IHMM Today June 11, 2024

Inside IHMM

A Collaborative Culture

There are 1,367 different conversations going on in the IHMM/HMS Collaboration platform this week.

A collaborative culture is important for every business but is especially important for our hazardous materials, dangerous goods, environment, health, and safety communities of practice. Do you have a problem you need to solve and want the opinions of your colleagues? This is where we come together to help each other.

IHMM credentialed professionals are at the top 1% of their professions and their reach is global. We are at the forefront of environmental protection, health, and safety and this is where collaborating with the best people in their fields, always willing to help one another, lessens the stress of our jobs, and where we strive as a team to make a difference of which we are proud.

We opened COLLABORATION to enable thousands of certificants and supporters to collaborate together.

You can collaborate here.

Access to COLLABORATION is through the same username/password you use to access your MYIHMM account. Having a problem? Contact Jimmy Nguyen at [email protected]

IHMM Proposes Changes in Government Recognition of Credentials

IHMM submitted comments on OSHA Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH): Notice of Meetings concerning OSHA-2024-0002-0007, and highlighted the creation of IHMM’s Certified Pandemic Preparedness Specialist [CPPS] credential.

State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection is proposing to update Chapter 851, Standards for Generators of Hazardous Waste. In the current regulation, work is required by a professional engineer. IHMM is proposing to include an environmental professional as defined by 40 CFR §312.10.

Beltway Buzz – Ogletree Deakins

POTUS Issues Immigration Proclamation, Closes Border. On June 4, 2024, President Biden issued a proclamation addressing the immigration and humanitarian crisis at the United States’ southern border. The proclamation temporarily suspended and limited the entry of noncitizens into the United States across the southern border, effective 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 5, 2024. Pursuant to the proclamation, the secretary of homeland security will discontinue the suspension and limitation on entry “at 12:01 eastern time on the date that is 14 calendar days after the [s]ecretary makes a factual determination that there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of less than 1,500 encounters” along the border. The suspension will be reinstated upon “a factual determination that there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of 2,500 encounters or more.” Although the proclamation does not directly address employment-based immigration, the initiative is a significant development in a policy area—immigration—that is likely to be center stage as we approach the November 2024 elections.

Republicans Seek to Rescind DOL OT Rule. This week, Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to rescind the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule. Even if the resolution clears Congress—which won’t be an easy task—it will be vetoed by President Biden. As a reminder, beginning on July 1, 2024, the overtime rule will increase the salary basis threshold to $43,888 per year, and employees making below that figure will automatically be eligible for overtime pay. This salary level will increase to $58,656 per year, beginning on January 1, 2025. Employer groups have also filed a legal challenge to the rule.

Foxx to EEOC: Make Workplace Speech Memo Available for Public Comment. On June 4, 2024, Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent a letter to Charlotte Burrows, chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), seeking information about a joint memorandum the EEOC is pursuing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) relating to situations in which offensive or harassing workplace conduct and speech occurs while employees are otherwise engaging in concerted activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB addressed this situation in 2020 by issuing a decision setting forth commonsense rules for dealing with such situations, but the Board has since reversed that case, creating confusion for employers trying to maintain workplace cultures and environments free from unlawful harassment. Now, after reports of the forthcoming memo from the EEOC and the Board, Foxx has asked Burrows to make the memo available for public comment from interested stakeholders. Foxx notes in her letter that if the EEOC backtracks on its duty to ensure harassment-free workplaces, it “will demonstrate that the Biden administration’s insistence on appeasing labor unions takes precedence over protecting workers from harassment.”

Cassidy Seeks Input on Portable Benefits Options. In a letter issued this week, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, sought stakeholder feedback on ways in which federal law could be changed in order to “improve workers’ ability to pursue careers of their choice while allowing access to historically employment-based benefits like health care and retirement benefits.” The letter sets forth a series of issues and questions relating to worker status (e.g., where to draw the line between employee and independent contractor in a way that best serves the worker and “[w]hat are the chief federal legal and regulatory obstacles preventing the provision of benefits to independent contractors?”), the types of benefits that are most desirable, how to provide benefits when a worker serves multiple clients, and who should pay for any benefits.

