The First Facility Management Blog

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) President C. Christopher Patton, CSP, noted in a letter sent recently to Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) David Michaels that ASSE supports the goal of the Hazard Communication proposed rule, a rule that seeks to ensure that the hazards of all chemicals produced or imported are evaluated and communicated to employers and employees. ASSE notes that modifying OSHA’s existing Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is a step forward in harmonizing chemical hazard communications worldwide and will help U.S. employers compete in the international marketplace as well as increasing work safety.

“Modifying OSHA’s existing HCS to incorporate major portions of the United Nations’ (UN) Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) is necessary to help this nation’s workers deal with the increasingly difficult challenge of understanding the hazards and precautions needed to handle and use chemicals safely in the world marketplace,” Patton wrote. “At the same time, harmonizing hazard communications with GHS will help U.S. employers compete in that marketplace by lessening the burden of conforming with different regulations and by ensuring their products will meet hazard communication requirements in other nations.”

Patton applauded OSHA for its leadership in undertaking the HCS rulemaking and urges every possible step be taken to achieve a final rule as soon as practical.

“However, ASSE is disappointed to see that control banding has been largely ignored in the development of the revised standard,” Patton said.

In June 2005, ASSE published Control Banding and the Future of the HazCom Standard, a position paper that urged OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to consider the use of Control Banding (CB) models in a revised HCS. From the ASSE review of the leading international resources on CB—the HSE/COSHH-Essentials process as well as the International Labor Organization’s Tool Kit—ASSE believes OSHA should update the HCS to incorporate elements of CB.

CB is a technique used to guide the assessment and management of workplace risks. It is a generic technique that determines a control measure (for example dilution ventilation, engineering controls, containment, etc.) based on a range or “band” of hazards (such as skin/eye irritant, very toxic, carcinogenic, etc) and exposures (small, medium, large exposure), according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It is an approach that is based on two pillars; the fact that there are a limited number of control approaches, and that many problems have been met and solved before. CB uses the solutions that experts have developed previously to control occupational chemical exposures, and suggesting them to other tasks with similar exposure situations. It is an approach that focuses resources on exposure controls and describes how strictly a risk needs to be managed.

“When this nation is so close to harmonization with GHS, it would be unfortunately short sighted not to take the extra step of incorporating control banding since many of the necessary tools to do so are already included in this rulemaking,” Patton said. “To do so would advance harmonization a significant step further and avoid the need for future rulemaking, which ASSE firmly believes will be necessary as control banding becomes more widely accepted in the international marketplace.”

In his letter, Patton outlined ASSE’s more specific comments concerning issues and questions asked in the rulemaking. Those comments include need and support for the standard; its economic impact and economic feasibility; implementation resources; reducing the impact on small businesses; opposing the exclusion of three physical and health hazard classes and overall hazard classification; label layout; safety data sheets; references—ASSE suggests OSHA reference in the standard a variety of scientific and authoritative references for end users; earlier effective dates; outreach needs; and proposed alternative implementation approaches.

In conclusion, Patton noted, “Harmonizing this nation’s hazard communications with the international marketplace is both a safety and health issue for this nation’s workers and a competitive issue for its employers. Daily, our members experience the reality that we live in a world of commerce that is becoming more and more interconnected. They need the tools to help both the employees and employers with whom they work. To that end, all employers should be required to adopt a revised HCS.”

On November 6, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2868, the Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009, by a vote of 230-193. This bill reauthorizes the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) program to implement and enforce the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), which are currently set to expire in October 2010, and improves these standards in a number of ways. It also requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish parallel security programs for drinking water and wastewater facilities.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and lead sponsor of the legislation, released the following statement upon passage: “In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, security experts immediately identified the threat of an attack on a chemical facility as one of the greatest security vulnerabilities facing the Nation,” said Thompson. “After four years of hard work, this Congress finally got the opportunity to consider and pass this landmark homeland security bill. Passage of this legislation demonstrates the progress we make with a transparent process that is open to diverse viewpoints,” Thompson stated. “We can now ensure that this vital industry, and the population that lives around these facilities, are secure,” said Thompson.

H.R. 2868:

• Authorizes reasonable, risk-based security standards for chemical security.
• Closes a major security gap identified by both the Bush and Obama Administrations by establishing a security program for drinking water and waster water facilities.
• Requires all tiered facilities to assess “methods to reduce the consequences of a terrorist attack.” Plants that voluntarily perform these assessments, which are sometimes called “IST” assessments, often find that good security equals good business.
• Strengthens CFATS by adding enforcement tools, protecting the rights of whistleblowers, and enhancing training security.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently recognized 11 organizations for promoting responsible chemical management and helping remove potentially dangerous chemicals from K-12 schools in their communities. Working with EPA’s Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3), the organizations removed an estimated 70,000 pounds of potentially dangerous chemicals from approximately 300 schools.

“This campaign reflects the very best of what we have to offer,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson at the October 22, 2009 event. ”It brings together local volunteers, educators, [and] partners in the business community, and many others in service to our communities, and helps us in our most important work: protecting the health and safety of our children. We’re grateful for all the dedicated citizens stepping up to confront our most urgent environmental and children’s health challenges. They’re ensuring that our schools are safe places for children to learn, play and grow.”

The organizations were recognized for a range of activities contributing to a reduction in chemical hazards, including:

• assisting schools in developing accurate chemical inventories
• removing and properly disposing of outdated, unknown, and unneeded chemicals
• establishing sustainable programs to properly manage chemicals by training school administrators and teachers on responsible chemical management and green lesson planning.

