Flaring at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, California this week caused employees to be evacuated and disruptions in operations, according to news sources. Flaring is a refinery safety mechanism that burns gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. No injuries were reported.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the sequence of events involved in a spectacular multi-vehicle crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike last month – one that killed five people and injured dozens more. The deadly chain reaction occurred on Jan. 5 in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 near Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, amid light snow (the roadway had been treated).

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is amending its December 8, 2016, final rule, "Minimum Training Requirements for Entry-Level Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators" (ELDT final rule), by extending the compliance date for the rule from February 7, 2020, to February 7, 2022. The agency says it needs additional time to complete development of the Training Provider Registry (TPR).

Over 300 workplace substances have been identified to cause new-onset asthma and the list continues to grow 1, 2. Other substances can aggravate pre-existing asthma, causing increased illness and medication requirements. Work-related asthma (WRA) comprises both new-onset and work-aggravated asthma3. An estimated 15-55% of all adult asthma is related to work4-7.

OSHA has cited Pearson Farms LLC for safety violations after an employee suffered fatal injuries at the farm's post-harvest operations facility in Fort Valley, Georgia. The farm is facing $128,004 in penalties. OSHA cited the employer for exposing employees to struck-by hazards after investigators determined that the employee, who was performing maintenance on a conveyor system, was caught between the load on a forklift and a metal railing.

The outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has created a number of questions and compliance challenges for employers in the United States as well as across the globe. This is a fluid and rapidly changing situation. Employers must carefully balance concerns related to employee and public safety with protecting employees from unnecessary medical inquiries, harassment, and discrimination – all while complying with immigration, leave, and medical privacy laws.

“We strongly oppose the administration’s proposal to create a separate government agency to oversee tobacco products. This unfortunately comes from an administration that has repeatedly placed the needs of the tobacco industry on equal footing with public health.

OSHA has launched a new webpage marking the 50th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the landmark worker safety and health law that led to the creation of OSHA. The webpage highlights transformative workplace improvements over the past half century, from OSHA’s first standards and whistleblower protections, to assistance programs for small businesses, and the creation of training centers and education grants to help everyone understand and comply with the law.

Thirty-three cases of the asbestos-related lung cancer mesothelioma draw attention to talcum powder as a non-occupational source of exposure to asbestos, according to a study in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Our findings strongly suggest that asbestos exposure through asbestos-contaminated cosmetic talc explains cases once deemed idiopathic or 'spontaneous,'" according to the report.

Researchers at the National Safety Council and the University of Michigan found that about one in 20 adolescents ages 10 to 17 and one in 10 young adults ages 18 to 25 report prescription opioid misuse, based on a new review published in Preventive Medicine. However, effective intervention programs are not in place to address prescription opioid misuse among young people, and NSC and University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center researchers are urgently calling for evidence-based prevention programs to be developed and tested.