The VPPPA 2022 Safety+ Symposium and Expo opened Tuesday, August 23, 2022 in Washington, D.C. with an opening address from Doug Parker, OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor. Parker began by emphasizing the importance of making real change means not just focusing on compliance.

Automation has begun to appear in nearly every industry in various capacities. It has even started to impact medicine and health care, benefiting patients and practitioners. Here’s how automation increases safety and productivity for medical professionals in this sector.

Opinions are most divisive over a risk-related question: will climate change harm you personally? A 2021 Yale poll found a split (47 percent yes – 45 percent no). OK, so maybe baby boomers and older adults get a pass. But their kids?

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are so-called “forever chemicals” because they don’t easily break down in the environment and can remain indefinitely in air, soil and water, including sources of drinking water.

In the construction industry, we face various safety barriers, highlighting the importance of implementing companywide rules, regulations, and safeguards at construction sites to protect our workers from accidents and injury.

The Biden Administration through the interagency National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) launched Heat.gov, a new website to provide the public and decision-makers with educated information to understand and reduce the health risks of extreme heat.

On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, United States legislators, labor leaders, PPE manufacturers, and safety experts met at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. to advocate for heat safety and the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act. 

While outdoor environments may deal with more extreme temperatures, heavy equipment and frequent movement in industrial workplaces can lead to high, potentially dangerous temperatures in industrial facilities.

As temperatures and the risk of heat illness rise in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminds employers and workers not to ignore the dangers of working in hot weather – indoors and out.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will offer free, confidential black lung screenings to coal miners in August 2022. The screenings provide early detection of black lung disease, a serious but preventable disease in coal miners caused by breathing coal mine dust.