Common Misinterpretations of OSHA’S Process Safety Management Standard
Who must follow Process Safety Management regulations? Companies processing “highly hazardous” chemicals must follow the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) Process Safety Management (PSM) standard to assess the risks of processes and establish a series of controls to avoid catastrophic consequences. Does OSHA consider common flammable materials “highly hazardous”? Many chemical companies have assumed […]
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USEPA Updates Regional Screening Levels with 14 PFAS
USEPA’s May 18, 2022, Regional Screening Level (RSL) update included the anion and acid forms of several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), providing residential and industrial soil screening levels; soil screening levels for protection of groundwater; and tapwater screening levels. 14 PFAS included in USEPA RSL Update ammonium perfluoro-2-methyl-3-oxahexanoate hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (aka, […]
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Benefits of Consolidating your PSM and RMP Programs
Although they are enforced by different regulatory agencies, OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) and EPA’s Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions – also known as Risk Management Plan (RMP) – work in tandem to mitigate potentially catastrophic onsite and offsite incidents involving fires, explosions, and toxic vapor releases. From a regulatory standpoint, the PSM standard (29 CFR […]
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Storms and Safe Rooms and BARAs … Oh My!
Dorothy got swept up in a twister and transported to the land of Oz, but we all know we wouldn’t be so lucky. Watching the weather channel this time of year is enough to make anyone in a tornado-prone area consider building a safe place at their home. But we can’t all build a storm […]
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Life Safety Basics for Business and Industrial Occupancies (Part 2)
If you missed Part 1 of this article, which covered design and operating features, regulations, and assessment recommendations, check it out here. In Part 2, let’s take a deeper dive into eight key features of life safety for business and industrial occupancies that we commonly see in buildings: Number of Exits Travel Distances to Exits […]
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EPA Adds 1-bromopropane to Clean Air Act HAP List
Ever-changing regulations certainly keep engineers on their toes and companies scrambling to remain in compliance. The latest example is the addition of 1-bromopropane (1-BP), also known as nPB, to the Clean Air Act (CAA) List of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP). Which industries are impacted by 1-BP’s addition to the CAA HAP? The chemical is a […]
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Life Safety Basics for Business and Industrial Occupancies (Part 1)
“Life safety” refers to the design and operating features of a building that provide its occupants a reasonable level of safety during fires and other emergencies. It includes design features such as building construction type, compartmentation, fire alarms, fire protection (suppression) systems, exits, fire barriers, and more. It also includes operational elements such as fire […]
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Is EHS Staff Augmentation Right for You?
Top five benefits to outsourcing EHS services “I just wish I could concentrate on business objectives while leaving the difficult tasks of protection, enforcement, and health to someone else.” If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone. Many of the clients who outsource short-, mid-, and long-term environmental, health and safety (EHS) services to […]
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The Guarded Truth: Answers to Machine Guarding Compliance FAQS
The list of possible machinery-related injuries is as long as it is horrifying, from crushed hands and severed fingers to blindness. There seem to be as many hazards created by moving machine parts as there are types of machines. Safeguards are essential for protecting workers from needless and preventable injuries. Here’s our answers to some […]
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Is Your UST Still Out of Compliance with the 2015 EPA Regulations?
There are over half a million active underground storage tanks (USTs) currently regulated by the EPA’s UST program (as of March 2021), with a technical compliance rate (TCR) of 59.3% between April 2020 and March 2021. That means just over 40% of UST systems were out of compliance in one or more of the four […]
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