HAZWOPER REFRESHER TRAINING

In accordance with paragraph (e) (8) of 29 CFR 1910.120, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) individuals must complete an 8 hr Refresher annually.

Is it that time of year again for you? If so you are in luck!

EPAcampus is now offering the Annual 8 hr Refresher course online for only $95! The topics covered include:

· Regulation Overview
· Hazard Recognition
· Site Characterization, Analysis, and Control
· Toxicology
· Medical Surveillance
· Safe Work Practices and PPE
· Decontamination
· Chemical Awareness
· Emergency Procedures

To sign up simply click here, for questions please call 888-318-3497.

Chemical Safety Testing Improved!

The EPA recently collaborated with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to offer a new toxicity testing agreement. The project is being made possible through a newly signed five year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which leverages the strength of both organizations.

What does this mean to you?

The EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) coordinates and implements the EPA’s research in the field of computational toxicology (blending computer science with molecular biology). The goal of the Center is to improve the ability of the agency to assess chemical hazard and risk. In detail they are working to make the process more effective and efficient, while increasing the numbers of chemicals that can be evaluated.

For more information about the NCCT and its programs visit their site: www.epa.gov/ncct/

US Army Corps of Engineers Has Sovereign Immunity

Recently the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held that the Federal Flood Control Act prevents a citizen’s group from suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under section 6972 of RCRA.

In In re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network argued that the Corps’s failure to properly design, construct and maintain flood control structures in New Orleans resulted in lead and other waste being deposited in the city’s Vista Park neighborhood. The court held that the Flood Control Act gives the Corps sovereign immunity from liability for flood control projects covered by the Act.

For more information on this case and other environmental cases visit Gardere’s Environmental Action Report.

OSHA Announces Actions for Worker Injury Prevention for Butter Flavorings

OSHA recently announced three new actions that address the growing concern of workers that are directly exposed to artificial butter flavoring. The actions are as follows:

· Initiating a rulemaking under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
· Issuing a Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB)
· Providing a Hazard Communication Guidance

These recent actions are in recent concerns regarding workers in the microwave popcorn butter flavoring plants. The chemical to blame is diacetyl.

Each action taken is an important step to notifying employers and workers of the dangers associated with this chemical. The communication guideline helps establish MSDS sheets, and to be in compliance with OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard.

For more information on this and other new topics of interest in the safety world visit http://www.osha.gov/.

Recycle that Bottle…

The new wave in recycling is cold extrusion. It is playing an even great part of waste plastic than before. Engineers at Bradford University are testing different processes in plastic recycling, using cold and warm extrusion. What they have found so far are that cold extrusion was more suited to recycled plastic. They are able to cold extrude it into sheets or blocks.

The plant at Bradford is currently sending its recycled plastic off to be manufactured into acoustic baffles for use in new construction. The market is ready and driven by new Building Regulations. These is just another step in the ‘Green Revolution’.

What page are you on?

Environmental professionals hold their technical skills and ability to offer accurate results in high regard however all of the ‘normal’ aspects of an environmental professional’s job are slowly being changed. Networking is the new tool of the trade for the environmental professional. The new concern within the industry is will the professionals have the networking skills and capabilities to influence executive management during the current period of rapid change?

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch said last year in Fortune magazine said that the most important thing an individual can have is good relationship skills, everything else can be learned on the job. So start adding a little socializing time into your next conference.

EPA takes on the Air at Ports Nationwide

The EPA has recently announced it is working to get the nation’s supply chain closer to cleaner, fuel efficient practices. The project will showcase a new EPA-patented technology on large equipment used to move the goods and products from ships to trucks. The machines are heavy duty diesel machines that contribute to the air pollutions in ports across the country.

The new technology is a hydraulic hybrid and features a unique power train that can generate, recover, store and reuse braking power with very little air pollution. The hydraulic vehicles will use a diesel-hydraulic system that will combine the cleanest available diesel engine technology with components that use hydraulic fluid compression to store energy. This new system has the potential to reduce close to 1,000 gallons of fuel per year. This test will demonstrate the quality and cleanliness of the new hydraulic hybrid engines.

For more information visit the EPA’s website at www.epa.gov.