The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Foundation today released a fatigue research report that shows the value of wearable technology in the workplace, encouraging employers to make a New Year’s resolution to monitor the fatigue levels of its workers to reduce injuries and increase productivity.

The ongoing federal government shutdown is posing a threat to public health, according to the American Public Health Association (APHA). The organization’s executive director, Georges C. Benjamin, identified the Indian Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, parts of the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as funding losers due to the shutdown.

A new report by EUROGIP presents an analysis of the extent to which occupational cancers are recognised in nine European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. It also looks at the schemes for identifying occupational cancers, especially via monitoring the health of people exposed to carcinogens in the course of their working careers.

A drinking fountain in Cleveland Hopkins International Airport may be the culprit behind a half dozen passengers falling ill on a Cleveland-to-Tampa flight yesterday. News sources say six people on a Frontier Airlines flight became sick en route to their destination. Health officials boarded the plane when it landed at Tampa International Airport.

As the recent nationwide ban on Romaine lettuce by the CDC shows, harmful pathogens have become an ever-increasing threat in our food supply, causing serious illness and even death among people with weaker immune systems such as young children and older adults.

FR protective clothing was a HOT topic in 2018 – from how to wear it during extreme heat and extreme cold, to what private industry can all learn from the Navy’s FR program. A back-of-the-hand protection standard for work gloves, how work boots are getting lighter (but staying strong) and the need to protect first responders from fentanyl exposure were among the top PPE stories of 2018:

Confined space safety, hazards in the oil and gas industry and how workers compensation exposure data can be useful to the safety profession were among the top industrial hygiene stories of 2018.

More than 84 million Americans – or, one in three adults – have prediabetes, and 90% of them don’t know they have it, according to the CDC. Don’t let the “pre” fool you - prediabetes is a serious condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes and raise your risk for heart disease and stroke. The good news is that prediabetes can be reversed – but only if you get a diagnosis and make lifestyle changes, like losing weight, eating healthier, and being more active.

Stories related to construction industry safety ranged this year from hazard-specific (spray foam insulation, concrete drilling) to regulations (silica, crane operator certification) to developments that affect construction safety in a more general way, like the workforce shortage or the legalization of marijuana in many states. Here’s a look back at 2018 articles:

Now is the time for occupational safety professionals to check that the safety and hygiene practices in place at their workplaces are compliant with regulatory bodies — like OSHA — and will safeguard workers' wellbeing. Data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that workplace accidents show a prolonged downward trend, but that's no reason to get complacent.