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EHS on Tap Episode 5: Safety Culture – From Concept to Action

Every day, workers are injured on the job. These injuries can result in missed work days, poor worker attitudes, high turnover rates, and even enforcement actions from OSHA. The good news is that the world of safety in the workplace is changing. Safety is no longer something your employer tells you to do, but is […]

How to Make a Whistleblower Rich

Yesterday we reviewed the true costs of noncompliance with environmental regulations and the fact that as an environment, health, and safety (EHS) professional, you are going to have to explain what costs so much. Today we will look at how one employer recently paid a hefty price for ignoring—and then retaliating against—a whistleblower.

Hazardous Waste Determinations

Q. We generate F006 filter cake that we ship to a recycling facility that recycles 100% of the waste. As a small quantity generator, must we include this hazardous waste toward our 1,000 kg allowed per month or is this exempt because it’s recycled?

TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Window is Open

The recent signing of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act has brought about a long overdue reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). But despite the buzz surrounding TSCA reform and how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will implement the new legislation going forward, chemical manufacturers and importers must […]

EPA on Flight Path to Limit Aircraft GHGs

The EPA has issued a final rule that finds that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from aircraft contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and the welfare of future generations. Having made that determination, the EPA is now obligated by the Clean Air Act (CAA) to propose and issue final […]

MATS Having Deep Impact on Power Generation

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has been closely monitoring and reporting on how EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) are impacting electricity generation in the United States. As the latest EIA preliminary data show, the scrutiny is well deserved. Based on information received from operators, between January 2015 and April 2016, about 87 […]

EPA Finds Extensive Corrosion in Diesel USTs

Corrosion of underground steel tanks containing diesel fuel is possibly occurring at a high rate, according to a study released by EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST). While the study is limited—covering only 42 “diverse” UST systems nationwide—and also makes use of anecdotal reports from UST operators, the OUST found a remarkably high percentage […]

The True Costs of Environmental Noncompliance

Say you have fallen out of compliance with an environmental or safety regulation. You’re familiar with the penalties and are willing to pay—but it doesn’t stop there. As an environment, health, and safety (EHS) professional, you are going to have to explain what costs so much. Today we will examine the true costs of environmental […]

Preparedness is Prevention: Emergency Preparedness Could Have Prevented These Injuries

When a 900-gallon melt tank containing hexane and ethanol overpressurized and exploded in December 2015 at a food additive manufacturing facility in Newark, Ohio, owned by Arboris®, LLC, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) faulted the employer’s process safety management (PSM) for failing to prevent the explosion. But even when the fireball erupted, […]

Preparedness is Prevention: Six More Ways Process Safety Management Could Have Prevented This Fire

At the Arboris® plant in Newark, Ohio, workers were adding hexane to a process that produced sterols—a natural compound produced by pine trees—for use in foods such as spreads, bread, milk, and yogurt. Unfortunately, the employer’s process safety management (PSM) program failed at many points to identify and correct potentially disastrous issues with the process. […]