The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week banned seven cancer-causing chemicals added to a variety of food and beverages – although the agency said the chemicals do not pose a public health risk. The chemicals are used to add artificial flavoring like cinnamon, floral and mint to everything from ice cream and baked goods, to gum and beer.

Legislative measure that would compensate first responders for cancers and post-traumatic stress disorder are among the “hot topics” in workers comp identified in a recent update from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), which monitors issues that could potentially impact the workers compensation system.

When turnaround season comes to your facility, managers and turnaround personnel face a big dilemma: How do you successfully and safely complete the turnaround on a tight schedule?

Although U.S. OSHA updated its occupational silica standard in 2016 for the first time in 45 years, relatively few countries have followed suit. Aside from a handful of European countries, some Canadian Provinces and Mexico, most other countries do not have as stringent of a standard as the current U.S. Permissible Exposure Limit of 0.05 mg/m^3.

OSHA’s hazard communication standard requires employers with hazardous chemicals in the workplace to implement a formal hazard communication program that includes processes for managing and maintaining safety data sheets, container labels, chemical inventory lists, a written HCS plan, and employee training on OSHA’s standard specific to the employer’s work environment. 

While protecting against a hazard is your first and most obvious concern when choosing protective clothing, it might be just as important to consider the environment. If workers are uncomfortable, they can be tempted to cut corners on safety.

A government audit gives OSHA’s fatality and severe injury reporting regulation a failing grade; small construction companies get a new safety assessment tool and a survey uncovers shocking workplace violence levels in hospital emergency departments. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

A Sauganash, Ill. city water department worker dies after an underground trench collapses around him during a routine project. A man dies after he was trapped in dirt up to his waist while working at a home construction site in Washington State. A Smithton, Pa. teenager dies when the walls of a 10-foot-deep trench collapse on him as he helps install a septic system.

A blistering new report by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (OIG) says that OSHA’s revised fatality and severe injury reporting requirements are failing to produce accurate data, which hinders the agency’s ability to effectively target compliance assistance and enforcement efforts.