Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
So, should you wash, dry, or toss your solvent-contaminated rags? How About Dry? We can tell you right away, don’t hang your solvent-contaminated wipes out to dry. Let’s take that one off the table. Never mind the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations you would be facing, you will also have great big headaches […]
Some spaces are not designed for continuous human occupancy. Manholes, crawl spaces, tanks, and other confined spaces can be difficult to get into and even more difficult to get out of. Once inside these spaces, workers may face life-threatening hazards that include toxic substances, electrocutions, explosions, and asphyxiation. For more than twenty years, employers have […]
The CAA’s Chemical Accident Prevention Program requires that any facility that has listed substances above threshold quantities in any single process prepare a Risk Management Plan (RMP). The listed substances contain 77 toxic chemicals with thresholds ranging from 500 pounds (lb) to 20,000 lb and 63 flammable substances with a threshold quantity of 10,000 lb. […]
Who Has to File a TRI Report? Facilities in different industry sectors, facilities in Indian country, and federal facilities must annually report how much of each toxic chemical they managed through recycling, energy recovery, treatment, and environmental releases. Either a facility’s owner or operator may file the TRI report, but both will be held responsible […]
It could have been the last day of work ever for 51-year-old Anthony Ryecroft. The maintenance fitter, who worked at a steel mill in Cumbria, England, was repairing a roll-up door in his employer’s warehouse when it fell. Ryecroft was struck on the head, and he and a coworker both suffered badly broken legs in […]
The top violation DOT inspectors have found so far in FY 2015 is that packages are not secured in vehicles. At 1,207 violations, this mistake accounted for 8.12% of the total violations. Following at a close second, inspectors have found 1,197 instances when there was no copy of the U.S. DOT registration number in the […]
NPDES permits establish allowable discharge limits or effluent limitations that include both concentration and volume of flow. Section 402(k) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) provides for what is known as a “permit shield.” This means that if you are in compliance with your NPDES permit, then you are deemed to be in compliance […]
Owners of equipment with charges of more than 50 pounds (lb) of refrigerant are required to repair leaks in the equipment when the leak rates exceed a certain percentage of the charge over a 12-month period. For commercial and industrial process refrigeration, the leak rate requiring repair is 35 percent or more of the charge […]
When you have a predictable number of workers in a specific location for a predetermined length of time, figuring out how many toilets you have to provide, and your policy on restroom breaks and access (if you even need one), is probably straightforward. But what about mobile work crews? And what of construction and agriculture […]
It’s one of the most basic public health and sanitation measures: the toilet facility. It’s also one of the most basic human needs: the need to eliminate. Despite this, restroom availability and use have been a persistent sticking point between employers and their workers—one with implications for worker health and safety. As such, the availability […]