Current News

Electronic manifesting for hazardous waste shipments began June 30, 2018.

Access the latest information on the EPA's E-Manifesting Portal.

Katt Training & Consluting can help your company transition to the new system. Please contact us for more information.

[The EPA's E-Manifesting Portal]

[EPA News Release]

This matrix tracks state implementation of the Hazardous Waste Generator Improvement Rule. Updated monthly, the matrix provides key information on rulemaking status, publication date, public hearing dates and comment periods, and the rule effective date.

Information is collected by a professional legislative and regulatory tracking service that monitors the development and adoption of the regulations, and individually contacts State Agencies to assess their progress on the Generator Improvement rulemaking process.

Katt Training can help you navigate the new rules in your state. Please contact us for more information.

[Go to the Tracking Matrix]

This webpage provides information for workers and employers about the evolving coronavirus outbreak first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The information includes links to interim guidance and other resources for preventing exposures to, and infections with, 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Chinese authorities identified the new coronavirus, which has resulted in confirmed human infections in China and exported cases outside of China, including in the United States, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. China also has reported spread of the virus from infected patients to healthcare workers. [ more ]

This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide updated information as it becomes available, in addition to updated guidance. This website provides key EPA resources on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

This website includes information about disinfectants that are effective against the Coronavirus.

[Visit the website]

Millions of U.S. workers are exposed to heat in their workplaces. Although illness from exposure to heat is preventable, every year, thousands become sick from occupational heat exposure, and some cases are fatal. Most outdoor fatalities, 50% to 70%, occur in the first few days of working in warm or hot environments because the body needs to build a tolerance to the heat gradually over time. The process of building tolerance is called heat acclimatization. Lack of acclimatization represents a major risk factor for fatal outcomes. [ more ]

CLEVELAND, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited healthcare company OHNH EMP LLC for violating respiratory protection standards following an inspection initiated after the company reported the coronavirus-related hospitalization of seven employees.

OSHA inspected three OHNH EMP facilities in Ohio: Pebble Creek Healthcare Center in Akron, and Salem West Healthcare Center and Salem North Healthcare Center in Salem. OSHA cited each location for a serious violation of two respiratory protection standards: failing to develop a comprehensive written respiratory protection program and failing to provide medical evaluations to determine employees' ability to use a respirator in the workplace. OSHA also issued a Hazard Alert Letter regarding the company's practice of allowing N95 respirator use for up to seven days and not conducting initial fit testing. The agency has proposed $40,482 in penalties. [ more ]

PARAMUS, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited CarePlus Bergen Inc., doing business as Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, for violating respiratory protection standards at its Paramus, New Jersey, location. OSHA cited the hospital for two serious violations, with proposed penalties of $9,639.

Based on a coronavirus-related inspection, OSHA cited the Bergen New Bridge Medical Center for failing to fit test tight-fitting face piece respirators on employees who were required to use them. The hospital also failed to train employees on proper respirator use and ensure employees understood when to wear a respirator.

"Employers must take action to protect their employees during the pandemic, including implementing effective respiratory protection programs," said OSHA Hasbrouck Heights Area Office Director Lisa Levy. "OSHA standards require healthcare workers to be fit-tested to ensure the respirators they use provide adequate protection." [ more ]

A young construction worker was fatally crushed as he stood between two trucks in East Flatbush, Brooklyn Friday — when one of the vehicles backed into him, police said.

Saqueo Mejia, 24, of Sunset Park, was crushed just after noon on Troy Avenue when a large dump truck driven backed up, pinning him from the chest up against the second truck. [ more ]

PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 19, 2020) – Koppers Inc. has agreed to settle with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the state of West Virginia and the state of Pennsylvania to resolve alleged violations of federal and state environmental laws at its facilities in Follansbee and Green Spring, West Virginia, and Clairton, Pennsylvania, EPA announced today.

A complaint filed with the settlement agreement cited violations of the Clean Water Act's Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) and Facility Response Plan (FRP) requirements. The SPCC rules help facilities prevent a discharge of oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. The FRP rules require certain facilities to submit a response plan and prepare to respond to a worst-case oil discharge or threat of a discharge. Koppers is a Pittsburgh-based company involved in carbon materials and chemicals, railroad products and services, and performance chemicals. [ more ]

LIMA, OH – While cleaning an auger used to rice potatoes, a 39-year-old production worker found her left arm caught in a running auger. The worker suffered multiple lacerations and the partial amputation of her arm. Co-workers had to cut the auger apart to free her arm.

