The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is warning of a “converging public health crisis,” as the nation’s opioid epidemic fuels growing rates of certain infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, heart infections, and skin and soft tissue infections. Infectious disease and substance use disorder professionals must work together to stem the mounting public health threat, according to a new commentary in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

A Wisconsin pallet manufacturer has again been cited by OSHA after a follow-up inspection found employees continued to be exposed to wood dust. Avid Pallet Services LLC faces penalties of $188,302 for repeated, serious, and other-than-serious safety and health violations. Inspectors determined that the Beloit, Wisconsin, pallet manufacturer failed to implement sufficient engineering controls to limit dust exposure, as well as train employees on the health hazards of wood dust.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. reports that it has reduced opioid use by nearly 40 percent among the injured construction workers it has helped, thanks in part to the Early Severity Predictor® model, which helps predict which injured employees are at higher risk of experiencing chronic pain. Additionally, the insurance giant implemented a comprehensive pharmacy management program that monitors drug interactions, excessive dosing and abuse patterns to reduce the risk of opioid dependency.

E-cigarettes can release airborne contaminants that may affect both the people using them and those nearby. That’s one of the conclusions of a white paper (PDF) that’s just been released by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) – one which reviews current scientific information and evaluates the impacts of chemicals used in e-cigarettes as well as those emitted from them. The resource was developed by AIHA's Indoor Environmental Quality Committee and Risk Committee.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently published a studyExternal that compared the rates of health insurance coverage among workers in different work arrangements between 2010 and 2015. While rates of health insurance coverage among workers in all categories went up significantly during this time period, substantial disparities in health insurance coverage persisted for workers with non-standard work arrangements.

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) – the leading association for the construction industry - will hold its first-ever Construction Safety, Health + Environmental Conference on July 23-25, 2019, in Seattle, Washington. The AGC says the conference will “hone in on the most critical safety, health, and environmental compliance and risk issues impacting the business of construction.”

A fire at a Houston chemical plant yesterday morning killed one person, left two with critical injuries and caused residents living within a mile of the facility to shelter in place. It is unclear whether the victims were employees at the plant. News sources say the incident at KMCO plant began when a tank of isobutylene ignited, and the fire spread to an adjacent storage building.

A new study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to determine if demographic changes are behind the continuing decline in workers compensation (WC) claims has yielded some surprising results. Among them: that the aging of the U.S. workforce is not a factor. According to NCCI, WC claims have fallen by nearly one-third in the last ten years, part of a trend that’s been going on for more than two decades. At the same time, the number of workers who are at least 55 years old has doubled since 2000.

OSHA has cited C.W. Hendrix Farms Inc. for failing to protect workers from recognized hazards after lightning struck and killed an employee at the Parkland, Florida, agricultural operation. OSHA inspectors determined that Hendrix Farms exposed employees to lightning strikes as they picked vegetables in inclement weather. The company faces a penalty of $12,934, the maximum amount allowed.

Leaders of a House committee have called on the acting head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Ann Marie Buerkle, to disclose her contacts with business groups, citing a “disturbing” report by FairWarning that “suggests you are prioritizing the interests of industry over the safety of consumers.”