Environmental Reporting and Covid-19

The upcoming environmental reporting season includes major obligations for most programs. With business as usual disrupted for the past couple of months, it is important to prepare the necessary information in order to submit accurate reports despite furloughs and temporary closures. With the expiration of the EPA’s COVID Temporary Enforcement Policy on August 31, 2020, […]

Ergonomics: Keys to Injury Reduction

Whether we spend our day sitting in an office chair or working on a production floor, we are all affected by ergonomic factors. Poor management of ergonomic risk factors may lead to Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) such as repetitive stress injuries, lower back injuries, vibration syndromes, subluxation, and neck and shoulder injuries. In order to […]

Reducing Zinc and Total Suspended Solids in Stormwater Runoff

Many states require facilities covered under a general industrial stormwater permit to collect stormwater samples and have them analyzed for common pollutants. Stormwater pollutants vary by facility and industry because the potential pollutants will be dependent on the materials and equipment stored inside and outside of the facility. Two common stormwater pollutants are zinc and […]

Refrigerant Management: The Scientific Basis to the Current Regulation

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) have historically been used in a variety of refrigeration applications in manufacturing, from large process chillers to small office air conditioning units. Sections 608 of the Clean Air Act and subsequent federal regulations under 40 CFR 82 regulate these refrigerants to minimize detrimental atmospheric changes caused by releases. As recent […]

SPCC Transformers: Am I Responsible?

It is becoming increasingly common to find electric transformers at large commercial, institutional and industrial facilities. Although the transformer is located on the facility’s property, it is sometimes unclear who actually owns the transformers and is responsible for the maintenance and spills. The transformer may be owned by the facility, typically seen on older properties […]

Ozone Nonattainment: Impact to Air Permitting

Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment. Any city or county that does not meet a NAAQS is classified as a nonattainment area. Ozone is one of the six criteria pollutants with NAAQS and […]

Hearing Conservation in the Workplace

The goal of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) hearing conservation standard (29 CFR 1910.95) is to protect the approximate 22 million workers that are exposed to hazardous levels of noise each year. Through the hearing conservation standard, employers are required to evaluate workplaces for employee exposures resulting in a personal time-weighted average (TWA) […]

Interim Guidelines – Safe Mask Usage During COVID-19

Companies With a Pre-Existing Mandatory N95 FFR Respiratory Protection Program: Because of the increased demand for N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) during the COVID-19 outbreak, and the resulting limitations on the availability of these respirators for use, OSHA has provided temporary compliance direction with 29 CFR 1910.134 (as it relates to mask selection and the […]

Temporary/Contingent Worker Safety

The staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry makes a vital contribution to the U.S. economy every year. It provides outstanding job and career opportunities for approximately 16 million employees annually. In 2013, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched its Temporary Worker Initiative (TWI) focused on compliance with health and safety requirements for […]