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The Dummies Guide To Environmental Consulting

March 1st, 2021 by Tom Simmons


If you’ve seen HRP’s YouTube videos, you know there’s a ton of useful knowledge wrapped up in a concise and entertaining package. You’ll also notice me, often demonstrating how not to do something, or just generally acting the fool. I’ll give you a little peek behind the curtain here and clue you into some behind the scenes fun facts. Fun Fact #1 of 1: I really am that dumb! But what’s great about HRP’s videos is that even I’m able to learn from them! Here are three of my favorite nuggets of knowledge I’ve picked up along the way!

How UV Light Sterilizes

Ultraviolet light, like all light, is radiation. Ultraviolet light, irradiates microorganisms. Without those microorganisms to infect, viruses can’t reproduce and spread across surfaces. Not just surfaces, but the stronger ultraviolet lamps, like the big one seen in the video, have a similar effect on the air. You can smell it too. Like we say in the video, keep the space vented for a good period of time before you go in, but even after that, the scent of the UV sterilization is still in the air, faint, but detectable, hot and electric. It’s a bit dizzying. It’s perfect, because it’s a smell that very clearly says, if this is coming through strong, you definitely should not be in here. Thank you weird vaguely burning smell!

How To Use An Engineering Scale

This one is particularly personal. I grew up in a house where my father used one of these all the time. Not being a particularly bright child, I just thought, oh that’s just a weird ruler. I never thought to ask what it actually was, because “it’s just weird,” is somehow an acceptable stopping point for inquiry when you’re a bit dull. Of course, now I know, thanks to HRP’s video on the subject, that an engineering scale lets you match a scale indicated on a figure, like a blueprint or map, and measure the actual lengths of the things you’re looking at. As a kid I mostly just used it a backscratcher, since the triangular shape made it more effective than just a flat ruler, but  you can also do other things with it! Check out the video to learn more!

How To Put On Mask

It’s hard to believe there was time in our lives when we didn’t know how to do this. These days you throw something on Netflix, watch a character walk into a store and have a small panic attack when they don’t put on a mask. But then of course you realize, oh yes, the before time, those sweet, innocent, halcyon, salad days of yore, when we had as few cares as we did masks. Before we filmed our video, I was still trying to figure how you were even supposed to put the straps on. Now you may say, Tom, they’re just two straps, they hold the mask on your head, it’s not that hard. Well, my friend, you’ve underestimated just how difficult I can make the simplest things. At HRP, we don’t take anything for granted when it comes to safety. Our Environmental, Health & Safety experts are as thorough and methodical as they come. They scrutinize every last detail. Trust me, I have to read their emails. I know!

Well, those are mine, folks. Check out our videos here and let us know what your favorites are!


Tom Simmons, Marketing Assistant at HRP Associates, Inc.