OSHRC: Commissioner Confirmations on the Way? President Biden announced this week that he would nominate Mark Eskenazi to serve on the three-member Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). Eskenazi currently serves as assistant general counsel at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and he previously worked at the NLRB. OSHRC has been down to one commissioner, Chair Cynthia Attwood, since April 2023. The confirmation of Eskenazi, along with former commissioner Amanda Wood Laihow, would restore a quorum at OSHRC.

IATA DG Checklists

When shipping dangerous goods by air, it is critical to follow strict guidelines and procedures to ensure the safe transportation of these materials. One of the key components of this process is the Dangerous Goods Acceptance Checklist.

The Dangerous Goods Acceptance Checklists are comprehensive documents that cover all aspects of the dangerous goods shipment, including proper packaging, labeling, documentation, and more. These checklists help to verify that the shipment meets all applicable IATA regulations and standards, reducing the risk of accidents or incidents during transport.

What Are Acceptance Checklists?

Paragraph 9.1.3 in IATA requires that operators use a checklist when accepting dangerous goods. The specific content of the checklist is the responsibility of the operator. As a guide, dangerous goods acceptance checklists for radioactive shipments, non-radioactive shipments and a simplified checklist for dry ice have been included at the end of the IATA Regulations. Operators are welcome to use these checklists or create their own if they wish to have additional information they would like to add.  The shipper of the dangerous goods does not have to use an acceptance checklist, as that is the responsibility of the operator. However, it may be useful for the dangerous goods shipper to use these documents as a guide to make sure that they are shipping in full compliance of the IATA regulations.

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49 CFR Security Plans

By Karrie Ishmael, CDGP

According to the DOT, millions of tons of hazardous materials (hazmat) are safely transported by ground, air, and sea daily. Regardless of size (ounces, gallons, or thousands of gallons), hazardous materials pose safety risks to people and their surroundings.

For this reason, PHMSA regulates items that pose inherent safety risks as hazardous materials under 49 CFR Part 100-199.

Periodically, through its outreach program, the Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) develops tools to help the public and industry stakeholders comply with the 49 CFR regulations.

The latest tool is called SECURITY REQUIREMENTS and Considerations for Hazardous Materials Transportation. The full document can be found on PHMSA’s website https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/training/hazmat/security-requirements-brochure

Safety and Security Plans can be found in 49 CFR, Subpart I, called Safety and Security Plans. Further information can be found under Training Requirements in Subpart H, Part 172.704.

This tool is broken into four sections:

• Section 1: Do I need a security plan?
• Section 2: What must my security plan include?
• Section 3: Which security measures to include
• Section 4: Training requirements

Not all companies that offer hazardous materials for transport need a security plan, according to Part 172.800. The requirements are based on the hazard class and how much of that hazard class you ship.

This section introduces a term called “large bulk quantity.” According to the definition, this means:

“Large bulk quantity” refers to a quantity greater than 3,000 kg. (6,614 lbs.) for solids or 3,000 liters (792 gal.) for liquids and gases in a single packaging such as a cargo tank motor vehicle, portable tank, tank car, or other bulk container.”

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June 10, 2024. OFLC Provides Materials on the 2024 Farmworker Protection Final Rule Webinar

On June 6, 2024, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), Wage and Hour Division, and the Office of Workforce Investment conducted a webinar to provide on the changes to the H-2A and Wagner-Peyser Employment Service programs made by the 2024 Farmworker Protection Final Rule. The presentation materials are now available at the hyperlinks below and located on our website under the “Webinars” tab at the bottom of the H-2A Program page located here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/h-2a

• View the slides of the Farmworker Protection Final Rule
• View the webinar recording of the Farmworker Protection Rule

Positioning for Success in the Chemical Markets of the Future

European chemical manufacturers are in a difficult position, with overcapacities projected in several key value chains until 2030. Emerging sustainable product markets present a promising solution.

Three recent trends illustrate significant recent changes in Europe’s chemical markets. First, high prices for natural gas and electricity are resulting in high production costs for energy-intensive chemicals. Second, a global oversupply of many chemicals is leading to depressed unit margins and lower volumes. And third, demand is shifting to sustainable chemicals.

For these reasons, many European players are focusing on how to rapidly improve their margins, typically via cost reductions. Although these improvements are essential in the short term, chemical players must not lose sight of what’s needed in the long term, particularly as it relates to the third point: creating low-cost supply positions in emerging markets for sustainable chemicals.

