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The chemical industry generates $486 billion annually and employs 529,000 Americans, and 96% of all manufactured goods are directly impacted by this industry, reports the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) 2021 Guide to the Business of Chemistry. “While risks for the global economy remain, the U.S. chemical industry is in a strong position going into 2022,” […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine OSHA’s standards for HazCom and managing workplace chemical hazards. Do you get overwhelmed thinking about all the new rules and enforcement initiatives out of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)? […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced it issued a combined 11 serious violations to four employers and proposed penalties totaling $139,427 following a flash fire and subsequent explosion that seriously injured six workers on September 27, 2021, at Westlake Chemicals in Sulphur, Louisiana. The agency cited Turn2 Specialty Companies LLC with four […]
Based on inspections over the last several years, the EPA has found many chemical storage and distribution facilities “are not developing safety precautions; instituting maintenance, monitoring, and employee training measures and preparing risk management plans to remain in compliance with Clean Air Act (CAA) and Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) requirements,” […]
On September 17, 2021, the EPA proposed amendments to the National Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emission Standards for Aerosol Coatings, which establish reactivity-based emissions standards for the aerosol coatings category under the Clean Air Act (CAA). “In this action, the EPA is proposing to update coating category product-weighted reactivity limits for aerosol coatings categories; add […]
In response to the EPA’s request for comments on the Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations and related goals, on June 16, 2021, former EPA Administrator and New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, retired generals Russel Honoré and Randy Manner, former EPA Official Robert Bostock, and former National Security Council and Senate Intelligence Committee staff member […]
On June 11, 2021, the EPA published advance notice of proposed rulemaking to add 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to the Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) list. This addition is historical as it will mark the first time an air toxin has been added to the HAP list through a petition and it “is the first time that a […]
Since the first day of his presidency, President Joe Biden has been directing attention to reviewing EPA actions impacting the chemical industry and commercial chemicals—specifically, agency actions under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
In a move telegraphing a sharp departure from the previous administration, the Biden administration’s EPA opened a 60-day public comment period seeking additional input on five final rules for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals issued on January 6, 2021, under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
On February 16, 2021, the EPA announced it “will refine its approach to selecting and reviewing the scientific studies that are used to inform Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) chemical risk evaluations (known as systematic review).”