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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.

It started with a series of conference calls and emails, which led to a draft list of relevant topics. That list was then refined and grouped into seven broad objectives, and working subgroups were formed for each of those objectives. The result? The Healthy Work Design and Well-Being (HWD) Agenda, released last month by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Warehouses are home to all sorts of technology and machinery, but their most valuable occupant is also perhaps the most vulnerable: human employees. When it comes to ensuring the safety of warehouse workers, shortcuts aren't an option. Warehousing has a higher fatal injury rate than the national average across all industries.

During the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) awards luncheon on February 22, 2020 at the NHCA Annual Conference in Destin, FL, Elliott H. Berger, M.S., FAIHA, INCE, will be recognized for his outstanding leadership and service to the organization with the Michael Beall Threadgill Award.

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.