* Erionite falls into the mineral family zeolite It is fibrous like asbestos and is found in volcanic ash deposits which have been weathered by water. 

* Erionite forms in the hollows of rock formations and can be found on the earth’s surface.

* Erionite can absorb up to 20% of its weight in water and, hence, has been used as a commercial absorbent.  It has good thermal stability (also similar to asbestos in fire resistance).

Since you’ve probably never heard of Erionite, you might think you have no chance of encountering it but you would be mistaken! 

* Erionite deposits are found in many western states in the US including: Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.

* Occupational exposure to erionite is the most common way to encounter this dangerous mineral. 

* Miners of other zeolites are most often exposed and since it is sometimes a component in products containing zeolites, anyone can encounter erionite in commonly used items, especially laundry detergents, which contain zeolites. 

* Erionite has also been found in road dust in Nevada and North Dakota, which is of course dangerous to anyone on the road since the particles become airborne when a vehicle drives on the surface.

It is definitely time to regulate Erionite in the US and use the occupational safety protocols developed for workers who encounter asbestos.  Erionite is even more likely to cause mesothelioma than is asbestos. 

Alliance Environmental Group is happy to provide information about asbestos and other dangerous substances. If you need help with safely removing asbestos from a structure because of natural disaster, renovation or restoration, please contact us!

Wendy Stackhouse is the Online Community Manager for Alliance Environmental Group and AirTek Indoor Air Solutions.  She welcomes your comments!  For more news and tips or to ask questions of our experts, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!  For updates on indoor air challenges, Like us at AirTek on Facebook!

Have you ever wondered what it is like to have a heat treatment for bed bugs and other pests done on your home or apartment?  This video shows you the whole process and explains how and why it works.  The treatment takes six hours and kills bed bugs at all stages of development in one go, with no dangerous chemicals, no residue, no bagging of food or washing of linens necessary. 

If your home is infested with bed bugs, please call in a professional to kill them all in one treatment. Alliance Environmental Group offers ThermaPureHeat all over California and we would be very happy to talk to you about your home, apartment, office or any other structure which could benefit from heat treatment for bed bugs or other pests.

We at Alliance Environmental Group hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday!

Wendy Stackhouse is the Online Community Manager for Alliance Environmental Group and AirTek Indoor Air Solutions.  She welcomes your comments!  For more news and tips or to ask questions of our experts, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!  For updates on indoor air challenges, Like us at AirTek on Facebook!

“Dryer fires account for over 15,000 structure fires, 15 deaths and 400 injuries annually” (FEMA).

Dryer fires in non-residential structures like hospitals, schools and stores cause even more loss and injury.

Most dryer fires happen in residences and are totally preventable! 

How do vents get blocked?

Lint from laundry is the most common cause of a dryer vent blockage.  However, there can also be problems with small bird or animal nests and bends in the venting system. 

When do dryer fires happen?

Since people do laundry any time of the day or night, dryer fires can occur at any time as well.  Most happen between 8am and 12 midnight, but fires peak between noon and 5pm and again after dinner.

What are the major causes of dryer fires?

Lint is the major fuel for a dryer fire.  Lint needs to be removed from not only the lint trap in the dryer itself, but also from the vents and surrounding areas.  “Failure to clean” is the official reason for 70% of dryer fires.

Other causes are mechanical or electrical failure and improper use of the dryer, for example, if it is too full or there are combustibles stored too close by.

How Can I Prevent a Dryer Fire from Occurring in My Home?

* Keep combustibles away from the dryer area.  These can be cardboard boxes, clothing and cleaning supplies.
* Never put anything made of plastic, foam or rubber in the dryer.  They ignite much more easily than natural fibers.
* Vent the exhaust directly to the outside.  Dryer vents cannot be longer than the equivalent of 25 feet and you have to add length for any bend in the vent.  Bends are places where lint can build up and be difficult to clean out.
* Do not use plastic ducts between the vent and the dryer.  Many new homes do use these, but they are dangerous and can provide more fuel to a dryer vent fire.

FEMA recommends that you clean out your dryer ducts and vents every 2 years and whenever a heavy item like jeans seems to be taking an extra long time to dry.  Inspecting more often is recommended if your vent goes more than 6 feet from the dryer to the outside or if your dryer is an older model without moisture sensors or high temperature safety limits. 

They also recommend that you call in a professional inspector once a year if you are using a gas dryer, to make sure that the lines and connections are still doing their job well.

If your dryer vent system is long or complex and difficult to inspect and clean, you should call a professional to properly maintain your system.  Clothes dryer fires are dangerous, damaging and completely preventable.  If you need dryer vent maintenance and cleaning, please contact AirTek, Alliance Environmental Group’s Indoor Air Division, for information and assistance.

We don’t want a dryer fire to happen to YOU!

Wendy Stackhouse is the Online Community Manager for Alliance Environmental Group and AirTek Indoor Air Solutions.  She welcomes your comments!  For more news and tips or to ask questions of our experts, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!  For updates on indoor air challenges, Like us at AirTek on Facebook!

A bed bug bite takes between 7 and 10 days to appear on the skin.  They may or may not itch and they are usually quite small.  The often occur in a set of three, commonly referred to as “breakfast, lunch and dinner.”  Ew.

Like with poison ivy and poison oak, only allergic people will react to bed bug bites, but those reactions can range from small itchy spots to anaphylactic shock (very rare).

The skin of the hands, feet and face are more sensitive to bed bug bites and react more than other areas of the body.  Bed bug bites are also often misdiagnosed by doctors.

