As schools across the country gear up for the new academic year, ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment for students and staff is paramount. In school safety discussions, it can be easy to overlook hidden dangers. Among the foremost concerns in today’s schools are the threats posed by Legionella, asbestos, and lead.
The Hazardous Organic National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (HON Rule) is a pending, yet critical regulation for chemical manufacturing facilities in the United States. To help navigate its complexities, we sat down with Mariah Peronto, Air Program Manager, to answer some of the most pressing questions about the HON Rule. Read on to gain valuable insights and practical advice on how to get ahead.
During the first few months of the new U.S. EPA administration, PFAS actions slowed down while current plans and programs underwent a review. That’s not been the case in the states. In the first four months of 2025 alone, legislators proposed 191 PFAS-related bills. In this post, we uncover legislative priorities by examining the focus of their efforts.
With demands on the American healthcare system growing, construction projects to expand capacity or update services are a common sight in facilities across the country. However, construction and renovation projects can inadvertently pose significant health risks if not managed properly. Among the various hazards, microbiological dangers such as Legionella, molds, and other waterborne or airborne pathogens present serious concerns. Additionally, disturbances to older structures can release contaminants such as asbestos, adding to the dangers to patients, healthcare workers, and construction personnel.
Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) are a major public health concern as they increase the length of hospital stays, healthcare costs, and mortality rates. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HAIs rose by 47% across all types of healthcare facilities and by 65% in intensive care units (ICUs). Thankfully, rates have dropped again, but the pandemic demonstrated just how vulnerable healthcare systems can be to opportunistic pathogens.
Curious about the advantages and limitations of various asbestos detection methods? During my April webinar, I took a deep dive into settled dust sampling—a topic that's both technically important and practically relevant for industry professionals. Let's start with the basics: settled dust refers to those loose fibers and particles that collect on surfaces throughout buildings. For those who appreciate the technical details, ASTM defines it specifically as particulate matter measuring less than one millimeter in size.
There are five collection methods at your disposal: the scrape and scoop technique, adhesive tape sampling, micro vacuuming, wet or dry wiping, and passive monitoring. Each of these settled dust methods has its inherent strengths and weaknesses.
Just add water...
USP <797> is often talked about as though compliance is a “pass/fail” test. Either CFU counts are exceeded or they are not. However, the USP <797> mentions data trending several times throughout the standard. In this post, we will look at what data trending is, how it’s used to promote patient safety, and how and when it’s required.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are called “the forever chemicals” for a reason. These man-made compounds can be incredibly environmentally persistent and have been shown to build up in the tissues of plants, animals, and people. Most widely available PFAS treatment solutions focus on removing the PFAS. However, to solve the challenge of PFAS environmental contamination wholistically, both sequestering and destruction approaches will frequently be utilized in tandem.
At its essence, USP <797> is a quality control (QC) standard used to protect patients from contamination that can occur when pharmacies produce compounded sterile preparations (CSPs).Media-fill, gloved fingertip, surface sampling, and other tests are used to confirm personnel competency and ensure bioburden control of compounding areas and personnel. For these results to be valid, the medium used in these tests must be uncontaminated and capable of supporting growth. This can be confirmed using positive and negative controls.
