe them a cent.
"All told, [banks] own more than 872,000 homes as a result of the groundswell in foreclosures, almost twice as many as when the financial crisis began in 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate data provider," reports The New York Times. "In addition, they are in the process of foreclosing on an additional 1 million homes and are poised to take possession of several million more in the years ahead." READ MORE.
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Lead Poisoning Associated With Traditional Medicines |
Posted July 15, 2011 by Bassa V. Babu, Ph.D Retreived online July 21, 2011 from HERE
It is not pleasant to discover that some medicines may contain poison. Lead has been implicated in poisoning associated with lead containing paint, lead-contaminated dust in older buildings, and contaminated water and soil; but many people may not know that some medicines may also contain lead.
As observed by the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), lead has been found in some traditional (folk) medicines used by East Indian, Indian, Middle Eastern, West Asian, and Hispanic cultures. Lead and other heavy metals are added to certain folk medicines on purpose because these metals are thought to be useful in treating some ailments. CDC adds: "lead poisoning from folk remedies can cause illness and even death". Lead poisoning is a medical condition often called plumbism, caused by increased levels of the element lead in the body.
Lately there is a resurgence in the use of traditional medicinal products partly due to their promotion by various governments in the form of alternative medicine and partly due to the fact that those products are regulated less by various governmental agencies.

Most of the traditional medical practices like the Ayurveda, and Chinese medicine employ plant products in the treatment of various human ailments. Interestingly, at least some of those plant extracts proved their reputation in modern methods of testing using in vitro cell cultures and experimental animals. However, there is a downside, for some reason the belief that heavy metals have medicinal properties spread its roots to the traditional therapies of different regions of the ancient world and heavy metals have become part of some ancient drug formulations.
Although it is not entirely clear if these metallic salts are directly added to the drug formulations, the heavy metal for example, the lead content of some traditional drugs is scientifically well- documented. According to the World Health Organization, "improper manufacturing processes may result in dangerously high levels of heavy metals remaining in the final product." READ MORE. |
Heat Exhaustion: First Aid |
By: Mayo Clinic Staff
Retrieved online July 29, 2011 from HERE.
Heat exhaustion is one of the heat-related syndromes, which range in severity from mild heat cramps to heat exhaustion to potentially life-threatening heatstroke.
Signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion often begin suddenly, sometimes after excessive exercise, heavy perspiration, and inadequate fluid or salt intake. Signs and symptoms resemble those of shock and may include:
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Feeling faint or dizzy  -
Nausea -
Heavy sweating -
Rapid, weak heartbeat -
Low blood pressure -
Cool, moist, pale skin -
Low-grade fever -
Heat cramps -
Headache -
Fatigue -
Dark-colored urine
If you suspect heat exhaustion:
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Get the person out of the sun and into a shady or air-conditioned location. -
Lay the person down and elevate the legs and feet slightly. -
Loosen or remove the person's clothing. -
Have the person drink cool water or other nonalcoholic beverage without caffeine. -
Cool the person by spraying or sponging him or her with cool water and fanning. -
Monitor the person carefully. Heat exhaustion can quickly become heatstroke.
If fever greater than 102 F (38.9 C), fainting, confusion or seizures occur, call 911 or emergency medical help.
READ MORE |
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I am always on the lookout for things that can save you money. In the past month I have noticed a few things to pass along.
First Overnight as opposed to Priority Overnight for FedEX packages
QuanTEM will pay for Priority Overnight packages with a project totaling $150.00 or more.
The extra charge for the First Overnight package will be billed back to you. The time difference between the two is less than 2 hours. So if you have a time sensitive project (something that you have to have the results as soon as possible) go ahead and send it First Overnight.
All others should be sent as Priority Overnight. I have noticed some 24 hr. TAT as well as 3 & 5 day TAT coming First Overnight. Save yourself some money and consider TAT when choosing your shipping options.
Package choice
I have received several coolers lately containing samples that did not have a temperature requirement. The weight of the cooler will dramatically increase the shipping fees. So if you can put it in a box or an envelope, you can save yourself some money.
You can email me at HERE or call me at (800) 822-1650
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QuanTEM Chronicle Newsletter
Produced & Edited by
Scott Leavell, Business Development Director
Suggestions or comments? Email me here. |
Disclaimer Any publication included in this News Letter and/or opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect the views of QuanTEM Laboratories, LLC but remain solely those of the author(s). Such publications have been included only for ease of reference and academic purposes.
QuanTEM Labortories, LLC
(405) 755-2058 facimile
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