News

Recycling Company Cited by OSHA for Combustible Dust Safety and Health Violations

EMSL Analytical provides combustible dust testing services and air monitoring instruments to protect workers and to help keep companies in regulatory compliance.

Cinnaminson, New Jersey, May 24th, 2022 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that a Pennsylvania plastic recycler faces over $88,000 in proposed penalties for exposing workers to combustible dust hazards. The agency cited the company for one willful, seven serious, and one other-than-serious safety and health violations following two inspections. According to OSHA, workplace hazards included the company permitting dangerous amounts of combustible dust to build up on surfaces that possibly could.......[Read More] [All News]

Hazmat Unit Responds to Mercury Spill by Senior Housing Complex

EMSL Analytical provides mercury and other heavy metal testing services to identify exposure risks and to help assess remediation efforts.

Meriden, Connecticut, May 20th, 2022 Emergency personnel were called to a 60-unit apartment complex operated by the Norwalk Housing Authority in Connecticut last month to respond to a mercury spill discovered under a parked vehicle. The street by the complex was temporarily closed as residents were tested for the toxic heavy metal and a hazmat team removed the mercury. Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water, and soil. It exists in several forms: elemental or metallic mercury, inorganic mercury compounds, and.......[Read More] [All News]

Meth Lab Discovery in Texas Leaves Toxic Chemical Exposure Concerns

EMSL Analytical provides laboratory testing services, sampling supplies, test kits and personal protective equipment to safely identify chemicals, and residues left behind by the production of methamphetamine.

Houston, Texas, May 19th, 2022 Last month, the Harris County Special Investigations Division in Texas discovered an active crystal meth laboratory in a home with approximately $2 million worth of the drug on the property. A woman was arrested and a minor was taken by Child Protective Services as specially trained officers in hazmat suits entered the home to the shock of neighbors. Sadly, clandestine laboratories making methamphetamine (meth) are still being found across the country. These meth labs are dangerous places when in use, and.......[Read More] [All News]

State Health Department Warns of the Dangers of Algal Blooms

EMSL Analytical offers aquatic testing services and sampling supplies to identify microbial and chemical pollutants to help protect the public, workers and local ecosystems.

Charleston, South Carolina, May 17th, 2022 Last month, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) reminded citizens to be aware of potentially harmful algal blooms in the surface waters of the state’s rivers and lakes as the weather continues to warm. According to the DHEC warning: Algal blooms can look and smell bad and may cause the water to appear green, red, brown, or blue in color. Some algal blooms are formed by species that can produce toxins. When they contain toxins that affect the health of.......[Read More] [All News]

Testing for Asbestos and Other Potential Drinking Water Contaminants

EMSL Analytical offers water testing services, sampling supplies and test kits to identify a wide range of physical, chemical, microbial and radiological contaminants.

Cinnaminson, New Jersey, May 13th, 2022 During the last century, cement pipes made with asbestos were commonly used in drinking water distributions systems. This went on for decades and although the practice peaked in large parts of the country in the mid-1900s, many of these pipes are still in operation. Unfortunately, as these pipes age and degrade, or are tapped into, asbestos fibers may enter the water supply. In an asbestos fact sheet produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) back in 1992, the agency reported.......[Read More] [All News]

Identifying Occupational Exposure Risks to Xylene and Other Industrial Chemicals

EMSL Analytical provides environmental and industrial hygiene testing services and sampling supplies to identify and mitigate chemical exposure hazards in the workplace.

Cinnaminson, New Jersey, May 12th, 2022 Xylene is described by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor. There are three forms of xylene in which the methyl groups vary on the benzene ring: meta-xylene, ortho-xylene, and para-xylene (m-, o- and p-xylene). These different forms are referred to as isomers. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) reports that xylene is one of the top 30 chemicals produced in the United States. Xylene is also.......[Read More] [All News]