Category: Special Topics in Safety Management

Safety is a process, and as such, needs to be managed. This section offers resources to create a viable safety program, sell it to senior management, train supervisors and employees in using it, and then track and report your progress. Look also for ways to advance your own skills in these areas, both for your current job, and those that follow.

forklift in warehouse

Forklifts and Carbon Monoxide Hazards

Carbon monoxide (CO) in quantities that exceed OSHA’s permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 parts per million (ppm) as an 8-hour time-weighted average (29 CFR 1910.1000 Table Z-1) can occur in indoor work areas where fuel with a carbon content (e.g., natural gas, gasoline, kerosene, oil, propane, coal, wood, or plastic) is incompletely combusted. One […]

Lead Exposure

OSHA’s 40-Year-Old Lead Standard Is Far Short of Protective

Worker safety advocates, scientists, and some state OSHA authorities have been contending for years that OSHA’s permissible exposure levels (PELs) for lead in the workplace are inadequate to protect workers from the multiple adverse health effects associated with the metal.

Industrial fire training for refinery or chemical plant fire brigade or fireman

Start-Up/Shutdown Incidents Can Be Prevented, Says CSB

Explosions and fires at oil refineries and chemical facilities are far more likely to occur during equipment start-ups and shutdowns, notes the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) in a recent Safety Digest. Workers are typically the first line of victims when such incidents occur. In the Digest, the CSB describes three start-up/shutdown […]

logger, lumberjack, logging

A Look at the Most Dangerous Jobs in the U.S.

Workplace safety is an important goal in any industry, but as every EHS pro knows, promoting and achieving safety is more challenging in some industries than in others. What are the most dangerous jobs in the United States?

The EHS Decisions of Brett Kavanaugh

Brett Kavanaugh has been announced as President Donald Trump’s choice to replace Anthony Kennedy on the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s a brief summary of the judicial nominee’s decisions, rulings, and court opinions on various EHS-related cases in recent years on the D.C. Circuit.

Coal mine

MSHA Is Looking for Info on Coal Dust Controls

In a notice, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) says it is beginning a retrospective study on how effective its 2014 final rule has been in lowering the exposure of underground and surface miners to respirable coal dust.

Young Workers

School’s Out—Protect Your Young Workers on the Job

Summer is in full swing, and many teens and young adults are working summer jobs to earn money and gain job experience. Yet these young workers are often at greater risk of on-the-job injury than their older counterparts as a result of their inexperience. OSHA recently announced that it has entered into a voluntary agreement […]

July EHS Webinar Lineup

With many playing catch-up after the July 4th holiday, we wanted to give you a quick update on July webinars (free to register)! There’s More to a Yawn than Meets the Eye: Understanding the Risk & Costs of Fatigue to Your Operations July 19 | Sponsored by: Cority Today’s workers are exhausted. Chances are you’re […]