Are you trained to prevent a spill?

From NBC news:

“Barges stuck as oil spill jams Mississippi River

                                     Melanie Thortis / Vicksburg Evening Post via AP

Barges wait for traffic to re-open along the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Miss. on Monday.

By Holbrook Mohr and Janet McConnaughey, The Associated Press

VICKSBURG, Miss. — With more than 50 vessels idled on the water for a fourth day Wednesday, authorities said they still did not know when they would be able to reopen a 16-mile stretch of the Mississippi River that was closed due to an oil spill.

A plan to pump oil from a leaking barge onto another barge — a process known as lightering — had been approved, but it was unclear how long that would take, Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally said Tuesday. He said the other barge was en route.

Severe weather that was expected to sweep through the area could shut down cleanup operations for a time, prolonging the process further, authorities said.

Crews have been working around the clock to contain and remove oil since the barge, owned by Corpus Christi, Texas-based Third Coast Towing LLC, struck a railroad bridge and began leaking early Sunday. The company has refused to comment on the incident.

Lally also noted that about 7,000 gallons of crude oil were unaccounted for aboard the barge. He said it was not clear whether all of it spilled into the river or some seeped into empty spaces inside the barge.”

For the full article, visit http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/30/16768492-barges-stuck-as-oil-spill-jams-mississippi-river?lite

Are you up to date on your SPCC training?

Did you know that ECATTS offers an overview of Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC)? Topics you will learn include the SPCC program, goals of SPCC training, spill prevention and planning requirements, spill prevention, basic spill response expectations, and more.

Be prepared. Educate yourself on how to prevent spill incidents. Visit our online training catalogue to learn more about our courses, or go to ecatts.com.

WSNJS676A2HB

Sustainability courses now available!

Sustainability is a hot topic these days. That’s why we’ve developed 5 new courses specifically targeting Sustainability.

Maintaining a sustainable environment and incorporating it into an organization’s operations are the key topics in our new training modules:

1. Environmental Sustainability Training: Awareness
2. Environmental Sustainability Training: Sustainability Leaders
3. Environmental Sustainability Training: Foundation for Establishing a Sustainable Organization
4. Environmental Sustainability Training: Sustainability Implementation
5. Sustainable Environmental Management (SEM)

For more information on these courses and all other training offered, visit our online catalogue now at http://ecatts.com/websitePDFs/CourseCatalogue.pdf.

Check yourself and Protect yourself (from Radon)

January is Radon Action Month. Here’s some helpful information from the EPA about protecting yourself and your family:

“EPA recommends radon testing in January 

Protect your family from the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.

PHILADELPHIA (January 8, 2013) – January is national Radon Action Month and the

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency encourages everyone to test their homes for radon. January is an especially good time to test homes and schools because windows and doors are closed tightly and people spend more time indoors.

Unsafe levels of radon can lead to serious illness. The Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States with an estimated 21,000 deaths a year. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. By making simple fixes in a home or building people can lower their health risks from radon.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas; so testing is the only way to know if radon is present in your home or school. Test kits are available in home improvement centers and hardware stores and costs approximately $20. The kits are simple to use with easy testing and mailing instructions.

Make the commitment to protect your family. Test for radon. Fix the problem if you find elevated radon levels. Save a life!

For more information about radon and radon testing see: http://www.epa.gov/radon/ .”

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