The itch of bed bug bites can be made worse by:

A warm bath
Chlorinated water from swimming
Exercise

Bed bug bites start as little red bumps, easily mistaken for mosquito bites.  They are typically longer than mosquito bites.  The swelling from a bed bug bite can be up to 20 centimeters across if you have a strong reaction.  The bite eventually progresses to a blister not unlike what is seen in chicken pox.

Since bed bugs do not feed every day, your rash or series of bites might only occur sporadically. 

Unfortunately, there are also psychological symptoms in a bed bug infestation.  Loss of sleep, anxiety and high levels of stress accompany these pests everywhere they go.

Luckily, bed bugs do not carry disease and the bites will go away on their own.  You can treat the itching topically as you would any other bug bite.

The most important thing to do is to eradicate the infestation as soon as it is discovered!

High heat has been proven to be the only eradication method effective in just one treatment.  It kills bed bugs at every stage of development—eggs through adults—and does not
contaminate a structure with powerful chemical insecticides, which require more than one treatment, bagging of food and moving out of the structure for an extended period.

Alliance Environmental Group is proud to offer ThermaPureHeat(r), which raises the temperature of an area, a room or an entire structure to over 150° to kill all insect pests in one treatment.  If you think you have bed bugs, please contact us!  Our services are available throughout California from offices in Azusa, Moorpark, Santa Clara, Aptos, San Diego, Palm Desert, and in January 2012 Anaheim!

Wendy Stackhouse is the Online Community Manager for Alliance Environmental Group and AirTek Indoor Air Solutions.  She welcomes your comments!  For more news and tips or to ask questions of our experts, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!  For updates on indoor air challenges, Like us at AirTek on Facebook!

Mercury is the only metal on Earth that is liquid under normal pressures and temperatures.  It is found around the world in deposits of Cinnabar, which is itself also highly toxic. 

There are some rules about disposal of mercury that you should know, but first…

The History of Mercury

Mercury has been used for thousands of years, but not for the same reasons we use it today.  It has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs as old as 1500 BCE.  In China and Tibet, mercury was used to heal broken bones, lengthen lifespans and for better health.  One Chinese Emperor was poisoned by a mixture of mercury and powdered jade that was intended to make him live forever!

The ancient Greeks and Romans used mercury in cosmetics, which sometimes caused deformities.  Alchemists thought of mercury as the “first matter” from which all other metals were formed and it was used in processes that attempted to transmute other metals into gold. 

Mercury became an important resource in the 16th Century when it was used to refine silver ores in Spain and Spain’s colonies in America.  Over 100,000 tons of mercury were mined in Peru between the mid-16th and mid 19th Centuries. 

Decorative pools could be filled with Mercury in Spain during that time and the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris sported a Mercury fountain designed by famous artist Alexander Calder.

Mercury has also been used for:
* Silvering mirrors
* Cleaning gun barrels
* Leveling roads
* Making hats
* Preserving wood

Peter Lewis Allen has written about mercury, “One eighteenth-century recipe called for mixing the liquid metal with hot chocolate, though the author cautioned against this exotic beverage because he felt that the ‘chocolate’ was too dangerous.”

Properties of Mercury

Mercury is not a good conductor of heat, but is a moderate conductor of electricity.  It does not react with most acids and can dissolve easily into many other metals, but not iron so iron has historically been used to store and transport mercury.  You cannot bring mercury on an airplane because it forms an amalgam with aluminum so easily, if there were an accident, it could damage exposed aluminum airplane parts.

Modern Uses of Mercury

Mercury is used in the manufacture of industrial chemicals and some commonly used products. 

Mercury can be found in the new compact-fluorescent light bulbs.  It is still used in dental amalgam fillings, as a preservative in vaccines and other over-the-counter products including: antiseptic ointments, laxatives, eye drops, nasal sprays and diaper-rash ointments.

Thermometers and Blood-Pressure meters, and Thermostats which use mercury can still be found, but they are being phased out and you are encouraged to replace your mercury thermostats and thermometers as soon as possible, but be sure to dispose of them properly!

Health Effects of Mercury Poisoning

Mercury poisoning can occur when exposed to mercury vapor or water-soluble forms of the element, or by eating contaminated fish.  The mining and refining of mercury are causes of mercury exposure and poisoning.  Mercury poisoning can cause: vision, speech and hearing impairment; coordination problems; liver failure; and death.  The effects are dependent on the dosage and how long the exposure occurred. 

Safe Disposal of Mercury

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates the disposal of mercury-containing equipment.

If you are renovating a structure and removing mercury thermostats, you need to dispose of them:
* With an HVAC wholesaler; or
* With your local government Household Hazardous Waste collection facility.

If you are found to have disposed of a mercury thermostat improperly, you could be fined as much as $25,000 for one violation and $25,000 per day for continuing violations.  That’s quite a fine!

As part of Alliance Environmental Group’s Demolition services, we adhere strictly to government regulations and dispose of all hazardous materials through a federally-licensed waste disposal company.  Click HERE to read more about our Hazardous Waste Cleanup Services.

Please be sure to dispose of your old thermometers and thermostats properly.  Protect the health of your family, your neighbors and your planet!

Wendy Stackhouse is the Online Community Manager for Alliance Environmental Group and AirTek Indoor Air Solutions.  She welcomes your comments!  For more news and tips or to ask questions of our experts, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!  For updates on indoor air challenges, Like us at AirTek on Facebook!