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The International Society of Sustainability Professionals is in the process of creating a professional certification for the field. ISSP has reached its first big milestone in that process - the publication of the first draft of the Body of Knowledge that defines the job of "sustainability practitioner." This document is in first draft form and is available for comment by members of the profession.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) are in the process of creating a U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to lead discussions on the creation of a new occupational health and safety (OH&S) standard for global occupational health and safety.

In the face of international criticism over the dangerous conditions in its garment factories, Bangladeshi has passed a new law aimed at improving conditions – although the export-oriented factories which make up the bulk of Bangladesh’ garment industry are exempted from a major provision.

The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) has issued a new proposed rule for the construction industry on how to identify and control worker exposure to respirable silica and other rock dust.

A proposal unveiled this week by Walmart and the Gap aimed at improving safety for garment factory workers in Bangladesh who make the goods sold by the retailers has been met with jeers by labor and safety activists, who say the plan is badly flawed and puts profits above safety.

EHS professionals who are interested in a professional challenge – and living abroad – may want to send a resume to the steering committee of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a multi-national effort to bring about safer and healthier conditions for factory workers in Bangladesh.

Endocrine disruptors - chemicals that interfere with the hormone system – are the focus of growing concern in Europe. Istas, the research arm of the Spanish trade union CC.OO, sounded the alarm in a recent report, while European NGOs launched the "EDC Free – Stop Hormone Disrupting Chemicals” campaign at the end of March.

OSHA and the Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch of the Department of Health of Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 19 to work together on implementing the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling in their respective jurisdictions.

A report released by the the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) shows that the number of fatalities per 100 million hours worked -- the Fatal Accident Rate -- has fallen in the last ten years.

While U.S. oil & gas companies have, for the most part, refused to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking” – on the grounds that such information is proprietary, their European counterparts have launched a new website to disclose those and other details.