A chemical spill at a Carson, California company last night caused eye, nose and throat irritation among dozens of employees. News sources are reporting that a sulfuric acid spill around 9 p.m. at a chemical company affected approximately 70 people working there and at nearby businesses.

In honor of Fire Protection Month, the American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) is urging firefighters to better protect themselves against the countless hazardous exposures associated with the profession.

The EPA is finalizing a rule that will allow the agency to restrict imports of potentially harmful perfluorinated chemicals that could be used in carpets. The regulation will require companies to report to EPA all new uses, including in domestic and imported products, of these chemicals once used  for soil and stain resistance in carpets.

Spend a day talking to safety pros and safety product trainers, consultants and PPE vendors and one thing strikes you: a new vocabulary is emerging in safety circles. You hear little talk about OSHA or compliance. Policing or rules or discipline. The new language is much more positive.

Fires at an oil tank and a furniture stripping company injured four fighters in two different states yesterday. In one incident, a hydraulic line for a 240-gallon oil tank broke and ignited at the Salt River Project plant in Gilbert, Arizona yesterday morning, according to news sources.

Firefighting operations can inadvertently increase the chance of a combustible dust explosion if they: Use tactics that cause dust clouds to form or reach the explosible range; use tactics that introduce air, creating an explosible atmosphere; apply incorrect or incompatible extinguishing agents; use equipment or tools that can become an ignition source.

More than seven months after a train derailment and chemical spill forced more than 700 people from their homes in Paulsboro, N.J., the borough remains ill-prepared to respond to a similar or worse accident, officials told federal investigators, according to various news reports.