The U.S. has made considerable progress in its public health preparedness capability in the 16 years since the sixteen years after terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City, according to the American Journal of Public Health, which is releasing a special supplement on the subject.

Four workers were severely burned at the ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana last year because the facility operators failed to conduct a safety hazard analysis, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which investigated the incident.

After the widespread devastation Hurricane Irma wreaked on Florida, unmanned aircraft – more popularly, drones – have been invaluable in supporting response and recovery efforts in the battered Sunshine State.

Philip Morris International (PMI), the maker of cigarette brands like Marlboro, Chesterfield, L&M, Benson & Hedges and Virginia Slims, announced that it would fund a new non-profit organization aimed at eliminating smoking…cigarettes.

The employer of a worker who was struck and killed by a moving spindle failed to identify and correct machinery hazards in its facility, according to California OSHA, which has issued five citations against Aero Pacific Corp.

At FEMA’s request, OSHA personnel headed the Joint Field Office in Austin, Texas to develop an incident-specific health and safety plan to protect workers during the cleanup and recovery operations following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey.

At state and federal level, there’s considerable resistance to planning for the various impacts of extreme weather events linked to climate change. To be sure, climate change is exacerbating the impacts of events like hurricanes. While the economic toll of this year’s storms is being calculated, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated in 2013 that weather-related power outages cost the economy between $18 billion and $33 billion each year.

What workers are at increased risk of injury during hurricanes or tornados? While most workers can stay inside during such a storm, some workers may be required to go into the storm. This may include utility workers, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, federal, state and local government personnel (such as sanitation and highway workers), and military personnel.

As tech companies and automakers, cheered on by the federal government, race to test and promote autonomous vehicles, several surveys show that most motorists don’t want to drive, ride in or be on the road anywhere near them.