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Faces of EHS: Teddy Amoaning’s Interest in EHS Began as a Child

Teddy Amoaning’s passion for environmental, health, and safety (EHS) was ignited after his little brother was exposed to lead-based paint as a child. As a result, his younger brother was, unfortunately, diagnosed with mental illness and experienced a myriad of health and developmental issues. Amoaning’s mother, who works as a CRN, dedicated her life to […]

Maine Vaccine Mandate Wins Supreme Court Battle but May Lose the War

Maine can move ahead and enforce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate against designated healthcare employees after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant an injunction to a group of affected workers last Friday, when the statute was supposed to take effect. The employees had challenged the law because it doesn’t allow a religious exemption. 4 Takeaways […]

ASSP Publishes New and Revised Workplace Safety Standards

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) this week announced it has published several new and revised voluntary standards to help employers minimize occupational risks to workers. “Standards lead organizations big and small in the same direction to achieve safer and healthier workplaces,” said ASSP President Brad Giles, PE, CSP, STS, FASSP, GIOSH, in a […]

NFPA Provides Fire Stats for 2020, a ‘Far from Typical’ Year

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released findings from its latest “Fire Loss in the U.S.” report, which shows that the total number of U.S. fires overall rose 8% from 2019 to 2020. While some year-to-year fluctuation is normal, NFPA said this increase reflects a “far from typical” year due to the pandemic.  “In […]

ASSP, NSC Welcome Parker Confirmation to OSHA

The U.S. Senate October 26 confirmed the appointment of Doug Parker as assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health—a move applauded by the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and National Safety Council (NSC). Parker, former head of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), becomes the first permanent head of […]

Ask the Expert: Determining Whether an Injury Was Caused 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 whether an employee’s claim that an injury was work-related is recordable. See what the experts had to say. Q: I’m attempting to determine if an […]

CourtWatch: Lawsuit Claims EPA Purging Boards of Industry Members

Dr. Stanley D. Young, a former member of the EPA’s Scientific Advisory Council, filed suit on October 7, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accusing the EPA of purging its advisory boards of industry members. “The [EPA] has a problem with dissent. In an unprecedented purge, EPA eliminated all industry […]

Back to Basics: PPE for Emergency Response Workers

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine personal protective equipment (PPE) for emergency response and recovery workers. Workers typically face many hazards that can be prevented or minimized through the use of engineering controls, administrative controls, and safe […]

OSHA Floats Heat Standard Proposal

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) October 27 issued an advance notice of proposal rulemaking on heat injury and illness prevention in outdoor and indoor work settings—the first step in developing a federal heat stress standard (86 FR 59309). The document contains 114 questions about a potential standard but no proposed regulatory text. The […]

SSM Exemptions Are Not Consistent With CAA

The EPA announced a new guidance memo on September 30, 2021, withdrawing the previous guidance memo issued on October 9, 2020, that carved out exemptions for excess emissions in startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) events for larger emitters. Industry analysts believe this signifies difficult permitting approvals ahead, as well as new State Implementation Plan (SIP) […]