IHMM Today May 16, 2023

INSIDE IHMM

IHMM Board of Directors Nominations

IHMM Directors and Officers are volunteers who serve without pay. They may serve up to two, four-year terms. Directors are responsible for the governance of IHMM, including establishing the overall direction of IHMM, the appointment of Executive Director, policy-making, and financial management.

IHMM has two Board seats expiring at the end of 2023. IHMM is soliciting candidates for these two seats; one an At-Large Director seat that may be held by a CHMM, CHMP, CDGP, CSHM or CSMP. One a CSMP Director seat that must be held by a CSMP.

The composition of the present Board is here > https://ihmm.org/board-of-directors/

Qualified candidates may submit nomination papers [self nomination is acceptable] on or before June 30, 2023. The documents for this announcement, procedures, and nomination form are here:

• 2024 IHMM Nominations and Elections Process

• 2024 IHMM Call for Nominations

• 2024 IHMM Fillable Nominations Form

IHMM Excellence in EHS Management Award

The Excellence in EHS Management Award recognizes an individual who has excelled in their role as an EHS manager. The Institute for Hazardous Materials Management [IHMM] will present the award at the annual National Safety Council Expo.

The honoree will receive a commemorative plaque and be recognized in a press release and in IHMM member communications. Travel expenses to the award ceremony will be subsidized. If traveling from overseas IHMM will pay travel expenses from the nearest port of entry.

Nominations will be accepted from March through July of each year and the presentation to the winner will be in conjunction with the National Safety Council Congress and Expo, this year on October 23-25, 2023 in New Orleans.

Make your nominations here >>  https://ihmm.org/ehs-management-award/

See previous award winners here >> https://ihmm.org/past-honorees/

IHMM Needs Volunteers

“There’s nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer.” — Jimmy Doolittle. We all benefit from the expertise, knowledge sharing, content creation and mentoring that our volunteer leaders share with our communities of practice.

IHMM has a wide variety of ways that our certificants and members can volunteer their time, make a substantial contribution to their communities of practice, and earn valuable Continuing Maintenance Points [CMPs].

Volunteering with IHMM is a deeply rewarding and giving endeavor, ranging from being a subject matter expert on a scheme committee to leading discussions in our COLLABORATION engagement platform to becoming a mentor for a college student.

Take a few minutes and review How to Become An IHMM Volunteer, and then scroll down and take the volunteer self-assessment.

CHMP Scheme Committee

• Must be a CHMP > https://ihmm.org/chmp-scheme-committee/

Government Affairs Committee

• Open to all certificants, We need volunteers in these 16 states – Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine. These are states where the requirements of an “environmental professional” or QEP are cited that coincide with an IHMM credential so that relatively little work would need to be done to clarify the desired outcome.
• > https://ihmm.org/government-affairs-committee/

IHMM Certifications in Development Update

• The Certified School Safety Manager [CSSM] credential has now had its examination questions loaded into the Kryterion system and we will be ready to deliver exams for this important credential. The draft website is here > https://ihmm.org/cssm/  and the only element left to complete is a 60-second video.
• The Certified Pandemic Preparedness Specialist [CPPS] credential had a review by the IHMM Board on April 21st and IHMM will be able to start to build the website. The examination questions for the CPPS exam are being loaded into the Kryterion system at this writing. Dan Blankfeld and Gene Guilford have met with the Maryland Congressional delegation on this credential and look forward to more meetings.
• The Associate Hazardous Materials Manager [AHMM] credential had a review by the IHMM Board on April 21st and other than an edit to the professional experience section of an option for eligibility, this credential’s examination questions are completed and is scheduled for launch by Memorial Day, 2023.  The draft website is here > https://ihmm.org/ahmm/  and the only element left to complete is a 60-second video.

A Collaborative Culture

There are 956 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]

TSA AIR CARGO Security – Reminder on deadlines for the Certified Cargo Screening Program

NEWMOA Holds Webinar to Discuss PFAS Draft Model Legislation

Save the Date for “TSCA Reform — Seven Years Later” on June 29, 2023

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health are pleased to announce the seventh annual Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) conference, “TSCA Reform — Seven Years Later,” to occur Thursday, June 29, 2023. This complimentary virtual conference featuring speakers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and non-governmental and industry stakeholders will provide updates on a host of topics, including the interface of science and policy under TSCA, new chemicals, risk evaluation and management, the regulation of articles, and more.

Materials from the 2022 “TSCA Reform — Six Years Later” conference are available to ELI Members at https://www.eli.org/events/tsca-reform-six-years-later.

