Oct 17, 1995

Ostex

Ostex International Inc., a Seattle-based company engaged in the discovery and development of diagnostics and therapeutics for diseases of the skeleton, has appointed Susan A. McAllister as director of investor relations. Previously, McAllister had her own consulting business, served as vice president of Corporate Communications, a division of The Rockey Company, and was an account executive with Merrill Lynch. She is past president of the Seattle Chapter of the National INvestor Relations Institute.

Enterprise Bank

Bellevue-based Enterprise Bank has announced a new management addition and promotion as the company expands its commercial banking capabilities following its recent acquisition by Washington Mutual. Catherine Greene, most recently senior vice president of Key Bank, has been appointed senior vice president and credit administrator. She has extensive background in mid-market commercial lending. Senior Vice President Harve E. Menkens' responsibilities have been expanded to include management of the bank's lending offices in Bellevue and Seattle. Prior to joining Enterprise Bank, Menkens held commercial banking positions at Rainier Bank and Wells Fargo National Bank.

ICF Kaiser

Donald R. Russell has been named vice president and Northwest operations manager for ICF Kaiser Engineering Group in Seattle. Russell is a licensed civil engineer with nearly 40 years experience. He was previously president and CEO of EnviroTire Inc.

NWCCC

The Northwest Construction Consumer Council held its third annual Construction Industry Safety Excellence Awards ceremony recently in Seattle. Richard Terrill, acting OSHA Region 10 director, presented the awards, which recognize firms that take a leadership role in managing safety performance on construction sites. Awards were presented in four categories. The first award honored the Weyerhaeuser Company for its Longview kraft modernization project. Weyerhaeuser was cited for its programs in managing the safety performance of its construction contractors. The Shell Oil Company received the construction industry cost-effectiveness award for its Anacortes refinery major projects. Constructor safety awards commending safety performance over the past three years were given to Brown & Root Industrial Services Inc. and Dunkin & Bush Inc. Three additional firms were honored for exemplary safety programs: Baugh Industrial Inc.; Haskell Corp.; and Snelson Companies Inc. NWCCC represents construction industry owners, design professionals and contractors throughout five Northwest states.

Leadership and motivation class

The Associated General Contractors of Washington Education Foundation is offering a leadership and motivation program Nov. 4, 11 and 18 in Bremerton. The program will cover such concerns as: getting commitments from others, delegating responsibility, staying in control, and identifying the impact of attitude and ability on performance. Instructor is Marlene Richards. Classes run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Bremerton location is at Olympic College, Room B106, 1600 Chester Ave. Cost of the program is $195 per person. For further information, contact Alison McGuire at (206) 284-0061 or (800) 562-2868.

L&I workshops

The state Department of Labor and Industries has scheduled hundreds of free workshops in the upcoming months to help the public understand the agency's safety and health rules and industrial insurance requirements. Just some of the workshop topics include: accident investigation; accident prevention programs; bloodborne pathogens; confined space; controlling claims costs; excavation and trenching; fall protection; hazard communication; hazardous waste operation and emergency response; industrial insurance quarterly reports; injury and illness recordkeeping; ergonomics and voluntary guidelines; job analysis; lockout/tagout; making cents of premium dollars; new employer orientation; office ergonomics; residential construction safety; retrospective ratings; return-to-work programs; loss control; workers' compensation; and ADA. Workshops will be conducted in Bellingham, Everett, Mount Vernon, Bellevue, Seattle, Tukwila, Bremerton, Tacoma, Port Angeles, Aberdeen, Longview, Tumwater, Vancouver, Ephrata, Kennewick, Okanogan, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Yakima, Colville, Pullman, and Spokane. For further information, or to register, call (360) 902-5590.

Project management

Northwest Construction Consumer Council is holding two single-day seminars on construction project management. The workshops are directed toward the owner, engineering firm and contractor. They will overview information released from the Construction Industry Institute at the University of Texas. Jim Neil will instruct both seminars. He holds a doctorate from Texas A&M and has over 10 years experience in project controls, management systems, project management training and improved cost effectiveness program implementation with Morrison Knudsen Corp. The workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 at Nendels at Southcenter (15901 W. Valley Road, Tukwila). Registration is free for NWCCC members and $195 for non-members. The registration deadline is Oct. 23. To register, contact NWCCC at (206) 382-9929.

Construction selling skills

FMI Corp. is presenting a Nov. 2-3 seminar on construction selling skills in New Orleans. The program is designed to show managers how to turn job opportunities into backlog and profit. The two-day course is geared toward sales people, marketing professionals, project managers and CEOs. For registration information, contact Bekky Glover of FMI at (800) 877-1364.

First aid/CPR

AGC of Washington Safety & Loss Control Services Department is holding a first aid/CPR class Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 in Tacoma at the Southern District Office (3820 S. Pine, lower level). The class will run both nights from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Cost is $32 per person. Attendance is limited to AGC members only. For further information, contact Gracia Macy at (206) 284-0061 or (800) 562-2868.

