As part of a proposed settlement agreement, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ordered BP to “audit a statistically significant number of pressure vessels, piping and instrument controls during the company’s PSM compliance audits” at one of its refineries. This article explores the implications of conducting a statistically significant audit sample and reviews the requirements for audit sampling contained in several auditing standards.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced June 10th that it had awarded grants to demonstrate large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) from three industrial sources. The projects seek to test large-scale industrial carbon capture and storage, an important step in moving CCS technology toward eventual commercial deployment. The selected projects include large-scale applications that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial sources and either store it in a deep saline formation or use it for enhanced oil recovery.

Businesses use key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress toward specific health and safety goals or simply to monitor trends associated with corporate and facility activities or special projects. KPIs are used as a means to collect data and communicate trends, which can then be used to indicate where further improvements and resources are required. This article reviews the basics of establishing and managing KPIs.

This is the third of a three-part series that examines the recent U.S. SEC Guidance on financial disclosures related to climate change. This article provides detailed suggestions for climate change disclosures.

Welcome to the EHS Journal. This international e-zine 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, photographs and art work from more than 50 contributors in 18 countries and recorded more than 4,500 page views. Articles and contributors appear on the leading search engines including Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Please join the growing list of contributors! Submit your articles and comments to the EHS Journal today. See the Submission Guidelines for more information.