Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
No one looks forward to the day when the regulatory authority arrives at your facility for an inspection. Will he or she find issues of noncompliance? Will an enforcement action or penalty be forthcoming? But remember, the ultimate goal of the inspector is not to write up a notice of violation but to ensure your […]
This week is the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) fall safety stand-down, and OSHA is encouraging employers to be creative about engaging employees in a discussion of fall hazards and fall protection. So when you’re planning your stand-down activities, look for ways to engage workers that go beyond your usual toolbox talk.
Recently, one of our subscribers asked the following question:
How did you fare in your first year of reporting under the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) new severe injury reporting rule? According to a report recently released by OSHA, over 10,000 severe injuries were reported. Today we will review the key findings in the report and talk a bit about pitfalls in conducting […]
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 […]
OSHA says the first year of new employer requirements has generated significant numbers of severe-injury reports. Find out what happens when OSHA learns of an incident and how you may be affected.
There are many chemicals in use in modern workplaces—and there are a lot of ways workers can be exposed to them. Three employers that were cited within a 1-month period earlier this year provide instructive examples of the kinds of mistakes that lead to overexposures.
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 […]
Anticipating a large increase in severe injury reports (fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye), OSHA issued an internal enforcement memorandum on December 24, 2014, to help the field offices manage these reports. It provides new procedures on when to launch an inspection. Recently, OSHA revised its Interim Enforcement Procedures for New Reporting […]
In an effort reminiscent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) very successful “Safety Stand-Down” program to prevent falls in construction, the agency has launched a program to protect workers in the oil and gas (O&G) industry. It’s called “Step Up for Safety,” and OSHA and its partners are encouraging employers to conduct “Step […]