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Sandia Team Members Celebrate 10-Year Anniversaries

This month, members of our Sandia branch team celebrate a huge milestone—10 years of service at ACTenviro! The team went out for lunch and had a good time telling their funniest and weirdest stories as part of the team. We appreciate all their commitment and are very grateful to have such a great team!

Congratulations to our awesome team members and thank you for all you do!

Join Us For Our November Job Fairs!

We’re hiring! As we continue to grow, we’re looking for the best and brightest to join our team! We currently have various new openings in multiple locations, which can all be found at https://www.actenviro.com/careers. With great benefits—including competitive pay, affordable medical, 401k matching, generous PTO, gym reimbursement, and more—ACTenviro is the perfect place to take your career to the next level.

Come see us in person! We’re hosting on-site job fairs at two of our office locations, and hiring for our Dixon, Sacramento, San Jose and Sunnyvale branch locations. Mark your calendars today:

Sacramento and Dixon

WHEN: Tuesday, November 16th, 3 – 6 p.m.
WHERE: 4 Wayne Court, Building 9, Sacramento, CA 95829

San Jose and Sunnyvale

WHEN: Thursday, November 18th, 3 – 6 p.m.
WHERE: 967 Mabury Rd., San Jose, CA 95133

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]. We hope to see you there!

ACTenviro COVID-19 Facility Decontamination Services – How We Provide Efficient, Safe, and Affordable Coronavirus Decontaminations

Since the outbreak first emerged, surface cleaning and decontamination has been recommended by the CDC and other medical authorities as part of an overall strategy to minimize spread of Covid-19.  In response, in March, ACTenviro announced that we were expanding our services to provide facility decontamination of Covid-19.

As we said then, this isn’t our first rodeo – we have decades of experience with facilities decontamination. Coronavirus is different though, and we needed to make sure our decontamination procedures incorporated the best available information. First and foremost, we needed to uphold our core value of Safety, for our clients, employees, and communities.  Second, we needed to make sure our procedures were effective and would successfully remove surface contaminations.  In response, we created a Covid-19 Safety Committee, whose responsibility was ensuring our procedures incorporated the best guidance, such as the CDC Guidelines for facility cleaning and disinfection, and that we were updating our procedures whenever new information became available.

Facility cleaning and decontamination is recommended as a precautionary measure for all occupied indoor areas, with additional cleaning and decontamination for indoor areas that have been occupied by personnel who have contracted or potentially been exposed to coronavirus.

In general, Covid decontamination requires physical cleaning followed by use of approved disinfecting agents (bleach, ethanol, IPA or other approved disinfectants).  Workers will utilize personal protective equipment (PPE), including glove, respirators and protective clothing, based on the cleaners and disinfectants used as well as the method of application.  Work activities will progress in a systematic manner from the outside of the potentially contaminated, working from higher areas to lower areas.   Surfaces will be physically cleaned by ACT personnel before decontamination soap/water or other cleaners.

Once surfaces are physically clean, the decontaminating agent can be applied by hand wiping, spraying, fogging (with an electrostatic sprayer) or other suitable means. Disinfectant applied by hand wiping will be spread using a clean cloth or wipes so there is a visible amount on surfaces, but not so much so that there are large droplets or pools of liquid. Disinfecting agent will be allowed to air dry on surfaces or, if that is not feasible, will be left on the surface for the manufacturers recommended contact time.

ACT implemented these procedures to ensure surface decontamination is conducted effectively and consistently.  All decontamination projects will be led by a project manager, who will assess the unique needs of each client’s facility. Additionally, our teams have the highest level of training allowing us to provide preventative cleaning, decontamination and emergency response services safely and efficiently. We have the expertise to choose the right level of PPE to protect our workers without adding unnecessary burden or expense. Covid-19 Decontamination Certificates can be provided to clients as requested.

For more information or if you would like a free quote for your facility, please email us at [email protected] or call (866) 333-9222. Whether it’s proACTive or reACTive, our coronavirus response services handle everything from decontamination to disposal.

See our Coronavirus Services Page here.

