Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Micheal D. Hahn Recent decisions from the 7th Circuit—which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—have drastically lowered the burden required for OSHA to prove willful violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).
Unsecured packages is the top hazardous materials violation uncovered so far in fiscal year (FY) 2016 in U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) roadside inspections. Today we will look at three scenarios in which DOT said packages were or were not secured properly.
On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act (PIPES Act). The law, which received strong bipartisan support, extends and funds through 2019 the gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety program implemented by the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
A Minnesota law that prohibits utilities from meeting state electricity demand with power from new plants that contribute to statewide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions was found in violation of the Constitution’s dormant Commerce Clause because the law places an undue burden on interstate commerce.
Q. If there is a spill of 50 gallons during delivery, do we need to add that in the spill history in the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan?
A U.S. district judge in Wyoming has “set aside” the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final rule imposing environmentally protective requirements on hydraulically fractured oil and gas (O&G) wells on federal and Indian lands.
Don’t get caught short by a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) roadside inspection. In its most recent data for fiscal year (FY) 2016, DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had performed 126,250 roadside inspections of trucks targeting compliance with hazardous materials transportation regulations. During these inspections, DOT inspectors found 26,889 violations.
We thought we were on top of matters when it came to heat illness prevention—in particular, we thought we knew how to recognize the most serious type of heat illness, heatstroke. And then the Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred, and thousands of workers were cleaning up the mess in the heat of a Gulf shore summer—and […]
Yesterday we looked at the case of an agency providing care for the developmentally disabled that was cited for a General Duty Clause violation because of ongoing, unresolved workplace violence issues. Such issues are common in many workplaces—but for one New Jersey employer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) determined that its failure to […]
Although a new occupant in the White House will likely lead to changes at the Department of Labor, OSHA’s latest regulatory agenda suggests the safety agency is not in lame duck mode. Keep reading to find out what rulemakings are on the front burner and what it means for you.