Environmental Health and Safety

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An international federation of trade unions representing the people who prepare and manufacture food is issuing a warning about the increasing use of nanomaterials by food manufacturers.

Voting has begun on draft ISO 45001, which sets the requirements for an occupational health and safety management system. ISO 45001 is currently at the committee draft stage of development, the first consultation phase.

The EPA is proposing one-time reporting and recordkeeping requirements on nanoscale chemical substances in the marketplace. The agency currently reviews new chemical substances manufactured or processed as nanomaterials prior to introduction into the marketplace to ensure that they are safe.

Two competing bills designed to revise the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) were introduced this month, and only one is winning the approval of a public advocacy group that is concerned about the federal government's power to override states’ rights when it comes to chemical safety.

It turns out Jim wasn’t the only one at work with vision problems. To his surprise, Jim discovered almost all of his co-workers who worked the line with him at the label production plant had experienced some sort of vision problems over the last year—including changes in vision, blurred vision or irritation.

If it seems like we just finished talking about the FY15 budget, we did! But in Washington the federal budget has become a year-round discussion.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must consider tightening its corrosive dust limits, after a lawsuit filed on behalf of the World Trade Center first responders who sustained lung damage after toiling in heavily polluted air in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

After receiving more than 1.5 million public comments, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell this month released final standards that she said will support safe and responsible hydraulic fracturing on public and American Indian lands. The standards are aimed at improving safety and protecting groundwater by updating requirements for well-bore integrity, wastewater disposal and public disclosure of chemicals.

A former Cal/OSHA staffer frequently under fire for raising concerns about under-staffing and lack of resources at the agency has been named the 2015 J. William Lloyd Award winner by the United Steel Workers (USW).

While milling asphalt pavement allows for materials to be recycled as roads are surfaced, cold-milling machines can generate airborne crystalline silica dust, putting road crews at risk of respiratory illness, according to Pete Stafford, Executive Director of the Center for Construction Research & Training (CPWR).