Workers Invited On EPA Inspections

EPA inspectors will formally invite employees and union representatives to participate in safety checks at industrial facilities, seeking their help to identify potential chemical hazards. This EPA policy, announced last week, applies to inspections under the Clean Air Act’s risk management program, which is aimed at reducing risks to surrounding communities from management, use, or storage of hazardous chemicals. Under that program, owners and operators must develop a risk management plan for preventing and responding to chemical accidents. The Clean Air Act gives employees and unions the right to accompany an EPA inspector who is checking for compliance with the risk management program, but the agency has not had a policy to implement this provision until now. “We are pleased that EPA Administrator [Lisa P.] Jackson clearly sees that workers understand the risks of their own workplaces and they will, when asked, help to identify and prevent these dangers,” says Charlotte Brody, director of chemicals and green chemistry at the BlueGreen Alliance. The group is a national partnership of unions and environmental organizations.