Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As today’s workplace becomes more complex, regulation of that workplace increases. In this section, you’ll find the practical advice you need to understand exactly what OSHA, other federal agencies, and their state counterparts, require of you, and to comply in the ways that best satisfy both your and their needs. Look also for important court decisions, advice on how to handle enforcement actions, and news of upcoming changes in workplace health and safety law.
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On August 30, 2024, the EPA published a final rule for “National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP): Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines and New Source Performance Standards (NSPS): Internal Combustion Engines; Electronic Reporting.” This amendment added electronic reporting provisions and made a small number of clarifications and corrections to these rules, as well as […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ordered a Maugansville, Maryland, trucking company to reinstate a driver and pay nearly $30,000 in back wages and damages after finding the employer wrongly terminated the worker for refusing to drive an oversize load in an unsafe manner, the agency announced September 27. OSHA investigators found that TrueStart […]
Hailiang Copper Texas Inc., a Sealy, Texas, manufacturer, faces a $253,750 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fine after an employee suffered serious arm injuries while trying to clear debris during the manufacturing of copper alloy products, the agency announced September 26. Agency investigators determined an employee suffered serious injuries that resulted in a partial […]
On September 16, 2024, the EPA announced a proposed registration decision for pesticide products containing the “new” active ingredient glycerol formate. “Products containing glycerol formate are intended to be used in healthcare settings (e.g., hospitals, medical premises and nursing homes) as a disinfectant for hard non-porous, non-food contact surfaces (e.g., stretchers) for bacteria, spores, and […]
On September 4, 2024, the EPA finalized its Reclassification of Major Sources as Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) rule. “This rule implements the [CAA] language that allows a ‘major source’ of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) to reclassify as an ‘area source’ after acting to limit emissions,” according to the […]
According to an EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) memo dated September 4, 2024, the EPA’s failure to timely report fraudulent activity by a business entity resulted in the U.S. Attorney’s Office declining to pursue criminal charges against the business owner. “In early 2024, the EPA OIG and partner law enforcement agencies presented information to […]
On episode 223 of EHS On Tap, Daniel Glucksman, Senior Policy Director at the International Safety Equipment Association, talks about the status of heat safety regulations and their impact on worker safety.
The EPA recently announced Starbound, LLC, a subsidiary of Aleutian Spray Fisheries, Inc., in Seattle, Washington, reached a consent agreement with the Agency that includes penalties of $168,000 for alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations at operations off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. CWA NPDES permit regulations The CWA prohibits the “discharge of […]
A coalition of environmental groups filed suit against the EPA on September 3, 2024, challenging the Agency’s final emissions rule for coke ovens and coke oven batteries. The coalition includes the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP), the Clean Air Council, the Hoosier Environmental Council, Just Transition Northwest Indiana, PANIC, PennFuture, and the Sierra Club […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine OSHA’s respiratory protection requirements. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) respiratory protection standard (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §1910.134) is one of its top 10 most-cited standards. In […]