Specialty: environmental health and safety
President: Judy Lurvey
1999 revenues: just under a million
2000 projected: about $2 million
Location: Auburn
Med-Tox Northwest offers comprehensive environmental engineering and hazardous waste management services, including environmental audits, underground storage tank investigation, risk control consultation and health and safety plan management.
About 75 percent of the company's work is for the government, including the Department of Defense, and agencies such as the Port of Seattle.
"For the Port of Seattle, we have provided construction monitoring and oversight, where we look for health and safety issues and perform a variety of air monitoring tests," said president Judy Lurvey. Work for the federal government has included asbestos and lead surveys, she added.
An encouraging sign, Lurvey said, is that clients are showing increased awareness about the importance of services from firms like hers. "One of the trends I see in the environmental business is that clients are more mature at this point, identifying services they want more clearly," she said. "The general public is getting more educated on how to deal with asbestos."
The public education process for lead dangers is improving, but not as advanced as asbestos education, she said. Lead is commonly found in paint and pipe solder, and has been found to cause central nervous system damage. "The control measures used for lead are very similar as asbestos," Lurvey said. "We're doing a lot of lead surveys."
The company has also seen an increase in indoor air quality and mold surveys. Lurvey said there is increased concern over adverse effects caused by poor air quality in buildings. "There are people with illnesses directly related to mold issues," she said. Med-Tox has a staff of certified industrial hygienists who design and implement a monitoring program to identify potential air quality concerns.
In addition, Med-Tox provides Level 1 site assessments, which are now required by most leading lending institutions prior to property transfer, Lurvey said. The study identifies and evaluates the impact of adverse environmental conditions caused by site activities.