Washington — Workers involved in cleanup after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster were significantly more likely to have been diagnosed with asthma or experienced asthma symptoms within three years of the incident, according to a new study from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Washington — More than 5,300 U.S. Postal Service employees were attacked by dogs while delivering the mail last year, the agency has announced.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration is offering two online tools intended to help mine operators and workers review violations of safety standards.

Arlington, VA – A new, free training module from the Mine Safety and Health Administration aims to aid employer compliance with incident and injury reporting requirements.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a final rule intended to improve pre-shift examinations of metal and non-metal mines.

Washington — NIOSH has unveiled a beta version of an online software tool designed to provide post-shift assessments of mine worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

Washington — In an effort to mitigate the risk of post-blast ground falls in underground mines, NIOSH has developed an online software tool intended to help mining engineers develop safe and efficient designs for controlled blasting operations.

Chicago — Coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia may be more than eight times more likely than the general public to die from black lung disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Washington — Two new fact sheets from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are intended to help fitness center employers and workers reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Foothold is a water-based cleaner and degreaser formulated to help prevent slips and falls in wet, greasy and oily areas. It lifts and suspends heavy soils, brine, fat, and blood from walls, equipment and flooring materials such as rubber, metal and epoxies.

Houston – Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange may have an increased risk of developing skin cancer, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Washington – Calling current permissible exposure limits “antiquated” and “dangerously out of date,” OSHA administrator David Michaels unveiled two web-based resources he said will help companies keep workers safer around chemicals.

Washington – OSHA on Jan. 15 launched a web resource to help prevent injuries among hospital workers.

Washington – An online training resource from NIOSH aims to help emergency responders who work long hours in demanding situations.

Liverpool, Nova Scotia – Small to medium-sized employers have a new online resource to help them create a safer workplace.

Silver Spring, MD — Stressing the importance of lightning awareness while working outdoors, the Center for Construction Research and Training – also known as CPWR – has published a hazard alert and toolbox talk addressing the topic.

Winston-Salem, NC — The Steel Erectors Association of America has created a downloadable poster for the 10th annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction – set for May 1-5.

Washington — In response to an incident involving the unintended release of a train’s automatic air brakes while stopped at a signal, the Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety advisory.

London — Workers exposed to pesticides may face a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, results of a recent study led by British researchers suggest.

Calgary, Alberta — Young workers in construction and other outdoor industries are “key groups that warrant further investigation” into their increased risk of carcinogen exposures on the job, according to a team of Canadian researchers.

Atlanta – Among workers younger than 55, employees in service and blue-collar jobs are more likely to report a history of coronary heart disease or stroke, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Research Triangle Park, NC – Outbreaks of viruses such as Ebola and Zika have prompted the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences – together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, OSHA, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response – to launch an infectious disease safety training program for first responders and hazardous waste workers.

Viking Electronics Inc. announced the release of its new 2021 Product Catalog.

Washington – The Department of Labor has announced a pair of interim final rules that allow OSHA to adjust its civil penalties to account for inflation.

Washington – The Department of Labor has published a final rule increasing civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation.

Indianapolis — An Indiana law scheduled to go into effect July 1 raises the maximum monetary penalty for on-the-job fatalities.

Washington — The Department of Labor is advising OSHA and other enforcement agencies not to publish press releases – “absent extraordinary circumstances” – about fines and penalties levied against employers for worker safety and health violations “before achieving a successful outcome,” according to a DOL guidance memo obtained by The New York Times.

Washington — The maximum penalty for a “willful” or “repeat” OSHA violation has increased to $156,259 after the agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and other Department of Labor agencies automatically increased civil penalty amounts to adjust for inflation.

Washington — OSHA has published final data on the agency’s Top 10 most frequently cited standards for fiscal year 2023.

Everything online in the industry, from white papers to webinars

Everything online in the industry, from white papers to webinars    

2N, provider of internet-enabled intercoms and access control systems, has published a new white paper entitled, ‘Access Control 3.0: the new standards in residential access.’

Together with WORKTECH Academy, Brivo has created a model that enables a company to plot where it is on its journey to digital transformation and hybrid working.

The white paper highlights the world leaders in security, as well as their smaller competitors and the investments they are making.

Washington — OSHA has published the 2023 data collected under its revised rules for annual injury and illness data submission.

Washington – Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) says lawmakers who cite concerns about worker safety when opposing his call to increase poultry-processing line speeds are willfully ignoring scientific data.

Washington – Poultry workers and officials from 13 nonprofit organizations and unions met with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Oct. 16 to urge the department to reject an industry petition to allow faster and unrestricted line speeds in production plants, according to the National Employment Law Project.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service has denied a National Chicken Council petition seeking unrestricted line speeds in poultry-processing plants.

Washington — Employers in the marijuana industry should provide safeguards to protect workers from repetitive stress injuries, NIOSH states in a recently released Health Hazard Evaluation Program report.

Washington — In an effort to prevent injuries related to commercial grease traps, OSHA has issued a hazard bulletin.

Tumwater, WA — A new fact sheet from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is aimed at helping food processing and warehouse employers protect their workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — A controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that would permit line speeds at certain poultry processing plants to increase to 175 birds a minute from the current 140 is under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Washington — President Joe Biden on Jan. 22 signed an Executive Order withdrawing a controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed rule that would have permitted line speeds at certain poultry-processing plants to increase to 175 birds a minute from the current 140.

Washington — Legislation reintroduced March 11 by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) would prohibit line speed increases in meat and poultry-processing plants during the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Durham, NH — U.S. seafood workers were twice as likely to contract COVID-19 as workers in other food industries during the height of the pandemic, results of a recent study indicate.

Washington — A new Government Accountability Office report recommends OSHA look at “available actions” – including developing a standard on infectious disease – to help protect workers in the meat and poultry processing industries.

Utrecht, The Netherlands – On-the-job exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields may double men’s risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, according to a new study from researchers in The Netherlands.

Washington — OSHA is informing certain nuclear industry employees of their whistleblower protections, in a recently issued fact sheet.

I conduct toolbox talks and safety training sessions as a part of a safety program. How else can I proactively reinforce hazard recognition and safe behavior?

Advocacy group Mental Health America is providing workplace wellness resources as part of National Workplace Wellness Week (April 1-7).