Washington — OSHA has published an overview of its most common COVID-19-related citations – and a reminder of employer requirements.

Itasca, IL — Fall Protection – General Requirements is OSHA’s most frequently cited standard for the 10th successive fiscal year, the agency announced Feb. 26 during an exclusive Safety+Health webinar.

Orlando, FL — For the 11th consecutive fiscal year, Fall Protection – General Requirements is OSHA’s most frequently cited standard, the agency and Safety+Health announced Oct. 12 during the 2021 NSC Safety Congress & Expo.

Atlanta – OSHA’s Fall Protection Standard (1926.501) is once again the agency’s most frequently cited standard.

Safety+Health presents OSHA’s most frequently cited violations for fiscal year 2015. Also: the annual “penalty box” detailing the year’s largest fines, and an exclusive interview with an official from OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement on the agency’s new reporting requirement and what a new weighted inspection system means for employers.

San Diego — For the ninth consecutive year, Fall Protection – General Requirements is OSHA’s most frequently cited standard, the agency and Safety+Health announced Tuesday at the National Safety Council 2019 Congress & Expo.

This free white paper from the experts at J. J. Keller provides a detailed listing of the most cited OSHA standards from fiscal year 2021, along with proven tips to help ensure compliance.

Read the new OSHA's Top 10, the most frequently cited standards for fiscal year 2023, in the December issue of Safety+Health. Then, guess which industries had the most citations.

The U.S. market is projected to be increasing at a compound annual growth rate of (CAGR) of 17.2% during the forecast period.

In a new white paper released in partnership with Resideo, Parks Associates examines practical solutions and the latest advancements in smart home technology that contribute to energy management.

Safety pro turned motivational speaker Richard Hawk offers four tips for making the most out of your time at the 2022 NSC Safety Congress & Expo.

We discuss content from the August issue of Safety+Health, including the latest details about the 2024 NSC Safety Congress & Expo. Also, Dale Lesinski, vice president of DiVal Safety, joins us to discuss how safety pros can get the most out of going to Congress & Expo.

Austin, TX – A majority of food industry employees go to work when sick, according to a new survey commissioned by training and consulting company Alchemy Systems.

Safety+Health presents OSHA's most frequently cited violations for fiscal year 2016. Also: the annual "penalty box" detailing the year's largest fines, and an exclusive interview with Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA's Directorate of Enforcement Programs.

Which violation is making its first appearance on OSHA’s list of most-cited violations? Safety+Health presents the data on OSHA’s “Top 10” for fiscal year 2017. Also: A Q&A with Patrick Kapust, deputy director of the agency’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs.

Which violation is making its first appearance on OSHA’s annual list of most-cited violations? Safety+Health presents the data on OSHA’s “Top 10” for fiscal year 2018. Also: An exclusive Q&A with Patrick Kapust, deputy director of the agency’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs.

Safety+Health presents the data on OSHA’s “Top 10” for fiscal year 2019. Also: An exclusive Q&A with Patrick Kapust, deputy director of the agency’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs.

Topping the list for the 10th successive year is Fall Protection – General Requirements. Also: The Top 10 “willful” and “serious” violations, a list of the year’s highest penalties, and a Q&A with OSHA’s Patrick Kapust.

Topping the list for the 11th straight year is Fall Protection – General Requirements. Also: The Top 10 “willful” and “serious” violations, a list of the year’s highest penalties, and an exclusive Q&A with OSHA’s Patrick Kapust.

Greenbelt, MD — Law enforcement officials issued more than 26,000 citations and warnings to passenger-vehicle, truck and bus drivers during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual Operation Safe Driver Week.

Orlando, FL — For the 14th consecutive fiscal year, Fall Protection – General Requirements is OSHA’s most frequently cited standard, the agency and Safety+Health announced during the 2024 NSC Safety Congress & Expo.

Not all construction risks can be completely eliminated, so leaders must prevent injury and loss by understanding the specific hazards of various jobsites and providing the proper personal protective equipment for worker tasks.

