IHMM Today July 23, 2024

IHMM Today is an online publication of the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management® (IHMM®).

Other than content specifically provided by IHMM, articles contained in IHMM Today are compiled from

independent sources and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of IHMM.

Inside IHMM

Creating a Collaborative Culture

There are 1,389 different conversations going on in the IHMM/HMS Collaboration platform this week.

Do you have a problem you need to solve and want the opinions of your colleagues? We created the COLLABORATION platform to enable our certificants to network, learn, and grow from one another.

This is where we collaborate with the best people in their fields, always willing to help one another lessen the stress of our jobs and where we strive as a team to make a difference of which we are proud.

You can collaborate here.

Access to COLLABORATION is through the same username/password you use to access your MYIHMM account. Are you 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

Trump Takes a Chance; Seeks Bromance With Vance. This week, former President Trump selected Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate. A former Marine, attorney, author, and venture capitalist, Vance has only been in the U.S. Senate since January 2023—his first time serving in public office. As such, Vance’s track record on the issues is relatively short. Regarding workplace policy issues, this is what we know about Senator Vance.

• Traditional Labor Issues.
  • Picket Line Presence. In 2023, Vance walked the picket line with striking autoworkers in Toledo, Ohio.
  • Sectoral Bargaining. According to this article, the reason that Vance has not supported the Protecting the Right to Organize Act is because it “would effectively codify the U.S.’ current system of collective bargaining—in which contracts are negotiated between workers and their individual employers—whereas he’d like to see the U.S. move toward the sectoral model used in Europe, where contracts are negotiated to cover entire industries.” This type of one-size-fits-all collective bargaining would be a dramatic departure from current labor law, which has been in place for nearly ninety years.
  • TEAM Act. Vance, along with Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), is cosponsor of the Teamwork for Employees and Managers Act of 2024 (S. 3600). The bill allows for the formation of “employee involvement organizations” to discuss with employers “issues of quality of work, productivity, efficiency, compensation, benefits (including related to education and training), recruitment and retention, grievances, child care, safety and health, and accommodation of the religious beliefs and practices of employees” without violating the “company union” prohibition in Section 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act. The bill has been introduced in various forms over the years and is strongly opposed by labor unions.
  • Voting Record. Vance voted in favor of the Congressional Review Act resolution to rescind the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) joint employer regulation, and he voted against the confirmation of Gwynne A. Wilcox to the NLRB.

• Antitrust/Noncompetes. Vance and some other Republicans have been dubbed “Khanservatives” due to their support for the work of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan. Vance was quoted as saying that Khan is “doing a pretty good job.” While Vance’s praise of Khan and the FTC is likely a response to the Commission’s current antitrust policies, other “Khanservatives” have supported the FTC’s ban on noncompete agreements.

• Workplace Safety. Vance is an original cosponsor of the Railway Safety Act of 2023 (S. 576), which would institute new railroad safety protocols (such as notice requirements and two-person crew requirements) following the 2023 freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

• Immigration. Vance’s views on immigration are similar to former President Trump’s, particularly with regard to the southern border. Vance has cosponsored legislation and voted on amendments that would make E-Verify mandatory. Vance also introduced the Timely Departure Act (S 2656), which would require nonimmigrant visa holders to deposit between $5,000 and $15,000 into a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) holding account that would be returned upon their departure according to the terms of their visas.

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI). Vance is not a fan of DEI initiatives, both in the private and public sectors. He is the original cosponsor of the Dismantle DEI Act of 2024, which the Buzz recently discussed. Among other provisions, the bill would prohibit federal agencies from contracting with companies that operate DEI programs.

NLRB GC Reiterates Position on Injunctions Following SCOTUS Ruling. NLRB General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum this week addressing the Supreme Court of the United States’ recent decision holding that courts must apply the traditional four-factor test when evaluating the Board’s 10(j) injunction requests. Abruzzo doesn’t mince words in the memo, noting that the Board will remain aggressive in pursuing injunctive relief: “[T]he Supreme Court’s decision does not change my approach to seeking Section 10(j) injunctive relief in appropriate cases.” Abruzzo concludes by noting that while the Supreme Court’s decision “provides a uniform standard to be applied in all Section 10(j) injunctions nationwide, adoption of this standard will not have a significant impact on the Agency’s Section 10(j) program as the Agency has ample experience litigating Section 10(j) injunctions under that standard.”

