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Manufacturer 3M Company faces $312,518 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after an employee at the company’s Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, facility became caught in a machine’s rotating rollers and suffered fatal injuries, OSHA announced November 7. The agency cited the company with two willful safety violations. The incident followed the company’s assessment […]
President Joseph Biden Jr.’s Executive Order (EO) 14008 calls on all federal agencies to use a whole-of-government approach to tackle the climate crisis. In keeping with this directive, the EPA recently announced its Climate Enforcement and Compliance Strategy, which directs all enforcement and compliance programs to address climate change, wherever appropriate, in every matter within […]
After several deadline extensions, the EPA released its final per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) data reporting rule in late September 2023. The rule is expected to provide the “EPA, its partners, and the public with the largest-ever dataset of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured and used in the United States,” according to an Agency […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine the most common causes of electrical injuries and how to avoid electrical hazards. Electrical hazards are present in all kinds of industries, and working with electricity or near electrical equipment can often […]
When COVID-19 sent people home to work, many businesses discovered how unreliable their processes were. When people were together in the office, there were ad hoc processes helping people get through the day however with that accessibility gone, process problems were badly exposed. Digital technology, automation, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are already proving to be […]
A 34-year-old steel worker suffered a fatal 60-foot fall at the site of a Hyundai electric car plant in Ellabell, Georgia. Geismar, Louisiana-based Eastern Constructors Inc. now faces $160,724 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties for one willful and one serious violation, the agency announced November 2. Because of the company’s “plain indifference” and […]
Last week at the 2023 National Safety Council’s Safety Congress and Expo in New Orleans, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration unveiled its top 10 most-cited standards for the year, and for the 13th straight time, fall protection was in the top spot. To that end, the EHSDA Song of the Week is Julee Cruise’s […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) signed an agreement outlining procedures for information-sharing, referrals, training, and outreach to bolster federal antiretaliation protections and strengthen the agencies’ partnership, OSHA and the NLRB announced October 31. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) enables OSHA and the Board to cooperate in […]
In October 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two landmark laws that will require companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenues operating in California to disclose both direct and indirect emissions resulting from their operations and report on climate-related financial risks. SB 253 One of the new laws, SB 253, has been characterized […]
In the ongoing battle against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, U.S. District Judge James Dever of the Eastern District of North Carolina certified two classes of plaintiffs in a lawsuit claiming Chemours Co. and DuPont discharged wastewater containing PFAS and GenX chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” into the Cape Fear River, exposing as […]