Industrial Hygiene


Dallas-Based Oil & Gas Producer Cited for Spill Prevention Violations

EPA noted that a spill of only one gallon of oil can contaminate one million gallons of water. SPCC regulations require onshore oil production or bulk storage facilities to provide oil spill prevention, preparedness, and responses to prevent such discharges.

Buttermilk Plant Settles Pollution Allegations in Nebraska

The dairy facility and its former owner are the last two of five defendants to settle claims made in a 2008 civil lawsuit accusing the company of violating the Clean Water Act and befouling the Elkhorn River.

The survey of Australian trades workers who sand, cut, and drill asbestos-containing sheets found many do not adequately protect themselves.

Many Australian Tradesmen Handling Asbestos Improperly

A study done for Safe Work Australia also showed that many in the country's trades do not follow standard safety precautions to protect themselves against exposure to asbestos fibers.

CSCs 20th Conference and Expo

Construction Safety Council Celebrates 20th Conference & Expo Anniversary

More than 60 sessions will be offered throughout the event’s three days, including sessions on fall protection, power line safety, worker’s compensation issues, electrical safety, industrial hygiene issues, and work zone safety. NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard will deliver the event’s keynote address.

Colorado Firm Awarded Grant to Study Mine Methane Emissions in China

As part of EPA’s Methane to Markets Grant, the firm will subcontract with the University of Colorado for the project, which will inventory emissions in the gassy, abandoned coal mines in the coal-bearing regions of the Shanxi and Hebei Provinces.

North Idaho Developers Fined Nearly $45K for Storm Water Violations

EPA noted this is the seventh year in a multi-year initiative to improve compliance with the construction general permit. The permit authorizes storm water discharges from construction sites, and it requires operators of those sites to design, install, and maintain storm water controls to protect surface waters from common construction site pollutants like sediment, oil and grease, and concrete washout.

EPA Issues Cease and Desist Orders to Three Energy Companies

All three companies were found responsible for the unauthorized discharge of oil field brine into the tributaries of various creeks in Oklahoma and Texas generated by their production activities.

Gaining on Secondhand Smoke, But Thirdhand Now Feared

This third time is not a charm: Residual nicotine from tobacco smoke that clings to indoor surfaces reacts with the common air pollutant nitrous acid to form dangerous carcinogens.



Inspection at Alabama Plant Finds Amputation Hazards, Bloody Machinery

"Company management was aware of the requirements to establish a lockout program and did not take action," said Kurt Petermeyer, director of OSHA's Mobile (Ala.) Area Office.

chemicals in 55-gallon drums

GAO Recommends EPA Biomonitoring Upgrade

The Toxic Substances Control Act may allow EPA to obtain more useful data than it now gets about the health effects of commercial chemicals. But the extent of EPA's authority to collect such data is unclear and untested, a new Government Accountability Office report concludes.

The International Apparel Federation and two allied organizations organized the conference about U.S. and EU product safety and chemical safety regulations for apparel and footwear makers.

Fashionistas Talk Product Safety

The International Apparel Federation and two allied organizations have organized a conference Tuesday in Paris about product safety and chemical safety regulations in the United States and the European Union, while, outside, the big Texworld 2010 conference takes place.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency ensures ships in the United Kingdom conform to UK and international safety rules.

Asbestos Rules Coming to UK Merchant, Fishing Fleets

After the Maritime and Coastguard Agency finishes its consultation with stakeholders, regulations could be in effect by Oct. 1 to implement EC Directive 83/477/EEC and protect workers from asbestos exposure.

EPA Proposes New Use Rule for Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes

Anyone intending to manufacture, import, or process them for an activity that is designated as a significant new use would have to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance, giving the agency time to evaluate the intended use and bar it, if necessary.

Registration Opens for OH&S Virtual Event 2010

This April 7, 2010, all-day event will allow attendees to access product information and whitepapers, chat in real time with exhibitors, seek and share advice with other attendees, and learn about important industry developments taking place this year.

Breaking germ-carrying habits

Old Habits Die Hard—It's Time to Form New Ones!

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tells us that proper hand washing is the single most important action each of us can perform to help stop the spread of diseases.

This personal confined space gas monitor from RKI Instruments Inc., the GX-2009, weighs only 4.6 ounces.

Confined Space Considerations for the Small Employer

A common failure of these programs is doing nothing, because it is easy to put this topic off during a tough economy.

Manhole Covers Plant Cited for Combustible Dust, Electrical Hazards

Agency inspectors found that combustible particulate solids, which were generated during trimming and repair operations, were not collected into an adequately designed dust collection system, were allowed to accumulate on machinery and surfaces, and were not adequately cleaned up to prevent such buildup.

Congressman Markey

Climate Change Summit on Tap in Boston

Speakers including Congressman Edward Markey (pictured), EPA's Gina McCarthy, the National Grid's Thomas King, and others will discuss the future of the low-carbon economy in an all-day event Feb. 12 at the Boston Harbor Hotel.

OSHA to Hold Informal Meetings on Proposed Combustible Dust Standard

The agency is conducting the two meetings in Atlanta to make it easier for families of those who perished in the 2008 Imperial Sugar Co. explosion in Port Wentworth, Ga., to attend.

Fire Log Manufacturer Feels OSHA's Heat After Worker's Burning

"OSHA determined that this company is fully aware of the deficiencies it has in its safety program and what needs to be changed to provide safe work conditions for employees but hasn't acted to correct those deficiencies," said Roberto Sanchez, director of the agency's area office in Birmingham, Ala.

Featured

Artificial Intelligence