Author Archives: Rory McKinnon

OSHA Respiratory Protection Enforcement Guidance

Posted on by

OSHA has released two memorandas outlining guidelines for respiratory protection during the current global pandemic. The first memorandum outlines enforcement discretion to permit extended use and reuse of respirators, along with using respirators that are beyond their manufacturer’s recommended shelf life. It provides specific guidance to healthcare personnel and workers exposed to respiratory hazards impacted by shortages of equipment due to COVID-19. Memorandum 2 provides guidance on the use of N95 respirators that are not approved by NIOSH if all of the provisions in memorandum 1 have been exhausted.

All employers are being asked to re-evaluate engineering and administrative controls to determine any changes that could reduce respiratory protection dependency. If respiratory protection is still necessary, employers should look for alternatives to N95 respirators that would provide the same or more protection. If an employer can demonstrate that all options under these guidelines were exhausted, then reuse or the use of expired N95s approved by NIOSH could be considered.

OSHA’s prioritization of product usage is as follows:

  • NIOSH-certified equipment; then
  • Equipment certified in accordance with standards of other countries or jurisdictions except the People’s Republic of China, unless equipment certified in accordance with standards of the People’s Republic of China is manufactured by a NIOSH certificate holder; then
  • Equipment certified in accordance with standards of the People’s Republic of China, the manufacturer of which is not a NIOSH certificate holder; then
  • Facemasks (e.g., medical masks, procedure masks).

There are some concerns by Industrial Hygiene professionals that OSHA does not offer guidance on enforcement for those non-healthcare companies that are following the recommendations of the Federal government to donate their supplies of N95 respirators. It is important for each employer to review the interim guidance and make a strong assessment of their respiratory protection needs.

March HAZWOPER Challenge

Posted on by

The March HAZWOPER Challenge is now closed. Thank you for participating. Please come back April 1st for our next HAZWOPER Challenge!

We stumped you again for the month of March!

Please note that all the answers were available in our refresher study guide, the OSHA standards, the 2016 ERG, or online.

SEI Safety Glasses

New Accidental Release Reporting Regulation

Posted on by

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has established new reporting rules for the accidental release of a regulated or extremely hazardous substance into the ambient air from a stationary source.  The rule was published in the Federal Register February 21, 2020 and goes into effect March 23, 2020.  The adopted rule has been added to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under a new section, 40 CFR 1604.  Under the new rule, there are some key definitions to aware of in Section 1604.2.

  • Ambient Air – any portion of the atmosphere inside or outside a stationary source.
  • Extremely Hazardous Substance – any substance which may cause death, serious injury, or substantial property damage, including but not limited to, any “regulated substance” at or below any threshold quantity set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator under 42 U.S.C. 7412(r)(5).
  • Regulated Substance – any substance listed by the EPA Administrator pursuant to the authority of 42 U.S.C. 7412(r)(3).
  • Serious injury – any injury or illness that results in death or inpatient hospitalization.
  • Substantial Property Damage – estimated property damage at or outside the stationary source equal to or greater than $1,000,000.

The new procedures for reporting an accidental release are included in Section 1604.3.  Reporting is separate and in addition to other required reporting such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).  Key takeaways from the reporting procedures are:

  • The owner or operator of a stationary source must report any accidental release resulting in a fatality, serious injury, or substantial property damage.
  • If the owner or operator has submitted a report to the National Response Center (NRC) pursuant to 40 CFR 302.6, the CSB reporting requirement may be satisfied by submitting the NRC identification number to the CSB within 30 minutes of submitting a report to the NRC.
  • If a report is not submitted to the NRC, the owner/operator must submit a report directly to the CSB within eight hours of the accidental release and must include the required information listed in §1604.4.

For more information, check out the Final Regulation release at:

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=d10ea88affb5d605468905bcb83f2936&mc=true&node=20200221y1.15