Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In May, 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed guidance document for its personnel on complying with Executive Order 13673, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces. The document is not yet finalized, however, it does offer insights into how OSHA and other agencies within the DOL intend to interpret and act upon the Order. […]
Most employers don’t think of executive orders—documents issued by the Office of the President that affect the management of government operations—when they think of safety compliance. But an executive order issued in 2014 means that your OSHA compliance may now be linked to your eligibility for government contracts.
In anticipation of BLR’s upcoming underground storage tank (UST) Master Class, Emily Remmel sat down with copresenter Dennis Oberdove, owner and president of Tank Integrity Services, to get a sense of the daily troubleshooting issues that arise on the ground when testing UST systems.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been under pressure to update and better manage its Clean Air Act Risk Management Program and is moving ever closer to a proposed rule that will modify the program. The Agency continues to scrutinize facilities that are required to have risk management plans. Today we will review a […]
Within the past year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has completed some of its process safety management (PSM) “action items,” including clarifying parts of the PSM standard and revising its working definition of “retail facilities.” Keep reading to find out what other changes employers can expect to see as OSHA continues to revise […]
In December 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Request for Information to be used in updating its process safety management (PSM) standard. One of the changes under consideration by OSHA was the addition of a definition for recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP)—a term that is used, but not […]
The hazards of diacetyl and related flavorings are increasingly of concern to employers across the food-processing industry. Although there is no federal standard or permissible exposure limit for diacetyl yet, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has weighed in with recommended strategies for controlling worker exposures. If your workers are exposed to […]
One of the most tedious aspects of an EHS manager’s job is to keep track of a host of records. Don’t get caught without the necessary records in the event of an OSHA or EPA inspection. One of the first things inspectors will ask for is records of compliance. Good recordkeeping indicates to them good […]
It has been 13 years since the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published the first reports of a potentially deadly lung disease in workers at a microwave-popcorn factory. The newly identified lung disease, sometimes called “popcorn lung,” was officially dubbed bronchiolitis obliterans for its devastating effect on the lungs. It was eventually […]
In order for your Environmental and Health Safety (EHS) training to be effective, you must have clear communication with trainees. This goal may be hard to achieve with workers who speak English as a second language (ESL). However, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that an employer’s responsibility to provide employees with information […]