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Implementing Statutory Addition of Certain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory Beginning With Reporting Year 2024

Attention Transporters of Hazardous Materials: PHMSA Proposes Registration Fee Updates

PHMSA

In an NPRM, the agency, in order to account for what it contends are increased transport of hazardous materials as well as what it says are the burdens such transport places on first responders, proposes updates to the registration fees under the statutorily mandated registration and fee assessment program for persons who transport, or offer for transportation, certain categories and quantities of hazardous materials. Comments are due no later than August 22^nd, 2024. See details and how to comment here.

Federal Register Notice

OSHA HCS Amendments Primarily Align with GHS Rev 7

OSHA issued a final rule on May 20, 2024, that amends the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to conform to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), primarily Revision 7 (Rev 7), address issues that arose during the implementation of the 2012 update to the HCS, and provide better alignment with other U.S. agencies and international trading partners while enhancing the effectiveness of the standard. 89 Fed. Reg. 44144. OSHA states that, consistent with Executive Order 13563 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which call for assessment and, where appropriate, modification and improvement of existing rules, OSHA has reviewed the existing HCS. OSHA states that it determined that the revisions in the final rule “will enhance the effectiveness of the HCS by ensuring employees are appropriately apprised of the chemical hazards to which they may be exposed, thus reducing the incidence of chemical-related occupational illnesses and injuries.” The modifications to the HCS include revised criteria for classification of certain health and physical hazards, revised provisions for updating labels, new labeling provisions for small containers, new provisions related to trade secrets, technical amendments related to the contents of safety data sheets (SDS), and related revisions to definitions of terms used in the standard. The final rule will be effective July 19, 2024. For more information on the modifications to the HCS and our Commentary, please read the full memorandum.

Read more here.

EPA Releases Draft Risk Evaluation Documents for DIDP and DINP for Public Comment and Peer Review

EPA announced on May 20, 2024, the availability of and solicited public comment on the draft manufacturer-requested risk evaluation (MRRE) for di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and the draft physical chemical, fate, and hazard assessments for di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) prepared under TSCA. 89 Fed. Reg. 43847. In its May 17, 2024, press release, EPA states that it preliminarily determined that all but one of the uses of DIDP that EPA evaluated under TSCA do not contribute to unreasonable risk to human health. Additionally, EPA preliminarily determined that DINP causes liver damage at lower concentrations than DIDP, and unlike DIDP, could cause cancer at higher levels of exposure. Comments on the draft documents are due July 19, 2024. For more information on the next steps in the peer review process and our commentary, please read the full memorandum.

Read more here

Safe + Sound Week 2024

Safe + Sound Week will be held from August 12-18, 2024.

Registration will open in July. Resources on how to participate will be released in the coming months. Stay tuned for more information! In the meantime, visit the Safe + Sound event archive to view participation from previous years.  

NIOSH Mental Health Resources

NIOSH launched an Impact Wellbeing Guide: Taking Action to Improve Healthcare Worker Wellbeing. This Guide offers six concrete Action Steps that hospital leaders can take to accelerate or supplement professional well-being efforts in their hospitals. It was developed in partnership with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation and tested in six CommonSpirit hospitals across the U.S.

Participate in the Fall Stand-Down

The 11^th Annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction will take place from May 6-10, 2024. Join us to help prevent fall hazards in the workplace by participating in the Stand-Down.

There Is More to TSCA Reporting Than CDR: TSCA Sections 8(a), (c), (d), and (e)

June 18, 2024
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT)

Register Now

Presenters:

Dave Turk, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP)
Stephanie Griffin, EPA OCSPP
Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®)
Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C

EPA has been using its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8 authorities in new and different ways. These TSCA reporting obligations have been of interest to stakeholders, raising many good questions and interest in understanding why EPA is seeking information, how it relies upon the information it receives, and what is in scope under the various reporting obligations. We here at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. think it is timely to schedule a webinar on TSCA Section 8 authorities and how EPA is implementing these authorities to assist in achieving TSCA goals.

We intend to address TSCA Sections 8(a), 8(c), 8(d), and 8(e), reminding participants about chemical data reporting (CDR), describing the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) data reporting rule, and discussing EPA’s consideration of a tiered data reporting (TDR) rule.

