Office workers can develop damaged thumbs from texting and emailing on their phones. Smartphones force your thumb to make repetitive, awkward movements. “We’re getting more thumb and wrist tendonitis,” says Karen Jacobs, an occupational therapist at Boston University and the founding editor of the interdisciplinary journal Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation. “It’s an issue we all have to be mindful of.”

New restrictions on how long injured federal workers can get prescription opioids have been implemented by the DOL's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, as a way of protecting the workers from the risks of long-term opioid use. The DOL controls – which impose a 7-day limit on the initial fill of an opioid prescription - will apply to injured federal workers receiving benefits under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act.

Contrary to previously announced plans, OSHA will not revoke all of the ancillary provisions in its Beryllium Standards for Construction and Shipyards. Beryllium is a strong, lightweight metal used in the aerospace, telecommunications, information technology, defense, medical, and nuclear industries. Workers who are exposed to beryllium – by inhaling or contacting it in the air or on surfaces - are at risk for developing beryllium disease and lung cancer.

National Employ Older Workers Week takes place the final week in September and recognizes the vital role of older workers [U.S. DOL 2019]. By 2020, workers aged 55 and over will likely make up about 25 percent of the U.S. workforce [BLS 2018]. Within the Wholesale and Retail Trade (WRT) Sector alone, in 2017 almost 4.5 million workers (more than 22 percent) are over age 55, up from 3.8 million workers in 2011 [BLS 2018].

For Kevin Emerick, workplace safety is no mere box to be checked on a To-Do List. It is about people. It is about family. It is about sending members of your work family home safe after each and every workday. “With the median tenure at our company at almost 25 years, we are family, and the last thing you want to see is someone in your family get hurt or worse,” said Emerick (shown above), risk manager for Woodfold Mfg., Inc., a Forest Grove, Oregon-based company that makes custom-crafted accordion doors, roll-up doors, and hardwood shutters.

On-the-job exposure to high levels of pesticides raised the risk of heart disease and stroke in a generally healthy group of Japanese American men in Hawaii, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the open access journal of the American Heart Association (AHA).

Timothy Leary may get vindication yet, if a new research center at Johns Hopkins Medicine yields results. Leary, a Harvard psychologist and 1960s counter culture figure, came under intense criticism for advocating the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs like Lysergic acid diethylamide – otherwise known as LSD.

With obesity among children and adolescents in the U.S. nearly tripling since the 1970s, many of those affected are dealing with health problems that previously weren't seen until adulthood. These include: High blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol levels. There are psychological effects as well.

A new methane – detection system that can “see even tiny gas leaks in methane (LNG) – powered equipment has been developed by Sensor Electronics. Engineered for truck/bus garages, repair and diesel/LNG conversion shops, test bays and park ramps, the new detection system can spot leaks small as 100 ppm.

You might have heard that Apple has released a handy new app in its latest update to the Watch OS platform. Wearers can now track their noise exposure throughout the day, receiving real-time alerts when their environment is too loud. As one of the world’s leading acoustic measurement specialists, we like to keep up-to-date with developments in the market.