Environmental Health and Safety Hot Topics

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a guide explaining the training requirements under their regulations.   Additional training requirements may appear in other standards (American National Standards Institute, National Fire Protection Association,  etc.) and are adopted by OSHA by reference in a regulation.  As a result, this additional training is mandatory.  The guide is available at the following webpage: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha2254.pdf As you may have seen in the news, there is a Legionnaire’s Outbreak in New York.  As of August 5th, there have been eighty-six cases and seven fatalities associated with this outbreak.  In May 2015, the American Industrial Hygiene Association Indoor Environmental Quality Committee issued a guideline entitled Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Legionella in Building Water Supply Systems.  This guideline recommends a proactive routine assessment of water supply systems for Legionella.  If you don’t already conduct Legionella periodic testing of your water supply systems, we recommend that you start as soon as possible.  This guideline is available to purchase on the following webpage: https://www.aiha.org/marketplace/Pages/Product-Detail.aspx?productid={3A823505-FEF3-E411-A28B-005056B20848}