 By Brett Rosenberg
There are many factors to consider when saying “radioactivity is hazardous.” Here is an attempt to summarize them in five points. Radiation is not an age-old reality; in fact, the discovery of radiation is fairly recent. Becquerel, whose name is now used as a unit for an amount of radioactivity, discovered in 1896 that uranium salts were emitting energy. In the early 1900s, he discovered medical uses for radioactivity. Soon, scientists began studying the various uses radioactive elements including the medical field and industrial fields, like with radioluminescent dials and, of course, its potential as a weapon.  By David Renfrew
Permit compliance is still expected and required during the coronavirus pandemic This may seem odd, but when I think of storm water permit compliance in the time of COVID-19, I reflect on Gabriel García Márquez’s “Love in the Time of Cholera”. Marquez states that “wisdom comes to us when it can no longer do any good”. This makes me think about permit managers or industrial sites where the Legally Responsible Person (LRP) or Duly Authorized Representative (DAR) asks questions, such as “Why didn’t we address these best management practices (BMPs) sooner?” or “If we knew our annual sample results were high in January, why did we wait until July to start implementing additional BMPs?” or worse, “Why are we getting Notices of Violation (NOV) letters about missing required reports?”
Listen to Episode 25 below on Passenger Safety and COVID-19 with Lisa Kay, Chief Operating Officer of the Environmental Health Sciences group for NV5, Inc. She appeared as a guest on the Flight Safety Detectives podcast with John Goglia and Greg Feith discussing airplane and airport cleaning protocols to keep passengers safe from COVID-19.
6 precautions facilities should take as workers return By David R. Schack & Cecile Felsher Manufacturing and construction industries are looking to mitigate risk from COVID-19 before bringing employees back to work. Companies in these industries should develop a plan that includes safety protocols and contingency measures should an employee fall ill. A safety plan should include the following: 
As many businesses are preparing to reopen, Natalie Kvochak, an EHS & Air Specialist II with NV5, shares some insights to help keep employees safe from COVID-19.
 NV5, Inc. welcomes Bryan Stone, PE as Vice President of the Site Assessment and Remediation team. He has over 30 years of experience as a consulting engineer, construction manager, program manager and operations manager involved with soil and groundwater site remediation at contaminated industrial properties. His experience includes remedial design/remedial action, pre-construction planning, contractor procurement, and construction management at current and former industrial properties and Brownfields sites across the United States.
Stone received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He holds professional engineering licenses in California and Washington. “We are excited to have Bryan Stone lead the site assessment and remediation group,” Lisa Kay, Environmental Health Sciences Chief Operating Officer for NV5 said. “His leadership will help to augment and expand our team’s deep experience with site assessment and remedial design and implementation.” By Chris Waller The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the subsequent response have resulted in drastic disruptions to business operations and personal lives throughout the world. Businesses are tasked with navigating the challenge of prioritizing the health and safety of employees and their families while upholding the company’s financial well-being. Many businesses and their respective environmental, health, and safety (EHS) personnel find themselves with operational and economic challenges that have not been seen before. Despite these disruptions and additional challenges, safety and environmental compliance requirements remain in effect. Regulatory agencies, such as the State and Regional Water Boards, local Certified Unified Program Agencies, air quality districts, and Cal/OSHA, and their respective duties are generally considered essential functions during the COVID-19 response. Therefore, businesses must maintain compliance throughout the duration of the COVID-19 response. In order to provide support for our clients during this difficult time, NV5 remains open for business and has prepared materials that may help keep employees safe and businesses running.  Click image for more information  In Southern California, United States (US), a post-fire monitoring study helps stormwater managers develop strategies to prevent downstream water contamination. Rebekah Guill of the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and Garth Engelhorn of Alta Environmental, an NV5 Company, explain how post-fire stormwater runoff affects water quality, based on scientific data.
In August 2018, the “Holy Fire” caused devastating damage to approximately 23,000 acres of the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California. The high-to-moderate burn severity of the fire led to a loss of vegetation, created hydrophobic soils, changed the soil erosiveness of the steep forested lands, and created a risk of mass wasting (e.g., slope movement or mass movement of soil and rock).  By Mabelle Wongsanguan
It has been almost three years since the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled the Generator Improvement Rule (GIR). In California, an EPA ‘authorized state,’ the Department of Toxic Substances and Control (DTSC) is the authorized agency responsible for adopting the rule within the state. The DTSC is required to adopt the more stringent provisions of the GIR but has the option whether to adopt the less stringent provisions. In ‘federally run’ states such as Alaska and Iowa the GIR was effective immediately.  By Matthew Renaud from Storm Water Solutions
Storm water regulations relating to construction sites vary across the country. Whether the project exists in a state with its own National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES) delegated authority or covered by the U.S. EPA’s Construction General Permit (CGP), the project may be required to sample a site’s storm water and non-storm water discharges. The focus here pertains to the California (CA) CGP’s requirements and will be the basis of this article’s permitting authority. The CA CGP requires Risk Level 2 and 3 Traditional (Linear Utility Projects have their own specific requirements) to sample and report storm water discharges from their site that originate from qualifying storm events (QSE) that are 0.5 inches or greater. Collecting discharge samples that are representative of the actual water quality is where the art and science of storm water sampling comes in to play. |
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