Environmental Health and Safety

RSS

A recent report published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH) found respirable crystalline silica, a human lung carcinogen, to be an occupational exposure hazard for oil and gas extraction workers. The study is the first systematic investigation of worker exposure to crystalline silica during directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, a process used to stimulate well production in the oil and gas industry.

Industrial facilities often attract birds, some of which may cause problems for site operation and management. Bird problems at industrial sites include:Impediment to operations—birds and their nests or droppings may interfere with plant operations. Property damage—birds and their droppings are messy and can cause damage to structures and equipment.

Frustrated by rulemaking foot-dragging on the part of the Obama administration, West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller has introduced a bill that would impose a deadline on the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for finalizing a proposal to reduce respirable dust limits in mines.

AFL-CIO Health and Safety Director Peg Seminario told a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday that the current system for developing and issuing worker and workplace safety rules is: A broken and dysfunctional system, which is failing to protect workers and costing workers’ lives.

Whether you work in a hot smelting plant or outdoors in the summer months, heat exposure can be dangerous. Workers who are exposed to extreme heat or work in hot environments may be at increased risk of heat stress.