Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Today’s workplace uses thousands of chemicals, many of which are hazardous. The resources in this section will help guide you in the safe and legal identification, storage, transport, and use of these chemicals, and in making sure that your employees right to know how to be safe around such substances is provided, as required by law.
The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a report that found the Agency didn’t follow the typical intra-agency review and clearance process during the development and publication of the January 2021 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) toxicity assessment. During the final clearance process for the assessment, a Trump political appointee ordered a last-minute review […]
Last month, the Government Accountability Project (GAP), filed an Emergency Administrative Procedure Act (APA) petition with the EPA to spur the Agency to take action to warn residents in and around East Palestine, Ohio, not to eat homegrown garden produce due to dioxin and other chemical contamination in the soil from the Norfolk Southern train […]
On July 17, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an update on its investigation into a January 2023 explosion and toxic chemical release at the Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies facility in Geismar, Louisiana. A reboiler at the facility exploded, leading to the release of over 870 pounds (lb) of hydrogen […]
A new study conducted by Johns Hopkins University found ethylene oxide (EtO) levels within Louisiana’s Cancer Alley average twice the threshold level set by the EPA for unacceptable cancer risks. Airborne EtO is dangerous for long-term exposure at any level above 11 parts per trillion (ppt), according to the study. That threshold is very low, […]
Pushback against the EPA’s new regulations for maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water continues to accelerate, with state and public drinking water system officials claiming the costs of removal will be much more than the EPA estimates. PFAS drinking water regulations In April, the EPA finalized the first-ever […]
Recent settlements in the product liability lawsuits stemming from the use of the weed killer Roundup mark progress in the ongoing litigation across the country. Roundup is one of the most widely used weedkillers in the United States. It was originally manufactured by Monsanto Co. and used glyphosate as its most active ingredient, which has […]
The EPA recently announced a proposed rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that would protect workers and consumers from exposure to the solvent n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). The “EPA’s 2020 risk evaluation found that this chemical causes serious health effects, including miscarriages and reduced fertility, as well as damage to the liver, kidneys, immune system […]
In United States of America v. Denka Performance Elastomer LLC and DuPont Specialty Products USA LLC, Denka recently told a federal appeals court that it will have to permanently close its Louisiana facility if it’s forced to comply with an EPA mandate to reduce emissions within 90 days. Background Denka operates a chemical manufacturing plant […]
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a final report on a fatal 2022 naphtha release and fire at the BP-Husky Toledo Refinery in Oregon, Ohio, the board announced June 24. The chemical release and fire led to the deaths of two BP employees, who were brothers. During an emergency at the […]
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) on June 4 announced it deployed a team to investigate a fatal fire at a liquid nitriding facility in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. One person died after suffering severe burns during the incident at the TS USA facility, which uses a nitriding process to harden the outer […]