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Ask the Expert: Regulatory Requirements for Electrical Panels

In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at EHS Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber asking whether OSHA standard 1910.303 includes all electrical panels. See what the experts had to say. Q: Does OSHA standard 1910.303 include all electrical panels (i.e., […]

California Board Weighing COVID-19 ETS Renewal

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board meets December 16 to consider readoption of the state’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS). The ETS, originally adopted in November 2020, was readopted June 17 and expires January 14, 2022. Under California administrative law, emergency standards remain in effect for 180 days, but the board may twice […]

Cleanliness Tops Return-to-Work Priorities for Both Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Employees

With COVID-19 cases surging and the fear of contracting the next highly transmissible contagion widespread, American workers are placing a renewed emphasis on cleaning, according to a new survey by the Cleaning Coalition of America. The survey finds that U.S. workers increasingly value enhanced cleaning of the workplace and feel safer seeing professional cleaners on site—a […]

NIOSH Casts Spotlight on Opioids

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced in a Total Worker Health (TWH) update that the institute’s grant partners are conducting research on the impact of opioids in the workplace. Extramural researchers have been studying and developing resources related to the prevention of opioid misuse and overdose in working populations. NIOSH has […]

Back to Basics: Identify Workplace Hazards With Self-Inspection Checklists

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine how to use checklists to identify workplace hazards. As you well know, there are hazards all around you in the workplace. In its Small Business Safety and Health Handbook, the Occupational […]

Industry Opposition to CARB’s Upcoming SORE Regulations

California Assembly Bill 1346, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 9, 2021, seeks to eliminate the retail sale of new gas-powered, small off-road engines (SORE) as early as January 1, 2024. It now becomes the responsibility of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop and implement a plan to enforce the […]

Employers Await More Legal Action as Last Federal Vax Mandate is Put on Hold

With the last of the federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates shut down at least temporarily, employers are in a wait-and-see mode as they ponder next steps in the effort to do business during a pandemic. On December 7, a federal judge in Georgia issued a nationwide injunction against the vaccine mandate on federal contractors. Previously, a […]

Faces of EHS: For Patrick Karol, Making Safety Personal Leads to Success

Patrick Karol has been involved in the field of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) for more than 25 years. For our latest “Faces of EHS” profile, we sat down with Patrick to discuss how he got his start in the industry, his biggest influence, as well as his thoughts on trends and best practices for […]

OSHA Cites St. Croix Refinery

A St. Croix refinery is facing $259,407 in proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties after the agency cited the company for 20 violations of the process safety management (PSM) standard. Releases of oil and vapor into the air and fiery flares at a St. Croix refinery in February and May led to an […]

Satellite Accumulation of Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste generators are allowed to accumulate small amounts of hazardous waste in locations at or near the point of generation where wastes initially accumulate. These satellite accumulation areas (SAA) must be under the control of the person operating the process generating the hazardous waste. “Both large quantity generators (LQGs) and small quantity generators (SQGs) […]