CSS Safety Protocols
During a routine collection of waste, a container of white powder disintegrated without warning, causing the powder to spill and be expelled into the air. Thanks to CSS’s safety protocols and quick response, our Center for Disease Control waste disposal staff was able to assess the situation and respond to the chemical spill. The highly skilled team immediately evaluated the situation using our Incident Mishap Protocol. It was determined that the building’s exhaust ventilation system contained the dust cloud and personal protective equipment prevented injuries from occurring. Further inspection showed that the powder was a non-hazardous waste, deeming the incident a close call!
The project manager began an incident investigation to see how improvements could be made. Our staff determined that the container was handled multiple times─first from the hardened top and then from the side, which disintegrated. In addition, the program manager noted that the container appeared “old.”
As a result of the investigation, our team recommended laboratorians use secondary containment (such as, plastic bags) as an engineering control on waste older than five years. They also began training laboratorians to recognize potential container degradation and the new secondary containment procedures.
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Maintaining Clean and Quality Control Standards
CSS delivers specialized cleanroom services for aerospace and other mission-critical environments. Our trained teams of employee owners safely operate high-reach industrial equipment around sensitive flight hardware and ground support equipment while maintaining strict cleanliness and contamination-control standards. From ongoing cleanroom maintenance and site-specific protocol development to workforce training, CSS provides the expertise needed to support safe, clean, and operationally ready facilities.
Supervisory Support for 2025 Southern California Wildfires Response Efforts
Long after wildfires are extinguished, ongoing efforts continue to assess long-term damage and contamination. CSS employee owners are often heavily involved in these efforts and follow up to ensure response operations do not impact the environment. Response efforts in South California continued throughout the year following the 2025 wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles area. CSS continued to support the damage assessment through a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency…
Advanced Planning for Hardware Retirements
NOAA relies on orbiting satellites to collect data for Climate Data Records (CDR). However, these satellites degrade over time and can be at risk of failing. Degradation or failure of critical space instruments can cause interruptions in Earth’s climate system data, disrupting the ongoing record collection. In support of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, CSS program manager for CDR proactively managed product transitions that…