It’s naturally occurring and it’s just about everywhere, so we are all exposed to it. People who are regularly exposed to high radon levels, though, are at increased risk of lung cancer – especially if they smoke. Because radon is odorless and colorless, the only way to determine if your home is safe is to conduct testing.
Factory workers participating in a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study had urinary BPA levels that far exceeded those found in the public.
For years, manufacturers have used the industrial chemical BPA, or bisphenol A, to make polycarbonate plastic, epoxy resins, and other specialty materials. Although BPA’s effects on people remain unclear, health concerns about the chemical have arisen because it weakly mimics the hormone estrogen.
In the early 1970s, a Johnson & Johnson official posed a question that haunts the company today. If Johnson’s Baby Powder contained asbestos at a level of, say, 1 percent, how much of the cancer-causing substance would a baby inhale when dusted with the powder?
Posted with permission from Confined Space, a newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues.
After a 3 month-long trial, jurors are finally deliberating on the fate of three rail workers accused of criminal neglegence when a “bomb train” carrying 73 cars of highly combustible crude oil derailed in the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic in 2013, killing 47 people.
The EPA is considering eliminating age requirements that currently prevent teen workers in the agriculture industry from handling dangerous pesticides.
The rule, which prohibits workers under 18 years old from being in contact with pesticides, was issued in 2015 because pesticides can affect brain development and increase cancer risk in children.
When her black cat rapidly dropped from a healthy 14 pounds to a skeletal five pounds, it was natural for Arlene Blum to investigate whether a toxic chemical in her home might be to blame. The veterinarian’s diagnosis raised that possibility, and Blum had expertise in the harm that chemicals can cause.
Although miners with evidence of black lung on their chest X-rays are eligible to request a job transfer, few do so, according to a recent study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Black lung disease refers to a group of lung diseases caused by breathing in coal mine dust. The disease can cause severe problems like shortness of breath, and can even be fatal, but limiting exposure to coal mine dust can prevent it.
A chemical release that sent 140 people to the hospital was caused by a truck driver who mistakenly connected the hose for one chemical to the line for another. The Oct. 21, 2016 incident in Atchison, Kansas also provides valuable lessons in chemical safety, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which used it as the basis of a case study titled “Key Lessons for Preventing Inadvertent Mixing during Chemical Unloading Operations.”
A former OSHA inspector who worked at the 9/11 Ground Zero site, now diagnosed with a terminal 9/11 illness, is battling with the Labor Department for his workers’ compensation benefit, according to an article in the New York Daily News.
Workers who were dismantling a mercury boiler in Portsmith, New Hampshire were exposed to high levels of mercury, according to OSHA inspectors who took action following workers’ complaints.
In response, OSHA cited Manafort Brothers, Inc. of Plainville, Connecticut for two willful and six serious violations concerning mercury, respirators, protective clothing, and sanitary conditions. The construction contractor faces penalties of $329,548.
