Employers grapple with the coronavirus, flight attendants cheer a proposed comfort animals on planes rule and indoor air quality affects construction workers, too. These were among the top occupational safety and health, environmental health and safety and regulatory stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

In a recent article in Public Health Reports, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vice Admiral (VADM) Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, recognizes the important relationship between employment and health. The article, “The Value of Worker Well-being,” also highlights the efforts of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the NIOSH Office of Total Worker Health®, the NIOSH-funded Total Worker Health (TWH) Centers of Excellence, and NIOSH TWH affiliates.

Australia’s largest union representing workers in construction, forestry, maritime and mining and energy is demanding urgent national action on silicosis after revelations that 1-in-5 Queensland stone workers tested positive to the potentially fatal disease. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU ) says the severity of the risks associated with engineered stone products calls for a nationally coordinated approach rather than piecemeal regulations and health monitoring programs.

ACGIH® announced today that its Board of Directors ratified the 2020 Threshold Limit Values (TLVs®) for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs®). The Board also approved recommendations for additions to the Notice of Intended Changes (NIC).

Ignoring mental health problems in the workplace can lead to conflicts between employees, affect productivity and, of course, result in a worsening of the mental health issues being experienced by individuals. Here are recommendations from Mental Health America for employers who want to support mental health in their workplaces:

A Florida shooting range employee who was fired after reporting workplace safety concerns to OSHA will get $30,000 in back wages and compensatory damages, under a settlement with the agency. The U.S. Department of Labor says the agreement with Orlando-based Shooting Gallery Range Inc. is the result of a U.S. District Court consent judgment issued January 24, 2020.

ACGIH®, supported by its renowned Industrial Ventilation Committee, will present a popular continuing education course this spring. Fundamentals in Industrial Ventilation & Practical Applications of Useful Equations will be held March 30April 3, 2020 at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Cincinnati-Blue Ash in Cincinnati, Ohio. Register early and save!

Most American workers are not at significant risk of contracting the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV ) – but there are certain categories of employees who may be in danger of exposure, according to OSHA, which has published a webpage about rapidly-evolving outbreak. Chinese health officials have reported thousands of infections with 2019-nCoV in that country, with the virus reportedly spreading from person-to-person in many parts of that country.

Heart disease and stroke deaths have declined, according to data reported in the just published American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart & Stroke Statistics - 2020 Update, but that decrease has slowed significantly in recent years. Further discouraging is that more people are living in poor health, beginning at a younger age, as a direct result of risk factors that contribute to these leading causes of death worldwide.

To help service members perform better in the field, military training emphasizes the importance of certain traits associated with traditional masculinity, including suppression of emotion and self-reliance. But when veterans return home, strict adherence to these traits can become detrimental, leading to more severe post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and making it more difficult to treat, according to research published by the American Psychological Association (APA).