Leaderlink E-News

November 2003

Story Headlines (click on the headline) www.leaderlink.com

Lead Paint Disclosure Violations on the Rise — The USEPA has launched an initiative to make sure that landlords, property owners and managers are complying with federal lead disclosure laws.

USEPA Proposes Increase in Civil Penalties— Violators of the nation’s environmental laws may be faced with stiffer civil penalties.

Top 10 OSHA Violations— The National Federation of Independent Business has put together a list of the 10 most frequently violated workplace safety standards.

OSHA Statement on 2001 Workplace Injury and Illness Rates

Indoor Air Making People Ill Nationwide - Evidence has been growing for more than 20 years that the air we breathe indoors typically is more polluted than outdoor air. Everyone is exposed to air pollution indoors. Contaminants include mold, chemicals, and particulate matter. Poor ventilation can push contamination to dangerous levels.

Storage Tank Bill Approved by Senate Environment Committee— The US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the Underground Storage Tank (“UST”) Compliance Act to help prevent groundwater contamination caused by leaking USTs.

Ford Fined for Hazwaste Violations at Auto Plants— Ford Motor Company has agreed to pay a $244,000 penalty to settle allegations of hazardous waste violations at 14 U.S. auto assembly plants.

New York State Senate passes Superfund Reauthorization and Brownfields Law— The New York Senate passed the final version of the bill on October 7, 2003. Governor Pataki plans to sign the bill into state law soon. The new law refinances the state's Superfund program, in addition to fine-tuning the way environmental cleanups are handled.

Risk-Based Concentrations and Cleanup—Two of the tools used to make sense of investigation results is to compare the contaminant concentrations to state cleanup requirements and to risk-based concentrations.

Siting of HUD-assisted Projects or Residential Developments— For any Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”)-assisted residential property, which is planned near a commercial or industrial area, there are specific guidelines to follow to insure the safety of future residents.

Innovative Environmental M&A Trends — A common part of the due diligence aspect of any Merger and Acquisition ("M&A") transaction is the appropriate evaluation of Environmental regulatory liabilities. Evaluation of these topics can provide valuable information on future operational savings and may also provide opportunities for negotiating position in the transaction.

GAO Report Indicates Less FOIA Information — Several of Leader's services involve the submittal of Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") requests to governmental agencies on the Federal, State and Local levels for access to public records. The General Accounting Office recently released a report saying that these governmental agencies are limiting public access.

Senate Committee OKs Leavitt for USEPA Chief

OSHA Issues Safety and Health Information Bulletin on Mold – A new Safety and Health Information Bulletin was issued by OSHA providing recommendations on how to prevent mold growth and how to protect workers.

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