Excessive rainfall that washed out a portion of the track was one of the factors in a June 22, 2018 train accident that released more than a quarter of a million gallons of crude oil into the Little Rock River, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The Environmental Protection Agency has a proposal on the drawing board that critics say could expand the use of asbestos — an industrial material known to cause cancer and lung disease. Since the health hazards of asbestos emerged 40 years ago, use of the material has dropped dramatically across the globe. By 2013, more than 60 countries had implemented partial or full bans of asbestos.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued a statewide air quality alert in early August due to smoke spreading across northern Minnesota and southern Minnesota. Smoke from wildfires in western Canada will continue to affect Minnesota. Air Quality Indices in the orange category spread eastward across northern Minnesota Friday, making air quality unhealthy for sensitive groups.

One in five working coal miners in central Appalachia who have worked at least 25 years now suffer from the coal miners' disease black lung. That's the finding from the latest study tracking an epidemic of the incurable and fatal sickness.

From small particles like sawdust and cement chips to chemicals that cause burns, there are numerous workplace hazards that pose a risk to employees’ eyes. A survey conducted among 124 safety professionals at the 2018 ASSP Professional Development Conference, June 3-6 in San Antonio, Texas, reveals whether businesses are prepared for these difficult-to-avoid eye injuries.

An explosion onboard a towboat that killed three workers has resulted in OSHA issuing a total of 55 violations to five companies. The January 2018 incident in Calvert City, Kentucky shipyard occurred when employees were cutting and welding in an atmosphere containing flammable gases. In addition to the fatalities, three workers were critically injured.

Battery energy storage and solar systems are revolutionizing the nation’s electrical infrastructure and creating a strong commercial and consumer interest, with the number of residential battery energy storage system (ESS) installs during the first quarter of 2018 increasing nine-fold over 2017 Q1 figures, according to PV Magazine. That number equaled totals from the previous three quarters.

ACGIH® announced today the release of its two-tier Under Study list pursuant to changes previously made to its TLV®/BEI® Development Process. In 2006, ACGIH® began providing additional information on the status of chemical substances and physical agents that are on the Under Study list.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on a Retrospective Study of the final rule entitled "Lowering Miners' Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust, Including Continuous Personal Dust Monitors" in the Federal Register.

It’s silvery-white and globby and you really want to touch it, make it move around and show it to your friends. That thinking on the part of some kids is a big reason behind the many mercury spill clean-ups the EPA conducts in schools each year, at costs ranging from $100,000 to over $1 million.