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Regulatory Compliance News & Updates

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Regulations change quickly. Compliance Network ensures you never miss a relevant update with a personalized feed of featured news and analysis, industry highlights, and more.

RECENT INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS

Where workplace exposure meets air permitting: Bridging OSHA industrial hygiene and EPA air programs
2026-05-22T05:00:00Z

Where workplace exposure meets air permitting: Bridging OSHA industrial hygiene and EPA air programs

Air quality inside a facility and emissions leaving a stack are closely linked. The same chemicals that drive occupational exposure limits under OSHA often form the basis of regulated air pollutants under EPA programs. When industrial hygiene (IH) and environmental compliance teams work together, they can spot risks sooner, strengthen controls, and avoid surprises in permits or inspections. The overlap is practical. Worker exposure data can inform stack testing, and permit conditions can signal where IH monitoring should focus.

Shared chemistry, different lenses

Both programs start with the same substances such as solvents, metals, acids, and combustion byproducts. IH focuses on what workers breathe in the workplace. It uses exposure limits such as OSHA permissible exposure limits or more protective guidelines from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Environmental air programs focus on what leaves the property. They regulate criteria pollutants, hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), and toxics using emission limits, control requirements, and reporting rules.

Key differences that matter

The point of exposure is the biggest difference. IH evaluates the breathing zone of a worker during a task or shift. Environmental programs measure emissions at a release point, such as a stack, or estimate them across the site.

The time frame also differs. IH often looks at short-term peaks and full-shift averages to protect health during work. Air permits may set hourly, daily, or annual limits, and they may cap total emissions per year. Control strategies follow these goals. IH may rely on local exhaust ventilation, enclosure, or work practice changes. Air permits may require add-on controls such as thermal oxidizers, scrubbers, or filters.

Practical crossover: Using IH to inform permitting

IH data can reveal which tasks generate the highest concentrations and which compounds dominate exposure. That insight can refine emission estimates. For example, if wipe cleaning with a solvent produces the highest worker exposure, the same solvent may drive facility-wide volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. The environmental team can use that knowledge to prioritize accurate emission factors, refine mass balance, or plan stack testing during peak operations.

IH data also helps define realistic operating scenarios for compliance testing. Stack tests that occur only at typical loads may miss worst case conditions. Pairing test timing with identified peak tasks can provide a more representative test and reduce the risk of later noncompliance.

Practical crossover: Using permits to inform IH

Air permits define regulated compounds, control devices, and operating limits. These details can guide IH planning. If a permit lists specific HAPs or requires a control device for a process, there is a clear signal that exposure to those compounds is possible near the source. IH can target those areas for baseline sampling, validate control performance, and confirm that capture systems are effective where workers are present.

Permit conditions also flag upset and startup modes. These periods can increase emissions. IH can align monitoring during these windows to assess short term exposures and ensure that work practices and protective measures are adequate.

Aligning controls for dual benefit

Engineering controls can serve both goals when designed as a system. Capture at the source reduces worker exposure and lowers emissions to the stack. Good enclosure and balanced ventilation improve control efficiency and reduce fugitive releases. Preventive maintenance on control devices supports permit limits and keeps workplace air clean.

Administrative controls can align as well. Standard operating procedures can link production rates, control device settings, and ventilation checks. Change management should include both IH review and an air permitting check to see if a modification triggers a permit update.

Communication and workflows

Successful crossover depends on routine communication. Regular meetings between safety and environmental staff help share results, plan sampling, and coordinate testing windows. Shared inventories of chemicals and processes reduce duplication and errors. A common data platform, or at least a consistent file structure, makes it easier to compare IH results with emission estimates and permit limits.

Clear triggers help teams act. Examples include a new chemical introduction, a process change, a spike in IH results, or a deviation in control device performance. Each trigger should prompt both an IH review and an environmental compliance check.

Key to remember: When teams connect their data and plans, they gain a clearer picture of risk. The result is stronger compliance, better worker protection, and more efficient operations.

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Expert Insights: Common hazmat placarding mistakes
2026-05-22T05:00:00Z

Expert Insights: Common hazmat placarding mistakes

Placards are one of the most visible parts of hazmat compliance. Anyone on the road can see them, including drivers, enforcement officials, and emergency responders. Because of that visibility, most people I talk to assume that placarding is simple. In reality, it’s one of the areas where small oversights show up fast and can create major compliance issues.

In my experience, most violations don’t come from a lack of effort. They usually come from assumptions, habits, or misunderstandings about how the rules apply in real-world operations. When I take a closer look at placarding issues, the same patterns tend to show up. Once you start recognizing those patterns, it becomes a lot easier to catch issues early and avoid problems during inspections or incidents.

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Surprise! Unannounced brake safety event puts nearly 600 OOS
2026-05-21T05:00:00Z

Surprise! Unannounced brake safety event puts nearly 600 OOS

An unannounced one-day brake safety event resulted in 574 commercial vehicles removed from roadways across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico on April 14, 2026.

Inspectors conducted 4,021 CMV inspections and found 14.3 percent of commercial vehicles (574) traveling with brake-related vehicle violations. These critical violations resulted in immediate travel restrictions until the violation was corrected.

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A 1,000-page bill with big implications for trucking
2026-05-21T05:00:00Z

A 1,000-page bill with big implications for trucking

You’ve probably heard the acronyms: FAST Act, MAP-21, SAFETEA-LU, TEA-21. These were all “surface transportation reauthorization” bills that have kept the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) funded in five-year increments over recent decades.

They also had significant policy implications, and the next version — the “BUILD America 250 Act” — is no different. At more than 1,000 pages, it will fund the FMCSA and other agencies through 2031 and may have a sizable impact on the FMCSA, motor carriers, and highway safety alike.

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Boost workplace mental health with these ideas from employers
2026-05-21T05:00:00Z

Boost workplace mental health with these ideas from employers

Employee mental health is strained, and a recent survey from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that workers believe managers, HR, and senior leaders all have a role to play in creating a supportive workplace culture.

The organization notes that 70 percent of workers feel stressed, and its 2026 Workplace Mental Health Poll found that employees are looking to company leaders for help and well-being support.

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