EPA has issued its final TSCA “framework” rule governing risk evaluations of existing chemicals, aiming to broaden the scope of its reviews and codify several controversial Biden administration policies including its rejection of a Trump-era approach to considering workers’ use of personal protective equipment (PPE), despite several industry groups’ claims that the new method is unlawful.
April 24, 2024
Homepage
Latest News
Chemical industry groups, labor unions and a prominent public health group have filed separate petitions asking four different appellate courts to review EPA’s final TSCA risk management rule phasing out ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos, setting up a high-stakes lottery to determine which court will ultimately hear the precedent-setting case.
OSHA has posted online injury and illness tracking data from 2023 that employers provided as part of the first compliance cycle for its electronic recordkeeping and reporting rule earlier this year, a move the agency says will allow stakeholders to identify safety hazards though the agency is not yet providing its own analysis of the reports.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has denied a Texas contracting firm’s bid to overturn an OSHA trench-safety citation under the “unpreventable employee misconduct” (UEM) doctrine, backing the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission’s (OSHRC) application of a four-part test for employers to invoke that defense.
EPA has preliminarily determined that many activities that disturb legacy asbestos -- such as demolition of older buildings that were constructed with the material -- pose “unreasonable risk” to workers and others, potentially triggering new TSCA rules to protect them, according to a draft of the agency’s long-awaited “part 2” evaluation of the mineral.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has released its final update to 50-year-old standards for respirable crystalline silica (RCS), with more stringent reporting and monitoring mandates compared to a 2023 proposal, although it also extends compliance deadlines for operators, particularly those at smaller mines.
Environmentalists and their allies say EPA’s recently finalized updates to its Risk Management Program (RMP) rule leaves out many measures they believe are necessary to ensure it covers all facilities at risk of accidental releases, in particular because the agency rejected calls to expand the list of chemicals whose use at a site triggers RMP requirements.
A bill advancing in the California Legislature would require California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to amend its hospital violence-prevention rules to require that facilities maintain metal detectors at certain entrances, and implement a number of supporting security measures.
Republican lawmakers are continuing their push-back against EPA’s draft risk evaluation of formaldehyde, with a new letter warning the agency that a potential workplace exposure limit is too stringent and could jeopardize a range of industrial sectors, while also raising concerns that any rule based on the review could conflict with Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) policies.
House Republicans have introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that seeks to roll back EPA’s controversial rule tightening many aspects of its risk management program (RMP) for chemical facilities, teeing up a statutorily mandated vote on the repeal in the coming weeks.