Coalition Urges Single Federal Standard for Chemical Safety
- A coalition of 75 business and industry organizations, led by the American Chemistry Council, sent a joint letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget requesting a single, unified federal framework for occupational chemical regulation.
- The coalition argued that current practices under the Toxic Substances Control Act create overlapping requirements between the EPA and OSHA, with two separate agencies setting different safety obligations for the same chemical in the same workplace, causing operational confusion without improving worker protections.
- Lawmakers previously flagged this potential regulatory overlap in House Report 119-215, directing the EPA to update its formal agreement with OSHA to clarify each agency’s specific authority.
- The coalition recommended four steps: establishing a unified federal chemical safety standard, enhancing EPA-OSHA coordination, aligning regulatory duties with each agency’s expertise, and eliminating redundant or conflicting rules at the facility level.
Two Workers Injured at Troubled Scrap Metal Facility
- Two workers at EMR Group Ltd.’s scrap metal recycling complex in Camden, New Jersey were injured in an industrial accident July 19 night, just days after a judge allowed the facility’s shredder to reopen following weeks of legal disputes between the city and the company over fire safety.
- The incident follows a two-alarm fire at the site in May and more than a dozen fires at EMR’s Camden facilities since 2020. The city had issued a cease operations order in June, which EMR challenged in court, leading a New Jersey Superior Court judge to allow the shredder to restart once the company confirmed its automatic fire suppression system worked.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined EMR $16,550 earlier this year over a 2023 incident in which a worker suffered severe injuries after his clothing got caught in unguarded rotating equipment. A separate lawsuit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Attorney General’s Office over unsafe conditions at EMR’s facilities remains pending.
Letter Carrier Who Died in North Texas Identified as USPS Investigates What Happened
- The U.S. Postal Service is investigating the death of a 58-year-old part-time letter carrier who died July 20 in Little Elm, Texas during extreme heat conditions. after the Little Elm Fire Department responded to an incident involving a postal vehicle and administered CPR without success.
- USPS confirmed the death and said it is providing counseling services to employees at the Little Elm Main Post Office but did not say whether the death was heat related.
- NRLCA President Don Maston urged rural letter carriers to remain vigilant amid dangerous temperatures, follow heat safety protocols, stay hydrated, and watch for signs of heat-related illness in themselves and coworkers.
- Kimetra Lewis, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 132, said she hopes the incident draws more attention to postal workers’ working conditions and encouraged residents to check on carriers and offer water if they don’t arrive at their usual delivery time.