Articles Tagged with ''occupational exposure''

ACGIH® has released its 2018 editions of the TLVs® and BEIs® book and the Guide to Occupational Exposure Values. The information in the user-friendly, pocket-sized TLVs® and BEIs® book is used worldwide as a guide for evaluation and control of workplace exposures to chemical substances and physical agents.

OSHA has cited a Florida construction company after one of its employees died from heat exposure while working at a residential site in Jacksonville. Middleburg-based Southeastern Subcontractors Inc. failed to protect its workers from the dangerous hazards of working outdoors in extreme heat, according to OSHA, which issued the one serious citation for exposing employees to heat-related injuries, and one other-than-serious violation for failing to report a workplace fatality to OSHA within 8 hours of its occurrence.

Occupational hazards are broadly defined as “a risk accepted as a consequence of a specific profession,” and in many instances, the construction and industrial sectors top the list of dangerous professions. While strides have been made in the realm of worker safety over the past several decades, many underlying risks still remain prevalent in the workplace.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) – the government agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses – has rolled out some tools to enhance the safety of those working in nanotechnology. This relatively new science has exploded in popularity in recent years, as scientists and engineers find more and more uses for engineered nanomaterials, which may be stronger and more lightweight and offer increased control of light spectrum and greater chemical reactivity than their larger-scale counterparts of the same composition.

Nearly three years ago, President Barack Obama responded to long-standing concerns that workers exposed to toxic chemicals at the country’s nuclear weapons labs were not receiving proper compensation. Obama created an advisory board to be composed of scientists, doctors and worker advocates. Their recommendations have led to significant changes, including the repeal of a rule that made it more difficult for workers who’d been injured in the last two decades to get compensation.

OSHA has delayed the enforcement date for its final rule on occupational exposure to beryllium in general, construction, and shipyard industries until May 11, 2018 – a move that angered the United Steelworkers (USW) union. The start of enforcement had previously been set for March 12, 2018. The agency said the 60-day delay will “ensure that stakeholders are aware of their obligations, and that OSHA provides consistent instructions to its inspectors.”

This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to prevent occupational disease and injury.

NIOSH researchers, in partnership with staff from a network of federally funded black lung clinics in Virginia, have reported the largest cluster of severe black lung disease ever described in the scientific literature, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The NIOSH Mining Program aims to eliminate mining fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through relevant research and impactful solutions. More than 65 engineers work in the NIOSH Mining Program representing many disciplines including chemical, electrical, mechanical, industrial, mining, software, and general engineering.