Omega Environmental

BOTHELL -- Omega Environmental Inc. has appointed Louis J. Tedesco, 55, a veteran executive of Fluor Corp. and Dravo Corp., as its president and chief executive officer. He has also been named to Omega's board of directors, increasing the size of the board to six directors. David C. Kravitz, 38, who has served as Omega's president since 1992, was elected chairman of the board. Former Chairman Leo L. Azure Jr., 56, will continue to serve as a director, and was named chairman of the company's new Executive Committee. Tedesco joins Omega following six years as president and chief executive officer of Energy America Inc., an energy and environmental services company owned in part by Occidental Petroleum. Earlier, he served as president and CEO of Dravo Corp.'s worldwide combined engineering companies, and as corporate senior vice president and group executive for all of its engineering and construction functions. From 1981 to 1985, Tedesco was with Fluor Corp. as a vice president and general manager of Fluor Engineers Inc., where his responsibilities included leadership of a full service engineering and construction management division serving power, process and petrochemical markets and clients. Omega Environmental is a leading provider of comprehensive products and services for fuel and chemical storage and handling, including engineered remediation services for contaminated soils and groundwater, through 52 offices in the U.S. and North America.

Weyerhaeuser, Postal Service join forces

TACOMA (Dow Jones News) -- Weyerhaeuser Co. said last week it was selected by the U.S. Postal Service to collect and recycle its wastepaper in 11 Western states. Weyerhaeuser will pay the Postal Service based on current market levels for the wastepaper, and the agency is expected to receive revenues of more than $1 million a year from the arrangement, the company said. Under the agreement, Weyerhaeuser will collect office wastepaper, old corrugated containers, newspaper and undeliverable third-class bulk business mail from 395 postal facilities in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The agreement is expected to generate more than 700,000 pounds a week of mixed office paper or undeliverable third-class bulk business mail and over 75,000 pounds per week of corrugated cardboard, the company and the Postal Service said. Weyerhaeuser, a Tacoma-based forest products company, uses the paper it collects in the manufacture of new printing and writing papers, corrugated containers and newsprint.

Everett apartments offered free recycling

Up to 20,000 Everett residents living in 575 apartment complexes will be eligible for free recyling services as part of an agreement between the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) and Rubatino Refuse Removal, which provides garbage and recycling services to city residents. In March 1995, the Everett City Council passed an ordinance requiring recyling services to be provided to all multi-family complexes with garbage service. It was assumed that there would be a charge for the recycling which would be offset by savings resulting from less garbage. However, strong marking conditions over the past year for recyclable materials have allowed RRR to offer recycling services at no additional cost. As those market conditions change, the company, with oversight of the WUTC, will evaluate the need to charge for the services. The rates apply to all multi-family apartment complexes in Everett that contain five units or more and are serviced by Rubatino. Some trailer courts and condominiums are also eligible. To begin the new service, apartment managers can call RRR at (206) 259-0044 or the city of Everett Recycling Coordinator at (206) 259-8988 for more information. It is expected to take six months to a year to establish the service at all complexes.

Whidbey Island site removed from Superfund

SEATTLE (AP) -- The seaplane base at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station has been removed from the national priority list of Superfund sites, the Environmental Protection Agency says. The federal agency said Wednesday that it has determined the seaplane base no longer poses a significant threat to public health or the environment. The site was placed on the priority list in 1990 because part of the base had been contaminated with lead, arsenic, PCBs and pesticides. Nearly 1,300 cubic yards of contaminated soil was removed, with the work completed last November, the EPA said.

DOE grant program seeks 1996 applicant

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Industrial Competitiveness through Energy, Environment and Economics grant program is looking for 1996 projects. Industry applicants must submit a project proposal by Jan. 16 through a state energy, pollution prevention or business development office. One-time grants of up to $400,000 will be awarded. Region 10 applicants can call the following contacts: Virginia Haas, Washington State Energy Office, (360) 956-2241; Mark Kendall, Oregon Department of Energy, (503) 378-7806; Peter Crimp, Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs, (907) 269-4631; and Gerald Fleischman, Idaho Department of Water Resources, (208) 327-7959. General questions about the program should be directed to Roxanne Dempsey, DOE, at (206) 553-2155.

Record fine for asbestos removal violations

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) -- A chemical company has agreed to pay $1.2 million for improperly handling and removing asbestos while demolishing a manufacturing plant. The fine against Hercules Inc. is the largest settlement under the Clean Air Act's asbestos regulations, the Justice Department said. A consent decree was lodged Thursday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke and will be filed after a 30-day public comment period. The Justice Department alleged that Hercules failed to notify the Environmental Protection Agency before having a contractor demolish the building in Covington. The company also failed to make sure the asbestos was wet before it was removed to keep fibers from floating in the air, the government said. Inhaling asbestos fibers can cause cancer and lung disease. Hercules plans to pay the fine and improve its asbestos management, said Amy Binder, a spokeswoman at the company's Wilmington, Del., headquarters. "We weren't rigorous enough to make sure the contractor was certified and following procedures," she said. Hercules agreed to begin a training program for those involved in asbestos removal and appoint a national asbestos coordinator to review all demolition and renovation projects at its U.S. facilities. The Covington plant was used to produce plastic film for packaging in the 1970s. It was damaged by fire in 1980, and Hercules hired a company to demolish it in 1992. The work went on for seven months before an EPA inspector discovered the asbestos contamination, the complaint said.