California Environmental Compliance Deadlines under Covid-19 Lockdown

Like all businesses, hazardous waste and universal waste generators and handlers in California are impacted by the current coronavirus crisis and many are struggling to comply with the various hazardous waste and environmental compliance deadlines as they also manage the challenges associated with stay-at-home orders, working from home and social distancing.  Conducting weekly waste area inspections can seem like a low priority when we are trying to keep our business functioning while keeping our workers safe.

Unfortunately, the various public health orders and recommended practices that have been established to “flatten the curve” have not changed the underlying EPA and DTSC regulatory requirements.  All California hazardous waste generators are still expected to comply with applicable satellite accumulation area (SAA) and central accumulation area (CAA) requirements as well as requirements to update their hazardous materials business plan (HMBP) in the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS), to ensure workers stay current on hazardous waste training, to comply with applicable tiered permitting requirements and to satisfy other environmental responsibilities.

Most CUPAs and PAs take a practical, pragmatic approach and it is likely that they will show flexibility and understanding during future inspections, however the expectation from DTSC, Cal/EPA and EPA is that all parties will comply with applicable requirements.  For example the DTSC (https://dtsc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2020/04/DTSC-EERD-COVID-19-Guidance_4-06-20_a.pdf)  recognizes the hardships created by coronavirus control measures but states that:

“Hazardous waste generators, transporters, electronic waste handlers, and tiered permit facilities must comply with all statutory and regulatory requirements”

If compliance is not possible, the DTSC guidance document says that waste generators and others should document the specific requirement, why the delay occurred and what is being done to return to compliance.  There is also a procedure to request an extension to hazardous waste accumulation time periods for up to 30 days from the EPA (for RCRA wastes) of from the local CUPA (for non-RCRA wastes).

This approach is consistent with guidance from Cal/EPA (parent organization of the DTSC) at https://calepa.ca.gov/2020/04/15/calepa-statement-on-compliance-with-regulatory-requirements-during-the-covid-19-emergency/ which confirms the importance of environmental protection (through regulatory compliance).  Cal/EPA recognizes covid-related hardships but avoids blanket exemptions and instead states:

“Specific time-delimited remedies, such as the extension of deadlines, may be warranted under clearly articulated circumstances…”

So the bottom line from California environmental regulators is that generators can apply for exemptions or extensions under limited circumstances but that they need to do everything they can to dispose of their waste in a timely manner and comply with other applicable requirements, even under these challenging circumstances.

At ACTenviro, we will do whatever we can to support you through these tough times.  Please let us know how we can help – reach out any time at [email protected]

James Kapin, MPH, CIH, CSP
Director of EM Services

ACTenviro Is at California CUPA Conference 2020!

Come visit us in booth 46 during this week’s California CUPA Conference at Hyatt Regency SFO! At various times, our contingent will include Shawn Ball, Mariana Sabich, Adam Brandin, Jason Catalano, Nicole Martinez, Omar Numair and Chris Maddox, all of whom would love to tell you how our creative solutions can save you money and help the planet. #tradeshows #sustainability #creativesolutions

Come See Us in Booth 50 at NEBC’s Business & The Environment!

Portland branch manager Keo Chen (left), account manager Michael Acord (right) and account manager Mark Hayes (who took the picture) will be at the Northwest’s preeminent environmental services trade show today and tomorrow.

On-Site Services Team at Major Client Honored with Award

Congrats to some of our hard-working employees “embedded” on site with a major client in the semiconductor space! They were given an award by their customer-side counterparts “For your Commitment to Being a Partner in Our Success.” According to ACTenviro team leader JP Rousset, this commendation was likely in acknowledgement not only of our long and successful shared history but the projects we have in the works for the future.

Pictured at a celebratory lunch are (clockwise from left) Dana Lee, Ricardo Lopez, Cory Hartley, Jose Cortes-Aleman and JP in front. Nice work, team!

If you’re at our headquarters anytime soon, look for the stylish acrylic award displayed in the trophy case in our lobby. And if you’re with a company that is also in need of on-site services, please check out the info on our website and give us a call or drop us a line!

ACTenviro Makes Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Fast Private List Once Again

What an honor to be in the company of such impressive fellow award recipients! As always, the credit for the achievement goes to our incredible employees, who make up the engine that powers everything we do.

Thank you, each and every one of our 400+ team members. Congratulations to all of you on this latest recognition of your hard work. Way to embody our core values every day!

#safety #family #professionalism #customercommitment #forwardthinking