--- title: Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog | STP | PPE description: PPE | STP's blog giving insight into audit, compliance and risk issues for EHS, business and accounting. --- [![Specialty Technical Publishers](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/STP-logo-white-orange.png)](http://www.stpub.com/) - [My Account](http://stponline.stpub.com) - 1-800-251-0381 # Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog ## [OSHA requires workplace noise controls](https://blog.stpub.com/osha-requires-workplace-noise-controls) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Fri, Jan 05, 2024 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/worker_with_headphones.jpeg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/osha-requires-workplace-noise-controls) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Region 3 (covering Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia) has renewed a Regional Emphasis Program under which it focuses inspection resources on “High Level Noise.” This announcement provides a useful reminder to employers throughout the US to evaluate occupational noise and the risks of employees’ hearing loss. The remainder of this note summarizes OSHA’s Occupational Noise Standard for General industry (separate requirements cover construction). [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/osha-requires-workplace-noise-controls) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/osha-requires-workplace-noise-controls#comments-listing) Tags: [OSHA](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/osha), [workplace safety](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/workplace-safety), [PPE](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/ppe), [PEL](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/pel) ## [COVID masks may or may not be required by worker protection agencies](https://blog.stpub.com/covid-masks-may-or-may-not-be-required-by-worker-protection-agencies) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Mon, Dec 21, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/coronavirus-5064371_1920.jpg) ](https://blog.stpub.com/covid-masks-may-or-may-not-be-required-by-worker-protection-agencies) The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that employees wear personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary to help protect them against identified workplace hazards. This equipment may protect against physical hazards—hard hats, safety glasses, tinted goggles, steel-toed shoes—or may protect against health hazards—respirators, self-contained breathing apparatus, gloves. OSHA does not formally consider cloth facemasks to be PPE, but does consider them “source control” that may prevent an infected person from spreading the virus – which means that they do provide protection to co-workers. OSHA and most other health and safety agencies therefore do at least recommend masks, and some require them in specified settings. The remainder of this note discusses agencies’ formal provisions regarding masks. [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/covid-masks-may-or-may-not-be-required-by-worker-protection-agencies) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/covid-masks-may-or-may-not-be-required-by-worker-protection-agencies#comments-listing) Tags: [Health & Safety](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/health-safety), [Coronavirus](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/coronavirus), [Covid-19](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/covid-19), [PPE](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/ppe) ## [Virginia adopts first standard specifically requiring workplace protections against COVID](https://blog.stpub.com/virginia-adopts-first-standard-specifically-requiring-workplace-protections-against-covid) Posted by [Jon Elliott](https://blog.stpub.com/author/jon-elliott) on Wed, Jul 22, 2020 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://blog.stpub.com/hubfs/Virginia3.png) ](https://blog.stpub.com/virginia-adopts-first-standard-specifically-requiring-workplace-protections-against-covid) In recent months, worker protection and public health agencies have issued increasingly stringent and detailed *guidelines *for employers to follow to reduce worker exposures to COVID-19. I’ve written about a number of these, including [HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/protecting-employees-against-coronavirus-at-operating-workplaces) and [HERE](https://blog.stpub.com/osha-issues-new-post-covid-back-to-work-guidance). Over the same months, many workplaces have also been affected by state and local government mandates designed to protect public health in places the public (at least previously) frequent – these include temporary closures of many types of organizations, and restrictions such as masks at others. [Read More](https://blog.stpub.com/virginia-adopts-first-standard-specifically-requiring-workplace-protections-against-covid) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://blog.stpub.com/virginia-adopts-first-standard-specifically-requiring-workplace-protections-against-covid#comments-listing) Tags: [Health & Safety](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/health-safety), [Coronavirus](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/coronavirus), [CDC](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/cdc), [Safety and Health at Work](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/safety-and-health-at-work), [Covid-19](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/covid-19), [VOSH](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/vosh), [DOLI](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/doli), [PPE](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/ppe), [Virginia](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/virginia) [All posts](https://blog.stpub.com/all) ### Follow Me ### Subscribe by Email ### Browse by Topic Area - [Accounting & Tax ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/accounting-tax) - [Business & Legal ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/business-legal) - [Corporate Governance  ](https://blog.stpub.com/../?Tag=Corporate+Governance) - [Environmental ](https://blog.stpub.com/../?Tag=Environmental) - [Global ](https://blog.stpub.com/../?Tag=Global) - [Health & Safety ](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/health-safety) - [Internet ](https://blog.stpub.com/../?Tag=Internet) - [Transportation ](https://blog.stpub.com/../?Tag=Transportation) ### Browse by Tag - [Environmental (344)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental) - [Business & Legal (309)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/business-legal) - [Environmental risks (300)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/environmental-risks) - [Health & Safety (296)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/health-safety) - [EPA (283)](https://blog.stpub.com/topic/epa) - [Terms & Conditions](https://stphub.stpehs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/STP-Terms-of-Use-Dec-20.pdf) - [Privacy Policy](https://stphub.stpehs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/STP-Privacy-Policy.pdf) - [License Agreement](https://stphub.stpehs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/STP-License-Agreement-Dec-20.pdf) - [Sitemap](http://stpub.com/sitemap) - [Support](http://stpub.com/support) © 2021 STP ComplianceEHS - All rights reserved