Articles

PFAS or “per-and polyfluoryoalkyl substances” are a class of compounds (several thousand) that contain a chain of carbon and fluorine in their structure.   PFAS have been used globally for over 60 years, and are still being used because of their many useful properties – they are chemically inert; resistant to [...]

Process Safety Management (PSM) and Risk Management Planning (RMP) programs are made up of fourteen elements.  Some of the elements are very complex and require a lot of labor to compile and manage while some of the other elements can refer to other regulatory programs.  A complex labor-intensive element would [...]

Integrated Contingency Plans (ICPs), also known as the National Response Team’s One Plan, are becoming an increasingly popular approach for companies seeking to streamline their required written environmental documents. The goal of an ICP is to consolidate multiple regulations into a single, comprehensive document that outlines how a company will [...]

August Mack has been involved with remediation projects since the start of the company in 1988.  Moreover, our founders, Geoff Glanders and Bryan Petriko (the company is named after their grandfathers), were involved in remediation since the early 1980s when State and Federal environmental laws and cleanup programs (e.g., underground [...]

Molds are naturally occurring in the environment and are found almost everywhere, including indoors. However, at high concentrations, molds can affect the health of humans, especially immunocompromised or hypersensitive individuals. Exposure to molds, and the mycotoxins they produce, can lead to adverse health effects, such as fungal infections, rash, fever, [...]

August Mack was retained by a large water and wastewater utility serving over 1,000,000 customers to develop its overall strategy for managing PFAS associated with its operations. The utility uses groundwater and surface water to provide drinking water to its customers and operates an extensive wastewater conveyance and treatment system [...]

Are you considering purchasing a commercial or industrial property that may have environmental contamination?  Are you curious about the difference between the Ohio EPA Voluntary Action Program and ASTM Phase I ESA/Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Defense? Since 1994, the only way for a purchaser in Ohio to receive a release [...]

ProUCL is a statistical software package developed by the USEPA using many of the concepts found in the RCRA Unified Guidance. Originally developed to evaluate concerns at a specific Superfund site, the USEPA has, after considerable feedback from the remediation community, continued to update the software with additional features and [...]

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) guides August Mack through the Tier II reporting season at the beginning of each new year. EPCRA was passed by Congress in 1986 in response to environmental concerns about the storage and handling of toxic chemicals. President Reagan signed EPCRA into law, [...]

Most professionals in the Commercial Real Estate Arena are aware of the ASTM Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report (Phase I ESA). The fourth iteration of the ASTM (1527) was published in 2021, but all iterations represent a method of due diligence to mitigate legal and business risk associated with [...]

Have you ever heard the phrase “ignorance is bliss”? I’m sure we all have.  Unfortunately, that phrase isn’t always correct, especially when it comes to environmental and safety regulatory infractions.  Setting aside the moral obligation to protect our workforce and natural resources, with documented fines reaching the million dollar mark [...]

What do non-stick coated pans, waterproof fabrics, oil-resistant food packaging, stain-resistant materials, and fire-fighting foam all have in common?  They all potentially contain fluorinated compounds, and more specifically, are made with a suite of specialty chemicals called Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOAs).   PFOS and PFOAs both are fluorinated [...]