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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Nebraska Beef Ltd. of Omaha, Nebraska, faces $274,569 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties following the agency’s investigation into an amputation injury, OSHA announced January 5. The agency cited Nebraska Beef with two willful and 11 serious safety and health violations. OSHA investigators determined that a worker’s fingertip got caught in a forklift attachment […]
Pepsi Guam Bottling agreed to pay $132,591 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties to settle safety and health citations for exposing employees to amputation and other serious injuries, the agency announced January 3. Last year, OSHA cited Pepsi Guam Bottling with one willful, one repeat, and six serious violations of machine safety procedures after […]
In November 2023, the EPA published final updates to its “Implementing Regulations” under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Implementing Regulations set timelines and other requirements for state plans to limit pollution from existing sources under Section 111. The updates apply to state plans developed for all emissions guidelines published after July […]
In a final investigation report into a fatal well blowout, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to include onshore well drilling and well servicing operations in the agency’s process safety management (PSM) standard or develop a separate federal standard to address such operations. […]
Two Rhode Island companies, under separate, recently proposed settlements with the EPA, have been ordered to pay combined fines of approximately $280,000 due to alleged violations of reporting requirements for their uses of anhydrous ammonia and metals. The companies alleged violations stem from compliance with the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the […]
Charm Builders Ltd., an Ohio-based contractor, agreed to pay $730,000 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties to settle a dozen citations stemming from a March 2022 investigation into fall protection violations, the agency announced December 28. On September 29, 2022, OSHA cited Millersburg, Ohio-based Charm Builders for six egregious-willful, five repeat, and one […]
As we wrap up 2023, we’re taking a look back at some of our highlights from this year. Here are some more of our favorite infographics from the past 12 months.
A Florence, Wisconsin, sawmill faces $1.4 million in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties following a 16-year-old worker’s fatal injuries, the agency announced December 19. OSHA cited Florence Hardwoods LLC for eight willful, six repeat, 29 serious, and four other-than-serious safety and health violations. The agency categorized five of the willful violations as egregious, […]
The EPA recently released a proposed rule to further protect people from exposure to two chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT). Both chemicals—decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1))—are already subject to risk management rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The proposed rule would impose workplace safety protections […]
On December 2, 2023, the EPA announced a final rule that’s expected to sharply reduce emissions of methane and other harmful air pollution from oil and natural gas operations. First announced at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), the rule includes standards to reduce methane and […]