“The USDA is letting the wolf guard the hog-house”
January 14, 2020
Several food safety advocacy organizations have filed a legal action against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for issuing New Swine Inspection System (NSIS) rules that that they say undermine pork-safety inspection in slaughter plants. Food & Water Watch and the Center for Food Safety are calling the new NSIS rules “a draconian reversal to the swine slaughter inspection system that has existed in the United States since 1906, which required meat inspectors to examine each animal before and after slaughter.”
Exoskeletons used in the workplace are referred to as “industrial exoskeletons.” Their purpose is to augment, amplify, or reinforce the performance of a worker’s existing body components—primarily the lower back and the upper extremity (arms and shoulders). Despite a lack of research, manufacturers of these devices claim productivity gains, work quality improvements, and a reduction of the risk of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs).
Even with relatively low participation rates, a comprehensive workplace health promotion (WHP) can have a moderate impact on worker health, according to an analysis of a large Finnish company published in the November Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The study involved an eight-year evaluation of the WHP implemented at a Finnish wood supply company, one which offered health risk appraisal (HRAs) and screening, along with education and support services aimed at improving employee health.
Industrial vacuums are the right tool for preventing secondary explosions
January 13, 2020
The issue of dust explosions has been a hot topic since the early 20 century. In a book published by the NFPA in 1922, titled Dust Explosions, the authors, David J. Price and Harold H. Brown, acknowledge the need for a vacuum that can withstand the rigors of an industrial environment.
Parents and coaches of young athletes can learn how to help during sports-related emergencies with a new CPR & First Aid in Youth Sports™ Training Kit being offered y the American Heart Association (AHA). The kit, which is completely self-facilitated, with no additional training required for a facilitator, will teach those who use it the lifesaving skill of CPR, how to use an AED, and other first aid information.
OSHA updates a program designed to reduce amputations in the manufacturing industry; company execs in France found guilty of “institutional harassment” and alcohol-related fatalities are increasing in the U.S. These were among the occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
Want to discourage employees who have the flu from coming to work and spreading the virus to others in your workforce? Provide them with paid leave and the option of telework. That’s according to a study on work attendance during acute respiratory illness (ARI), which found that those provisions tend to keep sick employees away from the workplace and also help them retain some work productivity.
January is National Radon Action Month, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging Americans around the country to test their homes for radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer.
“Radon exposure is one of the most important public health issues affecting Americans today,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.
Deaths related to alcohol use in the U.S. have increased over the past years, resulting in alcohol having a larger impact on public health services, according to a recent study. The authors of Using Death Certificates to Explore Changes in Alcohol‐Related Mortality in the United States, 1999 to 2017 warn that because death certificates often fail to indicate the contribution of alcohol, the scope of alcohol‐related mortality in the United States is likely higher than suggested from death certificates alone.
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.