IHMM Today November 14, 2023

Call for Experts for National Academies Committee on PPE

ASSP received an inquiry from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine addressing:  Committee on Personal Protective Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health.  We also received this description from Autumn Downey, Ph.D.  Dr. Downey is the Senior Program Officer for the Health and Medicine Division with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. IHMM is a member of ASSP and is pleased to pass along this information to our certificants.

“…This committee, sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH’s) National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL), serves as a forum for discussion of scientific and technical issues relevant to the development, certification, deployment, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE), standards, and related systems to ensure workplace safety and health (additional details can be found in the attached project summary). We are in the process of appointing new members who could augment the committee’s current expertise in the areas of engineering and PPE design, PPE standards and evaluation, textiles and material science, aerosol science, occupational safety and health/occupational medicine, infection control and prevention, industrial hygiene, and emergency preparedness and response. We are aiming to widely distribute the attached announcement with a call for experts to be considered for serving on the committee and thought it may be of interest to the ASSP membership. We are hoping that you may be able to assist us by sharing the call for experts with your members…”

The Society is also going to distribute the announcement to a diverse range of ASSP members and communities such as our common interest groups, practice specialties, and other impacted areas.  However, we believe this could be of interest to our standards participants since many of our participating organizations are involved with the design, manufacture, distribution, selection, and implementation of PPE in the workplace.

Submissions are made here >> https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7566522/Standing-Committee-on-Personal-Protective-Equipment-for-Workplace-Safety-and-Health

EPA Proposes to Ban TCE

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on October 31, 2023, to ban all uses of trichloroethylene (TCE) after determining that it presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health under its conditions of use as documented in EPA’s November 2020 risk evaluation (2020 TCE RE) and January 2023 revised risk determination (2023 Revised RD) pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 74712. The proposed rule would ban the manufacture, processing, and distribution of TCE for all uses. It would take effect in one year for consumer products and most commercial uses and would implement stringent worker protections on the limited remaining commercial and industrial uses that would be phased down over a longer period. Comments are due December 15, 2023. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) receives a copy of the comments on or before November 30, 2023. For more information, please read the full memorandum.

Read more >> https://www.lawbc.com/epa-proposes-to-ban-tce/

IATA – Make Lithium Batteries Safe to Ship

Do you know why lithium batteries are dangerous? Are you aware of the evolving standards regarding their shipment?

If you need an accessible yet comprehensive guide to lithium batteries that points you toward globally accepted best practices and a suite of support manuals and programs, then look no further!

Our White Paper “Make Lithium Batteries Safe to Ship” presents all the relevant information in an easy-to-read format with relevant links to industry standards and recommended practices. So, whether you just need to know the latest developments in this critical area or want to delve deep into the details, our whitepaper is for you.

Get the IATA White Paper Here

IHMM Organizing Broader Government Affairs Activities – Call for Volunteers

In strategic planning on August 17, 2023 IHMM created a strategic imperative to create a broader government affairs operation on behalf of, and with the assistance of, all of IHMM’s certificants.

On August 29, 2023 IHMM’s Executive Director made a presentation of this strategic imperative to the AHMP annual conference. Here is what IHMM intends to organize over the next few months:

• Federal Government  – Regulatory. We need a group of people watching Federal regulatory developments to advise when taking action can be helpful and raise our visibility in the agencies.

• Federal Government – Congress. We need a group of people watching legislation to advise us when taking action can be helpful and raise our visibility in Congress.

• State Governments  – Regulatory. We need a group of people watching state regulatory developments to advise when taking action can be helpful and raise our visibility in the agencies.

• State Governments – Legislatures. We need a group of people watching legislation to advise us when taking action can be helpful and raise our visibility in state legislatures.

If you want to make a difference in the recognition of your credentials and build on the successful record we have achieved thus far – we need you to volunteer. Please see > https://ihmm.org/join-the-government-affairs-committee/  and get involved with government affairs. You can volunteer for one, two, three or all four of the segments of the committee’s work. That’s up to you!

The full presentation may be viewed here.

Another Shutdown Deadline Looms; WOTUS Litigation Slated To Resume

Congress is scrambling as lawmakers face a Nov. 17 deadline to fund EPA and other agencies or shut down the government. Litigation over the Biden administration’s revised definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) is set to resume as state critics are slated to file amended complaints in light of EPA’s rule aligning the definition with the Supreme Court’s Sackett ruling.

