Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Modern safety management goes beyond covering traditional workplace accidents to now being equally concerned with illnesses caused on and even off the job. This section will explain what you need to know to avoid both injuries and illnesses, and to track your progress in reaching this goal.
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 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. […]
As we near the end of the year, we’re taking a look back at some of our highlights from 2023. Here are some of the EHS On Tap episodes that stand out from the past 12 months. E147: Overcoming Generational Differences to Improve Workplace Safety On episode 147 of EHS On Tap, Jill James, Chief […]
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, […]
Fatal work-related injuries increased by 5.7% in 2022, according to the latest figures released December 19 by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Fatal work injuries increased from 5,190 in 2021 to 5,486 in 2022. The national fatal work injury rate was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers—up from 3.6 per […]
On December 14, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) approved an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for respirable crystalline silica to protect workers from silicosis, the state Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) announced. The ETS goes into effect on December 29. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) proposed the ETS […]
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 holiday season is here and while people are gearing up for family gatherings, they’re also readying themselves for the onslaught of winter illnesses. EHS Daily Advisor this week wrote about preparing for a potential “tripledemic” of respiratory illnesses, including influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which could lead to a lot of pain. […]
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 […]
Gravity, a force we often take for granted, binds our world together. It ensures that our feet stay planted firmly on the ground, gently pulls rain from the clouds, and keeps our planet in orbit. But for workers operating at great heights, gravity has another side. Imagine standing atop a towering telecom structure; a simple […]