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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plans to issue changes by the end of the year to its beryllium standards for general industry, construction, and shipyards. The plans announced in the agency’s Spring 2019 regulatory agenda would complete changes to an “eleventh-hour” Obama administration rulemaking.
Produced water—the subject of a new EPA draft study—is a multifaceted environmental issue that presents golden opportunities and prompts difficult human health and ecological questions. The draft is the latest in a series of actions the Agency is taking to better understand how produced water is managed nationwide, explore additional management options, and consider the […]
Stating that the benefits of a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for perchlorate do not justify the costs of such a regulation, the EPA is nonetheless proposing an NPDWR for the chemical. Under the proposal, the Agency would set the NPDWR at a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 56 micrograms per liter (µg/L). The […]
Two construction workers were severely injured by demolition robots in separate incidents, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries reported in a recent construction hazard alert.
As EHS professionals, we’re always striving to continuously improve our processes and programs, keep up with changing regulations, mitigate risk, and prevent incidents. But when it comes to fostering a strong safety culture, many of us aren’t yet where we want to be. Whether you’re building your culture from the ground up or are ready […]
As summer nears, environmental compliance efforts turn toward Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reports, which are due July 1. So far in 2019, the EPA has issued multiple five-digit fines to companies that submitted TRI reports but overlooked a chemical that should have been reported but wasn’t.
The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) renewed their workplace safety promotion and research partnership May 22. The continuing relationship is expected to result in new research on fall protection measures for young, immigrant construction workers in the coming year, the ASSP said in a […]
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has revised its draft indoor heat illness prevention standard to address stakeholders’ concerns. Employers would have to maintain the indoor temperature and heat index below 87 degrees Fahrenheit when workers are present under the standard.
The EPA’s implementation of the small refinery exemption is one of the more disputed aspects of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The major question associated with the exemption appears to be how does the Agency make decisions to approve or deny applications for exemptions?
The EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) has issued a draft document on enhancing planning and communication between the Agency and the states in civil enforcement and compliance assurance.