News - Articles - Page 85

S.D. city sued over deadly construction incident

January 15, 2020

The South Dakota Supreme Court yesterday began hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed against the city of Sioux Falls in the case of a 2016 building collapse that killed a worker and seriously injured another person. The suit was brought by the family of Emily Fodness, who was trapped in debris for several hours when a building being remodeled by Hultgren Construction, LLC collapsed. Construction worker Ethan McMahon died in the incident.

Cleaner trucks, clearer air?

January 15, 2020

The EPA started the new year off with a move it says will ultimately reduce the emissions of gases that contribute heavily to air pollution, including the formation of smog and acid rain. On January 6, 2020, the agency issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rule (ANPR) soliciting pre-proposal comments on the Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI).

Two reprotoxic substances banned in the EU

January 14, 2020

The European Commission, on advice from the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), has banned two pesticides: chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl and two organophosphates used as ingredients in a number of insecticides. Chlorpyrifos has been on the market since 1966 and is currently in use in some 80 countries.

2 million+ hours with no lost time incident at Ark. manufacturer

January 14, 2020

An Arkansas manufacturing facility has been recognized for logging two million working hours without a lost time incident. Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of refrigerated trailers, dry freight vans, flatbeds, and Tautliner® curtainsided trailers, was presented with a safety award by the state of Arkansas for the achievement at its Paragould manufacturing plant.

Suit filed against new pork company self-inspection rule

“The USDA is letting the wolf guard the hog-house”

January 14, 2020

Several food safety advocacy organizations have filed a legal action against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for issuing New Swine Inspection System (NSIS) rules that that they say undermine pork-safety inspection in slaughter plants. Food & Water Watch and the Center for Food Safety are calling the new NSIS rules “a draconian reversal to the swine slaughter inspection system that has existed in the United States since 1906, which required meat inspectors to examine each animal before and after slaughter.”

$500K grant to help NSC speed adoption of workplace safety tech

Work to Zero initiative helps employers understand, embrace life-saving safety innovations

January 14, 2020

The National Safety Council has received a second $500,000 grant from the McElhattan Foundation for the NSC Work to Zero initiative, launched last January to educate employers about technological safety advancements that promise to reduce and ultimately eliminate preventable deaths in the workplace. Since receiving the first grant last December, NSC has conducted research into emerging and existing technologies and will release a comprehensive report in February that details which technologies could reduce fatality risk in the most hazardous situations for workers.

A NIOSH Science Blog post

Industrial exoskeletons

Dr. John Howard Jack Lu PhD, CPE Vladimir Murashov PhD Brian D. Lowe Ph.D

January 13, 2020

Exoskeletons used in the workplace are referred to as “industrial exoskeletons.” Their purpose is to augment, amplify, or reinforce the performance of a worker’s existing body components—primarily the lower back and the upper extremity (arms and shoulders). Despite a lack of research, manufacturers of these devices claim productivity gains, work quality improvements, and a reduction of the risk of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs).

Workplace wellness program study shows positive results despite low participation

January 13, 2020

Even with relatively low participation rates, a comprehensive workplace health promotion (WHP) can have a moderate impact on worker health, according to an analysis of a large Finnish company published in the November Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The study involved an eight-year evaluation of the WHP implemented at a Finnish wood supply company, one which offered health risk appraisal (HRAs) and screening, along with education and support services aimed at improving employee health.

Smelting company employees sustain caustic burns; company cited

January 13, 2020

OSHA has cited Mayco Manufacturing LLC – operating as Mayco Industries Inc. – for exposing employees to lead and arsenic in addition to machine, electrical and fall hazards. The Granite City, Illinois, lead smelter faces $223,148 in penalties for 18 serious health violations. The inspection occurred after OSHA received a report that employees suffered caustic burns from water mixed with sodium hydroxide used to extinguish a fire.

Learn CPR, AED skills for use in youth sports

January 13, 2020

Parents and coaches of young athletes can learn how to help during sports-related emergencies with a new CPR & First Aid in Youth Sports™ Training Kit being offered y the American Heart Association (AHA). The kit, which is completely self-facilitated, with no additional training required for a facilitator, will teach those who use it the lifesaving skill of CPR, how to use an AED, and other first aid information.