“In limits, there is freedom.” — Julia Cameron There is great comfort in knowing that even the most hazardous substances have safe limits. One molecule of a substance is not enough to be hazardous. However, there is some concentration—especially for gases and vapors—that is too high to be exposed to safely. A lot of effort [...]
“If I’d known I was going to live so long, I would have taken better care of myself.” — Billy Noonan The 1967 film, The Graduate, has one of the most famous lines in all of cinema. Mr. McGuire is giving advice to recent college graduate, Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman. Mr. McGuire: “Just [...]
“If you don’t live up to somebody’s standards, you get hammered.” — Anthony Rendon I drive a 2006 Toyota Corolla. When I bought it in 2008, the odometer read 11,499 miles. In 2013, when the odometer crossed the 100,000-mile threshold, I declared my hope to reach 250,000 miles. The car is now closing in on [...]
“Rather than a prosecutor saying, ‘You have nothing to fear if you have done nothing,’ a more accurate portrayal would be ‘If I decide you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.’ ” — Sidney Dekker I hate it when a prosecutor, especially a politically ambitious prosecutor, decides that the best way to [...]
“ ‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean neither more or less.’ ” — Lewis Carroll, in Through the Looking-Glass When Administrative Law Judge Richard DeBenedetto ruled against OSHA in the case of Secretary of Labor v. Meer Corporation (No. [...]
“I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future.” — Howard Schutz A chemical incident in Southern California unfolded over the 2026 Memorial Day Weekend that captured the attention of every major [...]
“Do you fix a wheel that isn’t broken, or do you wait until the cart collapses?” — Jodi Picoult During the week beginning Thursday, May 21, 2026, and going over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, our phones lit up with queries from friends and acquaintances about a series of chemical mishaps and disasters that got [...]
“When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty.” — Norm Crosby During the 15 years I have lived in the city of Saint Louis, I’ve been called for jury duty four times. The most recent was just [...]
“Give me a 15-foot crocodile any day over a bee.” — Bindi Irwin We recently had an unexpected hazard appear outside our office. Unexpected by us, our neighbors, and the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department, at least. A hive of bees covered the fire hydrant outside our front door. From across the street, neighbors carefully [...]
“You will die but the carbon will not; its career does not end with you.” — Jacob Bronowski A few months ago, I wrote about a project that Bluefield was undertaking to understand the carbon dioxide levels in and around alcohol fermenters. Particularly the fermenters in craft distilleries and microbreweries. I promised to keep everyone [...]
