Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Training is an essential part of any employer’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) compliance program, and some Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards have extensive training requirements. Employers spend a lot of money and a lot of worker hours fulfilling those requirements—but how can you know you’re getting […]
It seems that lithium batteries are everywhere. They are common in many products we take for granted, such as cell phones, laptops, watches, cameras, and toys, to name a few. However, shipping lithium batteries can be dangerous—especially when shipped by air. Yesterday we reviewed the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) recent amendments for […]
It seems that lithium batteries are everywhere. They are common in many products we take for granted, such as cell phones, laptops, watches, cameras, and toys, to name a few. However, shipping lithium batteries can be dangerous—especially when they’re shipped by air. Today we will review the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) recent […]
At this writing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is close to issuing a final rule amending the Worker Protection Standard (WPS). Today we will recap some of the changes the EPA has proposed to update this standard, which is meant to protect farm workers and their families from exposure to pesticides. Tomorrow we will […]
Carpenter Severiano Barajas was pushing wood through a jointer on May 7, 2012, when the piece he was cutting became stuck. Barajas wiggled the piece back and forth, trying to work it free. While he was doing so, the glove he was wearing on his left hand caught on the jointer’s blade, became entangled, and […]
Have you ever used a string trimmer to trim the edges of your yard? How about using a chainsaw to clean up dead tree limbs after a storm? Maybe you’ve used a power sander to refinish the floors in your home. After each of these activities, you might have experienced tingling and numbness in your […]
On just his second day on the job, a 28-year-old man working on a machine to forge parts lost a fingertip in a November 2014 incident. Investigators said it could have been prevented if his employer had trained the man to properly operate the upsetter machine and if the machine had proper safety mechanisms. The […]
A worker at a Wisconsin cheese factory lost two fingers in an amputation incident in January 2013. The worker was operating an unguarded cheese packing and labeling machine. When OSHA investigated the incident, it discovered that a similar amputation had occurred a year earlier. According to OSHA, the amputations could have been prevented by the […]
They’re called “leaf blowers,” but you’ll see them in use all summer long. They can be used to blow the grass off your mower, to blow cut grass off sidewalks and paths—they have, essentially, replaced brooms and rakes for many tasks. They may be time-savers, but leaf blowers also pose hazards. Make sure workers are […]
Summer is in full swing throughout the United States. The familiar growl of mowers and lawn tractors, the howl of leaf blowers, and the whiz of string trimmers echo through the land. If you have employees who are busy taking care of your lawn and landscaping, make sure they know what hazards they face and […]