Welcome
April 2020
Welcome to the EHS Journal. This international online magazine was created for and by environmental, health, and safety (EHS) professionals with the goal of sharing knowledge and facilitating discussion within our field. Since our launch in January 2010, we have published articles and images from more than 200 contributors in 30 countries, including stunning ecosystem pictures, generating over 1 million page views.
[continue reading...]Recent Posts
- Celebrating 50 Years of Earth Day
- Take a Pause for Safety
- April 2020
- Australia to Phase Out Old Safety Standards in Favor of ISO 45001
- America’s Greenest States
- Why Are U.S. Workplaces More Dangerous Than European Ones?
- May 2018
- Trailer Safety
- Laboratory Safety: Demand Control Ventilation Challenges and Opportunities
- USEPA Attempts To End “Once In Always In” Policy
Featured Articles
April 22, 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A recap of the day’s key messages and events was provided by EarthDay.org, which seeks to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Earth Day celebrations this year were conducted from home in most areas due to restrictions on travel and public gatherings associated
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Australia to Phase Out Old Safety Standards in Favor of ISO 45001
A recent Standards Australia forum involving key stakeholders saw attendees unanimously agree that an identical adoption of ISO 45001, the international standard for occupational health and safety, as soon as possible was the best possible outcome for the country. The consensus was that it would provide a “sensible” three-year transition period for businesses moving from
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Why Are U.S. Workplaces More Dangerous Than European Ones?
On average, the American workplace is more dangerous than the Latvian, Czech, Slovakian, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, Hungarian, or Estonian workplace. Considering that the United States has a much higher GDP per capita than all of these countries, this seems unlikely. Yet, it’s true. Despite the United States’ immense power on the global stage, its
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Laboratory Safety: Demand Control Ventilation Challenges and Opportunities
Laboratory ventilation is an important component of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) risk management and compliance at research universities and similar institutions. Traditionally, the practice in laboratories was to maximize air change rates (ACH), with an hourly ACH rate of 12 or more considered to be sufficient to protect worker safety. There are several limitations
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USEPA Attempts To End “Once In Always In” Policy
In late January 2018 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued an internal memorandum and in early February USEPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testified to Congress about his desire to rescind the “Once In Always In” (OIAI) policy for major sources under the federal National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) program. Under OIAI, a
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Eco Travel: Galapagos Islands
Growing each year in popularity, the Galapagos Islands off of Ecuador’s coast are a highly sought-after vacation destination. The islands are also one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. To help visitors enjoy the Galapagos while minimizing the impacts of their visit, Todd Smith, founder and president of AdventureSmith Explorations, provided the following travel recommendations.
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Blood-borne Pathogen Control: OSHA Requirements
Check out this comprehensive, easy to read overview of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) blood-borne pathogen standard published by EHS Data Base. An excerpt is published below, and more detail is provided in the original article. Introduction Blood-borne pathogens are microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria that are carried in blood
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Health and Safety
Take a Pause for Safety Your brain is constantly processing ideas, thoughts, plans, experiences, and memories. Coupled with the fast pace of daily life, your mind can seem too full. Do you remember to leave space for safety thoughts to prevent accidents during the hurry of the moment? How about taking a “Safety Pause? Use that second of time to
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Take A Break
America’s Greenest States Take a break and check out this interactive map showing environmental rankings for America’s 50 states, prepared by personal-finance website WalletHub. The company’s report, 2018’s Greenest States, includes a variety of entertaining lists showing the best and worst air, water, and soil quality; most LEED-certified buildings per capita; highest and lowest consumption of renewable energy; and more, highlighting the exclusive powers some states have in leading environmental initiatives.
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Quick Reads
Trailer Safety Take a break and watch this 60-second video on trailer safety produced by U-Haul. The bottom line: keep 60% of the weight near the front of the trailer.
Popular Posts
New Research: How CEO Behavior Influences Safety How can businesses improve worker safety and reduce the high costs of workplace injuries and deaths? And how much of a role do chief executive officers (CEOs) actually have in achieving those goals? A recently published research paper presents some long overdue answers based on hard data showing how CEOs can bring tangible reductions in
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Favorites
ISO 14001 Implementation Guide In September 2015, ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems (EMS), was revised. The new standard requires EMS to be more strategic and outward looking, delivering greater value to organizations that implement the standard. The International Aerospace Environmental Group (IAEG) and Ramboll Environ have developed a transition guidance document to help aerospace organizations
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Climate Change
Climate Risk and Resilience: Due Diligence Assessment Approaches As society becomes increasingly aware of the impacts, risks, and opportunities associated with climate change, investors must broaden the scope of their environmental due diligence to include climate change considerations in their asset valuations and management strategies. Methods are needed to evaluate whether assets are vulnerable to business disruption due to the physical impacts of
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Environmental Management
The RACI Model Explained by Star Wars The RACI Model is a simple tool used to define responsibility for each task within a project. It’s an acronym with each letter representing a different role to perform. The roles are as follows: Responsible - The responsible employee physically does the work. Accountable - The accountable employee…
Sustainability
Sustainability and EHS Strategies for the New Political Reality We’ve seen the direction that the new Administration in the United States wants to take. Now the question is, what direction will your company take? It’s clear that the Administration intends to follow through on its promises. Even without Congressional action, it will move to gut environmental regulation, reverse climate change policy, and prioritize jobs
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Analysis, News and Notes
The World’s Largest Environmental Consultancies The value of the global environmental consultancy (EC) market reached US$ 27.5 billion (£ 17.7 billion) in 2014, down 4.1% over the previous year, according to the latest report by business intelligence provider Environment Analyst. The sector lagged global economic growth (3.4% in 2014) mainly due to the impact of the international mining sector downturn,
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Auditing
Outsourcing Corporate EHS Audits: Getting it Right! Over the years there has been substantial debate over whether it makes sense to outsource the conduct of environmental, health and safety audits entirely. And, in fact, many, but not all, organizations have done just that. This outsourcing is typically not an easy decision. There are many factors that come into play. A previous EHS
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