Archives

A Closer Look at the Robotics Safety Process

Industrial robots can extend or enhance productivity at your facility, as well as perform dangerous or repetitive workplace tasks, thereby protecting the health and safety of your workers. Robotic systems are becoming more collaborative and mobile in nature. The future of robotics involves more collaborative robots, or “co-robots,” rather than fixed industrial robots isolated from […]

California Poised to Adopt Stricter GHG Reporting Regulations

The California Senate passed the Climate Corporate Accountability Act (SB 260) on January 26, 2022, which, if passed into law, will require corporations with more than $1 billion in annual revenue to report all scopes of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the California secretary of state. Reporting entities. The bill would require businesses with […]

OSHA Urges Action on Spike in Healthcare Injuries, Illnesses

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) urged healthcare employers to address a spike in workplace illnesses and injuries among their employees. There was a 249% increase in injury and illness rates in 2020 among nursing assistants, according to the agency, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. There was a 38.3% increase across private […]

Ask the Expert: Medical Marijuana in the Workplace

In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at EHS Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber asking about medical marijuana in the workplace. See what the experts had to say. Q: I am looking for guidance on the topic of medical marijuana use […]

NAS IDs Regulatory Gaps in Respiratory Protection

The respiratory protection needs of many U.S. workers are not being met, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published February 10. Many independent contractors and self-employed and “gig” workers are not considered employees or employers and are not covered by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, […]

Texas Takes EPA to Court Again Over Nonattainment Designation

In the latest move in an ongoing battle with the EPA, the state of Texas and its environmental officials filed a petition dated January 28, 2022, asking the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the EPA’s revised findings that ozone levels in El Paso County exceed the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). […]

EPA Wants to Put MATS Back in Play

The EPA recently proposed to “reaffirm the scientific, economic, and legal underpinnings of the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants, which require significant reductions of mercury, acid gases, and other harmful pollutants,” the Agency stated in a news release dated January 31, 2022. To do so, the Agency’s proposal is to […]

Cal/OSHA Announces Advisory Committee for Domestic Workers

On February 7, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced the creation of an advisory committee to develop occupational safety and health guidance for domestic workers and their employers. The advisory committee was authorized by a state law, SB 321, the Health and Safety for All Workers Act, signed September 2021 by […]

Back to Basics: How to Be Prepared for a Disaster

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine how to be prepared to lead your team in the event of a disaster or emergency. In the workplace, one of the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) professional’s first priorities is […]

SCOTUS Review of EPA Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

All eyes concerned with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are on the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) as regulated industry, the EPA, states across the nation, and environmental activists anxiously await the showdown scheduled to occur on February 28, 2022. On that date, SCOTUS will hear arguments in the West Virginia v. EPA case, which consolidates with […]