The cost of clean air, foot-dragging on a beryllium exposure standard by the Office of Management and Budget, and the deadly crash of a speeding train in Philadelphia were among the week’s top OSH, health and public safety stories on ISHN.com.

Report from Europe

Asbestos: the long and winding road to a global ban

Report from the European Trade Union Institute: An important international meeting on toxic products opened in Geneva on 4 May with, as one of the main items on its agenda, the inclusion of chrysotile in the Rotterdam Convention. In spite of the deleterious effects of this form of asbestos, lobbying by producer and importer states has so far enabled this carcinogenic substance to remain outside the purview of this instrument.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is using a major new television, radio, print, and online advertising campaign to urge the Obama administration to keep the current ozone standards rather than implementing new ones.

Thousands of ISHN subscribers voted online March 1 - May 1 in ISHN's 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. The results are in and ISHN is proud to share the third-annual list of winning entries. All 42 category winners will receive recognition in ISHN media as well as a glass award commemorating their category achievement!

OSHA has updated its free heat illness app with some new features for iPhone users. The app, which was launched in 2011, allows workers and supervisors to calculate the heat index for their worksite, and, based on the heat index, displays a risk level to outdoor workers.

What is even more frustrating with this delay is the fact that there has been agreement by both the largest domestic player in the beryllium industry and the United Steel Workers Union in agreeing to a proposed exposure limit to beryllium. It remains to be seen if other stakeholders will agree to this compromise exposure limit until the proposal is returned to OSHA and open for public comments.

The American Public Health Association is voicing strong opposition to the budget agreement passed earlier this month by the U.S. House of Representatives. The measure would slash funding for programs across the public health continuum — from efforts that prevent disease outbreaks to those that train health workers — and repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Train was traveling at twice the speed limit when it entered a curve

Crews pulled an eighth body from the mangled wreckage of the Amtrack train that derailed and crashed Tuesday in Philadelphia, bringing the death toll to eight. A search dog helped locate what authorities say is the final victim of the crash. Many of the more than 200 people who were injured remain hospitalized.

NYCOSH wants safety violators to face criminal charges

Although construction accounts for less than four percent of the jobs in New York City, it represents 20 percent of the on-the-job deaths, according to a report released yesterday by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health (NYCOSH).

Shut out by Lloyd industries, OSHA needs help from U.S. federal marshals to gain entry

After numerous inspections, warnings and fines, OSHA has levied $822,000 in fines against Lloyd Industries Inc. -- bringing the company's total to more than $1 million in the last fifteen years. OSHA has also placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

Warmer weather means more motorcyclists on the road

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reminding motorists and motorcyclists to ‘Share the Road’ during Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. A motorcyclist has the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as any other motorist on the roadway.

Clean air versus jobs

Coal workers object to anti-coal initiative

Recent contributions totaling $60 million dollars to the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign -- including a hefty donation from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg -- are angering the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which calls the campaign an attack on coal miners and their families.

A Pacific Gas and Electric Co. natural gas pipeline near Fresno erupts

A fireball injured at least 11 people and temporarily closed down Highway 99 after a tractor operator accidentally punctured the 12-inch natural gas pipeline, authorities said.

Many adults in the U.S. are not getting the recommended screening tests for colorectal, breast and cervical cancers, according to data published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. For 2013, screening for these types of cancers either fell behind previous rates or showed no improvement.