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Washington — Effective process safety management can help prevent hazards and incidents related to process unit startups and shutdowns, according to a new “Safety Digest” from the Chemical Safety Board.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency is adding 13 nonylphenol ethoxylates to its Toxics Release Inventory Program, which “tracks the management of listed toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment.”

Washington — A new database from OSHA offers access to safety profiles and information on workplace chemicals.

Washington — Environmental group Earthjustice and the United Steelworkers are among the organizations speaking out against the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed changes to its Risk Management Program.

Chicago — People exposed to organic solvents on the job may have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, according to a recent study of Latino workers.

Washington – Contending that it lacks proper regulatory authority, the Chemical Safety Board on Nov. 14 voted to withdraw its recommendations issued to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement after its investigation into the April 2010 explosion and fire that killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Washington – Noting that “regulators of high-hazard industries must have an informed and reasoned basis for making their regulatory choices,” a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states that clarifying design concepts of safety regulations in industries such as transportation, chemical manufacturing, and offshore oil and gas development – and exploring how various circumstances may impact them – can help.

Washington – Two senators are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to “immediately implement” amendments to the agency’s Risk Management Program rule for chemical facilities.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency has cleared a backlog of more than 600 safety reviews of new chemicals, the agency announced Aug. 7.