Inadequate housekeeping caused dust explosion

WENTWORTH, GA — The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Board released a final report that claims the February 7, 2008, explosion at an Imperial Sugar Company refinery was caused by inadequately maintained equipment, according to Fort Bend Now.

According to the story, "inadequate housekeeping practices allowed highly combustible sugar dust and granulated sugar to buildup throughout the refinery’s packing buildings," leaving conditions ripe for a dust explosion.

On top of the $8.76 million in fines levied against Imperial by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 14 workers died and 40 more were injured in the preventable blast, the story stated.

Chemical Safety and Hazard Board Investigation Supervisor John Vorderbrueggen said: "Imperial's management as well as the managers at the Port Wentworth refinery did not take effective actions over many years to control dust explosion hazards – even as smaller fires and explosions continued to occur at their plants and other sugar facilities around the country."

Cleanup and repair costs related to the explosion are estimated at $220 million, the story noted.

The Chemical Safety and Hazard Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations; those urged of Imperial include developing a dust training and housekeeping program and improving evacuation procedures, as well as complying with National Fire Protection Association practices for preventing dust fires and explosions, the story added.

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School has no money to purchase basic cleaning supplies

SANIKILUAQ, NT, Canada — The Sanikiluaq District Education Authority is severely underfunded to the point where there aren't enough resources to purchase basic cleaning supplies, according to the Nunatsiaq News.

According to the story, students at Nuiyak School were washing their hands with Sunlight, a popular dishwashing detergent, because the local school committee ran out of money earlier in the month.

The shortfall comes at a time when Nunavut schools are supposed to do more to increase cleanliness and develop action plans to deal with absenteeism caused by sickness among staff and students, the story stated.

To ease the crisis, the Government of Nunavut gave Sanikiluaq's District Education Authority $38,000 earlier this month and began an investigation into why their money disappeared, the story noted.

Peter Geikie, Nunavut's deputy minister of education, said: "As to why they are in this situation, we’re not sure. It’s not our intent to close our schools. The recommendation is out there but that’s not where we want to go."

There are plans in place to help Nuiyak and other Nunavut schools get ready for a possible H1N1 influenza A (swine flu) outbreak by sending antibacterial hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes, the story added.

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Georgia-Pacific earns 2009 Sustainable Forest Initiative award

ATLANTA — Georgia-Pacific has been recognized for its efforts in increasing understanding of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI) fiber sourcing program and how it supports family forest owners across North America, according to a press release.

Under Sustainable Forestry Initiative fiber sourcing certification, companies like Georgia-Pacific must have an auditable procurement process for fiber they buy from these lands and, among other things, encourage landowners to reforest areas that have been harvested; use best management practices to protect water quality; identify and protect important habitat elements for wildlife, including critically imperiled and imperiled species and communities; and use the services of qualified resource and logging professionals, the release stated.

According to the release, 60 percent of the fiber in forest products manufactured in the United States comes from the 10 million family-owned forests in the country; most are not certified.

Deborah Baker, Georgia-Pacific's vice president of sustainable forestry, said: "North America depends on family forest owners who are dedicated to responsible forest management. Georgia-Pacific may not own forestlands but we can have a positive influence on thousands of acres through the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program — and that's important to our company, our customers and our nation's forests."

Georgia-Pacific conducts extensive Sustainable Forestry Initiative outreach, including communicating with its sales and marketing teams about Sustainable Forestry Initiative fiber sourcing, the release noted.

Georgia-Pacific has produced literature and video materials explaining how Sustainable Forestry Initiative fiber sourcing positively impacts the United States' fiber supply and the health of forests, the release added.

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University of Georgia to vamp up tailgate cleanup

ATHENS, GA — In response to numerous complaints of the thrashing the University of Georgia campus gets from football tailgaters and their pregame partying, university officials vowed to increase cleanup and preventative cleanup efforts, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

According to officials, the university will add more garbage bins, distribute more trash bags and increase the number of portable bathrooms to prevent a repeat of the destruction that followed the September 12 game against the University of South Carolina.

Complaints stemmed from the 70 tons of garbage that included mounds of tents, grills, coolers, chairs and bottles deposited by fans and left for custodial cleaning crews to pick up, the story stated.

University of Georgia President Michael Adams said: "I believe the students, alumni and fans who attend University of Georgia football games do love and respect this beautiful campus. And I fully expect that they will do their part to clean up after themselves and to ensure that others around them do the same."

The new preventative measures, which include distributing 12,000 trash bags in parking lots and around campus and increasing the number of trash receptacles from 300 to 1,500, will be employed for the first time this Saturday when the University of Georgia hosts Arizona State University, the story noted.

American Stadium Services, the company that gets paid $40,000 per contest to clean up following home games, will send crews to North Campus during the first quarter so they can begin picking up trash bagged by tailgaters, the story added.

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Students affect change of paper product supplier

COLUMBUS, OH — Following a campaign by students, Capital University has switched its supplier of paper products from Georgia-Pacific Corporation to Kimberly-Clark Corporation, according to The Chimes.

A group of students took a stand against what they call "unethical practices" employed by Georgia-Pacific, referring explicitly to supposed chemical waste pits that have allegedly polluted the nearby city for decades, the story stated.

