Author Archives: Paul Leavoy

OSHA budget justification 2014, industrial truck safety emphasis program, Coke targets water sustainability, and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • OSHA puts forward FY2014 budget justification, and trend towards enforcement continues.
  • Emphasis program on industrial truck safety in Idaho.
  • Coke targets better sustainability in its water programs, and more.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you.

And on a personal note, this is my final podcast with EHS This Week. Thanks for listening through the years, everyone. This has been an engaging and rewarding experience.

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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Report says OSHA is understaffed, Safety Stand Down on heat illness, UN panel calls for environmental impacts reporting, and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • New report says OSHA is underfunded and understaffed.
  • Safety Stand Down targets heat-related illness.
  • UN panel recommendations call for reporting of environmental impacts, and more.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you.

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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OSHA impersonator sentenced, Susan Harwood training grants, fresh water scarcity and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • Woman who impersonated an OSHA official is sentenced.
  • Reinstatement and back pay ordered for nuclear plant whistleblower.
  • The world is on course to run out of sufficient fresh water, UN head warns, and more.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you.

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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New BLS report on workplace fatalities, growing role of MSDs in workplace injuries, Obama’s cabinet fight and more on EHS This Week

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On This week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • A BLS report on how we can reduce workplace fatalities.
  • The increasing role of MSDs in workplace injury stats
  • The fight to implement key Obama cabinet members (EPA and DOL) and more!

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you.

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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Staggering New incident and illness stats, NAOSH week, ISO updates and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • New stats on annual U.S. incident- and illness-related fatalities — and they’re alarming.
  • NAOSH week and why you should thanked your health and safety manager.
  • In addition to facing devastating workplace conditions, Bangladesh citizens might also have to deal with water scarcity.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you.

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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Maclean’s names Intelex Canada’s 12th greenest company!

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We’ve won awards for our corporate culture. Awards for financial performance. We’ve been named one of the Top 10 places to work in Canada at least four times in the last two years. But today we’re thrilled to be named one of Canada’s 30 greenest workplaces! And 12th at that – not too shabby!

That’s right, Intelex has been included in the Green 30 of 2013, a prestigious ranking of Canadian businesses that have incorporated environmental stewardship into their business model and corporate culture. The ranking, which covered businesses across the country of any size and scope, was determined by Aon Hewitt and Queen’s School of Business and published today in Canada’s venerated Maclean’s magazine.

“Across the company from frontline staff, to our pioneering Green Team, right up to the executive team we have fully embraced environmental stewardship and this ranking is a gratifying acknowledgement of the hard work we’ve … Read more...

Possible fertilizer plant inspection loophole, nuclear plant safety fail, EPA benefits outweigh costs, and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • The possibility that the West, Texas, fertilizer plant wasn’t inspected since 1985 as the result of a regulatory loophole.
  • An epic safety fail at a California nuclear plant.
  • The Office of Management and Budget finds that EPA’s benefits highly outweigh its costs, and more.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments at paul@ehsthisweek.com. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you.

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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OSHA poised to call for better tracking of temporary workers

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According to a new OSHA memo released only a day after this past Sunday’s annual Workers’ Memorial Day, the agency is launching an initiative to better track the exposure of temporary workers to health and safety hazards. Recognizing a recent pattern of high-profile fatal accidents and the sheer volume of temporary employees in the U.S. workforce, OSHA hopes this new requirement will enable it to better protect foreign workers.

The move follows the recent death of a temporary worker on his first day of the job.  Many temporary workers don’t have a strong proficiency with the English language and receive poor health and safety training.

“Employers have a duty to provide necessary safety and health training to all workers regarding workplace hazards,” the memo noted. “Recent inspections have indicated problems where temporary workers have not been trained and were not protected from serious workplace hazards due to lack of … Read more...

Workers’ Memorial Day recognized around the world

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Today is Workers’ Memorial Day, one of the biggest days in workplace health and safety, and there will be events around the world (and most likely right in your own community) honouring workers killed, disabled, injured or harmed at work.

As we know, every day 12 American workers go to work and never come home as a result of workplace fatalities. On a global level, as we learned once again from the tragic situation in Dhaka, Bangladesh reminds us, the statistics are disheartening. Basically, someone dies on the job every 15 seconds. That’s more people dying at work than fighting wars.

And as EHS Today points out, the National Council for Safety and Health (National COSH) has released a report in advance of Worker’s Memorial Day. The document links personal stories of workplace tragedy with data on government health and safety statistics to highlight the need for us all … Read more...

Devastating Bangladesh building collapse, annual Day of Mourning, Bloomberg renewables outlook and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • Horrible news about the collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh.
  • The upcoming International Day of Mourning for Fallen Workers.
  • Bloomberg’s outlook on new renewable sources to 2030, and more.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments at paul@ehsthisweek.com. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you.

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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