Nationwide, OSHA logged 87,687 violations of its standards and regulations in fiscal year 2008, with 67,052 of these violations cited as “serious,” according to a news statement released by the agency.
ExxonMobil has agreed to pay nearly $6.1 million in civil penalties for violating the terms of a 2005 court-approved Clean Air Act agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week, according to an EPA press statement.
More than 102 million Americans are breathing cleaner air due to decreases in smog-forming emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) according to the NOx Budget Trading Program annual report, an EPA press statement reports. The 2007 summertime NOx emissions from power plants and industrial sources were down by 60 percent compared to 2000 levels and 74 percent below 1990 levels in 20 eastern states and the District of Columbia.
At a press conference held today in Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama announced that he intends to nominate United States Congresswoman Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor, according to a press release from The Office of the President-Elect (http://Change.gov).
OSHA announced in a recent press statement its final rule on improving the safety of longshoring employees who work with vertical tandem lifts (VTLs). The final rule, published in the December 10 Federal Register, will reduce hazards related to lifting two containers at a time using cranes by ensuring that safe work practices are followed.
Registration opened yesterday for the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Professional Development Conference (PDC) and Exposition, Safety 2009, which will be held June 28 – July 1, 2009, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX, according to an ASSE press release.
A new general permit will reduce releases of 26 types of discharges from vessels operating in U.S. waters. Beginning Dec. 19, approximately 61,000 domestically flagged commercial vessels and 8,000 foreign flagged vessels will need to comply with the permit, according to an EPA press release.
Workplace safety processes must be in place at all times, American Society of Safety Engineers(ASSE) President Warren K. Brown, CSP, ARM, CSHMM, of Fairborn, Ohio, said in an ASSE press release. They are even more critical during business downturns,
Safety Equipment Distributor Association Executive Director, Jackie King, International Safety Equipment Association President, Dan Shipp and SEDA Joint Education Committee member George Hayward of United Sales Associates were on hand at the 27th Qualified Safety Sales Professional training program, or QSSP, held November 10-14 in Louisville, Kentucky to honor Dr. Rick Fulwiler of Technology Leadership Associates for his years of service as course director and founder of the program, according to a press release from SEDA.
EPA is seeking comments on a small number of technical amendments to the June 24, 2008, new source performance standards for petroleum refineries, according to an EPA press statement.