The National Safety Council is introducing a new scholarship program for women seeking post-secondary education to pursue a career in EHS – environment, health and safety – or related field. Lorraine Pack Memorial Scholarship winners receive a $2,000 tuition award and the opportunity to attend at no cost either NSC Congress & Expo or the Campbell Institute Symposium.

A fire and explosions at a refinery in Pennsylvania have resulted in an energy company being cited by OSHA for serious violations related to process safety management (PSM). Philadelphia Energy Solutions faces $132,600 in penalties stemming from the June 2019 incident at its Girard Point Refinery Complex in Philadelphia.

OSHA has cited Milwaukee Valve Company Inc. – based in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin – for exposing employees to lead and copper dust at rates higher than the permissible exposure levels. The agency has proposed $171,628 in penalties to the industrial valve manufacturing company.

A Nashville sheet metal manufacturer has received accolades from the state of Tennessee for its zero lost time achievement in 2018. “We are thrilled to join an elite group of companies committed to a safe work environment for their employees.” says Scott Eder, the company’s Safety Director.

Luxembourg has become the first European Union (EU) country to completely ban products containing glyphosate, the controversial herbicide at the center of high-profile lawsuits, and conflicting scientific studies and health claims. Glyphosate has already been banned in Vietnam and Thailand. Mexico has announced plans to do the same.

An Oregon construction company is reeling from its first workplace death since its founding in 1939 – and the victim’s family is reeling from the man’s loss. News sources say Stephen Smith, a truck driver employed by Hamilton Construction Company, was killed in an incident Saturday at the Beltline/Delta Highway interchange.

A hiker was about a mile and a half up the Nualolo Trail in the Koke State Park in Hawaii, struggling with rain and fog and hampered by a visibility of about 20 feet, when he heard what sounded like the high-pitched whine of a helicopter in distress. Knowing that something was wrong, he tried to find the helicopter but couldn’t due to the adverse weather conditions and fading daylight.

The agency cited owner Shawn Purvis of Purvis Home Improvement Company, Inc. for 17 willful and serious safety violations, including failure to provide fall protection training and exposure to electrocution. Portland, Maine's grand jury also indicted Purvis on April 5, 2019 for manslaughter and workplace manslaughter. If convicted, he will face an additional $50,000 fine and 30 years in prison.

As of Friday, Jan. 17, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began conducting enhanced health screenings to detect ill travelers traveling to the United States on direct or connecting flights from Wuhan, China. The CDC said the screenings are in response to an outbreak in China caused by a new and dangerous coronavirus.

With the new year comes new maximum penalty amounts for safety violations leveled by OSHA, due to an annual adjustment for inflation. Here are the maximum penalty amounts that may now be assessed by the agency (as of Jan. 15, 2020.)