Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
At this writing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is close to issuing a final rule amending the Worker Protection Standard (WPS). Today we will recap some of the changes the EPA has proposed to update this standard, which is meant to protect farm workers and their families from exposure to pesticides. Tomorrow we will […]
Changing environmental situations often requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revisit policies and interpretations of regulations even if the rules themselves are not amended. A case in point is a 1997 EPA policy that precluded the regulation of bio-oils (e.g., vegetable and animal oils) that have been used as lubricants, or for other […]
The RCRA used oil management standards can serve as a road map to guide used oil handlers (generators, transporters, burners, marketers, processors, and re-refiners) through the various storage, recordkeeping, and cleanup procedures to ensure used oil is handled safely. The used oil regulations are based on the presumption that used oil (i.e., oil contaminated by […]
The EPA suggests that the guides be used to help identify and consider key factors related to VI assessments, risk management decisions, and mitigation. Vapor intrusion is also of particular concern to property owners, municipalities, and real estate developers, especially those involved in revitalization of a perceived brownfield. Note. While the recommendations in these guides […]
Note: This article is directed toward businesses looking to build or expand possibly on remediated brownfields, not those that are interested in purchasing a site and cleaning it up themselves. EPA Grants The EPA recently announced its latest round of brownfields grants. Grants investments totaling $54.3 million went to 243 projects in 147 communities nationwide. […]
Understanding Coal Ash and the New Final Rule—Part 2 Coal ash will not be considered a hazardous waste. The final requirements for coal ash disposal were established for nonhazardous waste under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), rather than under Subtitle C that covers hazardous waste. As one result, under RCRA, […]
Understanding Coal Ash and the New Final Rule—Part 1 The makeup of coal ash: Coal ash is essentially the byproduct of the combustion of coal at power plants that contains contaminants like mercury, cadmium, and arsenic associated with cancer and various other serious human health effects. Coal ash is disposed of in wet form […]
