Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Today’s workplace uses thousands of chemicals, many of which are hazardous. The resources in this section will help guide you in the safe and legal identification, storage, transport, and use of these chemicals, and in making sure that your employees right to know how to be safe around such substances is provided, as required by law.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a report on March 24, marking the 20th anniversary of fatal explosions and fires at the BP America Texas City Refinery in Texas City, Texas. The March 23, 2005, explosions and fires at the BP America refinery led to 15 deaths, 180 injuries, and significant […]
On March 24, 2025, the EPA announced an update on the effective date of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) final risk management rule for trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE is an extremely toxic chemical known to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It also, even in miniscule amounts, causes fetal heart defects and damage […]
A Missouri contractor has reached an agreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to settle violations identified in investigations of a worker’s March 2023 fatal fall, OSHA announced April 7. OSHA investigators determined that Troyer Construction LLP, which operates as Troyer Roofing & Coatings, […]
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a second update on its investigation into a fatal hydrogen sulfide release last year at the PEMEX Deer Park Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. The board’s investigation is focused on safe work factors, maintenance policies and procedures, and emergency preparedness at the facility. When the […]
A combination of technical failures and unsafe operational practices at the Marathon Martinez Renewables facility in Martinez, California, led to a November 19, 2023, fire, according to a final report issued March 13 by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). During the facility’s initial start-up of a renewable diesel hydroprocessing unit, a […]
In response to President Donald Trump’s memo titled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” the EPA delayed until March 21, 2025, the effective date of a January 2025 regulation adding nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which makes these chemicals subject to reporting requirements under the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) and […]
On January 22, 2025, in a House Subcommittee on the Environment hearing, the president of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) urged Congress to immediately make specific improvements to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) program to end industry uncertainty. The hearing, titled “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg […]
On February 27, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an update on its investigation into a fatal November 12, 2024, explosion at the Givaudan Sense Colour facility in Louisville, Kentucky. The explosion killed two employees and seriously injured three others, and it caused significant property damage to the facility and nearby […]
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s (CSB) YouTube channel, @USCSB, which features the agency’s safety videos, now has 365,000 subscribers. The CSB recently received a Silver Play Button award from YouTube for having more than 100,000 subscribers, the board announced February 14. The CSB is an independent federal government board that investigates industrial […]
On January 14, 2025, the EPA released the final risk evaluation for diisononyl phthalate (DINP), which was conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The EPA concluded that DINP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health because workers could be exposed to high concentrations of DINP in mist when spraying adhesive, sealant, […]