Category: EHS Management

Changes to Hazard Communication Standard in 2012

The GHS amendments will: Modify the criteria for classifying chemical hazards. Standardize signal words, pictograms, hazard statements, and precautionary statements for chemical labeling. Prescribe a specified format for material safety data sheets (MSDS) and call them “safety data sheets,” or SDSs Revise the requirements for employee training on chemical labels and safety data sheets to […]

Will You Do the Time for an Enviro Crime?

EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Division (CID) has changed priorities in recent years and has been seeking prosecution of individual defendants as high up the corporate hierarchy as there is evidence. For this the Agency offers one simple reason–corporate managers will think twice about deliberately breaking the law if they understand that they face jail time and […]

What to Do with Old Cell Phones

Got a new iPhone or Blackberry for Christmas and wondering what to do with your old model? Don’t stick it in a drawer, and definitely don’t throw it in the trash. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to recycle your old cell phone. Cell phones and PDAs are made of precious metals, copper, […]

Want More US Jobs? Recycle.

Recycling = US Jobs More than 56,000 recycling and reuse establishments in the United States employ approximately 1.1 million people, and generate an annual payroll of $37 billion, and gross $236 billion in annual revenues. The number of workers in the recycling industry is comparable to the automobile and truck manufacturing industry and is significantly […]

Environmental Daily Advisor 2012 Compliance Outlook

In this Environmental Daily Advisor video, Advisor editor Kelly Lagana interviews Clare Condon, managing editor of compliance content at BLR. Questions discussed include the current regulation outlook, as well as environmental regulations EHS managers should expect to see proposed or finalized in 2012.

20 Energy Savers You Don’t Know About

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has worked with manufacturing industry professionals to develop the following top-20 easy energy savers that can help you reduce your energy costs in all your combustion systems, or focus more specifically on your steam boiler system or process heating system. These short-term opportunities […]

An Action Plan for Saving Energy

Start with an Action Plan The first step to take is to assess your own plant. Evaluate the best opportunities that are appropriate and that will be most effective at your plant: Track your energy bills: You need to know how much you pay for electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil at your facility. Tip: […]

Beyond the Border—Managing Your Product for Import

The relentless advance of importation calls for a shift from the traditional emphasis on border inspections of imports to an approach that identifies high-risk segments in a product’s life cycle and verifies the safety of the product at those junctions. That’s the view of eight federal agencies, including EPA, which in 2009 issued a draft […]

How to Develop an Import Management Plan

A product safety management program is an organizational structure that encourages good import practices. Such a structure typically includes clearly defined job functions and responsibilities; established procedures, including those for oversight and quality systems; adequate training for personnel; and appropriate communication mechanisms. Recommended elements in a product safety management program include: Establishing a clear management […]

EPA Rules and the National Power Grid

According to critics, at least eight proposed or final EPA rules (air, water, and waste) may force the retirement of up to 81 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired generating capacity. (The Energy Information Administration says the total installed generating capacity of the U.S. electric power grid is about 1,119 GW with approximately 330 GW coal-fired.) About […]