Earlier this year, Cal/EPA hosted the 16^th annual California Unified Program Conference at the San Francisco Hyatt in Burlingame, CA. Local, State, and Federal environmental agencies attended the conference to offer training for regulatory inspectors and industry professionals on topics including hazardous materials risk management, hazardous waste, regulatory enforcement, emergency response, and environmental administration and management.

The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) provided testimony today on OSHA’s proposed rule to amend its existing standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The testimony was part of a three-week public hearing process being held by OSHA.

OSHA’s final rule revising the standards for power generation, transmission and distribution will be published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2014.  It will be effective 90 days following publication, although OSHA has adopted delayed compliance deadlines for certain requirements.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA), the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the National Safety Council (NSC) are urging Congress to continue funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the current budgeting process.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is urging OSHA to set aside its proposed rule to publicly disclose injury and illness data, saying that it will not contribute to the goal of improving workplace safety.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works today at a hearing to discuss EPA’s proposed FY 2015 budget.
 

Aaron Trippler’s commentary on “When OSHA Wins By Losing” (ISHN OSHA Regulatory Alert—03-17-14) was interesting. However, I believe the winners when OSHA loses have not been appropriately identified. The real winners are:  1. S&H Excellence/Sustainability and 2. S&H Professionals.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) this week sent its official comments to OSHA on the agency's Request for Information (RFI) to the Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard, which was published in the Federal Register on December 9, 2013, Volume 78, No. 236, beginning on Page 73756. OSHA said RFI was in response to an Obama Administration request that the agency identify issues related to modernization of its PSM standard and related standards necessary to meet the goals of preventing major chemical accidents.

In response to requests from stakeholders, OSHA is pushing back the deadline for submitting public comments on potential revisions to its Process Safety Management (PSM) standard and related standards to March 31^st.