Top Worst Ozone Cities announced for 2010

With summer approaching, many cities across the U.S. will have smog alerts. Click to see the cities with the worst pollution at www.forbes.com/2010/04/28/polluted-cities-smog-lifestyle-health-american-lung-association-ozone_slide.html Smog alerts are usually consistent with the hottest days of the year, when air pollution is at its height. But the good news is that some cities, such as Atlanta and Pittsburg, have been reducing their smog. Atlanta has one of the lowest air pollution levels reported since 1994. EPA controls on industry emissions have played a role in reducing air pollution. And while traffic has increased in cities such as Atlanta, new vehicle emission standards over the past few decades, along with carpooling campaigns to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, have helped to reduce air pollution.

4QR employees work from home, with some exceptions such as when doing field work. And we try to combine field work into minimal trips. Fewer trips result in less emission of vehicle fumes that will get into the air. And combining trips help to reduce fuel and save time. We also try not to have employees work outside at job sites during the hottest days. Although this cannot always be done, staying indoors when air quality is at its worst can help you breath easier. Another way to reduce ozone is to avoid fueling during the hottest parts of the day.

What are some of the things you and your company are doing to minimize air pollution?

Hidden Brownfields

At what point will the truth about the commercial real estate market blossom? By this, I refer to the "hidden Brownfields" that lenders and property owners of closed industrial facilities are sitting on. With so many vacancies in shopping centers, corner gas stations, and manufacturing buildings, certainly there is only so much time that can go by before it becomes public knowledge the extensive number of contaminated properties that are out there. There has been some talk on changing environmental brownfields regulations for handling these many sites. And just who will be responsible for those properties that have been foreclosed? What are your thoughts about the brownfield talks? What are your thoughts of how banks are handling the environmental (or lack of it) on commercial properties?

Hazwoper Training

Although Hazwoper refresher is a requirement for training by OSHA, many companies seem to delay sending their employers at the yearly interval. Are you getting refreshers every 12 months or are the intervals exceeding 12 months? If exceeding, how long does your company wait to give refreshers and why do you think there is the delay?