Shutdown Countdown II

EPA and other agencies could shut down as soon as Nov. 17 when a current stop-gap spending bill expires, six weeks after narrowly avoiding such an outcome. While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has begun the process to consider a short-term continuing resolution (CR) before funding expires, it is not clear where House Republicans stand and how they plan to proceed on fiscal year 2024 spending.

House GOP leaders are continuing their push to advance individual appropriations measures even as they weigh options for a CR in order to prevent a shutdown. But the GOP caucus remains divided over the measures, with leaders last week being forced to pull spending bills for the transportation and housing departments, as well as for financial services, from the floor due to opposition from their own members. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said he would like a CR to run through January or April “to ensure the Senate cannot jam the House with a Christmas omnibus.” But Johnson and other Republicans are currently considering a “laddered CR,” that would set different funding deadlines for different agencies, an approach key senators strongly oppose.

WOTUS

States are set to file amended complaints in litigation over the Biden administration’s WOTUS rule in light of EPA’s amended rule to comport with the Supreme Court’s Sackett ruling. Texas and Idaho are set to file in the suit State of Texas, et al., v. EPA, et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Nov. 13, and 24 Republican states, led by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, are set to file their amended complaints the same date in West Virginia, et al., v. EPA, et al. in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. The state of Kentucky is also set to file a brief in the suit Kentucky v. EPA, et al., in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit on Nov. 17.

The National Agricultural Law Center on Nov. 15 is set to hold its third and final webinar on WOTUS, taking a look at the ways different states have acted to regulate wetlands and interstate waters in light of the Supreme Court’s narrowing of federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction in Sackett and EPA’s subsequent conforming WOTUS rule.

Air Toxics

Comments are due Nov. 13 on EPA’s proposed rule that allows “major” sources of air toxics to limit their emission potential to levels below regulatory thresholds and become “area” sources subject to weaker regulation–though the proposal seeks to impose permit “safeguards” to limit any emissions increases.

Comments are due Nov. 13 on EPA’s proposed framework for how to regulate newly listed hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), which will potentially expand the number of air toxics regulations to which facilities are subjected, along with their permitting burdens, but falls short of environmentalists’ demands for more-sweeping regulation as a direct result of any new listing.

Air Reporting & Monitoring

Comments are due Nov. 17 on EPA’s proposed rule strengthening air emissions reporting requirements.

Tomás Carbonell, EPA air office chief for stationary sources, will provide Nov. 14 keynote remarks on “Next Generation Emissions Monitoring in Today’s Regulations” at an Air & Waste Management Association’s conference.

GHG Rules

The House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a Nov. 14 hearing on EPA’s proposed GHG rule for coal and gas-fired power plants. House Republicans will argue the rule will “result in lasting damage to energy reliability and accessibility.” State officials will testify.

The House science committee’s oversight panel on Nov. 14 will look at the Biden administration’s proposal requiring federal contractors to disclose GHGs and climate risks. At the hearing, featuring Council on Environmental Quality’s Andrew Mayock, Republicans will argue the rule inappropriately delegates authority to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

TSCA Rules

EPA has scheduled a Nov. 14 webinar on its proposed TSCA rule to ban the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE). The agency is seeking to phase out nearly all use of TCE within 10 years of finalizing the rule, and would impose strict workplace protections for applications that continue beyond the first year — a much stricter approach than its prior solvent rules, which would allow at least some uses of the chemicals they target to continue indefinitely.

The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy will hold a Nov. 17 roundtable on EPA’s TCE ban as well as its proposed rewrite of the “framework” for risk evaluations of existing chemicals.

Natural Resources

The Ad-Hoc Industry Natural Resource Management Group is holding its annual Natural Resources Symposium on Nov. 15 at the George Washington University Law School. Discussions will include updates since last years symposium, as well as emerging ESG reporting requirements, climate change, PFAS and other emerging contaminants, the role of the judiciary, and public/private partnerships and collaborations.

Comparing the Draft and Final Circular A-4

Following a public comment period earlier this year, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a final updated version of Circular A-4 on November 9 along with an Explanation and Response to Public Input. This new version updates the original Circular A-4 from 2003 pursuant to Executive Order 14094, “Modernizing Regulatory Review.” Starting March 1, 2024, the updated Circular A-4 will apply for all proposed rules, direct final rules, and interim final rules. It will apply to other final rules starting January 1, 2025.