The eleven SC3 volunteers recognized are as follows. Each organization’s efforts can be found on the EPA program site.

1. Alabama Department of Environmental Management
2. Ash Grove Cement Company
3. BASF Corporation – White Stone Facility: In Spartanburg, SC high schools, BASF assisted in the efforts by evaluating the high schools’ chemical laboratory equipment and removed outdated, broken, and unreliable apparatus. In addition, company personnel provided guidance and assistance with obtaining appropriate chemical laboratory items to replace the old equipment. BASF has also worked with the schools to provide teacher training in responsible chemical management practices that can be implemented in schools
4. Cadence Environmental Energy
   

   (from L to R) Matt Hale, Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, U.S. EPA; Tomie Petersen, student, Timber Lake High School, Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation Schools; Sami Ducheneaux, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Environmental Protection Department; Barry Breen, Principal Deputy Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. EPA

5. Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Environmental Protection Department: The Department was recognized for its work in Eagle Butte, SD to remove unwanted, unneeded, and outdated chemicals from Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation schools. The department gained the support, cooperation, and participation of school administrators and staff, which facilitated efforts to identify unsafe chemical situations and harmful chemicals. The department facilitated chemical inventories and worked with an SC3 charter partner, who donated their services to safely lab pack and collect chemicals for shipment and proper disposal. A total of 1,515 pounds of chemicals were removed from schools, including: neurotoxins, carcinogens, toxic, ignitable, and shock sensitive chemicals.
6. The Dow Chemical Company: The company was recognized for its participation in an SC3 project with K-12 schools in the vicinity of Saginaw, MI. In 2006, Dow Chemical Company partnered with EPA Region 5 and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to train teachers from 36 middle and high schools in responsible chemical management, and removed more than 3,600 pounds of hazardous, unneeded, and outdated laboratory chemicals from 32 schools. In 2007, a similar project was carried out in K-12 schools near Ann Arbor, MI. From these projects, Dow developed a flow chart to facilitate the development of corporate, state, and federal partnerships to improve chemical management in K-12 schools that it will continue to share with other corporations embarking on SC3 projects.
7. EMC Insurance Companies
8. Missouri Center for Safe Schools at UMKC
9. Peaks to Prairies Pollution Prevention Information Center, Montana State UniversityP
10. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
11. Tradebe Pollution Control Industries

EPA estimates that more than 33,000 middle and high schools across the country have potentially harmful chemicals that put students and staff at risk. SC3 works with schools, community organizations, and industry to help prevent chemical exposures through proper chemical management.

Facilities that could potentially release highly hazardous chemicals resulting in toxic fire or explosion hazards are the focus of a national emphasis program (NEP) developed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The program establishes policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces that are covered by OSHA’s process safety management (PSM) standard.

The Chemical NEP, a one-year pilot program, outlines a new approach for compliance officers who conduct site inspections. The program’s inspection process includes asking detailed questions designed to gather facts related to PSM requirements and verifying that employers’ written and implemented PSM programs are consistent. The intent of the NEP is to conduct quick inspections at a large number of facilities that will be randomly selected from a list of worksites likely to have highly hazardous chemicals in quantities covered by the standard.

“Several catastrophic incidents have been caused by failure to comply with the requirements of the PSM standard,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. “This situation has resulted in loss of workers’ lives. This national emphasis program allows OSHA inspectors to verify that employers are complying with the requirements of the PSM standard.”

During its first year, the Chemical NEP will be piloted in several regions around the country, using programmed inspections. Programmed inspections are planned and do not result from an accident, complaint, or referral.

In regions not covered by the pilot, the Chemical NEP will be used to inspect workplaces reporting PSM-related complaints, referrals, accidents, or catastrophes, that is, unprogrammed inspections. A description is available here.

On June 16, 2009, Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Chairwoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), and Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced H.R. 2868: The Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Act of 2009. This vital legislation makes the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) permanent and enhances the program by making facilities, as a part of their vulnerability assessments, analyze how they can change their internal processes to reduce the consequences of a terrorist attack at their facility.

Chairman Thompson released the following statement:

This legislation will help ensure that this vital industry, and the population that lives around these facilities, are safe and secure. After years of work and discussions with key stakeholders, we have produced a comprehensive and common-sense chemical security bill.

Chairman Waxman released the following:

Chemical facilities are often terrorist targets because of the lethal chemicals they use and store onsite. This bill will protect workers at and neighbors of chemical facilities by asking the highest risk facilities to switch to safer chemicals and processes when feasible. I will also continue working with members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to complete legislation to give EPA the authority to require strong security standards for our nation’s drinking water facilities.

Chairwoman Jackson-Lee added the following statement:

I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of this important legislation that will work to close a threatening vulnerability that was only made more real by the attacks of September 11, 2001, and other international incidents over the past several years. As the Chairwoman of the subcommittee with oversight over this important program, I believe that we have worked in a bipartisan manner with all relevant stakeholders, including DHS, to author a bill that builds on the current program in order to best protect this Nation.

Chairman Markey released the following statement:

By requiring the highest-risk facilities to switch to safer chemicals or processes when it is economically and technologically possible to do so, this legislation will make our communities less vulnerable to a terrorist-designed Bhopal in Boston, Baton Rouge or Buffalo.