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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) September 7 released fact sheets covering counterfeit N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and the institute’s filtration efficiency testing and employer FFR fit testing. Last year, NIOSH and personal protective equipment manufacturers reported a rise in counterfeit FFRs following respirator shortages at the beginning of the COVID-19 […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 5 dismissed a challenge to EPA guidance documents in Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Guidance documents are often issued by agencies such as the EPA to provide government entities with a means to move quickly without having […]
Farmworkers in California remain at risk for heat-related illness despite farms’ compliance with the state’s heat illness prevention program standard, according to research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Around 7% of farmworkers studied were at risk for heat-related illness despite compliance with California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) […]
Matt McDaniel got his start in the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) field as a front-line worker on a packaging line. With a college degree in Elementary and Middle Level Education, he wasn’t prepared to work in a food manufacturing facility. “My first six months on the floor training and learning from experienced operators was […]
Seventeen Republican senators on August 23 sent EPA Administrator Michael Regan a letter urging him to waive or significantly lower the 2020 renewable volume obligation (RVO) for Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance and set the 2021 and 2022 “RVOs at levels that comport with reality.” Led by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and joined by 16 […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Republic Steel for one repeat, seven serious, and three other-than-serious safety violations, seeking a proposed $220,399 in penalties. According to the agency, Republic’s Canton, Ohio, automotive steel mill did not install adequate machine guarding, implement lockout/tagout measures, or train workers on safety procedures, exposing its employees to […]
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 whether employers must pay for specialty safety shoes. See what the experts had to say. Q: There was a question of whether we (the […]
Manufacturers and importers of chemical substances listed on the EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory are advised the EPA has published notice seeking comments for guidance on some of the processes applicable to TSCA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) regulations. The comments sought apply specifically to “[p]etitions for full exemption of byproduct substances that are […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission August 26 downgraded a willful citation issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to serious for a Trenton, New Jersey, manufacturer’s failure to administer annual audiograms. The commissioners also vacated a machine guarding citation, ruling that the agency failed to demonstrate employee exposure. OSHA opened an […]
Having spent months on end in multiple lockdowns, many workers around the world are now starting to make a gradual return to the office and restoring a sense of day-to-day normalcy back into their lives. However, while this is an incredibly exciting transition for a lot of people, the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t exactly gone away. […]