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In January 2024, the EPA proposed new effluent limitations guidelines (ELG) that would bring meat and poultry processing (MPP) facilities under EPA authority by requiring MPP facilities to add expensive water filtration systems to comply with the proposed regulation. According to an EPA Fact Sheet on the proposed rule, pollutants discharged from MPP facilities include […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine the hazards that landscapers face and how to deal with them safely. Landscapers are exposed to all kinds of different hazards on a daily basis, ranging from heat and weather hazards, […]
The EPA has struggled, and mostly failed, for many years to meet its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect endangered species from pesticides. “EPA has an opportunity and an obligation to improve how it meets its duties under the [ESA] when it registers pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act […]
The diagnosis of histoplasmosis, a fungal infection of the lungs, often can be delayed due to a lack of awareness of the condition, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) said in its January 2021 newsletter on recent research developments. Workers in agriculture and construction are at higher risk for histoplasmosis, which is […]
California Assembly Bill 2954 (AB 2954) proposes unique legislation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from “working lands” (including agricultural, grazing, and forest) and “natural lands.” Additionally, the bill seeks to implement carbon sequestration programs on the lands that would be regulated by the bill.
In response to one frequently asked question (FAQ) on the EPA’s emergency management site, the Agency clarified when combustible agricultural dusts are subject to reporting under Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
The EPA is facing double-barrel lawsuits—one barrel from the attorneys general of three states, the second from five farmworker advocacy groups—over the Agency’s delay in making it mandatory for farmworker employers to train their employees about the contents of the Agency’s 2015 revisions to the Worker Protection Standard ((WPS), November 2, 2015, Federal Register (FR)). […]
Consistent with the opinion issued in September 2016 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for DC Circuit (Agricultural Retailers Association and the Fertilizer Institute v. U.S. Department of Labor), OSHA has announced that it will not issue citations under its Process Safety Management (PSM) standard for certain wholesalers of agricultural products.