The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released of $562 million in grants for highway safety programs to Offices of Highway Safety in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, United States territories, and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. “These highway safety grants will help save lives by addressing impaired driving, promoting seat belt use, improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety and funding other important traffic safety efforts,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

The operator of a crane involved in the death of a worker at an Australia construction site has pleaded guilty to reckless conduct exposing persons to a risk of serious injury or death. Michael Watts entered the guilty plea last week to the offense under the country’s Work Health Safety Act 2011. Watts had originally been charged with manslaughter under the Crimes Act.

OSHA has cited a New York cookie maker for exposing employees to falls and other hazards at the Ferndale, New York, facility. Nonni’s Foods LLC, manufacturer of premium cookies, faces $221,257 in penalties. OSHA opened an inspection on Aug. 22, 2019, after learning that an employee fell on Aug. 7, 2019, and was hospitalized.

According to OSHA, health care employees experience nearly as many serious injuries due to workplace violence as do employees in all other industries combined. As a result, dating back to at least 2015, the agency has continued to strongly encourage health care employers to maintain robust programs to safeguard against workplace violence.

Longer sitting times were associated with higher levels of heart disease risk among overweight and obese post-menopausal women overall, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the open access journal of the American Heart Association.

Research from the University of Kentucky’s Superfund Research Center (UK-SRC) shows that a diet high in fiber could possibly reverse the adverse effects that environmental toxins have on cardiovascular health. The findings are part of UK-SRC’s “Project #1,” which examines how nutrients affect toxicity caused by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in vascular tissues.

The widow of a worker who suffered fatal injuries in a fall has filed a lawsuit against 3M, alleging that the manufacturer’s fall prevention product failed to perform according to representations made by the company. According to news sources, construction worker Walter Burrows died after falling 35 feet in May of 2018 while working on a light-rail project in the Seattle area.

In January 2019, Jason Henke was riding in his ROV in Arizona when it caught fire on the highway. According to a lawsuit Henke filed, this was the second time a Polaris vehicle he was riding burst into flames. When the first machine went up in smoke in 2015, Henke asked Polaris for a refund, which the lawsuit says the company refused.

The Pulp & Paper Safety Association (PPSA) has announced that its annual Safety Performance Awards are now open for nominations. This year’s honors will be presented at PPSA’s 77th Annual Safety and Health Conference, June 14-17, at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.

The drug overdose epidemic continues to afflict our country. Nationally, there were more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017 i involving opioids (such as fentanyl, heroin and hydrocodone), stimulants (such as cocaine and methamphetamine), and alcohol.ii Nearly 70% of these deaths involved an opioid.ii