A New Jersey jury today ordered Johnson & Johnson and its main talc supplier to pay $80 million in punitive damages to a mesothelioma victim who claimed he contracted the asbestos-related cancer from years of using Johnson’s baby powder.

The discovery that Black Lung Disease – which once appeared on the verge of being eradicated – has come roaring back among U.S. coal miners, and in a more virulent form than in the past, has ignited the fury of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). The union representing miners is accusing coal mine operators of putting production miners’ health and safety and state and federal agencies of failing to enforce the law.

At this week's Health & Safety Event, one of the UK’s premier safety conferences and exhibitions, Blackline Safety Corp. (TSX Venture: BLN) announced that its G7c lone worker monitor and wireless gas detector system is the only solution of its kind to have achieved certification to the latest British Standard — BS8484: 2016 to deploy police assistance in the event of an emergency.

ACGIH® offers two of its most popular reference resources in one product! The just released 2018 TLVs® and BEIs® with 7th Edition Documentation, CD-ROM offers access to: Everything contained in the 2018 TLVs® and BEIs® book – all of the TLVs® for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and all of the BEIs® (including the Notice of Intended Changes and Appendices).

Since the 19th century, many therapeutic drugs have been known to affect hearing. Known as ototoxic drugs, many are used today in clinical situations despite these negative side effects because they are effective in treating serious, sometimes life-threatening conditions. Research has shown that exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace may also negatively affect how the ear functions, potentially causing hearing loss or balance problems, regardless of noise exposure.

Ever since 9/11 and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, chemical plant security has been a top concern for national policy makers, the petro-chemical industry and the environemental community. But most of the concern has been about the threat of physical attack — bombs, missiles, etc.

The EPA, cabinet members and a host of federal agencies – all part of the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children -- gathered last week to hear the EPA’s strategy for reducing childhood lead exposure and associated health risks.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is one of the federal agencies slated for elimination under the 2019 budget proposal unveiled by President Trump today. The CSB is an independent agency whose mission is to investigate industrial chemical accidents, determine their causes and make recommendations to plants, regulatory agencies such as OSHA and the EPA, industry organizations, and labor groups about ways to reduce the risk of similar accidents in the future.

Many companies are missing the mark when it comes to educating their employees about what to do in the event of an emergency. That’s the conclusion of a recent survey by Rave Mobile Safety, which found both generational and industry differences in employee perceptions about safety. Fire preparedness got high marks, with some 87 percent of respondents indicating an awareness of their workplace's fire drill policy and participation in fire drills practiced at work.

The EPA this week proposed a fees rule under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that it says will give the agency the resources it needs to review chemicals for safety. Under the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the proposed fees on certain chemical manufacturers, including importers and processors, would provide what the agency calls “a sustainable source of funding” for implementing the amended law.