• WEBINAR — TOP TSCA TOPICS: Cumulative Risk, NAMs, Risk Evaluations, CBI, And More!, May 17, 2023, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT), Via Webinar: Panelists Anna Lowit, Senior Science Advisor, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®), will discuss New Approach Methodologies (NAM), cumulative risk assessment methodologies, systematic review procedures, new approaches to new chemical reviews, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting, and confidential business information (CBI) protections. Register now.
• RECORDED WEBINAR ON-DEMAND — “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations”: Panelists discuss the history and evolution of EPR legislation, expected developments that will affect the chemical and chemical product industry, and what companies need to know to prepare for these changes. Panelists included LeRoy (Lee) C. Paddock, Distinguished Professorial Lecturer of Environmental Law at the George Washington University Law School; Edith G. Nagy, Regulatory Consultant, B&C; and Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C. Watch now.

EPA Releases Congressional Justification For FY 2024 Budget: EPA has posted the justification for its fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriation estimates for the Committee on Appropriations (Congressional Justification (CJ)). According to the CJ, EPA’s FY 2024 budget includes $470.7 million and 1,677 full-time equivalents (FTE) for Objective 7.1, “Ensure Chemical and Pesticide Safety.” The CJ includes the following target dates for actions under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):

• By September 30, 2026, complete at least eight high-priority substance TSCA risk evaluations annually within statutory timelines compared to the FY 2020 baseline of one;
• By September 30, 2026, initiate all TSCA risk management actions within 45 days of the completion of a final existing chemical risk evaluation; and
• By September 30, 2026, review 90 percent of risk management actions for past TSCA new chemical substances reported to the 2020 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule compared to the FY 2021 baseline of none.

EPA Will Hold GenRA Training On May 23, 2023: EPA will hold training on May 23, 2023, on Generalized Read-Across (GenRA), a publicly available tool that uses an automated approach to make reproducible read-across predictions of toxicity. EPA states that read-across “is a commonly used data gap filling technique whereby endpoint information for one substance is used to predict the same endpoint for another substance, supported by structural or other feature similarities.” Specifically targeted for decision-makers, EPA has divided the training into two parts to accommodate a variety of interests and schedules. Registration for one or both sessions is free but required.

• Session 1 (Presentation and Questions and Answers (Q&A)) 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EDT)

This session will provide an overview of GenRA content and function with opportunities for participation and Q&A.

• Session 2 (Breakout Sessions) 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. (EDT)

This session will break participants into breakout rooms to work on exercises in small groups, aided by facilitators.

EPA Poised To Eliminate NPL Cleanup Backlog Using Infrastructure Funds

EPA is poised to eliminate the backlog of dozens of so-called “orphan’ Superfund National Priorities List sites awaiting cleanup using funds Congress provided in the bipartisan infrastructure law (BIL), a move that is winning praise from former agency officials who say it will mitigate the adverse effects of Trump-era funding shortfalls.

This is a “great thing for communities that have been waiting for action,” says Jim Woolford, former EPA Superfund chief who is now with Environmental Protection Network. “The Biden administration deserves credit for that and for getting the [Superfund] taxes reinstated. Hopefully this will prevent future backlogs.”

According to a May 12 White House statement, EPA “has eliminated the construction project backlog for the Superfund [NPL] and launched work to begin construction on 44 of the 49 locations on the backlog list.”

The statement, that was released ahead of this week’s Infrastructure Week, also noted that earlier this year, “EPA also announced that it will use $1 billion provided by the BIL to fund the cleanup of 22 new sites and expedite the cleanup of 100 ongoing existing projects across the country.”

The announcement marks a capstone to the years-long concern that the agency was unable to begin cleanup construction at dozens of so-called “orphan” NPL sites that lacked viable responsible parties but which the agency was unable to fund due to insufficient appropriations.

At the end of fiscal year 2019, for example, EPA reported a backlog of 34 unfunded new construction starts, a nearly 100 percent increase from the 18 sites in the prior year, sparking concern in Congress where Democrats pressed EPA to explain why its backlog had spiked.

They cited repeated proposed budget cuts from the Trump administration and asked for analyses of the root causes for the slowdown and how it would address funding shortages.

–Inside EPA

Biden Seeks Brownfields Liability Protections Amid Tax Credit Confusion

The White House is seeking a cleanup liability shield for clean energy projects at brownfields sites as part of its plan for a possible legislative deal on permitting amid concerns from lawyers that developers face uncertainty in determining brownfields sites’ eligibility for an Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credit for such energy projects.

The White House in a May 10 fact sheet outlined a dozen areas that it would like to see as part of any permit legislation, including a cleanup liability exemption for clean energy developers at pre-screened EPA waste sites if certain conditions are met.

EPA has pre-screened nearly 200,000 brownfield sites across the country that have clean energy potential, the fact sheet says.

“However, the potential that a developer could become liable for existing contamination can significantly curtail the use of brownfields. Congress should protect clean energy developers who build projects on sites pre-screened by EPA from liability for existing contamination when the developers make reasonable investments to address contamination and ensure their activities do not disturb contamination in a manner that increases the risks posed to human health and the environment,” it adds.

While it is not clear how much support the White House’s request will win on Capitol Hill, should Congress enact such a shield it would likely provide a significant incentive for renewable energy projects on brownfields sites.