We have compared the draft Circular A-4 from April 6 and the final Circular A-4. This Insight highlights the differences and similarities in each section between the April draft Circular A-4 and the November final version. For an in-depth comparison of the original Circular A-4 and the current material, please reference our initial comparison.

Read the comparison here.

–GW Reg Studies

Congress Urged To Direct EPA To Update High-Level Nuclear Waste Standard

As Congress weighs bipartisan legislation to support the nuclear power sector, a range of nuclear industry and other groups are urging lawmakers to direct EPA to update and harmonize its high-level nuclear waste disposal standard with international practices for commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) disposal.

In a Nov. 2 letter, a number of groups, including the American Nuclear Society, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, ClearPath Action, United States Nuclear Industry Council, and others, call for lawmakers to adopt a quick directive for EPA to update its generic geological repository standard.

“Regardless of future policy direction for the U.S. SNF management program, refreshing the EPA’s generic geological repository standard for public health and safety is essential to prevent unnecessary delays after Congress has chosen a path forward,” the groups said.

The groups say that any mandate for EPA to overhaul its standards is likely to take years to develop and implement. “Updating the EPA’s generic geologic repository standard is a long-term endeavor and will not result in any immediate changes to U.S. policy; it may take five to ten years,” they say.

“In addition, once EPA has adopted a final standard, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) would then need to update its rule for high-level radioactive waste management in geologic repositories to conform to the updated EPA standard. Given the extended timeframe for the action, it is imperative that the EPA starts now on the development of an updated standard using state-of-the-art science to be applied to future repositories in order to protect public health and safety,” the letter says.

–Inside EPA

EPA Proposes to Amend TSCA Risk Evaluation Framework Rule

EPA announced on October 19, 2023, a proposed rule that would amend the procedural framework rule for conducting risk evaluations under TSCA. Published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2023, the proposed rule states that the purpose of risk evaluations under TSCA is to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without considering costs or non-risk factors, including unreasonable risk to potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations identified as relevant to the risk evaluation by EPA, under COUs. 88 Fed. Reg. 74292. EPA states that it has reconsidered the procedural framework rule for conducting such risk evaluations and determined that certain aspects of that framework should be revised to align better with applicable court decisions and the statutory text, to reflect its experience implementing the risk evaluation program following enactment of the 2016 TSCA amendments, and to allow for consideration of future scientific advances in the risk evaluation process without the need to amend further the Agency’s procedural rule. Comments are due December 14, 2023. EPA notes that under the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if OMB receives a copy of the comments on or before November 29, 2023. B&C encourages interested parties to review carefully EPA’s proposed rule and to provide comments as appropriate. This is potentially the most impactful TSCA rule proposed to date this year. For more information on the proposed rule, please read the full memorandum.

Read more >> https://www.lawbc.com/epa-proposes-to-amend-tsca-risk-evaluation-framework-rule/?p=12022

A Framework to Ensure the Safety, Wellness & Success of K-12 Students

This is a call to action.

Whole-child safety takes the whole community. It’s a shared responsibility that we as members of schools, businesses, cultural and religious organizations, governments, and most importantly, families must commit to so children can achieve their highest potential in an emotionally and physically safe environment.

Schools need our support.

In addition to current societal and continued post-pandemic impacts from the last two years, we’ve now encountered a particularly tragic increase in violence — with more than two dozen school shootings in the first 6 months of 2022 alone — making staff and students much less confident in being protected at school. It has been proven time and time again that students can’t reach their full academic potential unless they feel safe and supported within their homes and classrooms. Their basic needs — including physical, social and emotional safety — must be met before they are mentally equipped to pursue academic learning.

Download the Whole-Child Safety Takes the Whole Community Report

EXTENDED: HM-265A: Modernizing Regulations to Improve Safety and Efficiency

On July 5, 2023, PHMSA published the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) “HM-265A: Modernizing Regulations to Improve Safety and Efficiency” to the Federal Register. Based on feedback from industry stakeholders, internal PHMSA review, NTSB safety recommendations, and modal safety partners, the ANPRM addresses 46 separate areas where the requirements of the HMR may need to be updated to increase efficiency while improving safety. Topics addressed in the ANPRM include those related to UN Performance Oriented Package testing, tank car safety, hazardous material employee training, and updates to standards incorporated by reference, among others.

The public comment period for this ANPRM has been extended, in response to a request from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. Comments are now due by December 4, 2023. For questions, please contact Mr. Eamonn Patrick at [email protected].

