Does vaping have a long-term impact on someone’s lungs? Does the air quality where a person grows up put them at higher risk for respiratory conditions later in life? These are among the issues that will be examined in a large, first-of-its-kind longitudinal study of lung health led by Northwestern Medicine scientists in partnership with the American Lung Association (ALA).

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao delivered the keynote address at the 2019 U.S. Department of Transportation Safety Summit in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, June 20, 2019. Here is Secretary Chao’s speech: Let me give a shout out to our Department of Transportation employees across the country who are watching this important Safety Summit from your offices.

The rise of measles cases overall in the U.S. has been widely reported on and includes, this year alone, outbreaks in California, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Although the disease was thought to be eradicated in the United States at the start of the 21st century, a resurgence has occurred in recent years, attributed in part to a resistance to vaccinations that stems from a study linking vaccinations to autism which has since been discredited.

When it came to improving their safety and health management system, a California materials technology company found that getting employees actively involved in moving toward a safety culture was a challenge. "For us, progress started with making small changes, gradually adding more changes once prior changes had been successfully implemented," said Angela Rayfield, Human Resources Manager of Luxfer Superform.

California OSHA issued four citations and $68,438 in penalties to USF Reddaway Inc. after a worker was fatally struck by a tractor at a truck terminal. Inspectors found that the company failed to ensure operators were competent to operate terminal tractors and did not implement traffic controls. Visit OSHA's website for information on trucking industry safety.

The pyrotechnics displays so popular during Independence Day celebrations pose serious hazards for the workers involved with setting them up and setting them off. OSHA offers some safety checklists for employers in the fireworks industry:

A federal appeals court on Tuesday denied an appeal requested by a home contractor facing a serious U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration citation following the electrocution of two workers, one of whom died of his injuries. In 2016, on a residential construction site in Alpharetta, Georgia, a subcontractor employee supervised by Century Communities Inc. was operating a crane within 20 feet of live overhead power lines, resulting in an electrical arc flash that caused the injuries and fatality.

Raising fuel economy standards will also raise the price of new vehicles and prevent families from purchasing newer, safer cars and trucks, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Deputy Administrator (NHTSA) Heidi King told Congress on Thursday. “We know that newer cars are safer and cleaner than older cars. We also know that consumers can choose whether to keep their older car or to purchase a newer, safer, cleaner car."

A California solar panel installation company has been fined $193,905 by the state’s workplace safety watchdog agency, after one of its employees was seriously injured in a fall. Cal/OSHA cited Anaheim-based Nexus Energy Systems, Inc. for failing to provide required fall protection for its workers.

The Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule finalized by the EPA this week is coming in for heavy criticism from leading health and environmental organizations, who are calling it “a dangerous replacement” for the Clean Power Plan. "EPA's decision to finalize the ACE rule means that more Americans will experience illness and early death – plain and simple. Furthermore, this rule will allow power plants across the nation to continue to be a major source of emissions that are driving climate change."