Welcome
May 2013
Welcome to the EHS Journal. This international online magazine was designed for and by environmental, health and safety professionals for the purpose of sharing knowledge and facilitating discussion within our profession. Since our launch in January 2010, we have published articles and images from more than 100 contributors in 30 countries.
We are actively seeking new articles! See the Submission Guidelines for more information and submit your articles and comments to the EHS Journal today…
Recent Posts
- Forklift Accident Video
- Is Your Strategy on Pause?
- Maximizing the Benefits of Compliance Audits
- May 2013
- Final Lessons Learned on International Assignments
- April 2013
- EHS Audits – Have We Lost Our Way? Part III
- Principles of Adult Education
- ISO 14001: The Dreaded Revision Process Has Started!
- How Effective is OSHA?
Featured Articles
Is Your Strategy on Pause?
Does it feel like your corporate world is on “pause,” waiting for something beyond your control to be resolved? Many companies seem to be waiting for something, unwilling to expand or contract, go forward or backward. Which raises the question — how do you lead your EHS/Sustainability (EHS/S) program if you don’t really know what
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Maximizing the Benefits of Compliance Audits
The prospect of your facility undergoing a compliance audit is unlikely to evoke excited anticipation. There are certain things we do – such as going to the dentist or conducting compliance audits – because they benefit us in the long term. Despite often being viewed with dread, an audit is a valuable tool in a
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Final Lessons Learned on International Assignments
On December 27, 2012 the EHS Journal published an article of mine entitled “Lessons Learned on International Assignments”. The feedback has been extremely positive, especially from young professionals who anticipate the eventual need to travel internationally during their careers. As a consequence I have racked my brain to come up with a few more experiences
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Operator Procedures: A Tale of Two Gas Plants
I have visited several gas plants across the United States. Gas plants are complex facilities. They operate at high pressure with flammable materials and dangerous products. Gas plants are regulated by Process Safety Management standards to address the inherent hazards of operations. When visiting gas plants, I make it a habit to stop in the
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Lessons Learned on International Assignments
At the September 2012 Auditing Roundtable national meeting in Baltimore I heard Terri Morrison, author of Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than Sixty Countries (Adams Media, 2006) captivate the audience for two hours on the tricks and traps of working internationally. It made me reflect on my
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Diesel Engine Exhaust Declared a Carcinogen by IARC
Diesel engine exhaust was classified on June 12, 2012 as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The reclassification of diesel engine exhaust from probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A) to carcinogenic to humans was based on evidence showing that exposure to diesel exhaust is associated with an
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Demystifying Environmental Sustainability
There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about environmental sustainability. Conferences are held on environmental sustainability, and everyone is talking about it. There are hundreds of definitions of sustainability and yet no one seems to understand what it really means. So-called experts are coming up with “metrics” and “indices” as
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Take A Break
Forklift Accident Video Take a break and watch this short video of forklift mishaps. The music makes it sounds as if these accidents are supposed to be funny, but we all know how tragic they could have been. Return to the EHS Journal Home Page
Sustainability
U.S. Conflict Minerals: Background and Proposed Rule This is the first of a multi-part series of EHS Journal articles that provide background and guidance on the final rules for Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals (DFCM) published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 22, 2012. This article describes the background of the rule and analyzes the proposed rule.
Auditing
EHS Audits – Have We Lost Our Way? Part III On July 11, 2010, an article was published in the EHS Journal titled “EHS Audits – Have We Lost Our Way?” That article was followed a year later by a sequel that explored the topic more fully. The articles elicited numerous thoughtful comments and a lot of general discussion. The premise of the original articles
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Popular Posts
Conflict Minerals Final Rules: What Changed? This is the second in a multi-part series of EHS Journal articles providing background and guidance on the Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals rule (DFCM). This article explains key provisions of the final rule and analyzes differences between the proposed and final rules.
Climate Change
NOx Emissions Trading Scheme Repealed in the Netherlands — Global Impacts? The once-trailblazing Dutch Nitrogen Oxides Emission Trading Scheme (NOx ETS) is to be repealed: what are the effects? In recent years, Emissions Trading Schemes have gained momentum around the world. Hundreds upon thousands of companies have had to adapt to be able to handle the effects of more stringent regulation. The Netherlands pioneered the launch
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Analysis, News and Notes
Principles of Adult Education The vast majority of students who attend safety and health training sessions are adults who already possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to work in their current occupations. The objective of safety and health training is to provide additional knowledge, skills, and attitudes to assist workers in recognizing and taking action to correct hazards in their current work environments. Health and safety trainers who are seeking to improve the effectiveness of their training program should review the following summary of adult learning principles published by U.S. OSHA.
Environmental Management
ISO 14001: The Dreaded Revision Process Has Started! The ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems standard has been adopted by more than 250,000 organizations globally since it was originally issued in 1996 and then revised in 2004. General perception amongst adopters has been that it is a well written standard with enough flexibility to apply to any organization. In fact, ISO reviewed the
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Quick Reads
2012 Dow Jones Sustainability Index Results Released Results of the 2012 Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) review were released on September 13, 2012 by SAM, the investment boutique focused exclusively on sustainability investing, and S&P Dow Jones Indices. Forty-one companies were added and 41 companies were deleted from the DJSI World index resulting in a total of 340 component companies for
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Favorites
India: Environmental Management and Environmental Regulation This article is the first in a series of articles about environmental management in India. In this installment, authors Sanjay Sampath and Raakhee Kulkarni provide an overview of the social and environmental challenges facing India now and in the next 20 years. Subsequent articles will focus on India’s environmental laws and regulations. [...]
Health and Safety
Safety Observation Programs: How to Drive Insight from Observations Yellow Cards. HazObs, HazIDs, STOPTM cards. These are names for programs that are meant to engage employees to improve safety performance. The ‘cards’ typically have written guidance for employees to use to target safety observations. The intent of these cards is to have employees focus on potential hazards in their workplace and identify those hazards.
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Canada
Canada: Environmental Implications of the New Federal Budget After a marathon session in the lower chamber of Canada’s federal parliament, the Conservative government majority prevailed and its federal Budget Bill C-38 (Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act) became law at the end of June 2012. Bill C-38 brings with it considerable restructuring of Canadian environmental regulation. The federal government says that the objective of
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