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Following the death of 53-year-old Steven Reyna in a carbon dioxide (CO2) release at Atlantic Coffee Industrial Solutions in Houston, Texas, OSHA issued nine serious citations against the facility. How exactly did the employer fail to protect its worker from the hazards of a nontoxic, noncorrosive, nonflammable chemical?
At Atlantic Coffee Industrial Solutions in Houston, Texas, workers used an environmentally-friendly supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) process to extract caffeine from coffee beans. Unfortunately, “environmentally friendly” is not the same as “safe”— as the company found out on November 12, 2015, when a CO2 leak led to the asphyxiation death of 53-year-old Steven Reyna, a […]
Hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) are required to not only obtain but also maintain their operating permits. Generators of hazardous waste are required to ensure that their hazardous waste is sent to a reputable TSDF. So, it is critical that generators know whether the permit at the TSDF they use is up […]
Stuff happens. One day you’re a conditionally exempt small quantity generator (CESQG) of hazardous waste, and then the next day you realize you’re a small quantity generator (SQG) of hazardous waste. Only it’s not one day that’s the issue; it’s one month, as hazardous waste generator status is determined by the volumes of hazardous waste […]
Hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) are required to not only obtain but also maintain their operating permits. Generators of hazardous waste are required to ensure that their hazardous waste is sent to a reputable TSDF. So, it is critical that generators know whether the permit at the TSDF they use is up […]
You come to your well site one morning and find a 20-year old worker dead on the well pad. He had been gauging a crude oil tank. That’s the stuff of nightmares for all safety managers at oil and gas (O&G) sites. This particular nightmare came true for one safety manager and serves as an […]
You come to your well site one morning and find a 20-year old worker dead on the well pad. He had been gauging a crude oil tank. That’s the stuff of nightmares for all safety managers at oil and gas (O&G) sites. This particular nightmare came true for one safety manager and serves as an […]
Under the RCRA used oil regulations at 40 CFR 279, a used oil generator is “any person, by site, who produces used oil or causes used oil to become subject to regulation.” Generators include all persons who produce used oil through commercial or industrial operations and vehicle services.
OSHA’s new final rule on Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica is actually two rules: the Agency published its maritime/general industry and construction rules concurrently. The rules are very similar, but there are some differences in their scope, compliance requirements, and compliance dates. Here’s an overview of the differences between the two rules.
On March 25, 2016, OSHA published its final rule on Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica. Since 1971, crystalline silica exposures have been subject to a permissible exposure limit found in 29 CFR 1910.1000, Table Z-3; the new rule establishes a substance-specific standard for crystalline silica. Substance-specific standards include extensive compliance requirements not found in […]