Atlanta – The flu and similar illnesses are most prevalent among workers in the real estate, hospitality and food service industries, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bannockburn, IL — Nearly 1 out of 4 workers don’t receive training on COVID-19 safety guidelines, according to a recent survey commissioned by compliance company Stericycle.

Ljubljana, Slovenia — Work intensity is the most commonly identified risk factor for daily stress on the job, European researchers have concluded after conducting a research review.

Morgantown, WV — A recent study of work-related sharps injuries shows that health care workers had a sixfold higher risk than all other workers – but other workers are at risk, too.

Washington — The fifth annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-By Incidents begins April 15, providing employers with opportunities to raise awareness of struck-by hazard recognition and prevention.

Washington — In light of its recent survey of family caregivers that shows 67% struggle to balance work with caregiving duties, AARP is calling on employers to create “friendly and supportive” policies and benefits.

Washington — Younger workers report feeling lonely and stressed more often than their older colleagues, results of a recent survey show.

Washington — More than 3 out of 5 women in the United States – younger women in particular – find it difficult to prioritize their own health, a new report shows.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency will ban most industrial and commercial uses of the carcinogenic chemical methylene chloride, under a final rule announced April 30.

Sweets & Snacks Expo announced the winners of the 2024 Most Innovative New Product Awards, recognizing excellence in 13 categories, showcasing the most innovative ideas, concepts, and products across the candy and snack industries.

Washington — The majority of coal miners don’t receive baseline chest and lung testing at federally mandated intervals, results of a recent study from NIOSH suggest.

Motors and drives run the food and packaging production lines that processors rely on, and they are a major consideration of any automation strategy.

While the economy in 2014 is more sluggish than it was a year ago—due to a variety of reasons—there remains hope for those in the industry. 

Food Engineering has revamped its schedule of most prominent annual features. Casey Laughman shares some of those changes as we kick off 2021.

Brazil, the world's fourth-largest natural stone producer and leading U.S. supplier, is intensifying efforts to expand its market presence through export incentives and education. 

The post The most unequal region in the world: combatting inequality in Latin America | was curated by information for practice.

The post Many fewer people live in extreme poverty, but most still struggle was curated by information for practice.

The post Learning from those who are most at risk: Informal settlement fires in South Africa was curated by information for practice.

See how well YOOOooooOOOOu score on this week's Halloooooweeeeeen-themed trivia quiz! (I am a ghost, if you didn't guess.) ???? by Wm. Steven Humphrey

HELLOOOOO, BRAINY HUMAN! It's time once again to put your brainy-brain to the test with this week's edition of POP QUIZ PDX—our weekly, local, sassy-ass trivia quiz. And in this edition, we're testing your knowledge on a variety of HALLOWEEN-related topics including creeeepy Trump statues, ghost cars (and stores!), and Portland's most HAUNTED locales! OoooOOOoooooh! (That is the sound ghosts make, I'm given to understand.) ????

But first, how did you do on our previous, special edition ranked choice quiz? Super good, and I'm confident you are ready to vote if you haven't already! And in case you're wondering, here's how Portlanders ranked who should be our next mayor. (At least we know who should run next time!)

OKAY, TIME FOR A NEW QUIZ! Take this week's quiz below, take our previous pop quizzes here, and come back next week for a brand spankin' new quiz! (Having a tough time answering this quiz? It's probably because you aren't getting Mercury newsletters! HINT! HINT!) Now crank up that cerebellum, because it's time to get BRAINY!

Create your own user feedback survey

Did you enjoy that? Take our past Pop Quizzes HERE!

by Suzette Smith

The Mercury provides its readers with interesting and useful news & culture reporting every single day. If you appreciate that, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. If you read something you like, something you don't like but are glad to know about, and/or something you can't find anywhere else consider a one-time tip. It all goes in the same pot and it all goes to the editorial team. Thanks for your support!

Good Morning, Portland! When they told me a bat could be beautiful I didn't believe, but now I believe.

