IHMM Today June 18, 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 Signs Letter Opposing Reductions in OSH Worker’s Pay – The IHMM Government Affairs Committee has agreed to sign a coalition letter opposing reductions in pay for IH and OSH employees. Here is the coalition letter we signed.

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

SCOTUS to NLRB: No Special Injunction Standard for You. Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in a case that challenged the watered-down injunction standard used by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to obtain preliminary injunctive relief under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act in unfair labor practice cases. While many courts traditionally adhere to the four-factor test when evaluating injunctive relief (i.e., the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits, likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, the balance of equities tips in the plaintiff’s favor, and an injunction is in the public interest), in this case, the district court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rubber-stamped the NLRB’s two-factor test, which is (1) reasonable cause exists to believe that unfair labor practices have occurred and (2) injunctive relief is just and proper. Ruling against the Board and its modified standard, the Court wrote, “Nothing in §10(j)’s text overcomes the presumption that the four traditional criteria govern a preliminary-injunction request by the Board.” In practice, the decision will make it more difficult for the Board to obtain injunctions in federal court. Check out Zachary V. Zagger’s timely article for all the details.

NLRB Inspector General: Mail Ballot Procedures Inconsistent. On June 6, 2024, the NLRB’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report evaluating the “[NLRB] Regional Offices’ compliance with the Agency’s mail ballot election procedures.” While mail ballot elections have long been permitted, they skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the processes and operations of conducting such elections have since come under scrutiny. Auditing a random sample of mail ballot elections conducted in 2022, the OIG “found that the Regional Offices were not consistently complying with the Agency’s mail ballot election procedures” and that many of the inconsistencies were “caused by the lack of a suitably designed, implemented, and monitored internal control environment.” The report concludes with a recommendation that the Board’s “Division of Operations-Management establish a system of internal controls exclusive to the mail ballot process.” The report’s findings provide support for the argument that in-person voting should be the preferred method for determining whether employees want to be represented by a union.

House Hearing Raises Questions About McFerran’s Renomination. On June 12, 2024, the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing titled, “NLRB Overreach: Trampling on Workers’ Rights and Fostering Unfairness.” By focusing on controversial NLRB decisions (e.g., decisions second-guessing commonsense workplace policies, countenancing potentially harassing conduct under the rubric of protected concerted activity, and green-lighting a form of unionization via card check) and missteps, Republicans at the hearing pushed back on President Joe Biden’s efforts to have NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran reconfirmed for another term. In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chair Bob Good (R-VA) said that under McFerran’s leadership, “the NLRB has become the action arm for Big Labor.” Expect more Republican scrutiny of McFerran’s nomination in the coming weeks.

The Heat Is (Almost) On! This week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent its proposed heat standard for indoor and outdoor settings to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. OIRA review represents a formal beginning to the rulemaking process, and once OIRA approves the proposal, OSHA will shortly thereafter make it available for public comment. While the proposal under review is not yet publicly available, OSHA previously released a “framework” document that provides some insight as to what might be included in an eventual proposal. Considering the time involved in OIRA’s review, the public comment period, and OSHA’s review of those comments, any final heat standard wouldn’t appear until a second Biden term. Read Melissa A. Bailey’s recent article for all the details.

Bill Would Ban Arbitration, Class Action Waivers. This week, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) reintroduced the Restoring Justice for Workers Act (S. 4502 / H.R. 8691). The bill would prohibit pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate workplace claims, overturn the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Epic Systems by banning class action waivers, and establish certain notice and waiting period requirements for post-dispute arbitration agreements. The bill is yet another effort to prohibit or limit the arbitration of workplace disputes. At this time, however, the bill does not appear to enjoy the bipartisan popularity of the Protecting Older Americans Act of 2023 (S. 1979).

OSHA’s Hazard Identification Training Tool

OSHA’s Hazard Identification Training Tool is an interactive, online, game-based training tool for small business owners, workers and others interested in learning the core concepts of hazard identification. After using this tool, users will better understand the process to identify hazards in their own workplace.

This tool is intended to:

(1) Teach small business owners and their workers the process for finding hazards in their workplace,
(2) Raise awareness on the types of information and resources about workplace hazards available on OSHA’s website.

Important: This is a learning tool. The items presented in this tool are for training purposes only and the visual representations are conceptual and do not always show specific control for hazards. OSHA inspections and possible citations and penalties for violation of OSHA regulations are NOT part of this tool. Employers and workers must consult the applicable OSHA standards for the specific requirements applicable to their workplaces when developing and implementing their own hazard identification program.

Go here to download the tool.

OSHA Emergency Response Proposal – Comment Period Extended Through 7/22/24

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has again extended the comment period on its proposed rule to provide expanded safety and health protections for emergency responders, including firefighters, emergency medical service providers and technical search and rescue workers. Interested parties now have until July 22, 2024, to submit comments electronically at regulations.gov, which is the Federal e-Rulemaking portal. All submissions must include the agency’s name and docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2007-0073). For more information, please see the Federal Register notice or visit osha.gov/emergency-response/rulemaking.

EPA Announces New Resource Portal And Reporting Tool Improvements On CDR Reporting

On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the creation of CDR GuideME, a new resource portal, and improvements to the reporting tool to make the reporting process easier. According to EPA, CDR GuideME is part of its effort to develop “a user-friendly, single location for all CDR guidance documents and other training materials, including the reporting instructions, fact sheets, and selected EPA responses to industry inquiries.” The Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule requires all companies to report data electronically using e-CDRweb through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) system. Updates to CDX include:

• Incorporating 2024 CDR reporting codes that can be used and the years covered by the reporting period;

• Providing an updated spreadsheet for uploading chemical information in bulk (available in the resources section of the reporting tool); and

• Improving the functionality to copy substantiations of confidential business information (CBI) claims between chemicals and for accessing and saving a copy of submitted records.

The CDR website has updated guidance on submitting information to the CDR database, as well as information about prior CDR reporting cycles. EPA notes that stakeholders must register with CDX and be approved by EPA before they can begin submitting forms. The 2024 CDR submission period began June 1, 2024, and will end September 30, 2024. More information is available in our May 17, 2024, blog item.

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.

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.

• 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.

• 6/25 – Helping the Helpers: Identifying Vicarious Trauma and Effective Interventions for BTAM Teams Webinar
  Hosted by the National Threat Evaluation and Reporting (NTER) Program Office
• 7/11 – Enhancing School Safety Using Behavioral Threat Assessment Webinar
  Hosted by U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC)
• 8/7 – Preventing Mass Attacks in Our Communities Webinar
  Hosted by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center
• 9/25-26 – 2024 National Summit on K-12 School Safety and 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!

Overcoming the Challenges of HEPA Filtration in Commercial Buildings: Enhancing CNC Respirator Fit Testing

High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems in commercial buildings can make condensation nuclei counting (CNC) fit testing using ambient aerosols difficult. HEPA filters are designed to remove 99.97 percent of particles in the air that are 0.3 microns or greater. These particles include dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and viruses. HEPA filters are a cost-effective option for increasing or maintaining air quality and helping to keep environments clean enough for specific practices. Unfortunately, CNC fit testing is not one of those practices.

Read more here.

IHMM-HMS Event Calendar