The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are hoping that a $5.6 million public safety awareness campaign will make Americans take railroad crossing safety more seriously. The numbers suggest that that is not currently the case. Every four hours in America, a person or vehicle is struck by a train at a rail crossing.

The Walt Disney Company has been fined $13,260 for failing to report two workers’ injuries in a timely manner. The injuries occurred at the company’s Epcot Center and Beach Club Resort in December 2018. One was serious enough that the employee required surgery.

A fatal fall, hazmat exposure and trenching hazards are among the workplace conditions that resulted in federal and state OSHA violations in recent cases.

A Certified Safety Professional (CSP) with 17 years’ experience in the field has found a way to communicate safety messages to workers by way of their taste buds. Cynthia Braun, who is also a Certified Environmental Trainer (CET), and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), is the is the President and Principal Consultant of Braun Safety Associates, LLC, an occupational safety consulting and training firm in Littleton, CO.

A skilled nursing facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming has achieved injuries, illnesses and lost days that are dramatically below the average for their industry since it began working with Wyoming OSHA Consultation. From 2016 through 2017, the Davis Hospice Center’s Total Recordable Case Rate (TRC) rate was zero, and their Days Away from Work, Job Transfer and Restriction (DART) rate was also zero. These rates are astounding when discussing the healthcare industry and health and safety challenges they face.

Farm workers are at high risk for heat-related illness in hot temperatures, especially during summer crop production. Farming is also physically demanding, further increasing the likelihood of developing heat-related illness. In California, where an estimated 30%-40% of U.S. farm workers are employed, temperatures in the state’s Central Valley – are typically in the 90s in June and July.

OSHA has cited framing contractor Navy Contractors, Inc. for willfully exposing employees to fall hazards at residential construction sites in Royersford, Collegeville, and Center Valley, Pennsylvania. The company faces $603,850 in penalties. The agency initiated inspections at the three jobsites after inspectors saw employees performing framing work without fall protection.

A flash burn is a painful inflammation of the cornea, which is the clear tissue that covers the front of the eye. A flash burn occurs when you are exposed to bright ultraviolet (UV) light. It can be caused by all types of UV light, but welding torches are the most common source. That’s why it is sometimes called ‘welder’s flash’ or ‘arc eye.’

According to the Mayo Clinic, hand numbness is usually caused by damage, irritation or compression of one of the nerves or a branch of one of the nerves in your arm and wrist. Diseases affecting the peripheral nerves, such as diabetes, also can cause numbness, although with diabetes similar symptoms usually occur first in your feet.

Every day, an average of 137 workers in the United States lose their lives to diseases and illnesses caused by on-the-job exposures to hazards like silica dust, asbestos, and a wide variety of toxic chemicals. That means every year, roughly 50,000 people die from occupational illnesses, and the toll is likely much higher because of underreporting and incomplete statistics.