IN LOCAL NEWS:
• As October comes to a close, so too does the Bureau of Land Management’s annual Bat Beauty Contest, which asks where the "most stunning bat photographed on BLM public lands" can be found? It's Oregon, motherfuckers! For the third year running WE HAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BAT. YES! Despite J. K. Rowling's tarnished-as-hell legacy, we can still celebrate this feisty male hoary bat, Hoary Potter. It's also worth noting that this is the second year a bat photographed by wildlife technician Emma Busk took top beauty honors. Busk wrote, "anyone who knows me knows that I’ve been wanting to photograph a hoary bat,"—a sentiment we can all echo.

BLM's most beautiful bat is from Oregon, and I love him. pic.twitter.com/T8qQgsz5kT

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) November 1, 2024

• There's also terrible news, unfortunately. Yesterday evening, a shooting at Vancouver Mall, in Vancouver, WA, killed one person and injured two in the building's food court.  A witness who spoke to KOIN described "a harrowing scene, as the shopping center was full of kids trick-or-treating." So far, police have said they do not have a suspect in custody and the person may still be armed. They told KOIN they were reviewing surveillance footage, but have not yet released a description of the shooter.

• Oh my god, Clark County are you okay? KPTV reports that Clark County Elections Office is warning voters to beware of unofficial ballot boxes. Unofficial ballot boxes are not illegal in Washington! (This also appears to be true of Oregon!) Clark County Elections encouraged voters official ballot return locations.

• The Oregonian is returning to broadsheet size, they announced yesterday in a post that did not explain what that is for readers who didn't go to graphic design school / work in at newspaper with some old dude named Phil. Somewhat surprisingly, Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss stepped in to clarify. Tabloid is hotdog style fold; broadsheet is burger. Both WW and the Mercury are hotdogs. The New York Times is burger fold.

• NPR's Up First weirdly tried to do a report on Vice President Kamala Harris "highlighting Trump's own language and using it against him," as if that's somehow something of which to be critical? Gave me the vapors of the new Hasaan Hates Portland sketch from this week:

• In two week's the city's beloved queer documentary festival QDoc will host the Oregon debut of The World According to Allee Willis, which explores the complicated life of a queer "song doctor" who co-wrote not only Earth, Wind and Fire's "September," but the Friends TV show theme. Check out Melissa Locker's review of the film.; she says it's not to be missed!

• Did you take this week's local news quiz? 

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IN NATIONAL NEWS:
• Atlanta rap star Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, finally walked free last night, after pleading guilty to "six counts, including possession of drugs and firearms... leading a criminal street gang and conspiracy to violate the RICO act, the state’s racketeering law," the New York Times reports. As part of the plea, the judge sentenced Williams to a total sentence of 40 years, but commuted the five years of prison time to the two and a half years that Williams has already served. Williams will remain on probation for 15 years, and will "be required to stay away from metro Atlanta for the first 10 years of his probation." He is also required to take random drug tests, make anti-gang presentations for children's organizations four times a year, perform 100 hours of community service a year, and "refrain from promoting gangs or being around known gang members." The ongoing Young Slime Life (YSL) court proceedings—which caused NYT's Joe Coscarelli to ask "is YSL was a record label, street gang, or both?"—have stretched into what is now the longest trial in Georgia history. Despite three other plea deals this week, it appears the trial will continue with the two remaining co-defendants.

• Mark Zuckerberg dressed as Fran Lebowitz for Halloween, and that's just what happened.

Mark Zuckerberg dressed as John Wick for Halloween but I thought it was Fran Lebowitz pic.twitter.com/zdXaomOMPR

— Meech (@MediumSizeMeech) November 1, 2024

• You're going to see some stuff today about "explosive new audio" recordings where Donald Trump speaks candidly to the reviled Jeffrey Epstein about his White House Staff and his disdain for the position itself. It's only really on the Daily Beast, the podcast of journalist Michael Wolff, and a few other sites. I'd rather wait til a super solid source gets it—seems like maybe they're holding off because they're checking it?—but the story is out there. Don't sound like anything particularly new, but people are saying "October surprise" because they want attention.

