Environmental Health and Safety

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Did you – like many people - make a New Year’s resolution to get healthier by losing weight and exercising more? You may be interested in the results of a report just released by personal-finance website WalletHub, one which identifies what it says are the best and worst U.S. cities for an “active lifestyle.” For its report, 2020’s Best & Worst Cities for an Active Lifestyle, WalletHub compared the 100 biggest U.S. cities across 38 key metrics.

Tom Votel, President and CEO of Ergodyne, was named Vice Chair of the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) at the group’s annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia in November. Votel will lead ISEA alongside the newly appointed chairman of the board, Craig Wallentine, Global Business Development Manager, DuPont Safety & Construction (Retired).

With the U.S. increasingly dependent on foreign manufacturers for prescription and generic drugs, the Food and Drug Administration’s problem-plagued efforts to inspect overseas plants is under growing scrutiny. A recent report by the Government Accountability Office has raised serious concerns about the FDA’s foreign inspection program and whether it’s allowing overseas drug makers to conceal unsafe practices.

Nearly 20 percent of U.S. workers experience bullying in the workplace and 19 percent witness it, according to a national survey conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI). The survey defined workplace bullying as “repeated mistreatment of an employee by one or more employees; abusive conduct that is: threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, work sabotage, or verbal abuse.” Although the WBI survey was conducted in 2017, the problem has not abated; in a 2019 Monster.com survey, nearly 94 percent out of responding employees reported being bullied in the workplace. 

On January 6, hazardous materials training and consulting leader Lion Technology Inc. launched an online store to offer hazmat shipping labels and placards. At Lion.com/Products shippers will now find hazmat labels and placards for each DOT Hazard Class/Division, 1—9. New lithium battery marks and labels required as of January 1, 2019 are also available in the new online store, along with hazmat labels for limited quantities, Cargo Aircraft Only shipments, marine pollutants, temperature sensitive goods, magnetized materials, and much more.

Lorraine M. Martin, president and CEO of the National Safety Council (NSC) has been named to WomenInc.’s 2019 Most Influential Corporate Board Directors list. The honor will appear in the winter edition of WomenInc. magazine as part of a comprehensive list of more than 700 female executives, influencers and achievers who are contributing their leadership to corporate boards.

Artificial stone countertops, also known as "quartz stone countertops," are made by polymerizing quartz aggregate and resin binder. These materials look similar to natural stone and are increasingly used in residential construction and home furnishings. Between 2010 and 2018, imports of quartzite countertops in the United States have increased by nearly 800% (US International Trade Commission).

In a first-ever action, a company and its former managers were criminally prosecuted for institutional harassment associated with suicides among the company’s employees. In a judgment last month, the Paris Criminal Court sentenced France Telecom to a fine of 75,000 euros - the maximum penalty – for institutional harassment that had spread from the leadership to the rest of the company in 2007-2008.

Some 2,561 people were hospitalized last year for lung injuries associated with e-cigarette, or vaping, product use EVALI, according to the CDC. EVALI hospitalizations or deaths were reported by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 2 U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Workplace fatalities were found to be lower in states that have legalized medical marijuana – at least among a certain age group - in a study published on ScienceDirect. “Although there is increasing concern that legalizing medical marijuana will make workplaces more dangerous, little is known about the relationship between medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and workplace fatalities,” according to the study’s authors, who set out to determine what, if any, relationship existed between the two.