The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have put together a list of public health measures they say will reduce kids’ consumption of sugary drinks – a habit strongly linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay. The recommendations in a joint policy statement issued by the two organizations, “Public Policies to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption in Children and Adolescents,” include excise taxes, limits on marketing to children, and financial incentives for purchasing healthier beverages.

OSHA has cited ammunition manufacturer AMTEC Less Lethal Systems Inc. for exposing employees to explosive hazards after an explosion fatally injured two workers at the company’s Perry, Florida, facility. The company faces $188,290 in penalties for multiple serious violations, and a willful violation that carries the maximum penalty allowed.

A bill intended to protect employees in Nevada’s health care industry from workplace violence is getting its first hearing today. The state’s Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee will hear testimony from experts and stakeholders on A.B. 348, which would require health care employers to create comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans and track violent incidents in hospitals and other medical facilities.

One of the deadliest industrial disasters in the history of the country – the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - occurred in New York City on this day in 1911. The fire claimed the lives off 146 garment workers – many of whom jumped to their deaths from the 7th, 8th and 9th floors of the building in order to avoid the smoke and flames sweeping through their workplace.

The opioid epidemic’s toll on the U.S. workforce, retaliation against an undocumented worker leads to his arrest and federal worker safety agencies get a look at what could be their budgets next year. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

OSHA has proposed penalties of $1,326,367 to Dowa THT America Inc. – a metal heat treatment company based in Bowling Green, Ohio – after the company exposed employees to atmospheric, thermal, electrical, and mechanical hazards as they performed maintenance inside heat-treating furnaces. In addition to the penalties, the agency placed the company in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

OSHA has filed a lawsuit against a Boston, Massachusetts-based contractor, alleging that the company retaliated against an injured employee by facilitating his arrest. The complaint filed last month with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Tara Construction Inc. and its chief executive officer, Pedro Pirez, states that the worker sustained a serious injury when he fell from a ladder on March 29, 2017. He reported his injury to his employers. OSHA found out about the fall and investigated.

Companies in two different states were cited by OSHA recently after workers suffered amputations at their facilities. In Iowa, an employee of O'Neal Manufacturing Services was injured while operating an unguarded press brake. In Texas, the injured employee of canned food company Bruce Foods Corporation had not been trained on lockout/tagout procedures. O'Neal Manufacturing Services was issued one repeat serious citation by Iowa OSHA, which assessed $64,670 in penalties.

What are potential obstacles to building an effective Process Safety Management (PSM) program? From what I’ve seen there are three related obstacles to building an effective PSM program. The first is engagement. It really takes commitment from everyone up and down the chain of command to build a best-in-class PSM program. Related to this is timely and relevant communication so that everyone from the shop floor up to the C-suite is on the same page. And the third obstacle is availability of decision-useful data.