Environmental Health and Safety

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Hospital workers who deal directly with patients wash their hands less frequently as their workday progresses, probably because the demands of the job deplete the mental reserves they need to follow rules, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

A draft international standard on health and safety at work failed last month to get the necessary two-thirds majority vote in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committee that is developing it. It will now have to be reviewed and voted on again.

Working non-standard hours -- often called "shift work" -- for many years is not only hard on the body, but may also dull the mind, new research suggests. According to the study, those who do shift work for more than 10 years seem to have the equivalent of an extra 6.5 years of age-related decline in memory and thinking skills.

On November 3, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academies convened a workshop of distinguished representatives from the public and private sectors.  The participants were asked to suggest priorities for research that will “provide public health officials, healthcare providers, and the general public with the most up-to-date information about transmission, health risks, and measures that should be taken to prevent spread of [Ebola virus disease] in the U.S."

A 55-year-old worker who was found unresponsive in a restroom at Bremer Manufacturing Co. Inc. on May 6, 2014 later died. The man, who had been employed at the Elkhart Lake foundry for the past 38 years, worked with resin-containing isocyanates on the sand molding line.

The National Safety Council has become the seventh organization to join the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Total Worker Health Affiliate Program. The program focuses on increasing the number of work environments that support the integration of occupational safety and health protection with health promotion.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ordered $2.7 million in personal protective equipment (PPE) to increase Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) supplies to assist U.S. hospitals caring for Ebola patients.

While most workers in the U.S. are unlikely to be exposed to the Ebola virus or come into contact with people who are ill with Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF), many employers across a variety of industries are concerned about protecting their personnel from the virus.

BNSF Railway Company violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it disciplined a sick worker whose doctor told him to take the rest of the day off, according to OSHA.