B&C appreciates that EPA is working hard to reach out to traditional and non-traditional TSCA stakeholders. We see this webinar as an opportunity to address why these reporting authorities are critically important for the regulated community to share information and for EPA to consider such information in its regulatory initiatives.

Topics Covered:

• TSCA Section 8(a)
  • CDR Rule
  • PFAS Data Reporting Rule
  • Consideration of Potential TDR Rule
• TSCA Section 8(c): Allegations, Recordkeeping, and Production
• TSCA Section 8(d): Health and Safety Data Reporting (and current proposal)
• TSCA Section 8(e): Notification of Substantial Risk

TSCA Reform – 8 Years Later

June 26, 2024, 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (EDT)
George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, D.C., and via livestream

Save the date to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health for a day-long conference reflecting on the challenges and accomplishments since the implementation of the 2016 Lautenberg Amendments and where the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) stands today. This year, the conference will be held in person at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (and will be livestreamed via YouTube). CLE will be offered in select states for in-person attendees only. Please check ELI’s event page in the coming weeks for more information, including an agenda, CLE information, registration, and more. If you have questions in the meantime, please contact Madison Calhoun ([email protected]).

Now Open – STOP School Violence Program FY2024 Solicitations (June Deadlines)

• BJA 2024 STOP Solicitation
• COPS SVPP Solicitation
• OJJDP 2024 STOP Solicitation

The FY 2024 Preventing School Violence: BJA’s STOP School Violence Program 2024 grant solicitation has been posted. Visit https://bja.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-bja-2024-172090 for more information about the grant program and to download the full solicitation.

• Grants.gov Deadline: June 12, 2024, 8:59 PM ET
• Application JustGrants Deadline: June 20, 2024, 8:59 PM ET

The anticipated funding available through the FY2024 BJA STOP School Violence Grant Program is 10 awards of up to $2,000,000 each in Category 1, and 69 awards of up to $1,000,000 each in Category 2. Each award is three years (36 months) in duration.

The program seeks to increase school safety by implementing:

• solutions that will improve school climate
• school-based behavioral threat assessments and/or intervention teams to identify school violence risk among students
• technological innovations shown to increase safety such as reporting technology
• other school safety strategies that assist in preventing school violence

This funding cannot be used for target hardening equipment to secure schools such as cameras, security systems, fencing, locks, drug- or firearm-detecting docs, and more. Instead, see the COPS funding below.

COPS Office 2024 STOP Solicitation Information

The COPS Office 2024 School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) grant solicitation has been posted. Visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/svpp for more information about the grant program and to download the full solicitation.

• Grants.gov Deadline: June 11, 2024, 4:59 PM ET
• Application JustGrants Deadline: June 17, 2024, 4:59 PM ET

The anticipated funding available through the FY2024 COPS STOP School Violence Grant Program is 205 awards of up to $500,000. Each award is three years (36 months) in duration.

The goal of the School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) is to improve security at schools and on school grounds through the implementation of evidence-based school safety programs and technology. SVPP awards will contribute to this goal by funding projects that include support for:

• coordination with local law enforcement,
• training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others or themselves,
• placement and use of metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other deterrent measures,
• acquisition and installation of emergency notification technology,
• or other measures to significantly improve school security.

Networking Drop-In

BJA/COPS STOP grantees, join our monthly Networking Drop-In session 6/19 from 3-4 PM ET. This is your opportunity to connect and engage with fellow grantees.

These sessions are not recorded. A Zoom link will be sent out via email (Note: the link remains the same every month). If you are a grantee and do not receive these emails, let us know.

Learn more about these solicitations by visiting our website.

Explore Our School Threat Assessment Toolkit:

Now Available in Interactive Web Format!

Helping Business Leaders Meet the Challenges of Climate Change

In April, I was pleased to receive an invitation to join the newly formed National Commission on Climate and Workforce Health. Founded to help employers assess threats to human health and business performance posed by climate change, the Commission is led by a prestigious group of experts across the health, business, academic, and policy areas, including former OSHA administrator David Michaels, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, Senator Bill Frist of Maryland, and Dr. Judy Monroe, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation.

Read more here

IHMM-HMS Event Calendar