OSHA seeks comments on its revised safety and health program management guidelines, CDC resists antibiotic resistance and the MSHA puts its new comm system to good use in a simulated mine disaster. These were among the top OSH and public health stories posted on ISHN.com this week.
Advocacy group says it will weaken inspections of imports
November 20, 2015
The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal would “undermine U.S. food safety standards and prevent commonsense food labeling,” according to Food & Water Watch, an advocacy group that promotes food safety and clean water.
It’s common knowledge that the oil and gas industry is dangerous and the death toll is higher than other industries, but the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows it hasn’t been improving.
OSHA cites Design Plastering Inc., Design Plastering West LLC for multiple violations
November 20, 2015
A fall from a third-story balcony killed 44-year-old Jorge Carrion Torres as he worked on the exterior of an apartment complex on May 14, 2015. Torres, who had been on the job for one month, was applying stucco underlayment to the balcony walls when the incident occurred.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the driver of a truck-tractor that struck a medium-size bus, killing four members of the North Central Texas College softball team, lost control of his vehicle due to incapacitation stemming from his likely use of a synthetic cannabinoid.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) received awards for two safety videos at the annual Television, Internet, and Video Association of DC (TIVA DC) dinner on Saturday, November 14. Award recipients included Shock to the System, a safety video detailing key lessons for preventing hydraulic shock in ammonia refrigeration systems based on the CSB’s Millard Refrigerated Services investigation, and the computer-generated animation of a massive explosion and fire at the Caribbean Petroleum terminal facility.
Lorillard Tobacco donated nearly four times as much to Republican candidates as to Democrats in the 2014 congressional elections. No surprise there — most businesses count on Republicans to hold the line on regulations and taxes.
Business Pulse: Workplace Safety and Health, launched today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, focuses on innovative employer strategies using science-based solutions from CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to address emerging worker safety and health issues and well-recognized workplace hazards and exposures.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) and the Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene (SAIOH) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to lay the foundation for a cooperative partnership between the two organizations. SAIOH, the professional registration body for occupational hygiene in South Africa, strives to ensure healthy working environments in Africa through excellence in occupational hygiene.
New comm system can track movements of underground teams
November 18, 2015
Earlier this month, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Central Plains Cement Company and Missouri Department of Labor’s Mine Cave Safety Program joined forces to stage a mine rescue exercise at Eagle Materials Inc.’s underground mine in Sugar Creek, Mo.