Federal agencies

RSS

Washington — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is extending to July 2022 the deadline for comment on a Request for Information concerning a retrospective study of the agency’s respirable coal mine dust rule.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is now eyeing July 31 as the publication date for a proposed rule the agency says would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers, according to a Department of Transportation regulatory update released in June.

Washington — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has vacated a 2018 amendment to a 2017 Mine Safety and Health Administration rule that allowed a competent person to inspect the workplace as miners began work rather than prior to a shift – a decision United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts calls “a victory for miners everywhere.”

Washington — Alarmed by a recent spike in cases of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, a deadly but preventable condition commonly known as black lung, union presidents Cecil Roberts of the United Mine Workers of America and Leo Gerard of United Steelworkers have sent a letter to Mine Safety and Health Administration leader David Zatezalo requesting stricter regulation of respirable silica dust.

Washington — NIOSH is accepting nominations for the 2020 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Awards, which honor professionals who contribute to preventing noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus through effective practices or innovations.

Washington — The Chemical Safety Board will look into its recent decision to not include in its reports the names of workers who died in chemical incidents, interim Executive Authority Kristen Kulinowski said during a June 25 public business meeting.

Washington — Nearly two years after the Federal Railroad Administration first published a final rule requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement system safety programs, the process has hit another hurdle.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General is investigating the effectiveness and integrity of USDA’s procedures to develop and advance a controversial proposed rule that would remove maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants, according to a letter obtained by multiple media outlets.

Washington — OSHA should apply its Process Safety Management standard to the drilling of onshore oil and gas wells, or – if not – customize it to oil and gas drilling operations or develop a new standard, the Chemical Safety Board recommends in its final report on a deadly January 2018 gas well blowout and rig fire in Oklahoma.