Weekly news round-up

A jury awards millions for a workplace amputation, climate change affects mental as well as physical health and the construction industry gets a three-month delay in complying with OSHA’s crystalline silica exposure standard. These were among the tops stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

OSHA delays enforcement of silica standard

OSHA yesterday announced a delay in enforcement of the crystalline silica standard to September 23, 2017. The rule, which applies to the construction industry, was originally scheduled to begin June 23, 2017. The agency said the delay would enable it to conduct additional outreach and provide educational materials and guidance for employers.

Opinion

OSHA budget: Talk to your Representatives while they’re home

A Confined Space blog post by Jordan Barab

Now is the time for all good activists to come to the aid of working people. Funding for the Federal Government runs out on April 28. This means that before that date, if we are to avoid a government shutdown, the Senate and the House of Representatives will have to pass — and the President will have to sign — a new bill funding the government through the rest of Fiscal Year 2017.

Nontraditional work arrangement has upside but…

Telecommuting facilitates a better overall work-life balance but it can blur the boundaries between work and personal life, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound).

Many workers get too little sleep

There are significant differences in short sleep duration – less than seven hours a night –among occupational groups, according to a CDC study published today in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. This is the first study to evaluate short sleep duration in more than 90 detailed occupation groups and across multiple states.

Experts: Make public parks serve public health

The "built environment" can be key to fitness

Where we live, work and play can directly impact our physical and mental health. To more aggressively combat negative health factors such as obesity, diabetes, asthma and anxiety, leaders of the nation’s built environment and public health organizations today pledged their support to promote greater collaboration to advance healthier, more walkable communities. The “Joint Call to Action to Promote Healthy Communities,” announced during National Public Health Week, brings together 450,000 professionals who recognize that the built environment — the way a community is designed and built from its buildings and public spaces to how we travel between communities — is a key determinant of health.

CSB heads to scene of fatal workplace accident in St. Louis

A three-person investigative team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying to the scene of an incident that killed three people and injured four others on Monday, April 3 at the Loy-Lange Box Company in Saint Louis, Missouri. Two of the fatalities were members of the public.

One company evacuates endangered workers, three others…

Three companies at a multi-employer construction site in Alaska have been cited for safety violations, while a fourth was not because it took quick action when workers were endangered. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued a total of 24 citations to Price Universal Energy, Gregory International, Inc., Quanta Power Generation, Inc. for violations at the Municipal Light and Power Plant 2A Expansion project in Anchorage. Fines for the three companies totaled $882,000.

Opinion

If Neil Gorsuch is confirmed, “More workers will die on the job”

A Confined Space blog post by Jordan Barab

Will the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch be good for worker safety? The clear answer is “No.” Allow me to elaborate.

Heat exposure raises firefighter heart attack risk

Exposure to extreme heat and physical exertion during firefighting may trigger the formation of blood clots and impair blood vessel function, changes associated with increased risk of heart attack, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.

Climate change's toll on mental health

When people think about climate change, they probably think first about its effects on the environment, and possibly on their physical health. But climate change also takes a significant toll on mental health, according to a new report released by the American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica entitled "Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance (PDF, 1.24MB)."

Workers suffer CO poisoning in sealed warehouse

A staffing firm ignored complaints from employees about health problems for months, leading to workers being sent to the hospital for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, according to Cal/OSHA, which has cited and fined the firm.

AIHA announces new 2017 Board members

The newly elected Board members will be inducted at the Annual Business Meeting at the 2017 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce EXP) in Seattle, Wash., in June

Today, the American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) announced the new members of its Board of Directors for 2017. The new Board members will be inducted at AIHA's Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, June 7, during the 2017 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce EXP) in Seattle, Wash.

Cancer death rates continue to decline

Overall cancer death rates continue to decrease in men, women, and children for all major racial and ethnic groups, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2014. The report finds that death rates during the period 2010-2014 decreased for 11 of the 16 most common types of cancer in men and for 13 of the 18 most common types of cancer in women, including lung, colorectal, female breast, and prostate cancers.

A FairWarning story

Smartphone distractions, drinking help spur rising pedestrian death toll

Paul Feldman

Pedestrian deaths are surging across the nation, and analysts are putting much of the blame on drivers and walkers who are looking at their smartphones instead of watching where they are going. Tipsy walking also is part of the problem, with one in three victims legally drunk when they were struck and killed.

Are your employees aware of your wellness program?

Most US employers offer workplace health promotion (WHP) programs, but many employees aren't aware of these programs, reports a study in the March Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

Honeywell workplace drops injury/illness rate to -1%

Honeywell Fluorine Products in Claymont, Del. recently received a visit from OSHA – but not for having an unsafe workplace. The company’s management and employees received a Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) plaque and flag from Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson, in recognition of its safety achievements.