Of the 7,000 Americans randomly tested in 1992, environmental chemicals were found in the urine samples of 71 percent of them. In a 1984 test, the EPA found 40-120 different chemical compounds circulating in the air of every home it tested. As part of the project, participating firms will be individually analyzed, trained according to assessment results, assisted in conducting a self-assessment against ISO 14001, and helped to implement ISO 14001 or to integrate ISO 14001 with an existing management system. An alumnus of the University of South Carolina's College of Business Administration has become a major player in the environmental consulting field. Ecometrics has worked with the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Native American Tribal Governments, and private firms.
Spires also speaks at national and international conferences on environmental-business issues.
Chris Thomas, USC's Environmental Quality Manager, and his staff have saved USC several garbage bags full of money by recycling tons of paper, cardboard, aluminum, newspaper, and other items. USC's Office of Recycling received the 1996 Best University Recycling Program Award from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Thomas received his MBA from USC in 1994. The EPA has a new booklet that should be of interest to small businesses. It also tells how small businesses can get help from EPA's Small Business Ombudsman.