An investigation in September 2020 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that BEF Foods Inc. failed to shut down and isolate energy to the auger during maintenance work, a process known as lockout/tagout. The company, which operates as Bob Evans Farms, also failed to train employees on the required use of lockout/tagout procedures when conducting maintenance activities. [ more ]

CHICAGO (March 15, 2021) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement requiring Western Reserve Chemical Corp. in Stow, Ohio, to pay a civil $357,000 penalty for violations of chemical data reporting regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA.

EPA alleged that from 2012-2015, WRCC failed to submit data reports for 18 chemical substances as required by TSCA. The company imports various chemicals for businesses that formulate rubber, plastics, adhesives, sealants and coatings. [ more ]

BISMARCK, ND – Before they fill the first bucket of dirt this construction season, Wagner Construction Inc. will train employees on trenching and excavation hazards, develop detailed site-specific safety plans and has employed a full-time safety manager to protect workers from deadly excavation hazards.

Wagner Construction committed to changing its safety procedures and training in a comprehensive settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration following three North Dakota job site inspections in 2019 and 2020 that found employees of the company exposed to excavation hazards. [ more ]

As part of OSHA's recent National Safety Stand-down to Prevent Falls in Construction, training materials including webinars and toolbox talks and posters to promote awareness were developed in English and Spanish. These materials are free for anyone to use.

To view or download the fall prevention resources OSHA provides, follow the link below.

[National Safety Stand-down to Prevent Falls in Construction Resources Website]

TOCCOA, GA – With the holiday fast approaching, a 56-year-old worker at a Toccoa plastic processing facility could never have known he would spend Christmas Day in a hospital and die from a head injury after falling more than 6 feet from an elevated platform.

An inspection of the Dec. 21, 2020, incident by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that while Scrap Masters Inc. had installed some fall protection on the platform, it failed to meet federal safety standards. OSHA cited the company for failing to equip stairs and platforms with guardrails to prevent falls. [ more ]

EL PASO, TX – An El Paso metal stamping manufacturer with a history of workplace safety violations failed again to protect its workers from the dangers of moving machine parts. As a result, a worker suffered the amputation of two fingers inside a 500-ton hydraulic press.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected D&D Manufacturing Inc. in January 2021 and cited the facility for two willful, 12 serious and three other than serious violations. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $412,750. [ more ]

CHICAGO ‒ An Ohio worker tasked with cleaning a chemical tanker trailer collapsed upon entering the tank. Answering the employee's call for help, a nearby truck driver entered the tank. Both workers succumbed to fatal toxic fumes.

In Illinois, a worker opened the lid of a tanker trailer containing toluene and was found a short time later lying across the open dome and unresponsive. Rushed to a nearby hospital, he survived after being treated for respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.

The double fatality and serious injury are among the 23 worker deaths and 97 incidents that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Chicago region has investigated in the transportation and tank cleaning industries since 2016. While investigating these tragedies, the most common violations OSHA found included failure to prevent the inhalation of harmful substances and to follow procedures for permit-required confined space requirements. [ more ]

BOSTON – In Connecticut, a tree branch contacted a live high-voltage power line as a worker in an aerial lift cut it, electrocuting him. In Massachusetts, a falling tree branch struck and killed a worker cutting down oak trees, while a falling tree limb struck an elevated bucket lift, ejecting the worker whose fall was fatal. In nearby Rhode Island, a log conveyor rolled over a worker performing repairs, crushing and killing him.

