A devastating factory fire in the Philippines, CPR made simple and new developments in the investigation into the deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia were among the week’s top stories on ISHN.com
It’s "Don't Fry Day"
Holiday weekend kicks off with reminder of skin cancer prevention
As warm weather approaches and millions of Americans prepare to enjoy the great outdoors, the risk for ultraviolet (UV) damage of the skin increases. Skin cancer is on the rise in the United States, and the American Cancer Society estimates that one American dies every hour from skin cancer.
NTSB looking into Amtrak engineer’s cell phone records
As part of its ongoing investigation into the devastating May 12, 2015, derailment of Amtrak Train 188 in Philadelphia, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is examining the engineer’s cell phone records, which were obtained via a subpoena by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
Dozens killed in Manila shoe factory fire
"The lessons of the Rana Plaza disaster have still not been learned"
In the wake of a fire this week in a Manila shoe factory that killed 72 workers, the Philippine government is considering criminalizing some occupational safety and health and building code violations.
Occupational fatality rate continues to decline
One fatality is too many, but there’s good news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: the U.S. workplace fatality rate set a record low in 2013, dropping to 3.3 deaths for every 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.
Luxury for the tenants, danger for the workers
Falls, other hazards found at Florida construction site
Nine contractors at the Oasis Park Square residential development in Doral, Florida learned a hard lesson when OSHA inspectors visited the work site in November 2014.
Broken pipeline spills 100,000 gallons of oil off Cal. coast
Cleanup workers using 17 vessels are continuing efforts to remove 100,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the ocean and on the land 20 miles north of Santa Barbara, California, according to news sources. As of Thursday night, some 9,500 gallons of oily water had been skimmed from the ocean. Officials say the clean-up -- which is complicated by currents, tides and the wind -- could take months.
Lack of PPE, training cost electrician his life
Ferro Magnetics cited for 1 willful, 14 serious safety violations
A 31-year-old assembly technician had only been working for a battery charger manufacturer for about a month when he was killed on the job.
Can’t lose weight? It might be your biology
NIH study finds varied responses to calorie restriction in obese adults
For the first time in a lab, researchers at the National Institutes of Health found evidence supporting the commonly held belief that people with certain physiologies lose less weight than others when limiting calories. Study results published May 11 in Diabetes.
Wear your seat belt
NHTSA launches its annual reminder that seat belts save lives
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today launched its 2015 “Click It or Ticket” campaign to encourage the use of life-saving seat belts. According to NHTSA’s data, in 2013, seat belts saved an estimated 12,584 lives among passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older. Historically, seat belts saved nearly 62,468 lives from 2009 to 2013.
CPR gets simplified
One quarter of Americans say they’ve been in a situation where someone needed CPR. If you were one of them, would you know what to do?
Training provides nurses with strategies for shift work and long work hours
A NIOSH Science Blog post
“The problem for me became very severe and my head nurse actually called me into her office to discuss it… it had gotten to the point where I was so chronically sleep-deprived that I was falling asleep while I was trying to report off to the on-coming shift. So, I’m sitting there talking about very complicated medical issues, and in the middle of a sentence, I would nod-off."
A “clear and present danger” spotted on a Rhode Island rooftop
Contractor has a history of similar violations
A pair of OSHA inspectors had just finished a workplace inspection and were heading back to their Providence, Rhode Island office when they caught sight of a dangerous situation at another site.
Protecting hospital workers from transmissible diseases
A new toolkit released jointly by OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety is aimed at helping health care industry employers protect hospital staff from respiratory hazards on the job.
Food fight!
Environmentalists, meat industry battle over federal diet guidelines
Proposed federal dietary guidelines that point out that eating less meat is good for the planet have drawn approving public comments from tens of thousands of people – and the ire of the meat industry.
A U.S. Department of Labor Blog post
Improving mental health for workers
...But, over a period of time, her demeanor changed, and she was not her usual self. Then one day she just disappeared. I eventually found out why, when I was given the chore of writing her termination letter. She had experienced a “nervous breakdown,” I was told.
OSHA: PPE could have saved four DuPont workers killed by gas
Investigators find serious failures in 2014 toxic release in LaPorte, Texas
Four workers killed by a lethal gas in November 2014 would be alive today had their employer, DuPont, taken steps to protect them, an OSHA investigation found.
