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.
Free Special Report: What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection
While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has six economically significant rulemakings in the pre-rule or proposed-rule stages, the agency appeared to shy away from major rulemaking after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay in 2022 of the agency’s COVID-19 “vaccinate-or-test” emergency temporary standard (ETS). This year, OSHA’s regulatory activity has been overshadowed […]
The Biden-Harris administration recently announced approximately $2 billion in funding available to support community-driven projects that deploy clean energy, strengthen climate resilience, and build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges. “The EPA’s Community Change Grants are the single largest investment in environmental justice going directly to communities in history, and will […]
The EPA recently announced a proposal to strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule that would require water systems across the country to replace lead service lines within 10 years. The Agency is also proposing additional improvements to protect public health, such as lowering the lead action level and improving sampling protocols used by water systems. […]
Cambria, Wisconsin, corn milling company Didion Milling Inc. agreed to pay $1.8 million in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties related to a May 31, 2017, dust explosion that killed five workers and injured more than a dozen others, OSHA announced December 14. In a related criminal case, company Vice President of Operations Derrick […]
Ricardo Gallardo, a Palatine, Illinois, roofer, has been cited for the fifth and sixth time by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for fall protection violations, the agency announced December 12. Twice within a month, federal workplace safety inspectors found that Gallardo, doing business as R&R Construction Services Inc., didn’t provide roofing employees with […]
The EPA recently announced it’s planning to propose new rules to improve the management and recycling of end-of-life solar panels and lithium batteries. Plans for the proposed regulations include modifying the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Universal Waste Rule to add hazardous waste solar panels and to establish a new, distinct category of universal […]
On December 11, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it’s replacing the traditional hard hats its employees use with modern safety helmets to better protect them when they’re at inspection sites. Traditional hard hats, dating from the 1960s, protect the top of a worker’s head but offer minimal side impact protection and lack […]
A little-known rule under the Clean Air Act (CAA) known as the “exceptional events rule” allows local regulators to exclude certain high-pollution days from their National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) data reporting. “Exceptional Events are unusual or naturally occurring events that can affect air quality but are not reasonably controllable using techniques that tribal, […]
Recent data released by the EPA shows drinking water systems serving 46 million people have per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in concentrations at or above the Agency’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) minimum reporting level (MRL) and therefore above the agency’s Health Advisory (HA) levels. “Of about 3,200 systems included so far, 854 measured at […]
On December 6, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released its final report on the deadly explosions and fires at the Didion Milling, Inc., dry corn milling facility in Cambria, Wisconsin. The May 2017 explosion fatally injured five employees and seriously injured another 14. The incident destroyed the facility, resulting in over […]