These are among the 31 worker deaths in the tree trimming and removal, landscaping and site preparation industries since 2016 that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration New England region has investigated. To reduce the risks workers in these industries face, OSHA's Boston regional office has established a Regional Emphasis Program that combines enforcement and outreach with employers. [ more ]

LASALLE, CO – A federal workplace safety investigation into the death of a 44-year-old worker, who drowned when the vacuum truck he was driving entered an unguarded manure holding pit, concluded that a LaSalle dairy farm failed to protect its workers from drowning and chemical hazards.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Shelton Land and Cattle Ltd. - doing business as Shelton Dairy Corp. - following its investigation of the March 30, 2021, incident. OSHA determined that the employer failed to implement measures to protect employees from drowning or crushing hazards, did not have a hazard communication program, and failed to train workers on hazardous chemicals in the workplace. The company faces $24,575 in proposed penalties. [ more ]

COLUMBUS, OH – An explosion and fire that killed a press operator and hospitalized eight other employees of Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corp. could have been prevented had the employer not altered a kettle reactor vessel improperly and then returned the vessel to service after it failed following the alterations, a federal workplace safety inspection has found.

A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation of the April 8, 2021, explosion determined the same kettle reactor vessel released a flammable vapor cloud when its manway cover and gasket failed. The vapor flowed throughout the plant, ignited and caused the initial explosion.

OSHA cited the paint manufacturer for two willful and 33 serious safety violations of the agency's process safety management and hazardous waste operations and emergency response procedures. OSHA also noted violations involving lack of personal protective equipment and employee training. The agency proposed $709,960 in penalties and placed Yenkin-Majestic in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. [ more ]

DENVER – A federal workplace safety investigation that followed a deadly trench collapse in Johnstown on April 16 has concluded a Strasburg excavation contractor failed to take required safety precautions that might have prevented the death of a 50-year-old worker.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that Dunaway Excavating Inc. allowed employees to work in a 16-foot deep trench amid accumulating water and without protective systems. OSHA inspectors responded to the collapse after one of two workers in the trench became stuck in mud under water.

OSHA cited Dunaway Excavating for two willful serious violations for failing to protect workers from accumulating water, not using protective systems, such as a trench box. Additionally, the company was cited for failing to ensure workers had a secure way to exit the trench safely. [ more ]

DAWSONVILLE, GA – If federal workplace safety requirements had been followed, a North Georgia site grading and pipeline contractor could have prevented the death of a 24-year-old worker who was killed in May after a fork attachment used on a front-end loader dislodged and struck the worker.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that when the incident occurred at the Dawsonville work site, the worker held a stake as heavy equipment drove the stake into the ground to install a stanchion for GPS equipment. The worker was transported to a local hospital, and died of his injuries.

OSHA cited Mathis Grading Inc. in Cumming for failing to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards and not notifying OSHA of a work-related fatality within the 8-hour required reporting period. The company faces $20,480 in proposed penalties. [ more ]

SEATTLE (January 6, 2022) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that Gardner-Gibson, Inc. has paid a $650,000 penalty to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act related to the release of 60,000 gallons of hot, liquid asphalt from its Gardner-Fields, Inc. facility in Tacoma.

On February 8, 2015, employees at the asphalt shingles and coating materials facility were transferring hot asphalt from rail cars to a storage tank when a connector separated from the tank. Hot asphalt escaped the facility's secondary containment through an open valve and flowed into the Lincoln Avenue Ditch, which flows into the Blair Waterway in Commencement Bay.

The asphalt spill stopped about 800 feet from Blair Waterway. Four ducks were contaminated with the asphalt and were captured, cleaned, and released.

EPA cited the company for the release of petroleum products and for significant violations of the Clean Water Act's Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures requirements discovered during follow-up inspections at the facility. [ more ]

SEATTLE (January 6, 2022) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that Gardner-Gibson, Inc. has paid a $650,000 penalty to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act related to the release of 60,000 gallons of hot, liquid asphalt from its Gardner-Fields, Inc. facility in Tacoma.

On February 8, 2015, employees at the asphalt shingles and coating materials facility were transferring hot asphalt from rail cars to a storage tank when a connector separated from the tank. Hot asphalt escaped the facility's secondary containment through an open valve and flowed into the Lincoln Avenue Ditch, which flows into the Blair Waterway in Commencement Bay.

The asphalt spill stopped about 800 feet from Blair Waterway. Four ducks were contaminated with the asphalt and were captured, cleaned, and released.