Senator Seeks Answers From NLRB Chair on Board’s Election Deficiencies. Over recent weeks, the Buzz has discussed the significance of the potential confirmation of NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran to another term on the Board (i.e., her confirmation would give Democrats a Board majority through August of 2026, regardless of who wins the White House). With a potential confirmation vote on McFerran looming, this week Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee sent McFerran a letter seeking answers relating to two NLRB Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports “detailing deficiencies in the NLRB’s mail ballot election system.” Cassidy writes:

The NLRB is statutorily charged with enforcing the National Labor Relations Act without favor to unions, employers, or workers. This Board, however, is uninterested in neutrality; instead, it has spent three years issuing decisions and conducting elections in a way that ensure big labor unions get a leg up in the process. This trend of politicized mismanagement and lopsided enforcement is unacceptable, and requires your prompt and thoughtful attention to ensure that all parties before the Board—workers, unions, and employers alike—receive the benefit of unbiased and fair enforcement.

The letter concludes by soliciting responses from McFerran to various questions relating to steps the NLRB has taken “to ensure all of the NLRB’s election processes, including the mail ballot election process, are administered so that all voters receive and are able to timely return their ballot.”

Safe + Sound Week 2024

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

Registration is open now. Visit the Safe + Sound event archive to view participation from previous years.  

Participating in Safe + Sound Week Is Easy and Fun!

• Fill out the short registration form (takes 2 minutes or less!)
• Add your business to the Safe + Sound Week map.
• Get free resources and customizable materials.
• Hold an event.
• Take a survey.
• Get a certificate!

SIGN UP NOW!

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.

ASSP Standards Developments

IHMM is a member of the American Society of Safety Professionals [ASSP], and works on an ASSP standards committee. We are pleased to bring you recent standards development issues here.

FMCSA – National Hazardous Materials Route Registry 

The agency announced the list of annual revisions to the Hazardous Materials Route Registry. This notice provides revisions to the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry (NHMRR) reported to FMCSA from April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. The NHMRR is a listing, as reported by States and Tribal governments, of all designated and restricted roads and preferred highway routes for transportation of highway route-controlled quantities of Class 7 radioactive materials (HRCQ/RAM) and non-radioactive hazardous materials The revised registry is applicable as of July 16, 2024.

Federal Register Here

EPA Releases Draft Risk Evaluation for 1,1-Dichloroethane and Draft Hazard Assessment of 1,2-Dichloroethane for Public Comment and Peer Review

On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the draft risk evaluation for 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCE) and the draft human health hazard assessment supporting the draft risk evaluation for 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE, also known as ethylene dichloride) prepared under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that it “preliminarily determined 1,1-dichloroethane poses unreasonable risk to human health (of workers) and the environment.” According to EPA, the effects to people from exposure to 1,1-DCE and 1,2-DCE are “kidney and other cancers, as well as harmful non-cancer renal, nasal, immune system, and reproductive effects.” Publication of a notice of availability in the Federal Register will begin a 60-day comment period. For more information, please read the full memorandum

Read more here

OSHA Heat Standard Coming

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a proposed rule that would protect approximately 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings from extreme heat. The proposed rule would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat. Among other things, the plan would require employers to evaluate heat risks and — when heat increases risks to workers — implement requirements for drinking water, rest breaks and control of indoor heat. It would also require a plan to protect new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat conditions.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is a new requirement that affected employers (there’s a list of exemptions, which are mostly office and telework employee related) must develop and deploy a written heat safety plan. Once the formal proposal is published, there will be a comment period and plenty of opportunity to provide feedback to OSHA before any rule is finalized.

