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In OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Management Program Guidelines, “Management commitment and employee involvement” were a single major element. In its proposed revisions, OSHA has broken out “worker participation” into its own section and greatly expanded it. In the new section, OSHA has targeted two common employer practices— incentive programs and postincident drug testing—as having […]
Get a group of EHS professionals together and the subject of hazardous materials (hazmat) training will invariably come up. What does the Department of Transportation (DOT) expect? How can you be sure that your training is effective and compliant with the DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs)? Today we offer steps for developing a training program […]
Nanoscale applications are rapidly moving from the research lab to industrial and commercial settings. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), examples of workplaces that may use nanoscale materials (nanomaterials) include chemical or pharmaceutical laboratories or plants, manufacturing facilities, medical offices or hospitals, and construction sites. Yesterday we explored nanomaterials hazards and ways […]
Yesterday we reviewed the status of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed reporting requirements for nanomaterials and the Agency’s recent approval of a pesticide containing nanosilver. Today we will look at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) recent research concerning how nanomaterials affect worker safety and health.
As EHS professionals, we have heard a lot of talk about nanomaterials and their possible effects on the environment. But what about worker safety? Today we will review the status of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed reporting requirements for nanomaterials and the Agency’s recent approval of a pesticide containing nanosilver. Tomorrow we will […]
You probably know that a strong health and safety program can boost your company’s bottom line, but three new studies published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine suggest that strong safety and health programs can also boost your company’s stock price.
When you think about chemical safety and compliance, the first standard that comes to mind might be the hazard communication standard. However, there are a lot of standards that apply to hazardous chemical safety. Yesterday, we looked at two employers that failed to comply with Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, personal protective equipment, and […]
Yesterday, we looked at how the 3M® Abrasive Systems Division in Alexandria, Virginia, took a closer look at its hearing conservation program to better characterize worker exposures. It was a first step in reclassifying the “hearing conservation areas” in the plant so that only workers who had actual hazardous exposures would be subject to annual […]
It’s time for environment, health, and safety managers to start tracking another chemical. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to the list of chemicals required to be reported in toxic release inventory (TRI) reports. In addition, the Agency recently released a draft risk assessment for 1-BP. On top of that, the […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its proposed amendments to the Chemical Accidental Release Prevention Program, aka the Risk Management Program. Concurrently, the Agency also released a Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA). Yesterday we reviewed EPA’s estimated costs for changes concerning third-party audits, root cost analyses, and safer technology and alternative analyses. Today we […]