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Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 320 of the 1,008 construction fatalities recorded in 2018 (BLS data). Those deaths were preventable. The National Safety Stand-Down is an effort to raise fall hazard awareness across the country and prevent fall fatalities and injuries.

The growing problem of plastic pollution in the environment is receiving an increasing amount of attention (see article in Nature). Small particles of plastics are often referred to as microplastics (plastic particles smaller than 5 mm [1]) and nanoplastics (the nanoscale fraction of plastic particles). Nano- and microplastic particles (NMPPs) can be formed through environmental and mechanical degradation (the top-down mechanism).

The National Safety Council (NSC) released its first Work to Zero research report, Safety Technology 2020: Mapping Technology Solutions for Reducing Serious Injuries and Fatalities in the Workplace. With workplace deaths in the U.S. on the rise, this new report indicates employers may not be doing enough to protect their workforce.

Four workers who were performing maintenance at the Waupaca Plant in Tell City, Indiana were transported to the University of Louisville Hospital’s burn unit on Monday after being injured at the facility. Officials have released few details about the incident, which occurred at 10:30 a.m. in the company’s cupola, according to news sources.

A popular and long-running Oregon music festival turned deadly last summer when two a boom lift tipped, killing two workers. That incident at the Pickathon Music Festival, an annual three-day extravaganza outside of Oregon that has been held every August since 1999, led to a state OSHA investigation and fines for the workers’ employer.

A new study finds a wide state-by-state variation in rates of melanoma caused by ultraviolet (UV) exposure with highest rates in several states on the East and West Coast including Hawaii, but also a few landlocked states, including Utah, Vermont, and Minnesota. The report finds state-level incidence rates for UV-attributable melanoma ranged from 15 cases per 100,000 in Alaska to 65 cases per 100,000 in Hawaii.

Although obese employees incur higher direct and indirect costs, the extent of obesity-related costs tends to be lower in some industrial sectors — including healthcare, reports a study in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Dominique Lejeune, MSc, of Groupe d'analyse, Ltée, Montréal, QC, Canada, analyzed variations in the relationship between obesity and healthcare and other employee costs.

On an unseasonably warm autumn night in 2016 near Tekamah, Nebraska, a resident ventured out of his home to find the source of the sharp, overpowering odor he was smelling. What he didn’t know was that an 8-inch-diameter underground transmission pipeline owned and operated by Magellan Midstream Partners, LP had ruptured and released 2,587 barrels (108,654 gallons) of liquid anhydrous ammonia onto his property.

OSHA has cited Cleveland Brothers Inc. – doing business as CB HYMAC – for exposing workers to hexavalent chromium fumes and other safety hazards at the company’s shop in Camp Hill, Penn. The company, which provides hydraulic service and repair, machining and chroming services, was cited for one willful violation and 18 serious and two other-than-serious citations.

If you believe conditions at your workplace are unsafe or unhealthy, you’ve got some options. First, though: before seeking government intervention, OSHA recommends that you bring the conditions to your employer's attention, if possible. If that doesn’t bring about changes, and you believe that there is a serious hazard in your workplace, or that your employer is not following OSHA standards, you can file a complaint.