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Tougher RMP Requirements for Retail

Thousands of retail facilities face stricter requirements under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Risk Management Program (RMP) because of a controversial Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) interpretation of an exemption under the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard. Today we will review EPA’s reaction to OSHA’s narrowing of the retail exemption. Beginning in July 2016, […]

9th Circuit to hear California nonroad vehicle case

In 2013, the trucking and road construction industries initiated a case to prevent the EPA from waiving federal emissions standards for nonroad diesel engines to allow the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to impose its own more stringent standards on those vehicles. The outcome of that dispute will carry major consequences for California businesses and, […]

New AC Standards to Take Effect

In a direct final rule, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department of Energy (DOE) has promulgated amended energy efficiency standards for small, large, and very large air-cooled commercial package air-conditioning and heating equipment and commercial warm air furnaces.

Chemical Facility Safety: OSHA delays enforcement of new retail exemption policy

In the wake of Executive Order (EO) 13650, issued in August 2013 and titled Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security, federal agencies have been working to modernize key policies, regulations, and standards, including EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP) and OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM).

2016 Reporting Season: What is on the horizon?

2016 has the potential to be a very busy reporting year. In addition to the usual annual reports, such as TRI and Tier II, this year also brings the hazardous waste biennial report and TSCA’s chemical data report, which only comes around every 4 years. Reporting deadlines will come up faster than you think. It […]

Are Your Workers Becoming Complacent? Four Ways to Keep Workers in the Safety Game

When your safety program is working well, your workers may develop a bad case of overconfidence. For sports teams, overconfidence can come before a season-changing loss. Are your workers keeping their heads in the game? Or, are they in danger of losing their next outing? Here are some strategies for making sure that your workers […]

Are Your Workers Becoming Complacent? Three Deadly Distractions and How to Address Them

When workers become complacent about safety—when they stop feeling that they are at risk—they can be less aware of safety in the workplace. A complacent worker is more easily distracted than one who’s aware of danger. Any task can be subject to distraction-related errors, but some errors will cost more than others—and some mistakes are […]

Are Your Workers Becoming Complacent? Help Them Refocus on Safety

When you put an effective safety program in place—one that eliminates as many hazards as possible, substitutes safer alternatives whenever available, and uses engineering controls to minimize other hazards—your workers can start to think of the workplace as “safe.” And, when they feel safe, what happens? They might let their guard down. In the workplace, […]