Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Unapproved contractors—those who don’t meet your company’s standards based on OSHA or company-specific health and safety hiring prerequisites—become critical to your business when they are repeatedly hired to meet unusual or unexpected workload demands despite their questionable safety records. Using them is a risky, yet sometimes necessary, part of doing business.
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) cited a food manufacturer and staffing agency, seeking over $300,000 in penalties, for lockout/tagout and other violations after a temporary worker lost two fingers cleaning dough-rolling machinery.
The EPA’s final Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for asbestos is a partial step to limit potential human exposure to the toxic substance.
In a final rule, the EPA is amending technical provisions of its 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines (EG) for Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incinerators (CISWIs). Most of the amendments respond to requests for clarification the Agency received from industry stakeholders and implementing agencies following the 2016 action.
Researchers have found a prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among nonsmoking workers in the information industry and in office and administrative occupations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Hundreds of U.S. cities of all sizes are not waiting for the federal government to recommit to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and regain its position as the world leader in stemming climate change. At an April 2, 2019, House hearing, the mayors of three of those cities told their stories of commitment to a […]
In an April 11, 2019, ruling, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit affirmed a district court decision that found that two companies that sold a contaminated property to another company were jointly and severally liable for $5.4 million in response costs; one of the companies was also found liable […]
In a 2018 fact sheet, the EPA discussed the persistent problem of oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) getting inadvertently mixed with recyclable used motor oil. Based on the Agency’s experience with mixing incidents, the fact sheet summarizes best management practices (BMPs) that both oil collection centers and recyclers can use to ensure that PCB-contaminated […]
The Process Safety Management (PSM) standard applies to equipment like boilers that don’t involve highly hazardous chemicals if the equipment is interconnected with or located near equipment that does, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission recently decided.
As part of a new policy to expedite the permitting and construction of energy infrastructure projects, President Donald Trump has issued an Executive Order (EO) directing the EPA to review and revise the federal program for Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 certifications.