Mar 11, 1997

Pacific Medical Clinics

Pacific Medical Clinics, a health care provider network with 22 clinics in the Puget Sound region, has appointed Jeffrey Cantor to the staff at Pacific Medical Clinics-Totem Lake. John Sekijima, who has been practicing at Pacific Medical Clinic-Beacon Hill, has expanded his service to the Totem Lake Clinic. In the marketing communications department, Lynn Foley has been named director of marketing communications, Kristin Bartelt, Lorelei Herres and Anne Skelton have been named marketing communications managers, and Darin Morgan has been appointed marketing communications assistant.

Lane Powell Spears Lubersky

Michael Nesteroff has been elected as partner at the Seattle office of Lane Powell Spears Lubersky. Nesteroff concentrates his practice in the areas of business and commercial litigation.

The Inn at Gig Harbor

The Inn at Gig Harbor has appointed Doug Tidwell as general manager. The Inn is a 66 unit, full service, upscale hotel to be opened in mid summer 1997.

FASNA

The Seattle CPA firm of Benson & McLaughlin has been elected as a charter member of the Forensic Accountants Society of North America (FASNA).

Shurgard Storage

Shurgard Storage has introduced Shurgard Storage Stops Northgate, Alderwood and Southcenter malls. Storage Stops are permanent, free-standing customer service centers located in high-traffic areas of malls. Customers are able to find out about Shurgard's full range of storage options at the shopping mall kiosks.

UW Computer Fair

The 23rd annual UW Computer Fair will take place on March 19-20 at the UW Seattle Campus. The fair will focus on emerging technologies like Internet service and speech recognition. Bran Ferren, executive vice president for creative technology and research and development for Walt Disney Imagineering, will deliver the keynote address at 11 a.m., March 19, in the HUB Ballroom. All fair activities are free and open to the public. For more information, see the fair web page.

Caffee Appassionato

Seattle-based Caffe Appassionato, a specialty coffee retailer, franchisor, and distributor, has appointed Dan Burns as director of the grocery division.

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance board of directors has elected Will Lutgen, Jr. as the organization's first executive director. The Alliance, which was incorporated in the fall of 1996, is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the efficiency of electric use and reducing the cost to Northwest consumers of energy-efficient products and services through market transformation. Funding for the Alliance is provided by the Pacific Northwest investor-owned utilities and the Bonneville Power Administration on behalf of its customers, including consumer-owned utilities and direct-service industries.

ABC

New officers have been elected for the Associated Builders & Contractors of Western Washington. The new president is Pat Oda of Shinstine/Associates Inc. Oda says the main priority for the organization is to preserve the ability of all contractors to bid on public works projects. Other new officers include: Wally Clayton of Pivetta Brothers Construction, president-elect; Nick Cooper of Rafn Company, vice president; Steve Galash of S.D. Deacon Corp. of Washington, vice president; Jerry McMullen of McMullen Electric, vice president; Steve Schmitz of Schmitz & Associates, secretary/treasurer; and Steve Leverett of Modular Electric, immediate past president. Members of the ABC board of directors include: Joan Baldwin of TEC Mechanical/Electrical Service, Wayne Ballinger of Grinnell Fire Protection, Doug Crawford of Air Systems Engineering, Gary Darling of Mastercraft Electric, John Hennessy of Nuprecon Inc., Bob Jayne of Frontier Construction, De Leigh of DeBolte Plumbing, Don Mar of Marpac Construction and Bob Mickel of In Store Services. Kathleen Garrity will serve her 15th year as executive director of the organization.

Holaday-Parks

Bijit "BJ" Giri has been appointed project manager for Holaday-Parks Inc.'s special projects tenant improvements department of its design/build division. He began construction management for the mechanical contractor in 1995 after working five years in the engineering department.

Lease Crutcher Lewis

Nine new staff members have been added at Lease Crutcher Lewis. Michael Martin is a project engineer; Carol Beard, project manager in the Special Projects Division; Roy Brown, project superintendent; Mike Alton, safety supervisor; Eric Peterson, a project engineer, and Howard Johnson, project engineer. Sharlet Driggs is new in estimating, Matt Hays in marketing and Terrie Larson in accounting.

E. Kent Halvorson

Raymond Hultgren has joined E. Kent Halvorson Inc. as a project manager. He has over 10 years of construction experience, most recently as a project manager for Foushee & Associates. He holds a construction management degree from Washington State University.

W.G. Clark

Ron Lane and Don Wellborn have joined W.G. Clark Construction as superintendents. Lane has over 30 years of construction experience, primarily in commercial and industrial projects. Wellborn has logged 23 years of construction experience in retail, commercial and industrial projects.

Sabey Construction

DAS Construction has changed its name to Sabey Construction to reflect its closer affiliation with its sister company, Sabey Corp. The company's address and other pertinent information are the same.

Approach

Barrie J. Andrews has joined Approach Management Services to help administer the risk management company's newest retrospective rating group -- the National Electrical Contractors' Association. Andrews is a certified workers' compensation claims administrator.

