Articles Tagged with ''occupational exposure''

The EPA is revising the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard to strengthen protections for the nation’s two million agricultural employees who work on farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses. The agency says the revisions will afford farmworkers similar health protections that are already afforded to workers in other industries.

The results of an electrical industry study over 10 years with 120,000 workers showed that there are about 125 electrical injuries per year with 77 percent of them arc flash injuries, 21 percent permanent disabilities and 2.4 percent fatalities.

A recent Swiss survey of the working population shows that in 2013 over one million people suffered damage to their health due to their occupational activity. Eleven per cent of those questioned reported suffering from a health problem linked to their work (750 000 people) and 6 percent had been the victim of a workplace accident (316 000 people).

New York state’s recent implementation of regulations meant to protect workers in the state’s nail salons has prompted salon owners to organize, with many engaging in a one day lockout that deprived workers of that day’s wages.

“One of the greatest challenges in occupational safety and health is ensuring that promising research findings become safer practices on the jobsite,” according to Pete Stafford, Executive Director of the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR).

There is a lack of existing information regarding the variety and magnitude of chemical exposure risks to oil and gas extraction workers. To determine if risks are present, NIOSH wants to develop partnerships with the oil and gas extrac¬tion industry to identify, characterize and (if needed) control workplace chemical exposures.

A recent ruling by a Colorado judge could have implications for the nation’s oil and gas industry. The Denver Post reported in late July that Administrative Law Judge Peter Cannici ruled that the death of a Weld County (Colorado) oil and gas worker was caused by exposure to hydrocarbons. The ruling comes as federal health officials take a closer look at “tank gauging,” or measuring oil levels after opening a tank hatch — commonly known as a thief hatch.

Gas leak detectors are equipment that indicates the presence of gases in ambient air using technologies such as electrochemical, infrared and ultrasonic. These devices are used to detect toxic and combustible gases in order to maintain safety during operations.

Hundreds of U.S. air marshals and federal Bureau of Prisons employees were exposed to dangerous levels of lead while pursuing required firearms proficiencies at gun ranges sanctioned by the federal government, according to an investigation by the Seattle Times.