EPA cited the company for the release of petroleum products and for significant violations of the Clean Water Act's Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures requirements discovered during follow-up inspections at the facility. [ more ]

BOSTON (January 28, 2022) – Today, EPA recognized the WasteWise national data award winners for 2020 and 2021 that prevented and diverted close to 410,000 tons of waste that would otherwise be disposed of in landfills or incinerators, contributing to climate change. Instead, these entities saved close to $23 million in avoided tipping fees and prevented climate change and other environmental impacts.

In New England, our 29 WasteWise partners prevented or diverted 196,705 tons of waste from being disposed of in landfills or incinerators. [ more ]

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a California business aviation provider to pay $958,000 in back wages and associated costs, and correct misinformation about a former employee who the employer retaliated against after they reported flight safety issues.

Investigators with the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that – after a former employee of Pegasus Elite Aviation Inc. in Calabasas reported safety issues that led to an onsite inspection – the company sent a falsified and negative Pilot Records Improvement Act report to the worker's new employer, violating the whistleblower provision. The report led to the employee's termination. [ more ]

NEW YORK – A federal investigation into a fatal workplace injury on Aug. 19, 2021, at a Town of Oyster Bay municipal building has found a Setauket roofing contractor failed to provide necessary safeguards to protect employees against falls.

After an employee of DME Construction Associates Inc. died after falling 18 feet through an unprotected skylight, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an inspection. The agency found that, in addition to the unprotected skylight, the employer exposed workers to falls of up to 22 feet from other unguarded roof openings and roof edges, and failed to provide employees with any personal fall protection equipment. [ more ]

BOSTON (March 3, 2022) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 2020 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis, which shows that companies that manage chemicals continue to make progress in preventing pollution and reducing chemical releases into the environment. The report shows continued reductions in toxic chemical releases in the New England Region and that between 2019 and 2020 total releases of TRI chemicals nationwide decreased by 10 percent.

"By collecting and publishing the Toxics Release Inventory data every year, EPA works to better protect communities and promote transparency, and gives communities information that better empowers them," said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. "EPA is encouraged by the continued decrease in releases of toxic chemicals in New England. We still have work to do to ensure this trend continues, especially in those communities that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution." [ more ]

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations with a combined 11 serious violations to four employers for lack of safe work practices; confined space permit violations; confined space training, exposure to airborne concentrations of benzene; struck-by hazards; flash fire and explosions hazards and not performing process equipment inspections.

OSHA initiated an investigation following a flash fire and subsequent explosion that seriously injured six workers Sept. 27, 2021, at Westlake Chemicals in Sulphur, Louisiana. The incident occurred during preventive care and maintenance activities at Westlake Chemicals Sulphur facility.

Proposed penalties: $139,427 [ more ]

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing amendments to its occupational injury and illness recordkeeping regulation, 29 CFR 1904.41. The current regulation requires certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness information – that they are required to keep – to OSHA. The agency uses these reports to identify and respond to emerging hazards and makes aspects of the information publicly available.

In addition to reporting their Annual Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, the proposed rule would require certain establishments in certain high-hazards industries to electronically submit additional information from their Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, as well as their Injury and Illness Incident Report. [ more ]

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing amendments to its occupational injury and illness recordkeeping regulation, 29 CFR 1904.41. The current regulation requires certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness information – that they are required to keep – to OSHA. The agency uses these reports to identify and respond to emerging hazards and makes aspects of the information publicly available.

In addition to reporting their Annual Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, the proposed rule would require certain establishments in certain high-hazards industries to electronically submit additional information from their Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, as well as their Injury and Illness Incident Report. [ more ]

EPA published the Third Rule in the Federal Register (FR) on April 1, 2022. This rule proposes to amend certain aspects of the hazardous waste manifest regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), specifically concerning the e-Manifest system.

EPA extended the public comment period deadline. Comments must now be received on or before August 1, 2022. [ more ]

When you're working in the heat, safety comes first. With the OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool, you have vital safety information available whenever and wherever you need it - right on your mobile phone.

