- Success Stories
- Emergency Preparedness & Response
Training Staff for Handling Hazardous Waste and Responding to Chemical Spills
CSS employee owners provide on-site support to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hazardous Waste Program at several campuses around the country: Atlanta, Georgia, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Fort Collins, Colorado. With 22 years of experience, CSS staff are responsible for providing training to laboratory and facilities staff to ensure safe handling of hazardous waste to avoid harmful incidents.
CSS staff provide regular training to CDC staff on topics, including hazardous waste management, using the online waste ticketing system, and spill training. This training covers common mistakes (e.g. improper placement of labels), safety issues (e.g. not including biological materials, improper storage and containment, leaks, and classification), and handling special waste, such as crystalized waste (which can be unstable and possibly explosive).
Additionally, CSS staff provide universal waste training to CDC staff on an as-needed basis.
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Assessing Contamination in Abandoned Mines
CSS supports the Environmental Protection Agency with assessing contamination within abandoned mines. There are thousands of abandoned mines throughout the western United States. Many of these mines are leaching heavy metals into nearby streams or have contaminated soils causing vegetation die off. CSS employee owners conduct field work to assess the extent of this contamination.…
Training the Next Generation of Researchers
CSS staff support the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Occupational Safety and Health by providing Safe Techniques Advance Research Science (STARS) training to summer interns. Following a pause during the pandemic, staff resumed training May 15, 2024. During the in-person STARS training, CSS staff cover key concepts from the pre-requisite NIH Lab Safety…
Studying Mesophotic Coral Health
Mesophotic coral can live at depths of 500 feet below the ocean surface. Even at this depth, some of the mesophotic corals in the Gulf of Mexico were affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Our coral scientists supporting NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science are studying the extent of this impact.…