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OSHA Edicts on Cranes, Derricks, and Slings

Yesterday we looked at the special dangers and safety precautions needed when working with such heavy-duty material movers as conveyors and powered industrial trucks. Today we turn to the topic of working safely with and around cranes, derricks, and slings. Cranes and derricks play an important role in lifting and transporting heavy loads, but they […]

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EPA Has 2 Weeks to Plan Next Steps on O&G Regulations

In a minor victory for the EPA, a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed to recall its July 3, 2017, vacatur (mandate) of the Trump EPA’s 90-day administrative stay of the Obama EPA’s June 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for fugitive emissions (leaks) of methane and other pollutants […]

Preventing Bloodborne Pathogen Exposures

Although workplace exposures to bloodborne pathogens are less common outside the healthcare field, almost any worker has the potential to be exposed under the certain circumstances—for example, when providing first aid. Make sure your workers know how to prevent such exposures. The best way to prevent exposure to bloodborne pathogens is to practice “universal precautions.” […]

Vacatur of SNAP Rule Clarified

In a notice, the EPA reports that it has received requests for regulatory clarity from stakeholders that are uncertain about how the D.C. Circuit’s August 8, 2017, opinion in Mexichem Fluor Inc. v. EPA affects their compliance obligations under an Agency 2015 rule that amended the federal Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program on ozone-depleting […]

Supreme Court to Hear WOTUS Jurisdiction Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in a case that will determine whether challenges to the EPA/Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Clean Water Rule (CWR), which defines waters of the United States (WOTUS), should be heard in U.S. district courts or U.S. appeals courts.

Senate and House Agree on Coal Combustion Legislation

A major environmental provision in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act (S. 612) would give states the authority to establish, implement, and enforce their own permitting programs for the management and disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) from electric power plants. Lawmakers from both the House and the Senate recently reached a […]

How Good Is Your Chemical Housekeeping? Part II

Good housekeeping is an absolute requirement when there are hazardous materials in your workplace. Just as a quarterback has to keep his eyes open for changes in the defense or certain other telltale moves of opposing players, we need to keep a lookout for danger signals on the job in order to keep your "team" […]

DOT: Traffic Deaths Are on the Rise

Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) shows a 7.7 percent increase in motor vehicle traffic deaths in 2015, the last year studied. Get details here and take steps to make sure you’re not contributing to the increase.