The train operator involved in the Feb. 4 train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, OH, has reached a settlement with OSHA and its own union to resolve four citations issued regarding worker safety violations and hazards, agreeing to add new medical surveillance and emergency response training, among other commitments.
November 15, 2026
An industry attorney is floating a wide range of legal critiques of EPA’s proposed TSCA rule for the solvent perchloroethylene (PCE or perc), including an argument that it is unlawfully regulating in an area that OSHA has already addressed -- even though the workplace safety agency says its chemical-exposure rules are outdated.
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Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is calling on EPA to “claw back” almost $100,000 of money “wasted” by former Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) chair Katherine Lemos, following a report from EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) that found she misspent board funds on travel and other expenses during her time as its sole member.
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A Georgia construction company will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to review a case where an administrative law judge (ALJ) upheld an OSHA citation for fall-protection violations by a subcontractor under the firm’s control, based on a finding that it exercised “no care” as the controlling employer at its job site.
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The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is touting releases of 12 final investigation reports since July 2022, saying it has completed two thirds of the agency’s “enormous” backlog of work within the past year and is on track to “completely eliminate” the list by the end of 2023, as board staffing gradually improves following years of shortages.
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Republicans on the House COVID-19 committee have opened an investigation of OSHA’s development and implementation of its now-abandoned COVID-19 vaccination rule, probing how the standard came to be and requesting extensive documentation and communications from the agency to investigate “any wrongdoing by government officials.”
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Chemical industry groups are warning that thousands of facilities could face increased risk of terrorist attacks after the Senate adjourned for its summer recess without approving pending House legislation reauthorizing the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) chemical facility security program for two years before its authority expired July 27.
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Prompted by a White House call, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a heat hazard alert reminding employers they have a legal duty to protect workers from high heat while also re-upping pledges to step up enforcement of such measures but worker safety advocates say those actions do not go far enough and are renewing their calls for OSHA to issue an interim heat standard while it works on a permanent regulation.
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Facing a looming July 27 deadline, Congress appears poised to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) chemical facility security program for two years, after a key senator agreed to support a House bill that fell short of his push for a longer five-year extension.
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Senate health committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with more than 100 Democrats, are pressing OSHA to quickly adopt a strict heat protection standard, arguing in part that such a measure is needed to preempt states like Texas that are curbing local efforts to protect workers from stifling heat, which has already resulted in several worker deaths.
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