Expert insight and advice on environmental, health & safety, and sustainability issues, including the latest regulatory updates.
The majority of fatal work zone crashes occur on roads with speed limits greater than 50 mph.
Read MoreThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a final rule to protect workers by limiting their exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds in an effort to prevent chronic beryllium disease and lung cancer. In addition to general industry, the final rule also contains standards for construction and shipyards.
Read More“Non-Financial Information” is often used as an accounting term to refer to metrics that gauge an organization’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.
“Pre-Financial Information” is an alternative term used to emphasize the direct correlation between a business’s ESG performance and its subsequent financial health.
Occupational health and safety statistics, the diversity of employees, and water consumption are a few popular metrics an organization might report in its disclosure of ESG performance. Non-Financial Information may be buried in a periodic financial report like a 10-K, but often, key metrics are disclosed in a standalone Sustainability Report.
Read MoreThe International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has finalized its new standard, ISO 45001, for Occupational Health and Management Systems that will assist organizations with improving employee safety, reducing workplace risks and creating overall healthier and safer working conditions.
Read MoreAn Indiana Bill (HB 1096) on Stormwater Management, has passed the House and is going for a vote in the Senate. It prohibits cities and other local governments with separate storm sewers (MS4) from having more stringent Stormwater requirements than the Indiana State rule of 1 acre.
Read MoreThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that the 2015 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule will not be applicable for two years while it works to repeal and replace the Obama-era clean water regulation. The rule redefines the federal government's power over small waterways.
Read MoreThe 2018 round of investor and supply chain requests for companies to make their climate change, forests and water disclosures to CDP were e-mailed out yesterday, February 6.
On Jan. 2, OSHA increased the civil penalty amounts for violations of workplace safety and health standards, raising the rates by two percent from last year. In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, the Department of Labor is required to adjust penalties for inflation each year.
Read MoreThe final vote on the ISO 45001 standard passed at the end of January with 93% in favor of passage. ISO 45001 will replace OHSAS 18001. It is an Integrated Management Standard, aligned with ISOs 9001 & 14001. Many organizations, especially manufacturers, are already registered to ISO 9001 and 14001. The publication of ISO 45001 is expected to drive many customers and suppliers to require registration to ISO 45001 as well.
Read MoreOn January 25, 2018 the U.S. EPA issued a memo withdrawing the “once-in-always-in” policy under the CAA. The existing “once-in-always-in” policy required major sources to comply with MACT standards during the entire life of the facility. This was becoming problematic when a facility had reduced its emissions below major source thresholds. Under the new U.S. EPA policy introduced on January 25th, a facility can be reclassified as a smaller area source and as a result be subject to less stringent requirements.
Read MoreThe new year often results in a refreshing sense of hope and optimism which seems to motivate people to replace bad habits with good ones. Many resolve to do more exercise, eat healthier, and get a better night’s sleep. But what resolutions might you make if you want to improve the health of the planet? You might resolve to make your household more sustainable by creating less waste and using less energy. You might resolve to make your community more sustainable by driving less and eating locally grown food. You might even resolve to make your workplace more sustainable by implementing green-procurement policies or assist with a reporting effort. KERAMIDA’s sustainability reporting training will help you start 2018 with the skills you need to turn these resolutions into real impact.
Read MoreIs this the first time you are reading the phrase “Equity-based Crowdfunding for Brownfield Redevelopment?” If so, let me introduce you to the latest hot topic in Brownfield Redevelopment.
Read MoreWith the new year quickly approaching, it's important to note that the USEPA has made a change to EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act), Sections 311 and 312 (Tier II) reporting. They are changing how reporting is done as of January 1, 2018. Since OSHA adopted the Global Harmonization of Systems (GHS) protocol in March 2012, the EPA has updated their hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements to marry up with the new OSHA GHS standard.
Read MoreThis is a friendly reminder that your 2016 OSHA 300A forms are due by December 15, 2017. The world of OSHA reporting can be complicated and, at the least, confusing; especially when it comes to electronic reporting. The Federal Register recently published an OSHA announcement extending the deadline for submission of Form 300A data for CY 2016. OSHA 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, is a form that must be submitted annually by employers, with more than ten employees, to report on-the-job injuries or illnesses.
Read MoreThe term Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination (ERD) is a remediation approach being applied to groundwater at chlorinated volatile organic compound (cVOCs) impacted sites. These sites are commonly former dry cleaner or manufacturing operations which operated from the late 1960 to early 2000s utilizing perchloroethylene (PCE), or perc, or trichloroethylene (TCE), a degreaser product.
Read MoreTrent Blake, KERAMIDA's Director of Security, Health & Safety, has written an article on OSHA's Silica Rule that was published in Foundry Management & Technology's Foundry Magazine (Foundrymag.com).
Read MoreOn October 4th, 2016, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a proposed rule (81 FR 68504) to revise outdated, unnecessary, or redundant requirements that govern 18 standards concerning record keeping, general industry, maritime, and construction. One of the revisions concerns the existing lockout/tagout standard.
Read MoreThe final RCRA hazardous waste generator improvements rule will soon be published by EPA. According to the prepublication version of the rule, it will include more than 60 revisions and new requirements with the goal of improving compliance understanding through increased user-friendliness, improved flexibility, gap closure, clarifications, and technical corrections.
Read MoreOSHA's interpretation of its new rule calls into question the widespread use of mandatory post-accident drug testing programs. Section 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) of the final rule prohibits an employer from discharging or discriminating against an employee for reporting a work-related injury or illness. The new rule states that "blanket post-injury drug testing policies deter proper reporting". The agency instructs employers to limit post-incident drug testing to situations in which drug use is likely to have contributed to the incident.
Read MoreThe International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has issued the second draft of the new standard in development, ISO 20400: Sustainable Procurement - Guidance. Comments on this draft can be submitted by the end of the business day on Thursday, November 17, 2016.
Read MoreKERAMIDA Inc. is a Global Sustainability, Environmental, Health & Safety, and Remediation Consulting and Engineering firm. With offices in Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, NYC, and California, our engineers, scientists, and planners are able to provide comprehensive environmental compliance, health & safety, sustainability, and remediation services for clients worldwide.
