United States Environmental Protection Agency | The U.S. EPA has announced a settlement agreement with Konover Residential Corporation, resolving alleged violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act.

The alleged violations involve the company’s failure to provide required lead-based paint disclosures to tenants for 11 apartment units at the mixed-use Cargill Falls Mill property in Putnam, Connecticut.

Following resident complaint submissions, EPA conducted a TSCA lead-based paint inspection at Cargill Falls Mill of Konover, the property management company at the time of the inspection. The following alleged Lead Disclosure Rule violations were identified with respect to the leases for 11 units:

  • Failure to provide tenants with the required EPA lead hazard information pamphlet.
  • Failure to include the required lead warning statement in the lease.
  • Failure to disclose known information about lead-based paint or lead hazards to tenants, or indicate no knowledge of such information.
  • Failure to provide available records or reports about lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards, or indicate that no such records are available.

In addition, EPA determined children were living in the apartments where the alleged violations occurred.

Under the settlement agreement, Konover agrees to pay a penalty of $359,069 and to operate in compliance with federal lead paint disclosure regulations. To remain in compliance, Konover must:

  • Provide lessees with an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet, attach the Lead Warning Statement to every lease agreement, disclose any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards (or indicate no such knowledge).
  • Provide all available records and reports related to lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards for the target housing with each lease or indicate no such records are available.

California Department of Industrial Relations | Cal/OSHA has cited three Los Angeles County-based roofing companies for multiple workplace safety violations, with proposed penalties totaling $282,420, following an inspection of a worker’s fatal fall.

On 9 January 2026, an employee was repairing a roof leak at a two-story residential property in Westchester when he fell approximately 24 feet to the ground and suffered fatal head injuries.

Cal/OSHA inspectors determined that each of the three employers was responsible for protecting workers from hazards associated with the roofing operation. Despite their respective responsibilities at the worksite, the employers permitted the crew to work on the roof without required fall protection, proper ladder-safety training or an on-site worker certified in first aid. Inspectors also found that two of the employers failed to provide effective heat illness prevention training.

Cal/OSHA issued the following citations and proposed penalties:

  • Atlas Building and Roofing, Inc. was cited $120,300 in proposed penalties for one willful-serious accident-related, three serious and two general violations. The company has a history of noncompliance, including citations for willful-serious and serious roofing violations in 2025 and two serious roofing violations in 2023.
  • Atlas Roofing Company, Inc. was cited $113,750 in proposed penalties for one willful-serious accident-related, three serious and two general violations.
  • Roof-Top Construction, Inc. was cited $48,370 in proposed penalties for one serious accident-related, three serious and two general violations.

Under Cal/OSHA regulations, employers must provide fall protection, such as harnesses or guardrails, during roofing, re-roofing and roof-removal operations when workers are exposed to falls of six feet or more on roofs with slopes up to and including 7:12. On roofs with slopes greater than 7:12, fall protection is required regardless of the potential fall height. Employers must also train workers about fall hazards associated with roofing operations and the measures required to protect them.

July 2026 marked one year since Cal/OSHA’s updated residential fall protection standards took effect. The standards require fall protection for employees working at heights of six feet or more while performing residential roofing work. Before the standards were updated, fall protection generally was not required until workers were exposed to falls of 15 feet or more, depending on the activity.

Employers may appeal Cal/OSHA citations and proposed penalties by filing an appeal with the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board within 15 working days of receiving the citations. Atlas Building and Roofing, Inc. and Atlas Roofing Company, Inc. have appealed their citations.

A separate investigation by Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations remains open.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department have announced a settlement with BCP Ingredients Inc. over Clean Air Act violations at its Verona, Missouri, facility.

The company agreed to:

  • Pay a $300,000 civil penalty.
  • Install a scrubber system to remove an estimated 16,550 lbs of additional ethylene oxide emissions over its lifespan.
  • Invest $350,000 in community projects: emergency equipment for Verona Fire Department, two mobile health clinic vehicles, and localized medical services via Cox Health Foundation.

EPA found BCP failed to develop EtO release procedures, fix malfunctioning alarms (allowing a release to continue over seven hours), conduct required audits, coordinate with emergency responders, maintain written safety information for ventilation, and update the Risk Management Plan every five years.

BCP entered a compliance order in September 2022 and has met its requirements. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.

Federal inspectors have found a Syracuse iron foundry, operating for more than 150 years, continued its pattern of violating federal regulations with more than two dozen willful, repeat, serious, and other violations.

OSHA cited Frazer and Jones LLC in October 2024 for exposing employees to fire, explosion, burns, falls, and other hazards. In 2023 it had two serious citations; in 2021 it settled 60 violations for $276,189 from a 2019 inspection.

This inspection resulted in four willful, 13 repeat, seven serious, and three other-than-serious violations, totaling $990,186 in proposed fines. Hazards included uncapped gas vent lines, crane deficiencies, unguarded surfaces, confined-space asphyxiation, lock-out failures, burns, chemical exposures, and silica overexposure.

Two Singaporean companies who owned the ship that brought down Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge have agreed to pay just under $102 million to settle the U.S. government’s claim.

Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine will pay $101,980,000 toward costs to restore port access and remove about 50,000 tonnes of steel, concrete, and asphalt after the container ship Dali lost power twice and struck a pier on 26 March 2024.

Six maintenance workers died when the bridge collapsed; two were rescued. The companies had initially sought to limit liability to $43.7 million. The settlement excludes reconstruction costs; Maryland’s claim and Baltimore city’s lawsuit remain pending.

Chemical products manufacturer AB Specialty Silicones LLC will pay $1.3 million in penalties after a 2019 explosion and fire at its Waukegan plant killed four workers.

OSHA found the company failed to ensure electrical equipment compliance and used propane forklifts near flammable liquids. Production of silicon-hydride emulsions has paused until a new process area is designed.

In the settlement, AB Specialty Silicones will:

  • Develop a safety management system, emergency action plan, and conduct evacuation drills.
  • Provide multilingual safety training and require management training on flammables.
  • Purchase appropriate industrial trucks for flammable materials.
  • Audit its health and safety certification at all sites and hire consultants for electrical hazard analysis.
  • Allow OSHA to inspect facilities without a warrant.

The penalty will be paid in 12 quarterly installments through September 2027, with the full amount due if any payment is missed.

The U.S. EPA and Department of Justice announced a settlement with Ovintiv USA Inc. for over $16 million to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its Utah oil and gas facilities.

The settlement requires a $5.5 million civil penalty and extensive measures at 139 facilities to reduce volatile organic compound and methane emissions. Violations involved failing to capture and control air emissions and non-compliance with inspection, monitoring, and recordkeeping requirements at 22 Uinta Basin sites.

Corrective actions include infrared camera inspections, enhanced maintenance, storage tank pressure monitors, and proper facility design. The agreement is part of EPA’s Mitigating Climate Change initiative, prioritizing communities overburdened by pollution. A 30-day comment period applies.

Federal workplace safety inspectors found a Wisconsin animal food producer exposed employees to explosion, fire, and respiratory risks from excessive airborne dust.

OSHA inspected Strauss Feeds LLC in February 2024 after complaints. Poor housekeeping, no dust-hazard evaluations, and lack of engineering controls created serious combustible and respiratory dust hazards. The company also lacked a written respiratory protection programme.

Inspectors cited Strauss Feeds for 19 serious and five other-than-serious violations, with $161,332 in proposed penalties.

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