• Also in weird news about guys we already thought were corrupt, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is apparently pledged to some secretive religious traditionalist organization. That tracks.

• Flashback to this masterpiece, which has been floating around the zeitgeist all week.

Prof. Eric Posner explains a voting system for protecting the rights of minorities

In distant past, people did not think about such issue as the humane treatment of criminals. Quite on the contrary, people would invent most sophisticated types of torture to make suspects speak. Executions would be conducted in public to horrify and intimidate others.   Rack This is probably the most widely known type of torture. It is believed that the rack was first used in around 300 AD on Christian martyr Vincent of Zaragoza. Subsequently, the rack was widely used by the medieval Inquisition. A person would be put on a special bed with rollers at both ends. Ropes would be wound around the rollers to hold the victim's wrists and ankles. As the rollers would rotate, the ropes would stretch in opposite directions, severing ligaments in upper and lower extremities of the victim and displacing their bones. 

The Russian Army is conducting the most powerful offensive since the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said in his Telegram channel following a meeting with the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Republic Karel Řehka. "I informed my Czech colleagues about the situation on the front line, which remains difficult. Active military actions, which continue in certain areas, require constant replenishment of resources of Ukrainian units,” he wrote. Syrskyi also said that he considers the Czech Republic a loyal ally of Ukraine. According to him, the republic initiated, among other things, the creation of a coalition to develop the capabilities of Ukrainian military equipment.

REX Photo A deplorable statement has been made by hegumen of the Orthodox Docheiariou monastery on the Holy Mount Athos. The highest cathedral of the state may face destruction in case of an earthquake, which happen there quite often. The case is about Archistrategos Cathedral. As Archimandrite Gregorius (Zumis) revealed, the cathedral has fallen into the state of desolation after Greece left Athos to the mercy of fate. The authorities have not undertaken any measures to restore monuments so far. Centre for Maintenance of the Athos Heritage which was been established by the state, has been left without funding. According to the hegumen, monks of the monastery have been struggling for adoption of a plan on restoration of the Cathedral for as long as 28 years. But it has not been adopted still. And it is impossible to restore a huge Cathedral by themselves, for charity only.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK are facing significant challenges in today’s digital landscape, with misinformation, fake reviews and inadequate search and engagement tools putting them at a serious disadvantage compared to larger competitors.

Belarus suddenly banned the sale of Russian-made tea. According to the Ministry of Health of Belarus, the reason for this decision was a violation of requirements for microbiological indicators of product safety. Sanitary services of Belarus found traces of fungus in several types of tea produced by Orimi LLC, a Russian legal entity. Belarus banned all brands of tea produced by this company, their import into Belarus was restricted as well. The list of prohibited products includes such tea brands as: Greenfield, TESS, Princess Nuri, Princess Java, as well as some types of Jardin and Jockey coffee. Orimi LLC is taking necessary measures to prove the stability of production processes and effectiveness of the safety control system, the Belarusian Ministry of Health added. Restrictions on the sale of products may be lifted as soon as the company meets all relevant requirements of the Health Ministry of Belarus.

Russian military social media began to promote the Sever (North) group of troops of the Russian Armed Forces. The group is known for its tactical sign N and its goal is an offensive on Kharkiv. North military grouping created for Kharkiv operation The creation of the group of troops North (N) means that the Russian forces are preparing personnel in the Belgorod region for an offensive on Kharkiv. Ukrainian sources say that the Russian Army does not need to capture Kharkiv, but this is not true to fact. Taking the city will let the Russian forces ensure the collapse of the entire eastern front of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, keeping Kharkiv under control will ensure security for the Belgorod region of Russia that Ukraine has been shelling regularly. The Russian authorities can no longer ignore civilian casualties. There are other signs that indicate preparations for an offensive: