Chemicals

On February 4, 2020 OSHA announced it will be launching a national emphasis program (NEP) aimed at reducing occupational exposures to respirable crystalline silica (RCS), and promoting compliance with its Respirable Crystalline Silica Standards for general industry, maritime and construction industries. Background A 2015 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) […]

The Chemical Safety and Investigation Board (CSB) recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would create new accidental chemical release reporting requirements, in addition to those already in place under other regulations. In comparison to existing regulatory requirements, the CSB proposed rule would broaden reporting requirements by requiring reporting under a range of […]

Penalties for noncompliance with regulations enforced by EPA, OSHA and other U.S. environmental and occupational health and safety agencies are going up! Under the requirements of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, all U.S. federal agencies must annually revise their civil penalty amounts to account for the rate of inflation. Read on […]

The term musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) is widely accepted in the world of ergonomics to indicate damage associated with conditions that ergonomics guidelines seek to prevent. But what is a musculoskeletal disorder, and how does it occur? In a study by Barbe et al., the extent of the MSD development process in muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments […]

For a limited time, VelocityEHS is providing disaster relief organizations, emergency responders and local businesses affected by the wildfires in Australia and earthquakes in Puerto Rico access to our VelocityEHS safety data sheet (SDS) library at no cost. All customers and non-customers in these regions can visit www.ehs.com/disaster and search through the millions of safety sheets […]

Do you have hazardous chemicals in your workplace? What if there were an accidental spill? Would you be prepared to safely respond before it escalated into a serious emergency or dangerous environmental release? What systems do you rely on to prevent chemical spills in the first place, and are those systems as effective as possible? […]

The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) estimates that more than 8 million US healthcare workers are exposed to hazardous drugs (HDs) in the workplace each year. Hazardous drugs (HDs) are a class of pharmaceuticals that pose serious health risks to individuals who handle them, including organ toxicity, reproductive and developmental defects, genetic toxicity, cancer and […]

by Phil Molé An employee at a popular chain restaurant recently died due to chemical exposures from a reaction between common, but incompatible, cleaning compounds. This incident, like many others before it, is disturbing because the chemicals used are so common, and tragic because it is avoidable. It’s an unfortunate reminder that HazCom management is […]

Do know your requirements for hazardous chemical safety and risk management under EPA’s General Duty Clause? If not, here’s what you need to know: Like the EPA’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) Rule, the EPA’s General Duty Clause is intended to help minimize the risk of chemical releases and chemical-related emergencies at facilities that store, process […]

On September 30, OSHA published a final rule representing the latest revisions to its evolving Beryllium Standard. The rule, which is effective immediately, retains the ancillary provisions of OSHA’s beryllium standards for construction and shipyards while setting new compliance deadlines and maintaining current exposure limits for beryllium. If you’re in the construction or shipyard industries, this final […]