Federal Register Notice

Attention Transporters of Hazardous Materials: PHMSA Proposes Registration Fee Updates

PHMSA

In an NPRM, the agency, 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.

PHMSA’s proposed rulemaking would increase the annual fee by $125 for those registrants qualifying as a small business or not-for-profit organization (an increase from $250 to $375) and those registrants not qualifying as a small business or not-for-profit organization by $425 (an increase from $2,575 to $3,000).

Other proposed amendments in the NPRM include:

• Implementing an electronic-only registration fee payment process, based on changes to the payment processes implemented by the Department of Treasury
• Revising requirements to clarify that a Certificate of Registration may be carried in either electronic or paper form, for both motor carriers and those who transport hazardous materials by vessel.

The proposed update to fees will generate the estimated $6.4 million dollars necessary to fund PHMSA’s Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants program at newly authorized levels in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021).

Comments are due no later than August 22^nd, 2024. See details and how to comment here.

Federal Register Notice

Notice of Public Meetings: International Standards on the Transport of Dangerous Goods

PHMSA’s OHMS will be hosting public forums in advance of four international meetings to allow the public to give input on current proposals being considered by the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP) and the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG). The international meetings include:

• ICAO TDG Working Group 24 (WG/24), tentatively scheduled for October, in Montreal, Canada.
• The 65th session of the UNSCOE TDG, scheduled for November 25 to December 3, 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Each of these public meetings will be held approximately two weeks before the corresponding international meeting at U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Headquarters in Washington, DC (1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building), with a remote participation option available. Specific information for each meeting, including date, time, conference call-in number, and details for advance registration will be posted when available on PHMSA’s website under “Upcoming Events.”

Federal Register here.

2024-2025 Hazardous Materials Registration Brochure

Offerors and transporters of certain quantities and types of hazardous materials are required to file an annual registration statement with DOT and pay a designated fee. These fees are used to fund PHMSA’s Emergency Preparedness grants, which support hazardous materials emergency response planning and training activities by states, local governments, and Native American Tribes.

This brochure, updated for the 2024-2025 registration year, details PHMSA’s Hazmat Registration program by explaining who must register, and when and how to register, and providing key dates, registration cost, and other important information.

Link: https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/registration/registration-mail-brochure

Note: Each registration year spans from July 1 to June 30, with early registration beginning May 1. Completed registration statements and payment must be submitted before July 1, 2024, or before engaging in any of the activities requiring registration, whichever is later.

Contact [email protected] for more information.

Understanding Firearm-Related Injury and School Violence

In this 5-part podcast interview series released earlier this year, experts cover crucial topics like youth suicide prevention, anonymous reporting systems, and community engagement. Listeners will gain a comprehensive understanding of how school safety strategies intersect with firearm-related injuries.

Episode 1 – Contributing Factors for Firearm-Related Injuries

Episode 2 – Firearm Safety, School Violence, and Youth Suicide

Episode 3 – Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Episode 4 – Anonymous Reporting Systems

Episode 5 – Community Engagement

Learn More Here

_______

8 Lessons Learned From a Real-Life Swatting Incident

Last fall we hosted a live webinar with staff from the city of Franklin, New Hampshire, and the Franklin School District. The discussion highlighted their response to a swatting incident in 2022.

With these crises becoming more common nationwide, preparation is crucial. Our latest blog post shares valuable insights from the Franklin team that may help school districts address potential security issues.  Learn more here.

_______

• 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

____________

Explore Our School Threat Assessment Toolkit:

Now Available in Interactive Web Format!

Tips and Tools for Improving Exposure Judgments

A mainstay of occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) is professionals’ need to rely on our education and experience when assessing health risks for workers exposed to environmental agents. In this process, we incorporate our professional judgment into an estimate of the workers’ exposure. From this estimate, we decide whether the exposure is clearly unacceptable or acceptable or if uncertainty remains. However, an OEHS professional’s judgment is only as good as their experience with the work activities and practices associated with the risk. This is why the profession needs an exposure assessment system and tools to help them make judgments with a higher degree of precision and accuracy.

Read more here.

IHMM-HMS Event Calendar