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On March 16, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced citations and penalties following an investigation into two workers’ fatal burns at an Oregon, Ohio, refinery’s crude unit operated by BP Products North America Inc. The agency cited BP with 10 serious violations and one other-than-serious violation and proposed penalties totaling $156,250. As workers […]
Discount retailer Dollar General faces over $1 million in new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for violations at four stores in Florida and Georgia, the agency announced March 13. OSHA inspected stores in Ocala, Florida, and Columbus, Georgia, finding repeat violations, including blocked exits and fire extinguishers, locked exit doors, and improperly stacked […]
A LaFayette, Georgia, insulation manufacturer faces Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines totaling $423,432 after a line operator suffered severe head trauma after being caught in a machine’s roller, the agency announced March 6. OSHA cited Bonded Logic Inc. for two willful, two repeat, and 10 serious violations. Agency inspectors found the employer willfully […]
The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued its Fiscal Year 2023 Oversight Plan, which details the projects the OIG intends to conduct through September 2023 and identifies top management challenges faced by both the EPA and the OIG. “Oversight is at the core of the EPA OIG’s mission,” said Inspector General Sean O’Donnell […]
An El Paso, Texas, jewelry metal-plating finisher faces Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines totaling $292,693 for failing to protect employees working with dangerous acids and other chemicals from potentially permanent eye injuries, the agency announced February 28. The agency cited Arizona Traders Co., doing business as Siltec, Inc., with 12 serious workplace safety […]
On February 22, 2023, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the first proposed offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. “The announcement is part of the Administration’s latest actions to expand offshore wind opportunities to more regions of the country, building on investments in the President’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure […]
The EPA recently released the “Cumulative Impacts Addendum to EPA Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice (EJ Legal Tools).” It provides a collection of examples of the Agency’s legal authorities to identify and address cumulative impacts through a range of actions, including permitting, regulations, and grants, in order to consider the lived experience of communities […]
Improperly handling highly hazardous chemicals can result in chemical accidents, or unexpected releases of explosive, flammable, reactive, or toxic gases and liquids. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) process safety management (PSM) standard sets out industry requirements for preventing or minimizing catastrophic releases of chemicals, and it applies across many industries. Preventing chemical accidents […]
California employers must provide potable water as close as possible to employees to encourage outdoor workers to consume water frequently, a California review panel decided, establishing a new precedent that clarified the state’s heat illness prevention standard’s requirement for drinking water, the Department of Industrial Relations announced February 27. “This decision provides clarity and should […]
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Friends of the Earth sued the EPA in the Northern District of California on February 6, 2023, for failing to finalize nationwide standards that would protect U.S. waterways from harmful vessel discharges. The lawsuit states the EPA is more than 2 years behind schedule to establish standards for […]