2026 August - EHS Regulatory Update
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This month's update reinforces an important reminder: while regulations establish expectations, strong safety performance ultimately depends on creating an environment where people recognize hazards, speak up early, and continually learn from experience.
A few items worth your attention:
- Please attend the featured webinar if your schedule allows. The webinar, Psychological Safety: The Missing Piece of Safety Culture, explores how creating an environment where employees feel comfortable raising concerns and reporting hazards strengthens overall safety performance. I encourage as many committee members as possible to participate and bring back ideas that can benefit our organizations.
- The latest CSB investigation provides another powerful learning opportunity. The final report on the catastrophic chemical fires and toxic gas release in Georgia reminds us that serious incidents rarely result from a single failure. Instead, they often reflect multiple weaknesses in design, maintenance, storage practices, and organizational risk management that align over time.
- Operational discipline continues to matter. The OSHA recordkeeping guidance and HAZWOPER summary serve as valuable reminders that compliance depends on understanding and consistently executing the fundamentals, not simply knowing the regulations.
On the environmental front, EPA continues to advance regulatory initiatives affecting permitting, asbestos, and battery management. Facilities with applicable operations should review the attached summaries and note the upcoming public comment opportunities where appropriate.
Leadership takeaway:
The strongest safety cultures are built when employees are confident they can raise concerns, question assumptions, and report problems without hesitation. Many serious incidents are prevented long before an alarm sounds, when someone feels safe enough to speak up, and leadership is willing to listen.
Question for consideration:
If an operator recognized a condition today that could eventually lead to a serious incident, would they immediately raise the concern—and would your organization respond in a way that reinforces that behavior?
As always, I welcome your questions, observations, and suggestions for future EHS Committee discussions.
Stay visible. Stay curious. Stay engaged.