Hazmat


OSHA Drafts Guidance for Determining Potential Health Hazards of Chemicals

The document is intended to help manufacturers, importers and other employers.

While numerous chemical plants operate safely, in the past 10 years nearly 60 people died and almost 500,000 people were evacuated or sheltered in place following accidental releases at chemical plants, EPA Assistant Secretary Mathy Stanislaus wrote Feb. 29, 2016.

EPA Updates Risk Management Program Rule

The new EPA revisions came about because a working group of federal agency representatives assembled to implement the executive order identified modernizing the RMP rule as one of the top priorities to improve U.S. chemical facilities' safety and security.

Depending on the quantity and nature of the hazmat spill, there are a number of reporting and notification requirements that must be enacted in a limited amount of time.

Controlling the Situation: Actionable Steps to Help Mitigate Hazmat Incidents

Accidents happen, but taking proactive steps ahead of an accident ensures your facility is prepared and reduces the chances of a larger incident from occurring.

Several railroad grade crossings will get flashing lights and gates as a result of nearly $10 million from the Railroad Safety Grants for the Safe Transportation of Energy Products (STEP) by Rail Program.

FRA Grants to Upgrade Rail Crossings on Energy Routes

Nearly $10 million in grants was awarded to state departments of transportation in Washington state, California, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

"A year after the Mount Carbon crude oil train fire, residents there know that they narrowly escaped their town becoming the American Lac-Mégantic – an outcome of a fiery derailment that could still happen at any moment," NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt wrote Feb. 18, 2016.

Tougher Tank Cars Too Slow in Coming: NTSB's Sumwalt

"A year after the Mount Carbon [West Virginia] crude oil train fire, residents there know that they narrowly escaped their town becoming the American Lac-Mégantic – an outcome of a fiery derailment that could still happen at any moment," he wrote Feb. 18.

Manufacturer Put Employees At Risk When Handling Dangerous Chemicals: OSHA

OSHA has issued Elan Chemical Co. of Newark, N.J., 17 citations.

$595 Million Proposed for OSHA in Final Obama Budget

Key numbers for EH&S professionals are the proposed $595 million for OSHA and $397 million for MSHA. According to DOL, the OSHA budget provides resources to increase safety and security at chemical facilities and improve response procedures when major incidents occur.

NIOSH Study Shows Scope of Illness Tied to Two Common Herbicides

Although most of the illnesses related to paraquat and diquat were low to moderately severe—health effects commonly included skin, eye, or neurological symptoms—these two herbicides make up 85 percent of herbicide-related deaths in the United States.



Starting Over on Nuclear Waste Storage

The strategy is to establish a pilot interim storage facility that mainly will accept used nuclear fuel from reactors that have already been shut down; a larger interim storage facility; and one or more long-term geologic repositories.

Worker Deglazing Bathtub Died of Exposure to Methylene Chloride

The toxic chemical is typically found in paint stripper.

The explosion in West, Texas, prompted President Obama

West Report Calls for OSHA, EPA Regulatory Changes

The board's report calls on OSHA and EPA to strengthen their regulations to protect the public from hazards posed by fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate. "Overall," said CSB Lead Investigator Johnnie Banks, "the CSB's investigation found that training and reference materials did not adequately inform emergency responders about the potential for FGAN to detonate in a fire."

The explosion in West, Texas, prompted President Obama

CSB's West Recommendations Coming Jan. 28

The safety board has a public meeting scheduled from 6-9 p.m. in Waco, Texas, near the explosion site.

Canadian Government Ends Conditional Pesticide Registrations

Conditional registrations have been granted when scientific review determines the risks of a pesticide are acceptable but additional confirming data are required. Conditional registrations don't undergo a public consultation until the registration is amended, renewed, or converted to a full registration.

Cal/OSHA Cites Northridge Hospital

Employees were exposed to serious injuries, such as from sharps.

HSE Taking Comments on Harbor Hazmat Regs

The proposed regulations are relevant to anyone involved in the transport, storage, or handling of dangerous substances or goods in harbors and ports, including harbor authorities, stevedores, masters of vessels and their agents, shippers, and truck and rail operators, as well as anyone involved in loading or unloading explosives anywhere on the coast of Great Britain or in territorial waters.

NRC Okays Vermont Yankee Emergency Plan Changes

There will not be a 10-mile emergency planning zone identified in Vermont Yankee's license, according to NRC's announcement.

Like bloodborne pathogens, hazardous chemicals can be present throughout a health care facility. Although it takes time to check each department, room, and closet, it really is one of the most effective ways to find materials that may otherwise be missed.

Health Care Hazmats: There's More On Site Than Just Bloodborne Pathogens

Sanitizing, disinfecting, and cleaning chemicals are likely to be found throughout the facility. It is important to know the particular brands and styles that are being used to verify that proper precautions are being taken.

Increasing Safeguards for Crude Oil Trains

The July 2013 derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, of a crude oil train triggered many federal actions in Canada and the United States as crude oil shipments by rail skyrocketed.

Renovation Exposes Workers to Asbestos in San Antonio: OSHA

OSHA cited the employers for willful exposure.

CSB Offering Releases in Spanish

"One of my primary goals as Chairperson of the CSB is to ensure that the agency's knowledge reaches and impacts as many stakeholders as possible. By offering Spanish-language safety products, we are helping to advance that goal," said Vanessa Allen Sutherland, CSB's chairperson.

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