A Trump nominee drops out, a new salt rule for NYC restaurants is upheld and an industry-specific occupational illness has an unwelcome resurgence. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

A new study,by the American Heart Association (AHA), projects that if left unchecked, cardiovascular disease (CVD) will place a crushing burden on the nation’s financial and health care systems affecting 131.2 million Americans -- 45 percent of the total U.S. population – and costing $1.1 trillion.

A new study led by American Cancer Society (ACS) researchers in collaboration with leading experts concludes that physical activity should be routinely assessed during the doctor-patient encounter, and that clinicians should design in collaboration with their patients a detailed physical activity plan with goals that should be set and monitored. The study uses concepts from public health and behavioral economics to provide practical advice to clinicians on effective counseling to patients. The study appears early online in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

A recent survey of healthcare workers found that certain surgical procedures often lack ventilation that removes surgical smoke at its source, according to researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

A study ISHN conducted recently to help us understand safety and health professionals’ perceptions and expectations around change in OSHA-related regulations, as a result of a new political administration in Washington D.C. produced a wealth of information and opinions. An article posted earlier about whether or not OSHA standards should be repealed showed a division among respondents based mainly on their job functions.

President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, Andrew F. Puzder, withdrew his nomination Wednesday amid a growing wave of bipartisan opposition. Puzder, a fast-food executive who opposed the Affordable Care Act and raising the minimum wage and has strongly promoted the use of automation in the workplace, has been accused by liberal groups of being aligned with interests of company owners instead of with those of workers.

Many young workers under age 25 enter the workforce before they have had a chance to develop foundational job skills. In fact, most high schoolers—an estimated 80 percent— hold a job at some point during their school years.

In less than 10 days in 2016, two employees at a Green Bay muffler component manufacturer suffered severe injuries as they operated machinery without adequate safety guards and procedures in place, federal workplace safety investigators have determined.

Despite the best efforts of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) efforts to control exposure to respirable coal mine dust, the number of Black Lung cases currently being diagnosed in Appalachia is unprecedented, according to some researchers. In the decades since the passage of the 1977 Mine Act, MSHA has tried everything from new and more stringent regulations, including Lowering Miners’ Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust, final rule, the use of Continuous Personal Dust Monitors and compliance assistance initiatives to eliminate the conditions that lead to the disease.