A working group of federal agencies has issued a fact sheet* on progress made to improve the safety and security of chemical facilities in the United States.

Silicosis is a potentially fatal but preventable occupational lung disease caused by inhaling respirable particles containing crystalline silicon dioxide (silica). Quartz, a type of crystalline silica, is the second most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust and workers across a wide range of occupations and industries are exposed to silica-containing dusts.

American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Government Affairs Director Aaron K. Trippler explains what the figures just released by the House Appropriations Committee’s Labor subcommittee mean to occupational safety and health agencies, going forward:

For the 12th time in two decades, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that collision avoidance systems become standard on all new passenger and commercial vehicles -- and released a report that outlined the life-saving benefits of the technology, which is currently available.

Nearly six million Americans currently live with heart failure, yet a recent national survey found potentially dangerous misconceptions and knowledge gaps about the disease. In fact, nearly half of those surveyed got fundamental facts about heart failure wrong and two-thirds of respondents confused signs of heart failure with signs of a heart attack.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently renewed their alliance, signing a five-year agreement that will focus on construction safety, temporary workers and hazards within general industry.

Screening for colorectal cancer increased in lower socioeconomic status (SES) individuals after 2008, perhaps reflecting the Affordable Care Act’s removal of financial barriers to screening according to a new analysis. The study, by American Cancer Society investigators, appears online in the journal Cancer.

The FAA and general aviation (GA) groups are launching the Fly Safe national safety campaign to educate the GA community on how to prevent Loss of Control (LOC) accidents this flying season. FAA Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker officially kicked-off the #FlySafe campaign earlier this month at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s (AOPA) Fly-In at the Frederick Municipal Airport, Frederick, MD.

Employees with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more likely to have work absences, leading to high excess costs for employers, reports a study in the June Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).