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Farmers in California, the nation’s top agricultural state, are applying near-record levels of pesticides despite the rising popularity of organic produce and concerns about the health of farmworkers and rural schoolchildren. The latest figures, released in April by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and covering 2016, show that 209 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients were used in agriculture.

Hazardous material incident response teams responding to a release or spill and law enforcement officers executing search warrants on opioid processing or distribution sites are some of the first responders who risk coming into contact with fentanyl during the course of their work, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

When Spring is in the air, this man’s fancy turns to (where else?) the 2018 Spring Regulatory Agenda to discover what movement OSHA will be planning to move forward (or backward) to protect American workers from injury, illness and death in the workplace.

Tobacco companies were ordered last week to place warning statements about their products’ health effects on their websites and cigarette packages – the latest step in a court order they’ve been fighting for 17 years. Altria, its Philip Morris USA subsidiary and R.J. Reynolds have until Nov. 21, 2018 to publish “corrective statements” on five topics about which they had been found to deliberately deceive the public:

Automation which is currently available can help reduce accidents in general aviation (GA), according to the FAA, which is reminding GA pilots that all aircraft flying in designated controlled airspace must be equipped with it by January 1, 2020. Only aircraft that fly within uncontrolled airspace and aircraft without electrical systems, such as balloons and gliders, are exempt.

The employee who died in a workplace accident Saturday morning at a chemical plant in North Carolina has been identified, according to WSOC. The victim, identified as 43-year-old Clint Miller, fell 10 feet into an open tank at about 4 a.m. during a loading operation while working at AkzoNobel in Salisbury. “He mixed compounds. He mixed chemicals,” said Clint’s mother, Sandy Miller.

New research conducted by a doctoral student at Auburn University adds another voice to the growing chorus of experts calling for a better balance between work lives and personal lives. Anna Lorys reviewed studies and found support for strong relationships between work-life balance effectiveness and satisfaction and overall life satisfaction. Her analyses concluded that if individuals perceive themselves to be effective at managing the demands of their work and personal life, and are happy with the balance between their two roles, they more likely to be happier overall with their lives.

From respiratory illnesses to lower birthweight to deaths caused by the “urban heat island effect,” a special supplement recently published by the American Journal of Public Health explores the many ways in which climate change is impacting public health.

May is National Electrical Safety Month and the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is launching its annual effort to help reduce electrically-related fatalities, injuries, and property loss. This year’s campaign theme is "Understanding the Code that Keeps us Safe," which features resources focusing on the importance of the National Electrical Code and its three year cycle.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is giving food and beverage manufacturers additional time to comply with labeling requirements that were supposed to take effect this year. The FDA has published a final rule to extend the compliance date for two rules, the Nutrition Facts Label Final Rule and the Serving Size Final Rule, for about 1.5 years.