Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
When Taylor Farms workers in Tracy arrived for the morning shift on October 15, 2015, they immediately noticed a strong chlorine smell. Twenty workers, including two pregnant women, became sick enough that they evacuated the building and called 911. According to the Tracy Fire Department, the plant’s sanitation crew had accidentally mixed two cleaning chemicals, […]
Employers sometimes fret over the cost of preventive safety measures: Was it worth hiring extra personnel to prevent an injury that might not have happened anyway? Was it worth installing extra equipment to control a hazard that workers encounter only once or twice a year? But sometimes employers don’t implement simple, inexpensive measures that could […]
When the temperature drops below freezing, your pipes are at risk. Most people, including most business owners, are aware of this risk with respect to ordinary plumbing found in bathrooms and kitchens. But, have you considered whether your workplace sprinkler system is at risk? Frozen sprinkler system piping that bursts can cause serious water damage […]
At a strip mall in Indianapolis in a storefront that was being repurposed as a tattoo parlor, the new occupants wanted to open up the space. To do so, they tore out the walls around the sprinkler control room and finished by drywalling over the sprinkler riser and control valve. The only access they left […]
The deadlines to submit air emissions inventory reports vary by jurisdiction, ranging from early February through July. Do you know your state’s reporting deadline?
Responding to a partial remand the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued in 2003, the EPA is proposing two substantial changes to its general permitting regulations for Phase II small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s).
The EPA has proposed 30 chemical contaminants/groups for its 4th Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 4). The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) specifies that the UCMR must list no more than 30 contaminants or groups—called the contaminant candidate list (CCL)—and that the EPA must produce a revised list every 5 years. Also, as required by […]
Q. Is turpentine covered under Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) and what are the spill containment requirements for AST of turpentine?
Senate passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697) last week is a historic moment in U.S. environmental law. But a great deal of work remains to be done before the objective of the bill—comprehensive reform of the outdated and widely ineffective Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)—is complete. […]
Have you included e-cigarettes in your smoking policy? The federal government is discouraging vaping at work for a number of safety reasons. These reasons include a recent federal study that found a number of hazardous chemicals in the flavorings in e-cigarettes. The results of a BLR® human resources poll show that one-half of respondents (50%) […]