The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to Congress in support of reinstating the lapsed Superfund “polluter pays” taxes, says an EPA press release. Superfund is the federal government's program that investigates and cleans up the nation's most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. If reinstated, the Superfund provision would provide a stable, dedicated source of revenue for the program and increase the pace of Superfund cleanup.
OSHA has cited Sneed Shipbuilding Inc. for alleged serious, repeat and other-than-serious violations for exposing employees to electrical and other safety hazards at the company’s facility on Market Street in Channelview, Texas, according to an agency press release. Proposed penalties total $59,300.
AARP today launched its second annual “Fat-to-Fit Summer Weight Loss Challenge,” an online program challenging people to make positive, permanent lifestyle changes to improve their health, according to a recent press release. AARP’s Fat-to-Fit challenge will be hosted on AARP’s website (www.aarp.org/fat2fit).
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has received a grant to develop a safety training program to help emergency first responders prepare for the growing number of electric vehicles on the road in the U.S., according to an NFPA press release.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced in a recent press release that an administrative law judge with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission ordered the temporary reinstatement of a miner who was discharged from his job within three weeks of complaining about hazardous workplace conditions.
Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global leader in drinking water quality and safety, announced in a recent press release that it has combined existing proprietary testing methods for identifying emerging contaminants in water. By using highly specific and sensitive instrumentation practices, UL has developed two new methods that provide cutting-edge and cost-effective analytical services for contaminants such as PhACs in the 160,000 water supplies in the U.S.
Trust for America's Health (TFAH) recently recognized the crucial first steps taken by the Obama Administration to allocate the recent health reform Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund, but acknowledged that in year one, half of the fund’s dollars were redirected outside the scope of its Congressional intent, according to a TFAH press release.
Two NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program industrial hygiene teams have conducted worker exposure monitoring for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including total hydrocarbons and specific VOCs identified on screening samples. Sampling is also being done to look for carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, benzene soluble particulates, diesel exhaust, and propylene glycol (a component of dispersant). Monitoring was conducted during offshore booming and skimming operations.
The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, June 23 at 10 am to examine how worker health and safety is regulated and enforced by various parties from oil rigs themselves to post-accident cleanup operations.
On Tuesday evening June 15 immediately following President Obama’s address on the Gulf oil spill disaster, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs took questions submitted and voted on by the public during the course of the day. More than 7,200 questions were submitted. Below are answers to some of the most popular questions:
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