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.”

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).

In a startling new report released by the CDC, researchers identified 204–389 deaths among adults that occurred annually between 1999 and 2016 that could be attributable to occupational exposures -- and were therefore potentially preventable. The fatality figures cited represent an estimated 11-21 percent of all adult asthma deaths.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has dismissed industry challenges to OSHA’s new silica dust exposure standard, ruling that the agency’s decision to lower permissible worker exposure from 250 micrograms to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an average of eight hours was reasonable.

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.

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is usually produced by an industrial process. Cr(VI) is known to cause cancer. In addition, it targets the respiratory system, kidneys, liver, skin and eyes. Chromium metal is added to alloy steel to increase hardenability and corrosion resistance.

‘Workplaces are not merely spaces where people work – they are spaces where people live their lives. Anything which would be prohibited on grounds of consumer health or environmental protection should also be prohibited in workplaces.’ These were the words with which Laurent Vogel, a researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), closed the ‘Work and Cancer’ conference organised by the ETUI in November in Brussels.