Environmental Health and Safety

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Sleep loss and poor working conditions are the most important causes of occupational fatigue—which can impair mental and physical performance with the potential for serious errors and injuries, reports a review and update in the October Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released its 2016 list of hazardous drugs in healthcare settings, updating the list to include 34 added drugsHealthcare workers who prepare or give hazardous drugs to patients, such as those used for cancer therapy, as well as support staff may face individual health risks when exposed to these drugs.

NIOSH will celebrate a notable 20th anniversary this month. On October 19, 1996, a new facility was dedicated on NIOSH’s Morgantown, West Virginia, campus. The facility, often referred to now as the “L” Building, provided NIOSH for the first time with a strategic convergence of specialized equipment and dedicated laboratory space for advanced health-effects research.

On October 2, 2016, the OHS Initiative for Workers and Community received the legally required approval from the Bangladesh government’s NGO Bureau to begin operations, green-lighting its “train-the-trainer” program on workplace health and safety with six leading labor, women’s, public health and occupational health and safety (OHS) organizations.

Fire departments can reduce stress on firefighters by signaling emergencies with alarms that gradually increase in intensity instead of blasting sudden, full-volume alerts, according to new research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH).

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) seeks nominations for four Board of Directors positions, that will be vacated in June 2017. The open positions will include Vice President, Treasurer-elect, and two Director positions. This year for the first time, all Board nominations must be submitted electronically via the nominations portal on the AIHA website.

As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to strengthen America’s climate resilience, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an updated online climate change risk assessment tool that assists users in designing adaptation plans based on the types of threats confronting their communities.

Individuals who are exposed to high temperatures or flames and those who must handle flammable liquids are at increased risk for burns of the hand and wrist. Burns are most frequently sustained at home (72%), whereas 5% occur in relation to motor vehicle accidents and 9% are work-related, The most common type of burn injury to the wrist and hand is a scald injury, usually from a hot water source, followed by flame burns, flash burns from explosion of flammable gases or liquids, and contact burns.

Musculoskeletal disorders are frequently reported by practicing dental hygienists due to the physical demands placed on the body caused by poor ergonomics, repetitive motion, pinch force, and grasp.

Squeezing limes for fresh juice may improve the taste of any summer cocktail, but for bartender Justin Fehntrich, it only left him with severe and blistered hands. On a hot summer day this past June, Fehntrich was bartending at a fundraiser on Fire Island, which required that he prep drinks by cutting up and squeezing 100 limes into pitchers for the guests’ cocktails directly under the sun.