The August HAZWOPER Challenge is now closed. Thank you for participating. Please come back September 1^st for our next HAZWOPER Challenge!

The August winner is S. Woolley Congratulations!

On December 22, 2021, the EPA Administrator signed a notice adding 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to the Clean Air Act’s list of hazardous air pollutants (also known as air toxics). The chemical 1-BP is largely used in solvent vapor degreasing, adhesives, dry cleaning, furniture foam fabrication, spot cleaners, stain removers, adhesives, sealants, automobile care products, and other applications including the aerospace industry. EPA is modifying the list of hazardous air pollutants because the Agency has determined that 1-BP is a hazardous air pollutant and its emissions, ambient concentrations, bioaccumulation, or deposition are known to cause or may reasonably be anticipated to cause adverse effects to human health or the environment.

Effective February 2022, facilities will need to include 1-BP in their assessment (i.e. Potential-to-Emit) of their source size classification (i.e., area source or major source).

EPA will be working to revise current NESHAP regulations and identify whether additional NESHAP are warranted. Under a separate action, EPA is developing a regulatory infrastructure that will address compliance and implementation issues that may arise from the addition of a chemical to the list of hazardous air pollutants. This regulatory infrastructure will be proposed for public notice and comment in 2022 and is expected to be finalized in early 2023.

This is the first time that EPA has added a pollutant to the list of hazardous air pollutants since Congress created the list through the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. For more information, including a fact sheet and pre-publication version of the action, click here!

On June 1, 2022, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) filed Outdoor Heat Exposure and Wildfire Smoke emergency rules that take effect June 15, 2022. The emergency rules are designed to keep workers that perform job tasks outside safe until permanent rulemaking can be established. Under the emergency rules, employers will be required to monitor temperatures and air quality, provide information to the workers, provide training, and more.

Craig Blackwood, L&I’s assistant director for the Division of Occupational Safety & Health stated, “The record-setting heat wave last summer underscored the importance of protecting outdoor workers. Add in the smoke from more frequent and devastating wildfires, which is a proven hazard, and it’s a recipe for danger every summer.”

For more information regarding the emergency rules, click here.

The June HAZWOPER Challenge is now closed. Thank you for participating. Please come back July 1^st for our next HAZWOPER Challenge!

The June winner is John P. Congratulations!

OSHA is proposing to amend 29 CFR 1904.41, Electronic submission of Employer Identification Number (EIN) and injury and illness records to OSHA. By revising reporting requirements, they are hoping to identify workplaces where employees are at higher risks. The proposed rule would also help OSHA leverage their resources to continue to promote increased transparency throughout the workforce. According to the news release from OSHA on 28 March 2022, the proposed rule would also:

• “Require establishments with 100 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries to electronically submit information from their OSHA Forms 300, 301 and 300A to OSHA once a year.
• Update the classification system used to determine the list of industries covered by the electronic submission requirement.
• Remove the current requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees not in a designated industry to electronically submit information from their Form 300A to OSHA annually.
• Require establishments to include their company name when making electronic submissions to OSHA.”

To review the summary of changes and submit formal comments click here. Comments must be submitted by May 31, 2022