Category: Chemicals

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.

EPA Decides Not to Develop Stormwater Rules from Forest Roads

Complying with a court order, the EPA has published in the Federal Register a decision to not develop federal regulations to control the runoff of stormwater from forest roads. According to the Agency, there are a wide range of state regulatory programs, federal assistance programs, and best management practice (BMP) certification organizations that collectively have […]

First Year Implementation Plan for TSCA Unveiled

The recently enacted sweeping revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) have been decades in the making, but the EPA needed to begin implementing the changes even before the ink of President Obama’s signature dried. Accordingly, just 1 week after enactment, the Agency released its First Year Implementation Plan for the new law, including […]

4 Tips to Protect Yourself from Chemical Splashes

Just the thought of something coming at your face can make most people wince. Imagine the anxiety of employees who work around and with hazardous chemicals and don’t have the proper protection—or know the proper emergency procedures. Yesterday we offered three tips for environmental health and safety (EHS) managers to protect their workers from chemical […]

3 Tips for EHS Managers to Protect Against Chemical Splashes

Just the thought of something coming at your face can make most people wince. Imagine the anxiety of employees who work around and with hazardous chemicals and don’t have the proper protection—or know the proper emergency procedures. Today and tomorrow we will discuss ways environmental health and safety (EHS) managers and employees can protect against […]

Workers Not Listening? They May Have Been Exposed to Ototoxic Substances

The most common cause of workplace hearing loss is exposure to damaging levels of noise, so hearing conservation efforts in the workplace are almost exclusively focused on noise control. However, some chemical exposures can either directly damage hearing or act synergistically with noise exposure to increase hearing damage.

TSCA Reform: A Simple 5-point Summary of What You Need to Know

After 40 years, the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been reformed in an effort to more effectively manage chemicals in this country and give EPA more authority to evaluate and mitigate the associated risks. This infographic summarizes the important points of TSCA reform.

Q&A: Storage of DEF Fuel Additives

Recently, one of our subscribers asked the following question: Are there any regulations regarding the storage of DEF fuel additives? This was our answer:

President Obama Signs TSCA Reform Bill into Law

“For the first time in 20 years, we are updating a national environmental statute,” said President Obama before signing the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act on Wednesday. The president noted that the updated law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which took effect in 1976 “didn’t quite work the way […]

Four Changes to EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting Requirements, con’t

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) is complicated and if submitted inaccurately (or not at all), can result in substantial penalties. Reporting is required every 4 years, and 2016 brings a number of changes to CDR requirements. Companies required to report under the CDR rules have until September 30 to submit their […]

Q&A: Anhydrous Ammonia Leaks

Recently, we received the following question from a subscriber: What does OSHA say about initial entry into an area with a suspected gas leak of anhydrous ammonia of unknown quantity and the use of an SCBA?