Hazmat


NRC Resumes Review of Application to Build Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in Texas

NRC is accepting additional public comments through Oct. 19 on environmental issues to be considered in its environmental impact statement, and the agency has given stakeholders until Oct. 29 to request a hearing.

Pennsylvania Prisons on Lockdown after Staffers Exposed to Suspected Drugs

Pennsylvania Prisons on Lockdown after Staffers Exposed to Suspected Drugs

Since Aug. 6, 29 employees throughout the Pennsylvania prison system have fallen ill in 13 separate incidents. Some inmates have also become ill. According to Corrections spokeswoman McNaughton, only synthetic cannabinoid (also known as K2 or spice) has been connected to the illnesses.

Safety+ Session Demonstrates Path to Employee Engagement

The exercise showed the presenters' point clearly: When managers allow employees to collaborate and strategize, they will find and use a successful solution. But putting pressure on employees to perform, with no input or collaboration allowed, is less likely to succeed.

Controlling the Uncontrolled: HAZWOPER Training at Cleanup Sites

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Controlling the Uncontrolled: HAZWOPER Training at Cleanup Sites

To protect personnel and manage compliance with OSHA’s HAZWOPER Standard at “uncontrolled hazardous waste sites” (e.g., Superfund sites), EHS professionals must have a full understanding of the Standard—especially the training requirements.

DC Circuit Vacates EPA's Delay of Chemical Plants Rule

EPA promulgated the rule in on Jan. 13, 2017, to revise requirements for Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act, in the wake of the West explosion and other chemical accidents. When the Trump administration took over soon afterward, EPA delayed the rule three times.

DoD Inspector General to Examine Open Burning of Explosives

Announced Aug. 10 on its website, the project will examine whether DoD's activities comply with relevant environmental and related laws, and also the policies used at the active sites.

Teams participating in the 22nd annual Hazmat Challenge can test their skills in a safe, realistic environment. (LANL photo)

LANL Hosts 22nd Annual Hazmat Challenge

For more than 20 years, hazmat teams have taken part in this event for a chance to network with one another, practice technical skills, and learn new techniques under realistic conditions in a safe environment.

The chemical industry needs methods that take into account that chemical plants are increasingly part of clusters of such plants.

Responders Need More Data on CFATS Facilities' Inventories: GAO

Thirteen of the 15 Local Emergency Planning Committees, consisting of first responders and covering 373 CFATS high-risk facilities, told GAO they did not have access to CFATS data in the secure IP Gateway. By encouraging wider use of the gateway, DHS would have greater assurance that responders have information about high-risk facilities and the chemicals they have on site, the audit report says.



DOL Appoints 12 to Nuclear Workers Health Panel

The 12 members were appointed for two-year terms; eight are returning members who served on the initial advisory board appointed in 2016 and four are new to the board. The advisory board will meet at least twice annually.

NIOSH Seeks Comments on Updated NORA for Oil & Gas Extraction

One objective listed in it concerns motor vehicle crashes, which accounted for 44 percent of all fatal injuries in the industry during 2016, according to BLS. Actions under this objective include identifying and promoting strategies to increase seat belt use, strategies to improve driver performance, and strategies to reduce driver fatigue and driver distraction.

OSHA Cites Contractors After Towboat Explosion

Three employees were killed and two others critically injured following an explosion aboard a towboat in Calvert City, Ky., on Jan. 19, 2018. The five contractors collectively received 55 violations with proposed penalties totaling $795,254.

HSE to Prosecute Two Companies for Refinery Explosion

An explosion and fire the Pembroke Refinery on June 2, 2011, killed four workers and serious injured another worker.

PHMSA, FERC to Sign Agreement on Permitting LNG Facilities

It will clarify each agency's role in the permitting process for potential LNG projects and implement procedures into FERC's authorization process that will leverage PHMSA's safety expertise to evaluate potential impacts on public safety.

Even though the hydrogen fueling process is much like fueling a gasoline-powered vehicle, it still will challenge the safety professional to work outside of a controlled workplace setting. (Airgas photo)

Hydrogen Fueling Safety

Hydrogen safety utilizes the same safety concepts as other flammables and cryogenics. Though it’s been around forever, we have only begun to understand its potential.

The CSB

Pre-Incident Planning for Hazmat Emergencies

One of the CSB's recommendations to FEMA following the explosion in West, Texas, was to fund training for fire departments on pre-incident planning for fires at facilities storing fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate.

Wyoming Seeks to Be NRC Agreement State

The agency would transfer responsibility for licensing, rulemaking, inspection, and enforcement activities related to the extraction and concentration of uranium and thorium milling and also the management and disposal of milling waste.

New Underground Ventilation System Under Construction at WIPP

The system will provide approximately 540,000 cubic feet per minute of air to the WIPP underground, significantly more than the current ventilation system. At an estimated cost of $288 million, the new ventilation system is expected to be completed by early 2021.

NRC Issues Report on FY2017 Abnormal Occurrences

An accident or event is considered an abnormal occurrence if it involves a major reduction in the degree of protection of public health and safety, according to the agency.

New Orleans Holds 8th Annual Household Hazardous Materials Cleanup

Orleans Parish residents were able to bring paint, pesticides, antifreeze, garden chemicals, flammable liquids, muriatic acid, small mercury devices, aerosols, pool shock, household cleaners, motor oil, automobile batteries, and motorcycle batteries for disposal or recycling.

U.S. Army Improves Chemical Exposure Detection

The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center are combining wearable chemical samplers and chromatography to accurately identify to which chemical warfare agent and how much of it a soldier was exposed.

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