Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the importance of having a diverse safety culture. There are many factors beyond basic safety compliance that go into building a strong safety culture. One of […]
An El Paso, Texas, jewelry metal-plating finisher faces Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines totaling $292,693 for failing to protect employees working with dangerous acids and other chemicals from potentially permanent eye injuries, the agency announced February 28. The agency cited Arizona Traders Co., doing business as Siltec, Inc., with 12 serious workplace safety […]
Improperly handling highly hazardous chemicals can result in chemical accidents, or unexpected releases of explosive, flammable, reactive, or toxic gases and liquids. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) process safety management (PSM) standard sets out industry requirements for preventing or minimizing catastrophic releases of chemicals, and it applies across many industries. Preventing chemical accidents […]
A federal panel affirmed that Walmart Inc. violated federal workplace safety standards at its warehouse in Johnstown, New York, when it failed to prevent stored merchandise from falling onto, and seriously injuring, an employee, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced February 24. The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission concluded that OSHA correctly […]
Systematic evaluation of your company’s workplace and safety practices is integral to your safety plan. A voluntary safety self-audit is critical in achieving environment, health, and safety (EHS) compliance. It can make a substantial difference in accident prevention and help you be prepared for unannounced Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections. A safety self-audit evaluates […]
Dollar Tree Inc. faces $254,478 in new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for three repeat violations at its Mount Pleasant, Texas, store, the agency announced February 23. OSHA inspectors reported finding that the employer allowed storeroom merchandise to block exits and walkways and had stacked boxes high enough to fall on workers. Inspectors […]
A dental hygienist and dental assistant have won $15,706 in back wages to be paid by the North Texas dentists who fired them for raising concerns about COVID-19 safety measures in spring 2020 following a federal whistleblower investigation conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and litigation filed by the Department of Labor […]
On February 22, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a list of the department’s economically significant rulemakings, including six at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (88 Fed. Reg. 11252). The six OSHA rulemakings include two in the prerule stage—process safety management (PSM) and prevention of major chemical accidents and prevention of workplace violence […]
The owner and operator of a 472-ton Alaskan seafood processing vessel faces $208,983 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties, the agency announced February 16. OSHA cited Christos Tsabouris and East West Seafoods LLC for 2 repeat serious violations, 17 serious violations, and 1 other-than-serious violation on the F/V Pacific Producer. During a joint […]
You must provide your employees with personal protective equipment (PPE) when other methods higher in industrial hygiene’s “hierarchy of controls” like elimination, substitution, engineering controls, and administrative controls are not enough to protect their health and safety. PPE protects workers’ eyes, faces, feet, hands, and heads, and protective clothing may protect the entire body from […]