Government Safety Regulations

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A legal challenge to the EPA’s rule limiting mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants was shot down yesterday by the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The issue of how important credentials are for safety professionals got a bit more clarity recently, with a review by the American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene® (ABIH).

The EPA is trying to reassure state energy regulators that the upcoming rule to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants would give states flexibility.

A construction industry effort to eliminate New York’s century-old Scaffold Law is getting push-back from a new coalition of pro-Scaffold advocates which says it’s needed to protect the state’s construction workers.

Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship has taken to video to defend himself against charges that he is responsible for the Upper Big Branch disaster – to the outrage of victims’ family members. Dozens of them and their supporters gathered earlier this month outside a federal courthouse in Charleston, West Virginia, to protest the claims made in the video.

Earlier this year, Cal/EPA hosted the 16^th annual California Unified Program Conference at the San Francisco Hyatt in Burlingame, CA. Local, State, and Federal environmental agencies attended the conference to offer training for regulatory inspectors and industry professionals on topics including hazardous materials risk management, hazardous waste, regulatory enforcement, emergency response, and environmental administration and management.

The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) provided testimony today on OSHA’s proposed rule to amend its existing standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The testimony was part of a three-week public hearing process being held by OSHA.

OSHA’s final rule revising the standards for power generation, transmission and distribution will be published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2014.  It will be effective 90 days following publication, although OSHA has adopted delayed compliance deadlines for certain requirements.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA), the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the National Safety Council (NSC) are urging Congress to continue funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the current budgeting process.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is urging OSHA to set aside its proposed rule to publicly disclose injury and illness data, saying that it will not contribute to the goal of improving workplace safety.