Philip to acquire Allwaste, Serv-Tech

HAMILTON, Ontario -- Canadian metals-processing concern Philip Environmental Inc. said last week it has agreed to acquire two U.S. environmental-services companies for a combined $612 million. The result will be the largest such company in North America, Philip said, with more than 11,000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $1.74 billion. Philip said it will buy Houston-based Allwaste Inc. in a stock swap valued at $540 million, including about $133 million in assumed Allwaste debt. The combined operations would have annual revenue of more than $1.6 billion and 215 operating locations in North and South America and western Europe, Philip said. The transaction is subject to the approval of regulatory bodies in the United States and Canada, and to the approval of shareholders of both companies. Separately, Philip said it also agreed to acquire Serv-Tech Inc., in a stock swap valued at $72 million, or $6.60 a share, including the assumption of about $21 million of debt. Serv-Tech, a Houston-based provider of electrical and environmental services with 21 locations mainly in the Gulf Coast region in the United States, had revenue of about $140 million in 1996.

EPA says 1996 was a record year for fines

WASHINGTON -- Environmental violators had a tough year in 1996, with federal regulators slapping more fines than ever on polluters. A record 262 criminal cases were referred by the Environmental Protection Agency to the Justice Department last year, with $76.7 million in fines collected -- more than double the previous record -- EPA officials said Feb. 25. Also at a record level in 1996 was the total of criminal, civil and administrative fines and penalties -- $173 million from 557 referrals. Steven A. Herman, EPA assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance, attributed the rise to a bigger budget, especially during the second part of 1996. Efforts during the first half of the year were hampered by the shutdown of government as lawmakers haggled over the budget, he said. The agency also said new performance measures led polluters to spend $1.49 billion to correct violations and more offenders came forth under the EPA's voluntary disclosure programs.

Delta's CEO taught course in S. Africa

SEATTLE -- Dr. Richard C. Pleus, principal and CEO of Delta Toxicology, taught a multi-pathway risk assessment and toxicology course last week in Pretoria, South Africa. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research invited Pleus to conduct the week-long seminar. A specialist in neurological and reproductive toxicology, Pleus has given presentations and seminars throughout North America and overseas. Delta Toxicology is a Seattle-based scientific research and consulting firm specializing in the assessment, control and communication of health risks posed by environmental contamination. The company's 10 staff members have expertise in the fields of human health and ecological risk assessment, risk communication, litigation, education, environmental management and library and information services.

Sampling and evaluating asbestos dust

KENT -- Med-Tox Northwest is offering a four-day course called "Sampling and Evaluating Asbestos Dust" March 17-20 in Kent. Classes will meet from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Med-Tox Northwest Training Center, West Valley Executive Park, 19032 66th Ave. S., Suite C105. The course will provide National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH) 582 equivalency. Cost is $650. The course is designed for abatement contractors and industrial hygiene technicians who work on asbestos abatement projects. It will focus on sampling protocols, calculations and reporting requirements for asbestos monitoring during abatement activities. To register for the course, call Judy Lurvey at (206) 656-2920 by March 12.

EMS alternative to pollution prevention

BELLEVUE -- Lynn Helbecht, an environmental planner with the state Department of Ecology, will give an overview of a new statewide program that allows a business to develop an environmental management system instead of a pollution prevention plan. Helbecht will speak from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. March 14 at AirTouch Cellular, 15800 S.E. Eastgate Way, Bellevue. There is no cost to attend the meeting. Ecology currently requires businesses and industrial facilities that generate high levels of waste to develop pollution prevention plans. For the past six months, Helbecht has led Ecology's efforts to offer this new EMS-based approach. She will explain the application process for the EMS alternative and the criteria for remaining in the program once a company's EMS is approved. Helbecht also will talk about how this new approach is related to ISO 14001. Participating industry and government representatives will be on hand to answer questions. International Standards Initiative of Issaquah has coordinated the meeting. For more information, call K.C. Ayers at (206) 392-7610.

Environmentalists blast hospital incinerators

WASHINGTON -- A coalition of environmental and public health groups last week charged that loose regulations allow hospital incinerators to spew cancer-causing pollutants into the atmosphere. "Medical waste incinerators recently have been identified as a top source of the notorious environmental contaminant dioxin, one of the most potent toxic chemicals known to humankind," said Kenneth Cook, head of the Environmental Working Group. The group's report, called "First, Do No Harm," says the Clinton administration's proposed regulations for hospital-waste incineration would "do next to nothing to halt emissions of dioxin, mercury and other pollutants into the environment." The coalition comprises about 40 environmental and public health organizations, including Greenpeace, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the National Women's Health Network. The group's study estimated that America's hospitals generate about 2 million tons of waste each year. Much of that is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, which produces dioxin when burned. The incinerators also release mercury, cadmium and other dangerous pollutants into the air, the report said. The study found that New York produces about 200,000 tons of medical waste per year, more than any other state. Washington generates 24,220 tons of such waste each year. The environmentalists also found that 69 percent of hospital-waste incinerators have no pollution control devices. Among the report's recommendations were recycling noninfectious waste products, eliminating the "nonessential" incineration of medical waste and phasing out the use of dioxin-producing plastics and other toxic substances. Dioxin has been linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed new guidelines for medical-waste incineration in February 1995 and is scheduled to issue the final regulations this summer. The agency said the environmentalists' criticisms were premature. To order a copy of the "First, Do No Harm" report, call Melanie Duchin at Greenpeace at (206) 632-4326, Ext. 112. Information in Environment Watch is from DJC staff and news services.