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.
Back in March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant changes to the chemical accident prevention provisions, commonly referred to as the Risk Management Program (RMP). In a recent webinar, Risk Management Plan Updates: A Guide to Regulatory Compliance in Advance of EPA’s Final Rule, speaker Natalie VanLiew, PE, Managing Consultant at Trinity Consultants, […]
Recently, one of our subscribers asked the following question: We have a lacquer thinner solution, a Category 2 flammable liquid, and plan to dispense it from an ordinary quart-sized spray bottle. The solution will be used as a cleaning solution; spray on and wipe off. Will this be a violation of any sort, NFPA or […]
The European Union (EU) Commission has issued a proposal to limit exposure to 13 chemical agents. Find out what’s involved and how the issue affects global businesses.
The Senate voted to pass a bill to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Bill. The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature in order to become law. It’s the first time the Act has been amended in 40 years.
Ah, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)! For many facilities, the deadline to submit the annual report for 2015 is just a couple of weeks away—July 1. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sits on this enormous pile of data and is finding new and inventive ways of using the information. Will the Agency’s most recent […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently updated its guidance concerning the process safety management (PSM) recommended and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP) letter of interpretation. Yesterday we reviewed the general provisions of the guidance. Today we will take a look at what OSHA has to say about using internal standards as RAGAGEP.
An Ohio ethanol production facility faces $149,800 in penalties after Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors found multiple violations, including numerous violations of process safety management (PSM) standards. A chemical manufacturer and distributor in Kansas City was fined $80,000 for PSM violations. These are just two recent cases of large OSHA fines for missteps related to […]
Chemical exposures and chemical hazards are often discussed in isolation—workers are exposed to lead or to methylene chloride or to hydrogen sulfide. But in the real world, workers are often exposed to multiple chemicals, and those combined exposures can pose hazards that were not anticipated based on the properties of the individual chemicals.
The final deadline for updating your hazard communication program to comply with the GHS requirements is just weeks away. Check out this video for a review of what you need to do to be in compliance by June 1.
The House and Senate released a single bill to reform the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was posted on the website of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW).