The former CEO of Massey Energy Co. goes on trial today in U.S. District Court in Charleston, West Virginia in a case that could set a precedent for corporate higher-ups being held accountable for the safety of their workers.

To learn whether exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals in the workplace increases the risk of birth defects, NIOSH researchers are partnering with the Centers for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (CBDRP) on one of the largest birth-defects prevention research efforts in the nation.

A new report finds heart failure continues to be a significant health, economic and personal burden in the U.S. In response, AHA has launched the Rise Above Heart Failure initiative, with goals to reduce heart failure hospitalizations by 10% and to increase awareness and understanding of HF by 10% by 2020.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently renewed an alliance whose goal is the safe use and operation of mining equipment.

A 55-year-old carman fell more than 12 feet to the ground after his aerial lift collapsed. The worker had been standing on an elevated platform to install a canopy on a railcar, but the platform could not support his weight.

The EPA is revising the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard to strengthen protections for the nation’s two million agricultural employees who work on farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses. The agency says the revisions will afford farmworkers similar health protections that are already afforded to workers in other industries.

Terry Mathis, founder and CEO of ProAct Safety, asked for a call to action Monday, saying every safety program needs branding, which creates buy-in. He compared safety programs to sports teams and other visually recognizable brands such as Nike and Coca-Cola, which all have distinct logos.

At NSC on Monday, speaker Sam Smolik, SVP America Manufacturing and Refining Operations at LyondellBasell, offered some management advice he has learned over 40 years in the manufacturing business. He said he started at LyondellBasell when the company wasn’t in the best shape, but they have worked really hard to get where they are today.

Do your employees know the real cost of an injury, asked Rodney Grieve of BRANTA Worldwide. During a Learning Lab Monday at NSC he offered tips on how to defend profits and protect your employees while proving value, gaining cooperation and saving lives. Grieve discussed commonly-used language in the profession and said the words we use connote different behavior, sometimes in a negative light.