Facilities are required to update and resubmit their risk management plan at least once every five years; the plans are used by EPA to assess chemical risks to surrounding communities and to prepare for emergency responses.
The settlement will result in operational improvements that are expected to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants by more than 48,000 pounds per year and nitrogen oxides by 313,000 pounds per year, EPA said.
"This partnership showcases a commitment to the value of safety and health shared by PPGA and Black & Veatch and acts as a force multiplier to the advancement of OSHA's mission to promote the safety and health of working men and women," said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo.
“The illegal export of e-waste to other countries is a big problem,” said Ed Kowalski, director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement in EPA’s Seattle office. Color computer monitors contain an average of four pounds of lead. CRTs may also contain mercury, cadmium, and arsenic.
Ethylene oxide exposure levels and monitoring requirements are addressed in OSHA's recently published Small Business Guide for Ethylene Oxide. The guidance document helps employers understand the ethylene oxide (EtO) standard and explains how to monitor the air quality in workplaces where EtO is processed, used, or handled.
The current rule requires air quality monitoring in areas where any industry emits at least one ton of lead to the air each year, and in the 101 urban areas with populations of 500,000 or more.
The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that it has approved a vaccine for 2009-2010 seasonal influenza in the United States.
Fall hazards, lack of personal protective equipment, and deficiencies in the plant's confined space, respirator, and lockout/tagout programs are among the 73 safety violations cited in an inspection conducted by OSHA's Concord Area Office.
The Health and Safety Executive seeks comments at a stakeholder forum this week in London as it reviews the issue and IOSH queries its 35,000 members.
Chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants deplete the stratospheric, or "good" ozone layer, allowing dangerous amounts of cancer-causing ultraviolet rays from the sun to strike the earth, EPA notes. Production of some of these chemicals was stopped in 1995, and federal law strictly controls their use and handling.
"It is especially heartening that given today's economy, ASHRAE chapters and members as well as industry companies continue to see the value of supporting our research program," said Gordon Holness, president of the society.
The company is subject to the dry cleaning rule of the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants because it uses perchloroethylene in its dry cleaning process. EPA says perchloroethylene may cause serious health effects including birth defects and cancer, and it may also cause harmful environmental and ecological effects.
These individuals, chosen by their peers, represent the society's eight regions, which each contain anywhere from 15 to 20 chapters each.
ACCSH advises the secretary of labor and the assistant secretary of labor for OSHA in the formulation of standards affecting the construction industry and on policy matters arising in the administration of the safety and health provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act and the OSH Act of 1970.
The recalled units, sold by wholesale distributors to plumbing and heating contractors nationwide from September 2007 through December 2007 for between $5,000 and $7,500, are white and designed to be mounted on walls.
Adverse work conditions may be to blame for the decline in the number of primary care physicians nationwide, according to a study published in the latest issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The site in Agawam, Mass., was admitted for three years of participation at the star level following an OSHA team’s three-day onsite review, which included an examination of the facility’s safety and health management system, interviews with employees, and a complete tour of the plant.
In the course of redeveloping the property for residential reuse, a sludge lagoon area containing arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and silver was excavated, and the contaminated material was improperly sent to a landfill in Rochester, N.H., that was not licensed or designed to accept hazardous waste.
The agency estimates it will take three to four months to clean the four-acre site that once held both an auto salvage shop and a gas station, situated a half mile from the center of town in a mixed residential and commercial area.
Called a "revolutionary tool," it will allow the public to track environmental exposures and chronic health conditions.