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| January 6, 2009 |
The latest EHS news for you ...
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EPA Adds Eight Chemicals as Alternatives For Ozone-Depleting Substances Under SNAP
EPA approves eight alternatives to ozone-depleting substances for use in refrigeration, fire suppression systems, and foam blowing. EPA lists acceptable substitutes for ozone-depleting substances as part of the agency's Significant New Alternatives Policy to expedite the transition from ozone-depleting substances to alternatives that pose little or no adverse environmental impact. The list contains refrigerants, cleaning solvents, and sterilants. From Chemical Regulation Reporter®, Publication date January 5, 2009
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Final Rule Offers Another ASTM Standard As Due Diligence Option at Larger Properties
EPA issues a final rule to give prospective purchasers of large rural tracts of land the option of using a new ASTM standard when conducting environmental due-diligence reviews. The rule allows prospective purchasers to use Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Process for Forestland or Rural Property. Patricia Overmeyer, of EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, says the standard closely tracks the existing “all appropriate inquiries” regulation. From Environment Reporter, Publication date January 2, 2009
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Labor Department Urged by New Jersey Legislature to Reject Risk Assessment Rule
The New Jersey Legislature passes a concurring resolution urging the U.S. Department of Labor to reject its proposed risk assessment rule. The legislature says the proposed rule would weaken and delay important health standards, which organized labor hailed as a precedent-setting rebuke. The resolution condemns the rule for requiring OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration “to do an onerous pre-rulemaking on risk assessment for every health standard,” which would “endanger the health and safety of American workers by making it harder for the federal government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals.” From Occupational Safety & Health Reporter, Publication date January 1, 2009
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Canada Amends Energy Efficiency Rules To Set New or Strengthen Existing Standards
Natural Resources Canada Dec. 24 published finalized amendments to the Energy Efficiency Regulations to strengthen existing standards and to set minimum standards for additional products. The amendments introduce new minimum energy performance standards, together with associated reporting and compliance requirements, effective Jan. 1, 2010, for residential wine chillers, commercial clothes washers, floor lamps, ceiling fan lighting modules, traffic and pedestrian signals, and commercial and industrial gas unit heaters. From International Environment Daily, Publication date December 30, 2008
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EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Revise Definition of 'Discharge of Dredged Material'
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA are publishing today a final rule aimed at clarifying the definition of “discharge of dredged material.” The rule responds to a federal district court ruling that vacated a regulation on dredging by removing the definition of “incidental fallback” and deleting language indicating that the agencies regard the use of mechanized earth-moving equipment as resulting in a discharge subject to regulation. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held last year that a rule issued by EPA and the corps—known as Tulloch II—violated the Clean Water Act because of the way it tried to determine what constituted incidental fallback. From Daily Environment Report, Publication date December 30, 2008
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