Female nurses who administer antineoplastic drugs – medications used to treat cancer – don’t always wear protective clothing, according to a new NIOSH study published online in the American Journal of Nursing, accompanied by a video abstract. This is one of the first studies to explore the use of antineoplastic drugs and personal protective equipment among non-pregnant and pregnant female nurses.
Despite being shut down during the partial federal government shutdown, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) last week approved OSHA’s final Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses rule. What are the details? The public doesn’t know and will not know until the rule can be published in the Federal Register, which is closed for business during the shutdown.
A new report by EUROGIP presents an analysis of the extent to which occupational cancers are recognised in nine European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. It also looks at the schemes for identifying occupational cancers, especially via monitoring the health of people exposed to carcinogens in the course of their working careers.
With a growing number of states legalizing marijuana, causing a rapid increase in the cannabis industry workforce, increasing attention is being given to the health and safety of those involved in the cultivation and distribution of the substance in its various forms. One potentially serious health risk is from occupational exposure to mold.
What is going on at the North Pole? Several elves in the toy making department have reported congestion, cough and shortness of breath. While it is cold and flu season, all of the elves have had their flu shots and the issues seem to be contained to the elves working in the toy shop. A handful of elves also report sore throats, burning eyes and fatigue.
Cancer is the leading cause of work-related mortalities in the European Union (EU) and is responsible for 100,000 unnecessary deaths a year. Yet most research and policy on its causes and prevention still assume that it is mainly men who are affected, even though an increasing proportion of the victims are now women. The need to shift research priorities and better address workplace prevention to reflect changing occupational risks was the subject of an ETUI conference in Brussels in early December.
The comment period is now open for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed objectives for Healthy People (HP) 2030. This includes proposed core objectives for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH).
Work-related cancers cost between €270 ($343) and €610 ($776) billion a year in the EU-28 (the European Union including the United Kingdom, which is soon to become a non-member), according to a new book from the European Trade Union Institute.
A federal jury last week ruled that the company who hired workers to clean up a coal ash spill in Tennessee failed to protect them from the hazards involved. The ruling clears the way for workers affected by the highly toxic substance to seek damages from Jacobs Engineering, the company tasked with cleaning up a massive coal ash spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant.
Heat stress illness among United States Postal Service employees in Las Vegas has resulted in a $129,336 fine against the USPS.
An OSHA investigation revealed that at least four USPS employees at the Silverado Station branch in Las Vegas received treatment for heat-related illness this year, including one hospitalization.
