Environmental Health and Safety

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In 1998, an historic landmark legal settlement between 46 states and the major tobacco companies, – along with individual settlements with four other states – required the companies to pay more than $246 billion over time as compensation for tobacco-related health care costs.

A ten-year spike in workplace deaths is unacceptable and calls for urgent action, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) said today. “As we prepare to gather with our families this holiday season, everyone who is committed to workplace safety will be thinking about the 5,250 U.S. workers who will never see their loved ones again,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of National COSH.

From an outbreak of mysterious lung-injury deaths to America’s near loss of measles elimination status, the beginning of the end of the U.S. HIV epidemic to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), CDC worked around the clock – and around the globe – to protect Americans from domestic and global health threats in 2019.

Machine guarding solutions, a chemical tank cover and work boots for women in the trades were the top occupational safety and health products featured this week on ISHN.com.

Occupational fatalities in the U.S. increased last year, a lawsuit follows an assembly line death and the NTSB identifies safety issue behind devastating pipeline explosion. These were among the stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that 115 people may be killed on the roadways during the Christmas holiday driving period, and an additional 163 may be killed during the New Year’s holiday driving period. That number would likely be significantly higher if not for seat belts. This low-tech, highly effective motor vehicle safety feature is estimated to save 245 lives over the same driving periods.

Many workplaces require workers and visitors to wear personal protective clothing (PPE) while on worksite premises if there are hazards present in the area such as open flames or chemicals which can cause harm. It is important that PPE is always worn correctly whilst in a hazardous area, as this will prevent accidents from occurring and make for a safer work environment.

Office workers who spend long hours on the job are more likely to have high blood pressure, including a type that can go undetected during a routine medical appointment, according to a new study published today in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension. High blood pressure affects nearly half of Americans ages 18 and older and is a primary factor in more than 82,000 deaths per year.

Chances are this holiday season you will send and/or receive a package. Probably several. We all delight in the ‘miracle’ of a package arriving on our doorstep a mere few days after ordering. It’s easy to forget that there is no magic involved. Considerable effort and many workers are responsible for the arrival of your holiday gifts.