Today's Safety News

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Now that we're in the swing of fall, it is crucial to understand how to properly layer using flame resistant clothing so you're prepared when the weather turns cold. When worn correctly, flame resistant clothing can provide lifesaving protection.

Citations issued by OSHA to a New York state company after one of its employees was pulled into a wood chipper on his first day on the job have been affirmed by an administrative law judge with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. OSHA’s investigation revealed that Tony Watson - doing business as Countryside Tree Service - directed the employee to feed materials into the wood chipper, knowing that he had not trained the employee on how to do so safely.

California has passed a law that establishes interim standards for the cleanup of fentanyl labs – a measure intended to protect those who live in or near  properties contaminated by the substance. The Methamphetamine or Fentanyl Contaminated Property Cleanup Act provides local health officers with directions on how to provide adequate notice to property owners and renters of property contaminated by fentanyl as well as guidance on overseeing the cleanup of these properties.

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Foundation is accepting online applications for scholarships and professional development grants through Dec. 1 for the 2019-20 academic year. More than $400,000 is available to occupational safety and health students and professionals, thanks to the generosity of corporate donors and the ASSP community.

Honeywell has launched a new line of industrial work gloves—CoreShieldTM— with a color-coded marking system that makes it simple to choose the correct cut protection for the work application according to the new EN/ANSI standards.

Some 250 cardiovascular disease patients, survivors, caregivers, researchers descended on Washington, D.C. this week to urge lawmakers to remove flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars and menthol cigarettes, from the market. The activists, part of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) You’re the Cure grassroots network, were in the nation’s capital for congressional hearings about the health threats of electronic cigarettes.

A new rule by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will allow states to expand the parameters used to conduct drug testing on people who apply for unemployment insurance. The rule, which was sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, allows drug testing in occupations where it is regularly conducted. It includes testing for marijuana, opioids and a variety of other substances. Jobless workers who fail the test would be blocked from getting the assistance.

An update released yesterday by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) into its investigation of an explosion and fire at a Philadelphia refinery earlier this year says the incident began with a pipe elbow that had corroded to about half the thickness of a credit card.

Cases of the flu are already on the rise around the nation as flu season begins. Johns Hopkins Medicine experts say now is the time to fight against the flu as the number of people getting sick from the potentially life-threatening virus will increase in the coming months. Doctors recommend everyone 6 months and older get the flu vaccine each year to prevent the virus or reduce the seriousness if you do get sick.

Sixty-six percent of Amazon employees at the company’s Staten Island distribution center reported working while in pain, according to a new report released by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH). The worker safety organization timed the report, "Time off Task: Pressure, Pain, and Productivity at Amazon" to coincide with the anniversary of the Staten Island facility's opening.