The dangers of heat stress for industrial workers, athletes, emergency responders, construction workers, and anyone working outdoors continue to grow yearly. According to NASA, the past eight years are the warmest since modern record-keeping began in 1880. DQE’s new website focuses on the causes of heat stress, heat illness signs and treatment, and how the Kore Kooler Rehab Chair relieves heat stress through a cooling process called forearm immersion.

Workers suffer over 3,500 injuries and illnesses related to heat each year. In April, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched a National Emphasis Program to protect millions of workers from heat illness and injuries.

The CDC has updated their recommendation for the wearing of N95 and other NIOSH-approved masks, citing that, “When worn consistently and properly, N95 respirators provide the highest level of protection from particles, including the virus that causes COVID-19.” To protect yourself and others from COVID-19, CDC continues to recommend that you wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently.

A full-scale mock disaster exercise was conducted by firefighters, police offices, and Emergency Operation Center officials on Friday, Oct. 1 in Jackson Center, OH. The Decon Zone included DQE’s decontamination pool and the Indestructo decontamination shower system for decontaminating a HazMat responder after stopping a leak in a tanker truck.

Micro-hospitals and freestanding emergency rooms are popping up all around the country. Just like traditional hospitals, these facilities must meet CMS guidelines and have an Emergency Operations Plan in place to address hazard vulnerabilities. Consider a scenario where a contaminated patient enters the building and needs decontamination, is there a plan to address this situation? DQE’s Micro-Hospital Patient Decontamination System provides a simple, professional, and affordable approach to patient decontamination.

Record heat is spreading across the United States. Explore the heatwave forecast for your county and track weekly cases of heat-related illness across the country with the CDC Heat & Health Tracker. Search for heat and health by county or zip code, create custom maps, view data snapshots, and access CDC guidance and resources. 

This mapping tool by the Harvard Global Health Institute shows how severe the pandemic is where you live. The COVID Risk Level map shows the current risk level by county according to a seven day average of daily cases per 100k people.

Every community needs to plan and prepare for the risks of HazMat, CBRN, and mass casualty incidents. These emergency plans should include policies for quick and efficient decontamination of contaminated victims. DQE, the leader in portable decontamination systems, introduces the MasCas® II Decontamination Shower, a durable, lightweight, multi-victim decon shower with a fast-deploying design for technical decontamination.

The following COVID-19 resources provide guidance on the processes for cleaning and disinfecting protective garments and PAPRs in the event that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and to ensure proper hygiene practices between uses.

These are excellent resources for videos on safely removing disposable gowns, face masks and gloves amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These videos are consistent with CDC recommendations as of March 24, 2020.