Marine Pollution Control8631 West Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48209 USA
313.849.2333 - 24/hour
11324 E Lakewood Blvd., #12 & #13
Holland, MI 49424
800-521-8232 – 24/Hour
GSA Contract #: GS-10F-0268R
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US Department of Labor's OSHA revises Hazard Communication Standard
March 27, 2012
WASHINGTON – To better protect workers from hazardous chemicals, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has revised its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations' global chemical labeling system. The new standard, once implemented, will prevent an estimated 43 deaths and result in an estimated $475.2 million in enhanced productivity for U.S. businesses each year.
"Exposure to hazardous chemicals is one of the most serious dangers facing American workers today," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Revising OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard will improve the quality, consistency and clarity of hazard information that workers receive, making it safer for workers to do their jobs and easier for employers to stay competitive in the global marketplace."
The Hazard Communication Standard, being revised to align with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, will be fully implemented in 2016 and benefit workers by reducing confusion about chemical hazards in the workplace, facilitating safety training and improving understanding of hazards, especially for low literacy workers. OSHA's standard will classify chemicals according to their health and physical hazards, and establish consistent labels and safety data sheets for all chemicals made in the United States and imported from abroad.
Environmental group: Miss. River 2nd-most polluted in country
March 26, 2012
One of Dyer County's most grand sights is the mighty Mississippi River, but what looks like a beautifully powerful mass of rolling water is reportedly one of America's most polluted rivers.
An environmental organization recently released a report giving the Mississippi River the distinction as the second-most toxic river in the United States.
The organization, Environment America, stated in their "2012 Wasting Our Waterways" report the Mississippi River is second only to the Ohio River in the amount of toxic discharges. According to the group's survey, in 2010 the river received a total of 12,739,749 pounds of toxic discharge from 10 states that border the waterway. Nationally, 226 million pounds of toxic chemicals were discharged into 1,400 waterways across the country.
J.F. Lehman Acquires National Response Corp. from SEACOR
March 22, 2012J.F. Lehman & Company ("J.F. Lehman"), a leading middle-market private equity firm focused on the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, announced that it has completed the acquisition of National Response Corporation and its affiliated businesses NRC Environmental Services, SEACOR Response, and SEACOR Environmental Products (collectively "NRC") from SEACOR Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CHK).
NRC is recognized as a leading provider of United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 regulatory compliance and emergency response services, one of the leading environmental contracting firms on the U.S. West Coast, and a global provider of diversified environmental, industrial, and emergency response solutions. Headquartered in Great River, NY with regional offices throughout the U.S. and internationally, NRC has approximately 540 employees.
US oil spill plan prepares for Cuba
March 23, 2012
MIAMI. If a future oil spill in the Caribbean Sea threatens American shores, a new federal plan obtained by The Associated Press would hinge on cooperation from neighboring foreign governments. Now that Cuba is the neighbor drilling for oil, cooperation is hard to guarantee.
The International Offshore Response Plan draws on lessons from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and was created to stop offshore oil spills as close to their source as possible, even in foreign waters. The plan dated Jan. 30 has not been released publicly. The AP obtained a copy through a Freedom of Information Act request.
After crude oil stained Gulf Coast beaches, state and federal officials are eager to head off even the perception of oil spreading toward the coral reefs, beaches and fishing that generate tens of billions of tourist dollars for Florida alone.
The plan comes as Spanish oil company Repsol YPF conducts exploratory drilling in Cuban waters and the Bahamas considers similar development for next year. Complicating any oil spill response in the Florida Straits, though, is the half-century of tension between the U.S. and its communist neighbor 90 miles south of Florida.
Tanker in 1989 oil spill is sold for scrap
March 21, 2012
The Exxon Valdez has been sold for scrap 23 years after causing the worst tanker spill in U.S. history, which led to new designs for oil carriers.
Now called the Oriental Nicety, the vessel was sold for about $16 million, according to Maryland-based Global Marketing Systems, the world's biggest cash buyer of ships for demolition. The sale was disclosed Saturday.
The ship was converted into an ore carrier in 2007 and had changed owners and names four times since the 1989 accident, American Bureau of Shipping records show.
The spill, which dumped 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound, was the largest in U.S. waters until the 2010 accident at BP's Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. It's still the country's largest leak from a tanker, and it led to the U.S. requirement for ships to have two hulls.