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Lasers—intense, focused beams of nonionizing radiation—are in widespread use today. You can buy a laser pointer at your local drugstore to draw attention to your upcoming presentation. Bar-code scanners in retail cash registers use lasers to automatically retrieve the purchase price of consumer goods. Laser surgery clears our vision. We can use laser guidance and […]
Green Infrastructure Collaborative—The Commitment In early October 2014, the Green Infrastructure Collaborative was announced “as a network to help communities more easily implement green infrastructure.” The members of the Collaborative include seven federal agencies, as well as 20 nongovernmental organizations and private sector groups, all of which have a stake in improving infrastructure to protect […]
On January 5, OSHA announced the renewal of an alliance with the Laser Institute of America (LIA) to protect workers from exposure to beam and nonbeam lasers in industrial, construction, medical, and research workplaces. The word “laser” stands for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.” Lasers are cavities that are filled with crystal, liquid, […]
EPA Targets Oil and Gas Industry Methane Emissions Methane is a potent GHG that represents a global warming potential that is more than 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. It is also the primary constituent of natural gas, and according to the EPA, almost 30 percent of U.S. methane emissions originate in the […]
10 Things to Know About the GHG Reporting Program—Part 2 6) Facility owners and operators, not the EPA, are responsible for determining the facility’s “Designated Representative.” According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), when facilities covered by the GHG Reporting rule have more than one person sharing responsibility for reporting, “the greenhouse gas reporting rule […]
At this moment, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, and Washington and Colorado have famously legalized the plant for recreational use, too. Alaska and Oregon will become the next states where recreational marijuana is legal after voters approved cannabis ballot measures set to become effective in 2015. Under […]
10 Things to Know About the GHG Reporting Program 1) The GHG Reporting Program covers only specific emissions. Only man-made (or anthropogenic) GHG emissions covered under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) must be reported. These are: Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), Perfluorocarbons (PFC), Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), […]
If you’re like most employers, you’re concerned about the illicit use of alcohol and drugs on the job and how it affects safety. You may even drug-test your employees. But it’s not just the illegal use of drugs that can affect safety in your workplace—prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and even herbal remedies can compromise […]
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NPDES FAQs for Fracking Operations in the Marcellus Shale—Part 2 Q: If a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) were to consider accepting shale gas extraction (SGE) wastewater from a fracking operation, what wastewater information would the POTW need to collect? A: To meet the requirements of its own NPDES permit, a POTW operator would need […]