Environmental Health and Safety

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The National Safety Council (NSC) is inviting organizations from around the globe to apply for the highest honor in environmental, health and safety – the 2013 Robert W. Campbell Award. Presented annually, the Campbell Award is given to an organization that integrates EHS management into the very core of its business operations.

In honor of Fire Protection Month, the American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) is urging firefighters to better protect themselves against the countless hazardous exposures associated with the profession.

OSHA’s renewed focus on outdated permissible exposure limits (PELs) is drawing praise from the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), which vowed to support the agency in its effort to address the problem.

When responding to a disaster, emergency workers may face unique health risks from exposures to hazardous chemical and environmental contaminants in forms and circumstances often not seen in other occupations.

Want a say in the EPA’s carbon pollution rulemaking? You can attend and speak out at one of 11 “public listening sessions” the agency will hold across the country to solicit ideas and input from the public and stakeholders about the best Clean Air Act approaches to reducing carbon pollution from existing power plants.

With the 16-day government shutdown officially over, 450,000 furloughed federal employees headed back to work today. While it’s unclear how long it will take EHS-related agencies like OSHA, MSHA, NIOSH, the CSB and the NTSHA to get back up to speed, some consequences of the shutdown include an estimated $23 billion hit to the U.S. economy and – some say – irreversible damage to the scientific standing of the country.

It’s the EHS version of the Academy Awards: a media festival taking place in Frankfurt, Germany in 2014 will honor the best media productions about occupational safety and health. The International Media Festival for Prevention will give awards to films and multimedia applications that increase risk awareness on the part of employees or provide information on comprehensive safety topics.

Think pesticide exposure occurs mainly in rural settings, among agricultural workers? Think again. A new study shows that New York City residents have a higher-than-average exposure to two types of pesticides.

A recent investigation into the death of thousands of bees last month in Minnesota revealed that fipronil, a widely used insecticide, was to blame. In mid-September, three colonies of bees in Minneapolis were found twitching and dying on the ground.

Earlier this year OSHA cited Kamps Inc. for 10 alleged safety and health -- including one willful -- violations at its Versailles wood pallet manufacturing facility. OSHA's inspection was initiated on Nov. 4, 2011, under the agency's Site-Specific Targeting Program, which expands the scope of a routine inspection to cover all hazards associated with the employer's industry. Proposed fines total $101,000.