Planned obsoletion to drive consumer demand is modern industry’s worst-kept secret. Shortly after the invention of the lightbulb, manufacturers worldwide began to notice a disturbing trend. Their lightbulbs were lasting a bit too long, dimming sales and slowing production. To reilluminate market share, engineers went against their instincts by designing bulbs that would last a…
America’s workforce is evolving and adapting to changing conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the first slew of lockdowns forcing millions of employees to abide by stay-at-home orders, Zoom meetings and online scrums became the norm for businesses nationwide. As the more stringent protocols of the lockdown receded with de facto herd immunity,…
When it comes to compliant chemical storage, some companies just can’t clean up their act. Whether it’s a small procedural oversight or a glaring mistake potentially jeopardizing the lives of thousands, fines for negligent storage practices continue to dominate the headlines. Recently, a U.S. District Court handed down a hefty $850,000 penalty against an ag-chemical…
News of climate change is the dark cloud that we just can’t escape. And that’s for good reason. Erratic changes to the earth’s delicate weather patterns are having an impact humanity can no longer ignore. From the raging Canadian wildfires to the recent discovery of a possibly collapsing Gulf Stream, this harbinger of impending doom…
No industry is safe from tornadoes. Completely oblivious of the progress and good intentions of humanity, Mother Nature will indiscriminately destroy our strides toward a better tomorrow. Earlier this week, the Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina was severely damaged when a tornado ripped through the area. No injuries were reported, but a large section…
You know the neighborhood has gone all to heck when the United Nations gets involved. While typically reserved for warzone intervention and humanitarian relief, the UN is about to break unchartered ground. Looking to pressure domestic regulating agencies into regulatory action, a North Carolina community group has turned to UN to investigate toxic PFAS pollution.…
Everything is bigger in Texas, especially when it comes to chemical incidents. During a 10-year longitudinal study, the Lonestar State accounted for more than 40 percent of all chemical incidents from a nine-state pool of reporting parties. That’s not to say that industry in Texas is more perilous than other regions of America, but something…
Do you know how to properly store dangerous chemicals at your production facility? Dangerous chemicals need proper storage. This statement is self-evident. Everything has a place and that storage area should obviously be away from other dangerous substances. While it might sound obvious, many workers overlook common sense analogies in the rush to get the…
A disaster within a disaster is always the greatest threat to ongoing chaos. Prevailing vulnerability and panic can only make a dire situation worse, despite the best of intentions. In the throes of responding to a national emergency, government officials will sometimes lift longstanding safeguards and vanquish norms to reduce a sense of calm over…
No one likes leaks. From a leaky faucet that slowly erodes your patience and nerves, to a broken pipe unleashing a torrent of destruction, leaks can wash away stability and normalcy. What makes chemical leaks so dangerous is they often occur without any prior warning. Compromises to structural integrity almost never self-resolve and often get…