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A new measurement index developed by Avetta and the National Safety Council (NSC) takes a systems-based approach to determine health and safety weak spots within an organization’s supply chain. The Safety Maturity IndexTM (SMI) is expected to be available to select North American clients in March 2025. Scott DeBow, ARM, Principal of Health/Safety & Environment […]
On September 4, 2024, the EPA finalized its Reclassification of Major Sources as Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) rule. “This rule implements the [CAA] language that allows a ‘major source’ of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) to reclassify as an ‘area source’ after acting to limit emissions,” according to the […]
According to an EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) memo dated September 4, 2024, the EPA’s failure to timely report fraudulent activity by a business entity resulted in the U.S. Attorney’s Office declining to pursue criminal charges against the business owner. “In early 2024, the EPA OIG and partner law enforcement agencies presented information to […]
In today’s environment, it can be easy for employers to question the continued utility of testingfor drugs in the workplace given increasingly complex state laws. Specimens such as oral fluidoffer a method that is scientifically sound and legally proven, while also balancing the needsof employers in today’s complicated cannabis scape. This article will explore why […]
The EPA recently announced Starbound, LLC, a subsidiary of Aleutian Spray Fisheries, Inc., in Seattle, Washington, reached a consent agreement with the Agency that includes penalties of $168,000 for alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations at operations off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. CWA NPDES permit regulations The CWA prohibits the “discharge of […]
A coalition of environmental groups filed suit against the EPA on September 3, 2024, challenging the Agency’s final emissions rule for coke ovens and coke oven batteries. The coalition includes the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP), the Clean Air Council, the Hoosier Environmental Council, Just Transition Northwest Indiana, PANIC, PennFuture, and the Sierra Club […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine OSHA’s respiratory protection requirements. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) respiratory protection standard (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §1910.134) is one of its top 10 most-cited standards. In […]
The EPA recently announced a settlement with All American Asphalt over claims the company failed to provide complete and accurate reports of its releases of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), potentially toxic chemicals that can harm human health, from its asphalt manufacturing plant in Irvine, California, during 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Although these releases were […]
When compared to workers in other occupations, construction workers are three times more likely to be killed and twice as likely to be injured. That means during a 45-year career, a construction worker has a more than 50% risk of experiencing a disabling injury and a 1-in-2,000 chance of being fatally injured on the job. […]
Renée Lefrançois is passionate about helping organizations boost their hearing conservation programs (HCPs), remain compliant, and protect workers from hearing loss. She is the director of audiology at SHOEBOX Ltd., a provider of hearing testing solutions based in Ottawa, Canada, with an office in Paris, France, and a consult/remote audiometer developmental team located in Israel. […]