ANNUAL REPORT OF VICE PRESIDENT ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SAFETY

摘要

For the first time since the implementation of the landmark environmental and occupational safety and health legislation in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the foundry industry faces four major regulatory challenges that may significantly impact all aspects of metalcasting operations. These are: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) intent to publish a new standard on silica; the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) development of rules governing emissions of air toxics from iron and steel foundries; EPA's intent to include aluminum foundries in an air toxic regulation meant for secondary smelters; and the reemergence of a view within EPA's Office of Solid Waste (OSW) that thermal sand reclamation units used by brass foundries be regulated as hazardous waste incinerators. As a logical progression from its Special Emphasis Program on Silica (SEP) that began two years ago, OSHA is holding stakeholders meetings to hear from interested parties on the need for a new comprehensive standard regulating workplace exposures to respirable silica. The foundry had a strong presence at the stakeholder meeting held in Chicago June 2-3rd. A meeting was also held in San Francisco in late June with a third scheduled for September 15-16 in Washington DC.