Tumwater, WA — A new online training course from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is intended to enhance safety and comfort for all drivers.

Washington — NIOSH has updated its mobile app designed to help mine workers assess the ergonomics of common job tasks and identify potential worksite safety hazards.

Itasca, IL — Improving methods of tracking musculoskeletal disorders, continuously monitoring and assessing physical risk factors, and sharing best practices can help workplace MSD prevention programs have real impact.

Bologna, Italy – International scientific academy Collegium Ramazzini is emphasizing that the risk for the cancer mesothelioma is connected to both early and recent exposures to asbestos.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency has published a report on risk evaluations as part of requirements established by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking comment on problem formulation documents for the first 10 chemicals slated for evaluation for potential health and environmental risks under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, as well as a systematic review approach document and a proposed significant new use rule for asbestos.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final rule on asbestos intended to keep manufacturers from reintroducing “discontinued uses” of the known human carcinogen into the market without EPA approval.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has announced a proposed rule that would ban the use of chrysotile asbestos, a known human carcinogen linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma – a cancer of the membranes in the abdomen and chest.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency is accepting comment until July 5 on a proposed rule that would establish reporting and recordkeeping requirements for asbestos – a known human carcinogen – under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Itasca — New guidance from the National Safety Council is aimed at providing organizations with information and solutions to effectively mitigate and address workplace violence.

Washington — To address a sharp increase in assaults against public transit workers, the Federal Transit Administration has published a proposed directive tasking public transit agencies with monitoring safety risks more closely.

Columbus, Ohio — Do some bosses who are abusive toward employees get away with it simply because they’re “high performers?” A recent pair of studies took a look.

Washington — Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the House would direct OSHA to create employer guidance on acquiring opioid overdose reversal medication and training workers on its use.

Tallahassee, FL — Legislation that would prohibit local municipalities, counties or any other “political subdivision” in Florida from enacting regulations requiring worker protections against heat exposure is awaiting the governor’s approval.

Washington — A pair of House Democrats have introduced legislation that would “prohibit, or require disclosure of, the surveillance, monitoring and collection of certain worker data by employers.”

Washington – Dog bites, falls and vehicle collisions were the leading causes of injuries among U.S. Postal Service employees in 2012, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Sept. 26.

Tumwater, WA — The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has published guidance on a new state law intended to protect workers in the hospitality industry from sexual harassment and assault.

Washington – The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has announced its opposition to any increases in federal truck size and weight limits due to concerns about alleged flaws in an upcoming government study on the increases.

Washington – Federal oversight of the oil and gas extraction industry should be rethought and potentially changed to a model used in regulating the coal mining industry, one workplace safety advocate said following the release of the AFL-CIO’s annual “Death on the Job” report.

Washington – A group of safety advocates is calling for forward collision avoidance and mitigation braking systems, or F-CAM, to be required in all trucks and buses to help prevent deadly rear-end crashes.

Washington – Certain patient-moving devices and policies can help nurses avoid injuries, according to a report released June 16 by advocacy group Public Citizen.

San Diego – More needs to be done to protect workers, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health says. More than 90 other organizations agree. Those groups have endorsed National COSH’s action agenda, “Protecting Workers’ Lives and Limbs,” released March 15.

Washington — AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka cautioned the public not to become “numb” to workplace fatalities and illnesses, as the labor federation released its annual report detailing the hazards workers face every day.

Los Angeles — To help ensure the safety of people returning to work – as well as those already on the job – during the COVID-pandemic, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health has released guidelines for workplace safety; worker participation; and compensation for sick, injured and at-risk workers.

Nearly half of all work-related injuries involving mechanical power presses result in amputation, statistics compiled by OSHA show. Around 60% of amputations involve a worker’s fingers or arm getting caught or compressed by a press or other machinery such as a conveyer, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Not all risks hold equal weight. For example, focusing efforts on reducing the frequency of safety-related incidents doesn’t necessarily lead to a reduction in the severity of incidents.

Arlington, VA – The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology has created a flier detailing best practices for proper use of different types of gloves in health care settings.

Cleaning up after hurricanes or other storms exposes cleanup workers to floodwaters, which can carry some serious health risks. Floodwaters can be contaminated with micro-organisms, sewage, industrial waste, chemicals or other substances that can cause illness or death, according to OSHA.

Secaucus, NJ — Lyme disease is becoming more common outside the Northeast and more prevalent in the United States overall, a recent study by lab services provider Quest Diagnostics shows.

Falls Church, VA – Oil and gas workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica during directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations, a new NIOSH study concludes.

Washington – Two new fact sheets from OSHA provide information intended to protect workers from combustible dust explosion hazards and agricultural emergencies.

West Lafayette, IN — Using newly developed algorithms, researchers from Purdue University have designed an image- and video-based application to detect combustible dust concentrations suspended in the air.

Washington — Managing and controlling combustible dust should be considered a unique hazard – not simply “tidying up the place,” the Chemical Safety Board says in a recently released learning review document that includes input from workers and industry stakeholders.

Washington — The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General will conduct an audit of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s ability to complete required safety and health inspections amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — Understaffed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA “lost a valuable opportunity” to better protect workers by “not identifying federal partners in a position to assist during a large-scale safety and health crisis,” concludes a Department of Labor Office of Inspector General audit report released March 31.

Greenbelt, MD — A recent, unannounced inspection blitz of trucks and buses resulted in 14.1% of those checked being placed out of service for brake-related violations, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced June 22.

Greenbelt, MD — Commercial motor vehicle inspectors across North America conducted 38,117 brake system inspections and identified 5,059 vehicles – or 13.3% – with out-of-service conditions during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual Brake Safety Week, the organization announced recently.

Greenbelt, MD — Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspectors placed 11.3% of the trucks and buses they examined out of service for brake-related violations during a recent, unannounced inspection initiative.

Washington — OSHA hasn’t “effectively addressed” elevated injury and illness rates in the warehousing industry, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General contends.

Greenbelt, MD — The results are in for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual Brake Safety Week.

Emmitsburg, MD – Home fires occur most often during the winter, and the National Fire Protection Association and U.S. Fire Administration are educating the public on fire prevention.

Stockholm – Working in the cold increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at the Karolinska Institute.

Arlington, VA — As winter approaches, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has released best practices aimed at reducing hazards related to cold weather.

New York — Nearly three-quarters of remote workers say their employer should provide a general work-from-home stipend to help make their home workspaces more ergonomically correct, results of a recent survey show.

Occupational skin diseases are the second-most common type of occupational disease. NIOSH estimates that more than 13 million U.S. workers are potentially exposed to chemicals that can be absorbed through their skin.

As reports of the COVID-19 pandemic dominate the headlines, keeping calm can prove difficult. However, one of the best ways to combat anxiety – and be prepared – is to be informed.

Pregnancy increases the risk of heatstroke or heat exhaustion on the job because the body must work harder to cool itself, according to OSHA. Pregnant workers are also more likely to become dehydrated, “a primary contributor to heat-related illness.”

With the workforce becoming so much more versatile, are there different types of safety eyeglasses recommended for different kinds of work environments?

What do I need to know about eye protection programs if I’m required to provide my workers with safety eyewear?

Toronto — To increase health care workers’ knowledge, awareness and prevention of occupational hand dermatitis, the Center for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease has launched a free e-learning module.