Occupational fatalities in red and blue states, Congressional efforts to eliminate federal regulations and one company’s safety success were among the stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
Why do docs prescribe more antibiotics?
Because we expect them, study finds
Experimental evidence confirms what surveys have long suggested: Physicians are more likely to prescribe antibiotics when they believe there is a high expectation of it from their patients, even if they think the probability of bacterial infection is low and antibiotics would not be effective, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Pruitt emails show strong ties to oil & gas industry
Although newly approved EPA administrator Scott Pruitt told agency employees this week that it’s possible to be both pro-energy and pro-environment, critics say thousands of recently released emails show that Pruitt is firmly in the pro-energy camp.
A FairWarning story:
A grim pattern: Presidential voting and workplace deaths
More than 4,800 American workers are killed on the job each year. But in states that were carried by Donald Trump, the chances of dying at work are higher than in states that Hillary Clinton won. With a single exception, the states that voted Republican had at least three job-related deaths per 100,000 workers, according to the most recent federal labor statistics for 2015. In all but two states that went Democratic, the workplace death rate was less than three.
Reg Reform Hotwire
Congress moves to overturn nearly 4,000 regs
Workplace safety and health regulations would be among those affected by a sweeping measure making its way through Congress that would enable lawmakers to overturn any and all regulations passed during the final year of a President’s term.
Reg Reform Hotwire
Electronic recordkeeping rule in Congress’ crosshairs
A U.S. House of Representatives measure would nullify OSHA’s new electronic recordkeeping rule, which requires employers to electronically submit injury and illness data that they already record. Under the rule, which was published in the Federal Register on May 12, 2016, all establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the recordkeeping regulation must electronically submit to OSHA injury and illness information from OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301.
How gift cards can work for safety programs
It’s in the cards
Amid the discussion about the types of safety incentive programs that are most effective, it is clear that safety incentive program recipients, much like other incentive program recipients, are leaning more and more favorably toward receiving gift cards as their preferred reward for safe behavior in the workplace.
Woman killed in construction accident
A 19-year-old female construction worker was killed last month in a work-related accident in west Bexar County, Texas. A sheriff's deputy at the scene said that a backhoe operator didn't know the victim was at the bottom of a 15-foot hole when he dropped the digger into the hole, killing her.
MSHA to award $1M in mine safety training grants
‘Brookwood-Sago’ grants honor 25 fallen Alabama, West Virginia miners
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced the availability of up to $1 million in grants for education and training programs to help identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines.
Protecting dry-cleaning workers from hazmat
If you have ever opened a dry-cleaning bag and put on a freshly laundered garment, you know that dry-cleaning can make clothes look and smell almost new. That freshness, however, is created using chemicals that may be potentially harmful to employees who work in the dry-cleaning process. Although today’s dry-cleaners are moving away from using perchloroethylene, a toxic chemical that may cause cancer, the work-related health effects of the chemicals taking its place are unknown.
Shift work and heavy lifting may reduce women’s fertility
A physically demanding job or work schedules outside normal office hours may lower a woman's ability to conceive, suggests research published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Researchers say women who work nights and irregular shifts have fewer eggs capable of developing into healthy embryos than those who keep regular daytime hours.
A NIOSH Science Blog post
Using 3 data sources to create a single wildland fire fighter on-duty death surveillance system
Wildland fire fighters are required to pass an “arduous duty” physical fitness test annually to help ensure that they are prepared for the physical nature of the job. Unlike structural fire fighting, wildland fire fighting often requires long work shifts that may last up to 14 continuous days, and often takes place in environments that are challenging with regard to temperature and terrain.
Airport traffic enforcement employees complain of lack of safety training
Airport traffic enforcement employees at the Palm Springs (CA) International Airport are concerned because they haven’t received training in handling emergencies or disasters. Take, for example, workplace violence. A gunman opened fire in the baggage claim area of Fort Lauderdale International Airport, leaving five people dead.
How a Utah company reduced its recordable injuries by 60%
Jennmar Corporation is a family-owned company that develops and manufactures a broad range of quality ground control products designed to make mining and tunneling safer and more efficient. The Clearfield, Utah business has been in business since 1993 and has 60 employees.
Get ready for Ladder Safety Month
Falls from ladders account for about 20,000 injuries and 300 deaths in the U.S. each year, so it’s no surprise that ladder safety is getting its own month in March.
Sierra Club: Pruitt will be “most dangerous EPA administrator in history”
Last week’s Senate approval of Scott Pruitt as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was met with dismay by a number of environmental groups.
New Labor Secretary nominee is a law school dean, former fed prosecutor
R. Alexander Acosta, 48, was tabbed by President Trump on February 16 to be the next Secretary of Labor, following the failed nomination of fast-food king Andrew F. Puzder.
NIOSH studies relationship between lifting and low back pain
In manufacturing and other industries where lifting is part of the job, disorders that affect the muscles and bones are a common problem. In fact, musculoskeletal disorders cause one-third of work-related injuries resulting in missed workdays, costing about $45 to $54 billion annually in lost productivity and treatment, according to estimates from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine.
