Environment & Safety

Since printing operations are classified as manufacturing, virtually all environmental, health, and safety regulatory compliance requirements apply. Compliance issues are those requirements that you have a legal obligation to meet and at times can be intimidating, confusing, and costly.

Printing Industries of America Has EHS Experts on Staff
Regardless of the compliance issue, Printing Industries of America’s EHS Affairs team can provide the necessary expertise and knowledge to help solve a problem, prevent violations, or respond to an enforcement action or citation. A simple phone call or email could literally save you thousands of dollars in consulting fees, wasted time, and fines.

Assistance from our EHS staff can range from answering questions and approving program templates to onsite consultations and training. In addition to working directly with individual printing companies, our staff also works in conjunction with other consultants, attorneys, and, if necessary, individual regulatory agencies on behalf of your company.

In representing printing companies directly or providing specific guidance, the EHS Affairs team has been able to successfully challenge citations and greatly reduce or completely eliminate penalties.

The EHS Regulatory Areas Affecting the Printing Industry Include:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA’s main responsibility is the protection of human health and the environment from pollution. One of EPA’s responsibilities is to develop, implement, and enforce regulations that include air pollution, waste management and disposal, waste water discharges, storm water discharges, reporting the release of toxic chemical use and disposition, hazardous chemical storage, oil spill prevention, controlling the manufacturing and importation of toxic chemicals, accidental spill release reporting, and response and cleanup of contaminated property. 

In addition to the federal requirements, there are state and local requirements as well. EPA sets the minimum standards that need to be met, and the state and local government agencies can and sometimes do impose stricter requirements.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
OSHA’s sole responsibility is employee safety and health protection within a facility or at the workplace. OSHA is responsible for development, implementation, and enforcement of safety and health standards and regulations. This includes machine guarding, Lockout/Tagout, Hazard Communication, Personal Protection Equipment, etc. OSHA works with employers and employees to foster effective safety and health programs which reduce workplace hazards.

The Department of Transportation (DOT)
The DOT area that covers the printing industry is the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). PHMSA establishes regulations that ensure the safe and secure movement of hazardous materials by all transportation modes, including the nation’s pipelines. Since printers can be “shippers” of hazardous materials, they need to understand the registration and meet the training requirements for employees involved in the management of hazardous materials.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
The responsibility of DHS is to protect the American people and country from many different threats. The one area where DHS affects printers and their operations is the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standard, which is a risk-based performance standard aimed at facilities that store certain chemicals above specific thresholds.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
The CPSC oversees consumer product safety issues and is the agency responsible for implementing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). This act limits the amount of lead and phthalates allowed in children’s products and requires printers to test and certify the lead and phthalate content of such products.  

For more information about compliance contact Rick Hartwig at rhartwig@printing.org or 800-910-4283, ext. 792.