The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and OSHA signed an agreement last week to work together to provide NAWIC members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect the health and safety of workers.

After five consecutive years of decreases, construction deaths rose five percent last year, propelling the construction industry into the top spot in terms of work-related fatalities per industry in 2012.

OSHA backs down from proposed changes to its On-Site Consultation Program, good news about U.S. mining fatality rates and reasons why some construction workers don’t report injuries are among the top EHS-related stories featured this week on ISHN.com:

More than 25% of construction workers responding to a recent survey by the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) said that they had suffered a work-related injury at some point in their career that they did not report.

Unsafe construction sites now the run the risk of being “outed” on social media, thanks to a campaign that invites people to potentially unsafe circumstances and share them via social media platforms.

Electricians and all those interested in electrical safety have a new online community they can join, thanks to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The new website from the NFPA, necconnect.org, is a resource for installers and contractors, designers and engineers, code enforcers, and policy makers for all things related to the NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code® (NEC®), which sets the standard for safe electrical installations in homes, businesses, industry and institutions.

OSHA, along with trade associations and employers throughout Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, conducted a one-hour safety stand-down at construction sites and workplaces today from 7 to 8 a.m.

Unfortunately, unlike maritime or general industry, OSHA construction regulations do not have permit required confined space standards, and do not have lock-out requirements to assure that hazards are isolated.  Our system of adding new OSHA regulations is essentially broken.  Both these standards have been on the regulatory agenda for well over a decade.

If safety is not in your job description, are you obligated to mention unsafe work conditions? That was one of the topics that appeared in the responses to a story featured on the ISHN website on July 18: “Safety pro asks, ‘Who can fight for my rights?’”

OSHA has cited the University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital and DGA Builders LLC, both of Rochester, for 14 serious violations of workplace safety and health standards, chiefly involving asbestos. The companies face a combined total of $53,200 in proposed fines, following an inspection.