Environmental Compliance

Tier II Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reports for the 2018 reporting year are due to the EPA by March 1, 2019. Mandated by Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), ) Tier II reports capture critical information about the types, quantities and locations of hazardous chemicals at a given facility. Submitted annually to local […]

The colder months of the year offer a perfect time to re-familiarize yourself with the hazards of ethylene glycol. Its widespread use as an antifreeze and de-icing agent in almost every vehicle on the road means that potential exposures are much more common than you’d think. Read on for more information about ethylene glycol and […]

The cost of noncompliance is going up! On February 6, 2019 EPA issued a final rule that introduces increases to civil monetary penalties for the range of environmental statutes and regulations enforced by the agency. Let’s take a deeper look at the increases and their potential impact on your business. Background The Federal Civil Penalties […]

EPA has issued a new final rule officially titled “Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine.” The rule, issued on December 11, aims to reduce the compliance burden on healthcare facilities generating waste pharmaceuticals and retailers who sell certain nicotine products, while facilitating re-use and enabling better management […]

In our previous post “Intro to Hazard Communication, Part One,” we provided an introductory primer for those of you who may be new to HazCom and needed a little help getting oriented. This post will pick up where our previous one left off, and help you continue on your HazCom journey. Please feel free to […]

On December 3, 1984, a leak at a pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal, India caused the release of 40 tons of a highly toxic gas called methyl isocyanate – as well as a number of other poisonous gases – into the air. The poisonous gas had both immediate and lasting effects; it’s estimated […]

EPA published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on October 1, 2018 that would revise the agency’s approach to regulating appliances containing substitute refrigerants, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). This rule, if finalized, will significantly impact obligations for owners of equipment containing these refrigerants. Could this proposed rule affect your business? Let’s take a closer […]

This week marks the third anniversary of the deadly explosions in Tianjin, China. A total of 173 people, including at least 80 firefighters, were killed and nearly 800 others injured when two blasts ripped through a warehouse that was improperly storing hazardous chemicals. As a small fire erupted in the facility, first responders doused the […]

By Phil Molé Large scale emergencies, such as the flooding that devastated Texas’ Gulf Coast during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, are often worsened due to failures in emergency planning that place first responders, workers and the general public at risk for exposure to hazardous chemicals. Incomplete knowledge of the identities and hazards of chemicals on-site, […]

VelocityEHS is reminding EHS professionals to submit their Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reports to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the July 1, 2018 deadline. This annual reporting requirement covers facilities with 10 or more employees in specific industries that manufacture, process or use regulated toxic chemicals in quantities above the agency’s threshold level in […]