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Employees of a Georgia contractor who were installing water and sewer lines had no safe means to enter and exit the excavation in which they were working, nor did the trench have a protective cave-in system. Those were among the excavation hazards OSHA investigators found at a Corley Contractors, Inc. worksite in Acworth, Georgia. The Dallas, Georgia-based company faces $106,078 in penalties.

From a symphony orchestra in Maine to an architectural firm in Hawai’i, eight organizations across the United States and Canada have been named winners of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2019 Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards. The annual award recognizes employers who implement workplace practices, backed by psychological science, that advance employee health and well-being while increasing performance and productivity.

In the wake of two airline crashes and an emergency landing involving the Boeing 737 MAX plane, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has established what it says is an expert Special Committee to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) procedures for certifying new aircraft. A March 10, 2018 crash involving an Ethiopian Airlines flight claimed the lives of all 157 people aboard. The October 29 crash of a Lion Air plane into the Java Sea off Indonesia killed its 189 passengers and crew. Both incidents occurred shortly after takeoff.

Pregnant women who work two or more night shifts per week have an increased risk of miscarriage, according to a study published online yesterday in online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Researchers in the department of occupational and environmental medicine at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen analyzed pregnancy outcomes in nearly 23,000 workers, most of whom were employed in Danish hospitals.

Workplaces can play a large role in improving worker health, resulting in improved community health. But, how can workplaces and communities interact to influence the overall health of workers? Can workers in precarious work arrangements, often characterized by low wages and few or no benefits, rely on their communities to help them in protecting and promoting safer and healthier work?

The growing enthusiasm for the annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction has given rise to a new, similar event: the National Safety Stand-Up for Grain Safety Week. It’s happening this week. The event is designed to raise awareness about the hazards in the grain handling industry, which include engulfment/entrapment; slip, trip, and fall prevention; mechanical hazards; machine guarding; and lockout/tagout. Demonstrations of those hazards – along with discussions about how to abate them, were held at the Asmark Institute Agricenter in Bloomington, Illinois yesterday.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has begun testing an experimental drug that could help opioid addicts deal with the cravings that cause them to continue using the dangerous substance. In Phase I of the clinical trial currently underway at the NIH Clinical Center – researchers will study how the compound ANS-6637 is processed in the body when given with another drug that is processed by the same liver enzyme pathway.

The IPIECA – the global oil and gas industry association for advancing environmental and social performance - and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) have launched a new suite of guidance for the oil and gas industry: ‘Managing fatigue in the workplace’ The guidance includes fatigue management in the workplace, performance indicators for fatigue risk management systems, assessing risks from operator fatigue, and fatigue in fly-in, fly-out operations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have put together a list of public health measures they say will reduce kids’ consumption of sugary drinks – a habit strongly linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay. The recommendations in a joint policy statement issued by the two organizations, “Public Policies to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption in Children and Adolescents,” include excise taxes, limits on marketing to children, and financial incentives for purchasing healthier beverages.

OSHA has cited ammunition manufacturer AMTEC Less Lethal Systems Inc. for exposing employees to explosive hazards after an explosion fatally injured two workers at the company’s Perry, Florida, facility. The company faces $188,290 in penalties for multiple serious violations, and a willful violation that carries the maximum penalty allowed.