The App allows workers and supervisors to calculate the heat index for their worksite, and, based on the heat index, displays a risk level to outdoor workers. Then, with a simple "click," you can get reminders about the protective measures that should be taken at that risk level to protect workers from heat-related illness-reminders about drinking enough fluids, scheduling rest breaks, planning for and knowing what to do in an emergency, adjusting work operations, gradually building up the workload for new workers, training on heat illness signs and symptoms, and monitoring each other for signs and symptoms of heat-related illness. [ more ]

BOSTON – A recent settlement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a battery manufacturing company in E. Greenwich, Rhode Island means the facility is now handling and storing hazardous wastes in accordance with federal and state law outlining the safe handling requirements for hazardous waste. The company also agreed to pay a settlement penalty of $108,810. [ more ]

TARRYTOWN, NY – A Nanuet roofing and siding contractor with a significant history of safety violations and penalties now faces an additional $1,343,363 in penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated another fatal fall by a company employee, the second in three years.

OSHA opened an inspection of ALJ Home Improvement Inc. on Feb. 8, 2022, when a worker fell from the roof of a three-story residential construction project in Spring Valley. In February 2019, another company employee died in a fall at a Kiamesha Lake work site.

The agency determined that ALJ failed to provide fall protection training or ensure effective fall protection safeguards were used. They also failed to provide eye protection for employees using pneumatic nail guns, exposing them to the risk of serious eye injuries. [ more ]

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently granted Massachusetts initial approval to enable the state's safety and health plan to be responsible for protecting state and local government workers.

The Massachusetts State and Local Government Only State Plan will cover more than 430,000 employees of the state and its political subdivisions under an OSHA-approved plan. The plan takes effect on Aug. 18, 2022.

"Massachusetts' new state plan is a milestone for its public employees and the state's development of its occupational safety and health program," said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. "We commend them for their ongoing commitment to the well-being of government workers who provide vital services to make the state of Massachusetts livable and enjoyable." [ more ]

About 65% of US workers surveyed say they suffer from significant or somewhat significant stress caused by work. 54% of workers report that they bring that stress home with them and it affects their personal life.

In order to help both workers and employers deal with this, OSHA has launched a workplace stress website with resources that can help reduce the level of stress in the workplace. [ more ]

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recognized Molson Coors Beverage Company USA's Power Montana Barley Elevator as a Star site for workplace safety and health excellence as part of the agency's Voluntary Protection Program. The Power, Montana site was recognized for maintaining an exemplary safety and health culture supported by excellent levels of management commitment and employee engagement, including a focus on dust control and housekeeping practices. Additionally, employees can use an app on their smart devices to conduct site inspections, review programs and report hazards, among other safety-related activities. The site also has a comprehensive and effective lockout-tagout procedure. Non-entry bin sweeps, process logic controls and belt sensors are also some of the many engineering controls in use at the site to safely manage the operation. [ more ]

OKLAHOMA CITY – Federal workplace safety investigators have determined that an Arkansas construction contractor failed to test oxygen levels in the confined space before two workers entered a sewer 20 feet below ground at an Edmund work site and died because of a lack of oxygen.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration into the June 14, 2022, incident found that an employee of Belt Construction Inc. climbed into a newly installed sewer manhole to conduct testing when they lost consciousness. Trying to rescue the worker, a second employee followed into the manhole and lost consciousness. Both workers later succumbed to their injuries.

OSHA investigators determined the Texarkana, Arkansas, company did not complete required planning before allowing workers to enter the space. In pre-entry planning, a confined space must be tested for safety, including finding out if ventilation is needed. Belt Construction also failed to provide rescue equipment and did not train workers on confined space entry procedures or obtain permits required by federal law. [ more ]

CHARLOTTE — Three construction workers died after falling 70 feet from collapsed scaffolding in Dilworth, Charlotte Fire confirmed.

It happened just after 9 a.m. Monday at a construction site on East Morehead Street, near Euclid Avenue, firefighters said. [ more ]

BIRMINGHAM, AL – An Alabama plastics manufacturing company has pleaded guilty to a willful violation of workplace safety requirements as part of an agreement filed in federal court spurred initially by a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into a 45-year-old worker's death in Helena in August 2017.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Alabama prosecuted the case.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the agreement also requires ABC Polymer Industries LLC to pay $242,928 in restitution plus funeral expenses to the fallen worker's estate. The company must also pay $167,928 in penalties and serve two years of probation, with terms including participating in an enhanced compliance and auditing program. In 2018, the company paid $155,338 in penalties assessed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration after its investigation into the incident. [ more ]