After receiving 500 signatures from students around campus, the facilities management department decided to honor the student body's desire to change paper product suppliers; the change officially went into effect the first day of classes in the fall 2009 semester, the story noted.

Troy Bonte, director of facilities management, said: "It is important for all citizens to show concerns for the environment. That is why the university has instructed Aetna Building Maintenance to use green certified chemicals and make the change from Georgia-Pacific to Kimberly-Clark."

Matt Wovrosh, a senior who helped affect the change, said that a part of education is not just equipping students with knowledge, but social responsibility as well, the story added.

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Procter & Gamble sponsors Make-A-Messterpiece

GLENVIEW, IL — Make-A-Messterpiece, a creative arts studio, opened this week under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble Company and their Bounty brand of paper towels, according to Reuters.

The 15,000-square-foot studio is the first in what could be hundreds of facilities that would allow Bounty to test new products in real-world situations where children are having fun and making messes, the story stated.

Eric Higgs, Bounty's brand manager, said: "Chicago is one of our key markets and we thought that it would make a great place to start."

Though the exact amount of Procter & Gamble's investment in Make-A-Messterpiece was not disclosed, company spokespersons say it is "a very healthy share" of Bounty's marketing spending, the story noted.

According to the story, the art studio is the brainchild of Ryan FitzSimons, founder and chief executive of Gigunda Group Inc., which specializes in experiential marketing, including the free Charmin brand toilet paper restrooms open during the winter in New York's Times Square.

Bounty's sponsorship of Make-A-Messterpiece is initially for 60 days, after which time the company will decide if and how to move forward with their sponsorship, the story added.

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Hidden camera captures janitor stealing

FORT PIERCE, FL — A janitor at Samuel Gaines Academy was caught stealing with the help of a surveillance camera, according to WPTV-TV.

Donald Brown was charged with petty theft and grand theft after admitting guilt to several incidents where money and items belonging to the school went missing, the story stated.

According to the story, following complaints that money was missing from her purse last week, detectives with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office set up a hidden camera in the teacher's classroom Monday and recorded Brown rifling through her purse, allegedly for a second time.

When Brown finished cleaning the classroom and moved on to the next one, detectives were waiting and confronted him, the story noted.

Brown, who admitted to taking the money to feed his child, also admitted to stealing four laptop computers valued at $4,000 from the school in July, the story added.

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Deceased custodian donates over $1 million to college

CASPER, WY — Bob Durst, the custodian at Casper College for 27 years, was infamous for his generosity — sometimes he would reach into his own pocket to help out a student in need with $10 or $20, according to the Casper Journal.

When he retired in 2007 at the age of 86, Durst, who wore a blue jump suit and bow tie every day to work, had a classified staff award named in his honor, the story stated.

Sharon Bell, Casper College human resources director, said: "He never took vacation. 'I don’t need to have one, give them to somebody else,' he would say."

When Durst died on January 20, 2009, the World War II Navy veteran who lost his right eye during his military service left his entire estate to Casper College, the story noted.

The unrestricted gift, which was donated to the Casper College Foundation, totaled $1,074,600, the story added.

Paul Hallock, executive director of the Casper College Foundation, said: "He was a great friend to many of us and his legacy will continue. I remember him saying, 'use the money wisely.'"

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University employee contracts Legionnaire's disease

BETHLEHEM, PA — A contract worker at Lehigh University has come down with Legionnaire's disease after coming in contact with bacteria in a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit at the University Center, according to The Morning Call.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Legionella bacteria are found naturally in the environment, growing best in warm water, large plumbing systems or the air-conditioning systems of large buildings and are spread by breathing in vapor contaminated with the bacteria and not from person to person.

A crew treated the entire HVAC system following accepted protocols to eradicate the bacteria, the story stated.

The university notified students and staff of the "health advisory" by e-mail over the weekend, the story noted.

Lehigh spokeswoman Jennifer Tucker said: "The minute we thought he might have it, we began testing the potable water and the air. We'll continue testing those units, but right now there is no cause for alarm."

Though tests came back positive for the presence of Legionella bacteria in at least one HVAC unit, the University Center remains open, the story added.

Schools go 'green' to save green

BROCKTON, MA — Many schools in and around the Brockton area are going "green" to save green — and the planet, according to Wicked Local Brockton.

Over the summer, Rockland Public Schools upgraded all of their light bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, a project whose costs were reimbursed by National Grid up to 70 percent, and through a $180,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, solar panels were installed on the Rockland High School roof, the story stated.

The Mary E. Baker School, a 112,000-square-foot building that opened last year in the Brockton Public School District, is equipped with solar panels on its roof and sensors that turn off classroom lights and lower heating and cooling when rooms are unoccupied, the story noted.

Rockland Public Schools Superintendent John Retchless said: "One of the nice things is that you can go green and save money at the same time. You just have to look for those opportunities."

According to state experts, high-performance green school buildings save an average of 25 percent in energy costs over traditional schools and have superior indoor environmental qualities.

In many area schools, students are running green campaigns to educate everyone on the benefits associated with being environmentally friendly, the story added.

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