On March 14, 2024, EPA Administrator Michael Regan signed a final rule requiring certain facilities to develop facility response plans (FRP) for a worst-case discharge of Clean Water Act (CWA) hazardous substances or the threat of such a discharge. Worst-case discharges are defined as the largest foreseeable discharge in adverse weather conditions, [...]
Mold can happen to any building at any time if the conditions are right. Mold is three things: persistent, resourceful, and minimal maintenance. It requires little to live and can sneak right into any type of facility if given the opportunity. Once it starts growing, it can [...]
The EPA recently unveiled its “Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities” to advance its objectives to protect the public from lead, with a renewed focus upon high-risk communities. The Agency announced the strategy during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week in Omaha, Nebraska, which was once home [...]
Hazardous waste management is a topic that encompasses a wide variety of wastes and procedures that helps to keep the harmful effects of waste on human health and the environment to a minimum. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the universal waste regulations streamline the hazardous waste management standards for certain [...]
The EPA issued final rules to reduce exposure to five persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) on December 22, 2020. “PBT chemicals are of particular concern not only because they are toxic but also because they remain in the environment for long periods [...]
Update: The EPA recently published a final rule extending the Toxic Substances Control Act’s (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) deadline to January 29, 2021. The previous deadline was November 30, 2020. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 provides regulatory authority to the EPA to regulate the distribution and use of chemicals in [...]
Metal fabrication creates byproducts that take a considerable amount of time to remove and require a complex process. The machining, metal fabrication, and finishing industry must meet EPA and local wastewater requirements for effluent, including those under the Clean Water Act. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA has identified [...]
The EPA has assessed approximately $84 million in hazardous waste material violations in the last 5 years, according to the Agency’s ECHO database. Risk managers are tasked with understanding and ensuring compliance with numerous EPA regulations. Failure to adhere to these regulations can result in expensive penalties and, in some cases, prison [...]
Workers’ health and safety are increasingly at risk due to the impacts of climate change that include excessive heat, extreme weather, increasing air and water pollution, and infectious diseases, according to a new report issued July 28 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Climate change is already making existing [...]
