News

RSS

The Board of Directors of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has ratified the 2019 Threshold Limit Values (TLVs®) for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs®). TLVs® and BEIs® are guidelines to be used by professionals trained in the practice of industrial hygiene. The TLVs® and BEIs® are not designed to be used as standards.

Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Tuff Automation Inc. has paid a civil money penalty of $28,474 after a 17-year-old employee suffered an amputation of his right index finger while operating an unguarded band saw at the Grand Rapids, Michigan, manufacturing facility. The minor also suffered significant nerve damage to his right middle finger.

A change in what constitutes high blood pressure has led to a startling statistic: nearly half of all adults in the U.S. have some type of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The 2017 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology hypertension guidelines updated the definition of high blood pressure as a reading of 130/80 mm Hg, from the previous definition of 140/90 mm Hg.

The newly christened House Education and Labor Committee has announced its sub-committee assignments for the 116th Congress. The Workforce Protections sub-committee which covers workplace safety and health issues, workers compensation and trade, international labor rights, and immigration issues as they affect employers and workers, will be chaired by Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC). Bradley Byrne (R-AL) will be the Ranking Member.

The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating whether the U.S. Department of Labor under the Trump administration is following proper procedures when making regulatory changes to worker safety regulations. In a letter to Congressional Democrats, who’d requested an audit of the DOL’s rulemaking process, DOL Inspector General Scott S. Dahl said a review of the “integrity of the rulemaking process” at OSHA was already underway.

February is Cancer Prevention Month and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is using the opportunity to help Americans separate the myths from facts about cancer risk. The good news: approximately 40 percent of all cancer cases can be prevented. According to AICR, the most important ways to reduce your cancer risk (after not smoking) are: eating a healthy diet, being more active each day and maintaining a healthy weight.

A 16-year-old roofer was killed last year in Kentucky when he lost control of a 25-foot ladder and it made contact with a 7200-volt electric power line, according to Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. The incident occurred at a private residential home, when the victim was trying to position an aluminum extension ladder against a roof.

While some companies and entities with outdoor workers are wisely suspending their outdoor operations during the deep freeze gripping part of the nation, others don’t have that option. Police officers and firefighters throughout the U.S. remain on the job, answering calls and patrolling as usual. Towing companies are especially busy, since the frigid temperatures are wreaking havoc on car engines and necessitating more jump-starts or tows.

A requirement that employers disclose more information about worker injuries to safety officials and the public has been scaled back by the Trump administration. The Labor Department action, reflecting the administration’s broad push to ease regulations on business, weakens an Obama-era initiative to improve safety enforcement and crack down on underreporting of job injuries. The 2016 rule, which had been hailed by safety advocates, drew the ire of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.