Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As today’s workplace becomes more complex, regulation of that workplace increases. In this section, you’ll find the practical advice you need to understand exactly what OSHA, other federal agencies, and their state counterparts, require of you, and to comply in the ways that best satisfy both your and their needs. Look also for important court decisions, advice on how to handle enforcement actions, and news of upcoming changes in workplace health and safety law.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission August 26 downgraded a willful citation issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to serious for a Trenton, New Jersey, manufacturer’s failure to administer annual audiograms. The commissioners also vacated a machine guarding citation, ruling that the agency failed to demonstrate employee exposure. OSHA opened an […]
The EPA issued an enforcement alert about Clean Air Act (CAA) emissions violations at scrap metal recycling facilities in late July 2021. Emissions from these facilities are contributing to violations of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. “Over 250 metal recycling facilities are currently operating with a shredder in the United States,” […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) encouraged the state’s employers and workers to follow recently updated guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recommending that all individuals wear face coverings while indoors regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. In California, masks are recommended for everyone in indoor settings and required for […]
To comply with U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty’s June 2021 ruling in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Department of Interior (DOI) announced it will resume federal offshore oil and gas leasing programs while the Department of Justice (DOJ) is appealing Doughty’s injunction in Louisiana v. Biden. The Oil & Gas Journal reports the […]
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) on August 4 issued its semiannual report, “Compendium of Open and Unresolved Recommendations: Data as of March 31, 2021.” The completion of the compendium is required by law and mandates that each inspector general prepare semiannual reports for Congress, which must include “an identification of each significant recommendation described […]
Scientists working in the EPA’s New Chemicals Division recently filed a disclosure revealing several tactics managers use that prevent adequate safety assessments of new chemicals, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). “One tactic managers have used to complete assessments within 90 days is forbidding assessors from communicating with other specialists,” according to PEER. […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited a Wayland, Massachusetts, contractor and his processor and successor companies with 28 willful, repeat, serious, and other-than-serious safety and health violations following two trenching fatalities. The agency seeks a total of $1,350,884 in penalties. Atlantic Coast Utilities LLC/Advanced Utilities Inc.; its predecessor company Shannon Construction Corp.; their […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on August 10 cited Safeway Inc. with violations of the agency’s lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and other standards at the company’s dairy facility. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $339,379. The agency inspected a Denver milk packaging plant operated by Safeway after a worker lost four fingers while operating a molding […]
A federal judge earlier this month ordered the EPA to update a decades-old regulation that currently allows the use of toxic chemicals in cleaning up offshore oil spills. “The agency ‘delayed unreasonably’ by waiting at least six years to finalize draft regulations updating the 1994 rules, said William H. Orrick, a judge in the U.S. […]
Back to Basics is a new weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine common workplace hazards that are among the most frequently cited by OSHA. Don’t let all the new, exotic workplace hazards distract you from the basics. The COVID-19 pandemic, historic wildfires […]