There are lots of important things to consider when choosing an apartment, house or trailer: commute time, distance to retail centers, public schools -- but perhaps the most important thing of all is, "How do I get rid of that stagnant meth-lab odor?"
Well, thanks to companies like USA Decon, you too can make sure your new abode is suitably free of residues left behind by any former occupants who engaged in the fine art of meth manufacturing. Had we known this sorta thing existed years ago, we never would've agreed to live in that one trailer in the desert for six months. Here are some things USA Decon's CEO, John DiGulio, told us in an e-mail about former meth lab cleanin':

Waste byproducts: "The danger of chemical fires and explosions extends beyond methamphetamine manufacture. After producing the finished methamphetamine, clandestine lab workers are typically left with 5-6 pounds of hazardous waste for each pound of finished methamphetamine produce."

MIDLAND, Mich.—May 22, 2012—The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and The Pennsylvania State University are expanding their strategic partnership by launching a pilot program to increase safety awareness and practices in the university’s Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering. The program will leverage key elements of Dow’s best-in-class practices to help elevate university laboratory safety.

In April, Dow announced a similar safety partnership pilot program with the University of Minnesota. This new partnership with Penn State reinforces Dow’s commitment to stimulate collaborative innovation with U.S. universities. Dow announced in October 2011 it would invest $25 million per year for 10 years among 11 academic institutions, including Penn State, to strengthen research in scientific fields important to Dow and to the nation’s future.

“A core part of our mission at Dow is to support universities and help them continue the tradition of excellence in chemical engineering, chemistry, and materials science,” said Dr. William F. Banholzer, Ph.D., executive vice president and Dow’s chief technology officer. “Dow recognizes that laboratory safety is a continuing challenge for universities everywhere, and we have the expertise to be part of the solution. This pilot program leverages Dow’s strength in creating and sustaining a culture of safety in our labs — a culture that centers on driving behavior toward incident prevention, with a high level of employee engagement.”

The chemical that sent a dozen people to the hospital Tuesday following an explosion in an Arlington Heights factory demands caution when working with it, even in laboratory conditions, a chemistry professor said Wednesday.

Kristen Leckrone, an associate professor of chemistry at Roosevelt University, said people expecting to encounter the substance, potassium hydroxide, normally wear gloves, goggles, and sometimes even a respirator if there’s a possibility of it being released into the air.

“It can dissolve and damage lung tissue,” Leckrone said.

According to its material safety data sheet, potassium hydroxide has a fire hazard of 0 on a 4-point scale, Leckrone said. But it has a reactivity rating of 2 out of 4, and a health risk rating of 3 out of 4.

Though not flammable itself, it can react with metals or other substances to produce potentially explosive hydrogen gas, Leckrone said.

As with a strong acid, a strong base like potassium hydroxide can have a caustic effect on the skin and lungs. But what makes a base different from an acid is that it’s more readily absorbed by tissue and thus easier to neutralize than to wash off, Leckrone added.

A dilute solution of weak acids such as vinegar could be used to treat skin burned by potassium hydroxide. But the treatment of potassium hydroxide inhalation or ingestion would be more complicated, she said.

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App of the Week: Melo, from Neil Turner's Blog http://www.neilturner.me.uk

Turn a Python, Perl, Ruby, or Shell Script Into a Self Contained Application for Mac OS X, from OS X Daily http://osxdaily.com

Consultant’s Canary is the Ultimate Troubleshooting Aid for Mac OS X, from OS X Daily http://osxdaily.com

IBM stung by BYOD pitfalls, from Apple http://gigaom.com

Access the iOS Photo Stream from the Mac OS X Finder, from OS X Daily http://osxdaily.com

TMO Quick Tip: Mac OS X: Open Contacts & Events in Separate Windows, from The Mac Observer http://www.macobserver.com/

Petter Reinholdtsen: ColorHug - USB and free software based screen color calibration, from Planet Debian http://planet.debian.org/

PLAQUEMINE, La. — Four Georgia Gulf contract employees are recovering after being exposed to chlorine at work.

WAFB TV reports (http://bit.ly/KnT0FD ) the accident happened at the chemical and vinyls plant in Plaquemine around 9 p.m. Tuesday.

A Georgia Gulf spokesman said the four were near a railcar when the chlorine was being offloaded, but they were not the ones handling it.

Parish officials said there was no need for road closures or evacuations.

After a science class fire at Maple Grove Junior High last year left several students injured, Osseo School District did an audit on its teacher-led science classroom demonstrations.

A May 17, 2012 memo from Osseo School District Assistant Superintendent Keith Jacobus to Superintendent Kate Maguire outlined the audit process as well as the results. The demonstration reportedly used in the ninth-grade science class at Maple Grove Junior High on Dec. 1, 2011 was suspended immediately in the district following the accident.

It's time for Apple to provide direct document access in iOS, from iMore - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog http://www.imore.com

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SAP HANA Available on AWS for Free!, from sapdba's blog http://blog.sapdba.com/

DevOp and why I want to be one, from BoobBoo's multi-threaded hyperthoughts http://boobboo.com/blog

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. - The Osseo School District is making changes to its teacher-led science demonstrations after four students were injured in a classroom accident several months ago.

In the 71-page report, the methanol demonstration that burned the students back in December will not be allowed pending further review. It has not been used in the classroom since the accident.

It's called the "Whoosh - Flash Bottle" demonstration where someone drops a match into a jug of methanol.

The report also calls for a more stringent approval process for science demonstrations, a detailed list of approved demonstrations, and all secondary science teachers will now have to watch videos on science safety.

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