Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Following its Clean Air Act (CAA) residual risk and technology review (RTR) of its 1995 National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) covering aerospace manufacturing and rework facilities, the EPA is amending NESHAP by establishing requirements for specialty coating operations, which were not previously subject to NESHAP.
Q. Can you please help me translate the federal rule regarding an “Onsite Consolidation facility”?
This is Thanksgiving week and as environment, health, and safety (EHS) professionals, we all want to make sure employees are at home celebrating with their families and not at the hospital, or worse, because of an inadvertent exposure to chemicals on the job. Today we offer three tips for preventing chemical exposure in the workplace […]
Each year in the United States, about 4,500 workers die from work-related injuries, and more than 50,000 die from work-related illnesses. More than 3 million suffer nonfatal occupational injuries or illnesses; 2.8 million are treated in the emergency department; and 140,000 are hospitalized. The price tag to employers reaches $250 billion each year. Although employers […]
Millions of Americans are employed in growing, producing, cooking, and serving food. Despite their importance to the economy and to our daily lives, these workers and the hazards they face remain largely invisible. This article addresses food-worker risks and some of the initiatives and innovations involved in reducing them.
Written under the authority of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA’s governing regulation was issued in 1986 and was initially called the Inventory Update Rule (IUR). In a 2011 action, the Agency changed the name to the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. Under the CDR rule, between June 1, 2016, and September 30, 2016, […]
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 […]
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 […]
By: Charles B. Palmer and Miguel A. Manriquez You send workers up on the flat roof to fix an HVAC unit. Is the work considered “maintenance,” covered under OSHA’s general industry fall protection rules, or “repair,” subject to OSHA’s construction rules? You send workers in to a tank to clean and paint it. Is the […]