Hopefully everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! That holiday takes us into the busy end of year season with multiple other holidays and lots of people shopping, entertaining, and traveling. Be sure your employees have a chance to stay on task while in the workplace. As HSE professionals, let’s help our company keep work time safety time. No one wants a holiday accident to mar the season. The short Thanksgiving week was quiet, with only minimal news. Here’s the latest:
FRA
The agency announced the sixty-first meeting of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) that develops railroad safety regulations. The meeting will take place via videoconference. The RSAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 8, 2021. Requests to submit written materials to be reviewed during the meeting must be received by December 1, 2021. Members of the public who wish to attend are also asked to register no later than December 1, 2021. See the details here.
Federal Highway Administration
In an interesting development broadly related to lithium batteries, the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests in the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging. The law provides funding to states to deploy EV charging infrastructure and establish a network to facilitate data collection regarding access and reliability. The law also establishes a discretionary grant program for Charging and Fueling Infrastructure to deploy publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure along designated alternative fuel corridors and other locations that are accessible to drivers of such vehicles. The law directs DOT to develop guidance for these programs. The agency invites public comments to inform the development of the guidance. Comments are due by January 28th, 2022. Find the full details here.
UNECE (ADR)
The UN agency that governs the ADR announced a conference to address the global transport, storage, and handling of ammonium nitrate. The conference will examine issues related to several large accidents involving the material, which is a common agricultural fertilizer ingredient and can also be used in the manufacture of explosives. The volatile material was the source of a large explosion in Beirut, Lebanon in August of 2020 that destroyed much of that city’s port infrastructure and caused many casualties. The conference will be held on December 14th. Find information on how to attend and participate here.
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