Federal Agencies

Washington — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Raymond Martinez affirmed his belief in electronic logging devices, but said “additional flexibility” is forthcoming for agricultural transporters, during a May 22 hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee.

Washington — Chemical Safety Board Chair Vanessa A. Sutherland has submitted her resignation and will be stepping down in June, the agency announced May 21.

Washington — New guidance from NIOSH is intended to help protect health care workers from exposure to illicit, non-pharmaceutical fentanyl, a synthetic opioid considered up to 50 times more potent than heroin.

Washington — OSHA is moving to finalize changes to its crane operator certification requirements, according to a proposed rule published in the May 21 Federal Register.

Washington — The Department of Transportation on May 9 announced the participants in a pilot program intended to promote the safe commercial operation and integration of drones in agriculture, commerce, emergency management, human transportation and other sectors.

Washington — The House Appropriations Committee is proposing a $1 million increase to the Chemical Safety Board’s fiscal year 2019 budget despite the Trump administration’s repeated attempts to eliminate the federal agency.

Washington — The House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill for fiscal year 2019 includes language that would grant another electronic logging device exemption for livestock and insect haulers.

Washington — The Chemical Safety Board is reiterating its call for OSHA to enact a comprehensive general industry standard for combustible dust – a potential hazard the board calls a “critical issue in industrial safety.”

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency intends to finalize a proposed ban on the use of methylene chloride in paint stripping, the agency announced May 10.

Atlanta — Disease cases stemming from mosquito, tick and flea bites more than tripled from 2004 to 2016 in the United States, and outdoor workers remain among those at risk, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states in a new report.