It’s Not as Easy as It May Appear: Bringing Sustainable Chemistry to Market in the U.S.

November 15, 2023
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EST)

REGISTER NOW

Sustainable chemistry is critical to the global economy and making the world a better place. Increasingly chemical and product innovators, businesses, and others are more discerning in selecting and using raw materials based on new criteria heavily influenced by sustainability factors. Businesses are increasingly finding value in waste as a feedstock, reducing hazardous chemicals in manufacturing processes, designing chemicals to be greener, and being more efficient in using energy, water, and materials across a chemical’s life cycle.

Making the right choices is not easy, however, for a variety of societal, policy, and legal reasons. This webinar focuses on the challenges entities face in making chemical products more sustainable, what the federal government is doing to encourage sustainable chemistry, and how stakeholders can help move the needle to accelerate the pace of sustainable chemistry.

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®) is pleased to offer this one-hour complimentary webinar focused on bringing sustainable chemistry to market.

• ECHA’s investigation finds toxic chemicals present in childcare products
• Enforcement Forum’s advice on enforceability of the proposed PFAS restriction
• Consultation on harmonised classification and labelling

Professional Certification Coalition

IHMM is a member of the PCC. The PCC monitors state and federal legislative and regulatory activity affecting professional certification on an ongoing basis. The PCC has compiled several “Watchlists” identifying and analyzing provisions in pending legislation at both the state and federal level that, under applicable rules, may still be enacted in the current legislative session.  Depending on the carry-over rules in the relevant legislature, the charts listing current legislation may include bills introduced in a prior year.  In addition, the PCC compiles each year a chart of enacted legislation that affects certification. The charts include hyperlinks to every bill or executive order. Note that the Watchlist and the Enacted Legislation document do not include profession-specific legislation and do not include regulatory initiatives. The charts will be updated as needed based on new developments.

• 2023 Accomplishments and 2024 Priorities

IHMM Credential Recognition

The highest priority of IHMM’s Government Affairs Committee is the recognition of IHMM’s credentials by government. We have made substantial progress in the two years we have undertaken this endeavor, as outlined in detail here > https://ihmm.org/credential-recognition/

In this project we have 45-in-5, increasing the number of states that recognize IHMM credentials.

• We have already succeeded in 13 states – New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Indiana, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Arkansas, Oklahoma. Ohio, North Dakota, and Georgia. [Red states in the map above]. These are states where IHMM credentials are cited or 40 CFR 312.10 is cited by reference.
• We have partially succeeded in another 16 states – Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine. [Orange/Black Stripe states in the map above] 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.
• We have 21 states where no reference to an IHMM credential is made in either statute or regulation, nor is there anything defined in the area of an environmental professional. These states will require legislation or regulatory work. [Yellow states in the map above].

in January 2022 Gene Guilford released the 40 CFR § 312.10 EPA regulation that states a private certification that meets or exceeds the requirements of the regulation is an Environmental Professional under the regulation. Here is the crosswalk between the 40 CFR § 312.10 EPA regulation and the Certified Hazardous Materials Manager [CHMM] blueprint. The CHMM meets or exceeds the requirements of an Environmental Professional. 

Here’s what we ask each volunteer to do:

• Watch legislative and regulatory developments in your state that provide an opportunity for us to create amendments or other interventions
• Be willing to speak with regulators and legislators in your area about the recognition efforts we craft together

Regulatory Updates

PHMSA’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety 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:

• The 29th session of the ICAO TDG, scheduled for November 13 to 17, 2023, in Montreal, Canada
• The 63rd session of the UNSCOE TDG, scheduled for November 27 to December 6, 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland

Each of these public meetings will be held approximately two weeks before the corresponding international meeting. Specific information for each meeting, including date, time, conference call-in number, and details for advance registration will be posted when available on the PHMSA website under “Upcoming Events.” These meetings will be virtual, with hybrid options available as possible, pending public health guidelines.

The Federal Register announcement can be found here.

IHMM CONFERENCES FOR 2023

IHMM will attend and support a number of conferences and trade shows throughout 2024, virtually as well as in-person as resources allow. In 2023 IHMM participated in the Bay Area ASSP conference, Ohio Safety conference, COSTHA Annual Meeting, AIHA Conference & Trade Show, ASSP Annual Conference, CUHMMC, AHMP, National Safety Conference and FET

Are there conferences you believe IHMM should attend that are not named here? If so, let us know by sending an email to [email protected]