That could be significant because lawyers are raising concerns that provisions in the IRA providing bonus tax credits for such brownfields projects, as well as subsequent implementation guidance from the IRS, are creating confusion about what kinds of sites are eligible.

“Unfortunately, even with the guidance, the eligibility of certain sites as brownfields remains uncertain,” lawyers at Husch Blackwell, a climate solutions firm, wrote in an April 18 energy policy alert.

–Inside EPA

ISO 45001 | The Cornerstone for An Effective Occupational Health and Safety Culture

As the world’s first internationally approved standard on workplace health and safety, ISO 45001 offers a single definitive framework to improve the performance of occupational health and safety management systems.

It lays down clear usage guidance, as well as requirements directed at the top management of the organization to create a safe workplace for both employees and visitors. ISO 45001 also helps organizations integrate other workplace health and safety aspects like worker wellbeing.

The IHMM CSHM, CSMP, and CPPS are all involved with the ISO-45001 international standard.

This white paper will discuss:

• The Intricacies of Third-Party Partner Compliance
• Managing Contractors’ H&S
• The Nuances of Certification

See the Avetta whitepaper on the ISO 45001 standard here

See the ISO-45001 standard here.

OSHA’s Safe + Sound Campaign is a nationwide opportunity to raise awareness and understanding of the value of proactive occupational safety and health (OSH) programs in all workplaces. Mark your calendars! Safe + Sound Week will take place from August 7-13, 2023. Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe. Registration for Safe + Sound Week opens in early July.  We look forward to your participation!

Safe + Sound emphasizes the need for safety programs at small- and mid-sized businesses, which are more likely to have limited resources dedicated to safety. As you know, effective OSH programs can help organizations identify and manage workplace risk before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line. Safety and health management systems are a critical best practice to ensure that OSH programs achieve significant results and lower risk exposure.

Earn a Challenge Coin

Workers are an important resource for identifying workplace hazards and implementing changes. Safety reporting systems allow ideas and suggestions for improving safety to be captured.

Take the Speak Up for Safety Challenge! Review your safety reports with a team to find common themes and opportunities to improve your overall workplace safety and health performance.

Complete the challenge and earn your virtual challenge coin! Then, share the results in your workplace and on social media to show how you encourage workers to #SpeakUpForSafety to be #SafeAndSoundAtWork.

Your Partner Punch List

We would appreciate if you could support Safe + Sound by doing the following:

• Promote the Speak Up for Safety Challenge to your stakeholders

Sponsored Content

Respiratory Protection Program Management – Susan Harwood Training Grant

University of Texas Medical Branch, William J. Pate, CHMM

This training course is intended to educate participants on the requirements of developing and implementing a compliant Respiratory Protection Program. The focus of this course will be on topics related to preparation for an infectious disease pandemic. At the end of this training the attendee should be able to:
1) Manage an effective respiratory protection program through proficient application of 29 CFR 1910.134
2) Compare potential routes of exposure
3) Identify and implement potential controls (engineering, administrative, and PPE)
4) List the equipment needed to support fit testing
5) Explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative fit testing
6) Discuss the different types of respiratory protection available
7) Demonstrate correct donning/doffing of respiratory protection

This training course is 7.5 hours and participants will receive a certificate of completion that may be suitable for professional certification maintenance (CSP, CIH, CHMM, CHSP, etc.).

This course will provide 7.5 Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) contact hours. Accreditation statement: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is approved with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by Louisiana State Nurses Association –  Approver, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. LSNA Provider No. 4002176

This training is available only to employees and employers who are subject to OSHA regulatory requirements.  Grant-funded training is not available to state or local government employees unless they have occupational safety & health responsibilities (e.g. occupational safety and health trainers, program managers, committee members, or employees responisble for abating unsafe and unhealthy working conditions for their organization).  Registration in this course confirms that meet these conditions.  This training will include the opportunity to don, doff, and fit test respiratory protection including N95, half-face, full-face, and powered air-purifying respirators.  Anyone participating in this training and wanting to put on a respirator agrees that they have been medically cleared by their employer to do so in accordance with OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard.

The 8-hour training program is offered at various dates from March through September. For more information and registration for this FREE program go here >> https://www.utmb.edu/ehs/programs/radiation-occupational-safety-program/RPPSHTG2023

Columbia Southern University

The Hazardous Materials Society [HMS] is a partner of Columbia Southern University. Columbia Southern University is an online university based in Orange Beach, Alabama, that strives to change and improve lives through higher education by enabling students to maximize their professional and personal potential.

A subsidiary of Columbia Southern Education Group, CSU offers online degree programs at the associate, bachelor, master, doctorate or certificate levels in a multitude of areas such as occupational safety and health, fire administration, criminal justice, business administration, human resource management, health care administration and more. CSU also features undergraduate and graduate certificate programs to provide focused training in specialized areas for adult learners.

Click on the CSU graphic at left and learn more about the professional development and degree program opportunities at CSU.

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