Manufacturing

Minneapolis — Recently released guidance from the state of Minnesota details steps employers in the meatpacking industry should take to reduce worker exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — The Worker Rights Consortium and the Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network have issued a set of guidelines intended to protect apparel and textile workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — A new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers in the manufacturing industry should take to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a draft risk evaluation that states the chemical substance perchloroethylene poses an unreasonable risk to workers under certain conditions, according to a notice published in the May 4 Federal Register.

Washington — Two days after OSHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued voluntary interim guidance aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 among workers in the meatpacking and poultry-processing industries, President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950 and declared the facilities “critical infrastructure” in an Executive Order intended to keep meatpacking facilities open.

Washington — Chemical Safety Board member Kristen Kulinowski has submitted her resignation and will be stepping down May 1, CSB announced April 27, leaving the agency with only one board member once again.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on draft scope documents for 20 additional chemicals the agency has designated as high-priority substances for risk evaluation under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, according to respective notices published in the April 9 and April 23 Federal Register.

Washington — Claiming the Environmental Protection Agency is “rushing forward” with various regulations while much of the nation is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) recently sent a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, calling on the agency to extend all comment periods for matters related to public and environmental health at least 45 days past the end of the declared national emergency.

Washington — The Chemical Safety Board is developing interactive training based on OSHA’s Process Safety Management Standard (1910.119).

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency is asking for public comment on a draft risk evaluation that states asbestos, a known human carcinogen, presents an unreasonable health risk to workers under certain conditions, as critics of the agency renew their call for a complete ban of the substance.