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In the world of stormwater, certain “qualified” professionals have hefty responsibilities, such as conducting facility inspections, monitoring, and developing and certifying the stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP). But, what does it really mean to be a qualified professional? Often, in National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permits, there is language referring to a qualified […]
How much will Donald Trump’s energy and environmental plans for the country be influenced by what others say and want? Given that Trump has never served in a government position—and, therefore, never experienced the outside pressures commonly imposed on public servants—it is difficult to conclude that his actions will be much influenced by any group, […]
At the end of the 2016 fiscal year (FY), unsecured packages remained the top violation of hazardous materials regulations uncovered by U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) roadside inspections. What other violations made the top ten list? Let’s take a look and help you avoid DOT’s hazmat hit list.
On March 16, 2016, a 29-year-old postdoctoral student at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, was working alone in the lab. Thea Ekins-Coward was bleeding off hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen from pressurized tanks to feed to experimental cells. The project had been ongoing since 2008 without a mishap, and the lab had passed its most […]
An incident investigation is completed after something has gone wrong, so it may feel a little unnatural to think of it as a preventive tool—but that’s exactly what it is. The purpose of investigating something that has already happened is primarily to understand what went wrong—and make sure that it doesn’t happen again. In the […]
Just five weeks after a 28-year-old maintenance worker lost part of his right arm in an improperly guarded bread wrapping machine at a wholesale baking company, federal safety inspectors investigating the injury found another worker exposed to the same hazard.
Recently, a subscriber asked the following question: Is there an OSHA requirement that if lighting and power requirements cannot be met by the use of battery lights, reduced voltage lighting at a maximum of 12 volts must be used?
OSHA investigators found multiple safety violations at a South Dakota ethanol refinery expansion project after a 38-year-old pipefitter suffered fatal burn injuries when ethanol spilled from a process pipe he was working on and was ignited by flames from nearby welding operations.
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) is asking tree trimming businesses to be on high alert for unsafe work practices that can lead to injury or death.
If you’re covered by either OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) standard or EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations, you are required to perform incident investigations. Both standards require employers to investigate incidents that resulted in, or could reasonably have resulted in, catastrophic chemical releases.