Environmental Health and Safety - Articles - Page 346

Calif. passes bill to protect health care workers from toxic drugs

Chemotherapy drug handling linked to higher cancer risk

November 6, 2013

Starting January 1, 2014, health care workers in California will have new protections in the form of legislation that establishes workplace safety practices for the safe handling of chemotherapy drugs.

NIOSH study finds higher cancer rates in firefighters

Excessive mesothelioma cases linked to asbestos exposure

November 6, 2013

A combined population of 30,000 firefighters from three large cities had higher rates of several types of cancers, and of all cancers combined, than the U.S. population as a whole, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and colleagues found in a new study.

The biological leash on organizations

Corporate behavior faces hard-wired constraints

Dr John Kello

November 4, 2013

Starting in the 1960s, a growing body of evidence began to strongly support the view that all organisms, including us, are biologically prepared for certain behaviors

Who runs the rule mill?

The best bet is when workers create the rules

Timothy Ludwig Ph.D.

November 4, 2013

Rules are designed to keep us safe and are made by well-meaning folks thinking through potential risks in the face of hazards.

Remote monitoring in real time

Analyze threat data, controls & alarm signals

John Mccreadie

November 4, 2013

Relevant data helps make better decisions faster. Analyzed data can pinpoint small threats before they become big incidents that shut down operations.

Handwashing: A corporate activity

November 4, 2013

Handwashing is an easy, inexpensive, and effective way to prevent the spread of germs and keep employees healthy. Handwashing gives people the opportunity to take an active role in their own health. Most handwashing studies have focused on child care or health care settings.

OSHA

The truth that sickens and kills

Michaels admits PELs are outdated, dangerous

Dave Johnson

November 1, 2013

In this case, it does much more than merely hurt. “This case” refers to last Thursday’s (October 24, 2013) rather extraordinary admission by OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels that hundreds of OSHA’s permissible exposures limits (PELs) are far out of date, basically useless, and in fact dangerous.

Chemistry industry says OSHA safety tools are “too narrow”

ACC urges agency to get stakeholder input

October 31, 2013

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) is taking issue with an online tool developed by OSHA to help employers assess the relative safety of potential alternatives for hazardous chemicals. While the ACC said it welcomed OSHA’s recent launch of a website making it easier to access up-to-date information on Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) for the workplace, it feels more input is needed.

Industrial hygiene

Five steps to successful exposure assessments

Jerome Spear

October 31, 2013

The better our understanding of exposures and the risks they pose, the more assurance we have that we are controlling the most important (highest risk) exposures first. Control efforts (such as engineering, work practice, or personal protective equipment) are often costly to implement and maintain.

Recent North Dakota oil spill raises alarms about Keystone XL pipeline

“It’s not a question of if, but when”

October 29, 2013

Organizations opposed to the Keystone XL pipeline are pointing to a September oil spill that leaked 865,000 gallons of oil (at least 20,600 barrels) across seven acres a North Dakota farm as an example of what a spill of the same magnitude would mean for landowners along the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline route.