A 27-year-old laborer lost his life ended suddenly because his employer failed to have a competent person inspect the rail supporting a scaffold system nearly 80 feet off the ground for visible defects, an investigation by OSHA has found.

The Philadelphia City Council last week approved a tax on sweetened beverages – a move that many expect to be copied by other U.S. cities. The 1.5 cent per ounce tax applies to both regular and diet soda, as well as juice containing less than 50 percent fruit juice, sports drinks and energy drinks.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) honored the contributions of Past President Christine A.D. Lorenzo, CIH, on May 26, 2016 at the 2016 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce) in Baltimore, Maryland. Lorenzo has been integral in building upon the Association's 77-year legacy.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michael has tasked the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) with exploring how OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) might encourage more professionals to enter the occupational safety and health field.

Salvatore Schirripa, a Bensonhurst, N.Y., construction company owner, has been indicted on manslaughter and other charges following the April 2015 death of Vidal Sanchez-Ramon, his employee at a Coney Island work site. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

A mixed report on U.S. teens and smoking, an effort to improve workplace safety in Bangladesh and a construction contractor is found guilty of manslaughter in an employee’s death. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which contains provisions to improve the nation’s approach to mental health care treatment. The bill, H.R. 2646, which was introduced by Reps. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., and Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, was reported out of committee on a unanimous vote.

One day in April, 2016, the parking brake on one of Flavio Borges Prado’s trucks failed, causing the vehicle to roll down a hill and collide into a residential housing structure, injuring the driver and causing significant damages to the property.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is making $1 million in grant funding available for training and outreach programs to help local communities prepare for transportation incidents involving hazardous materials, including crude oil and ethanol.

New York will soon join Vermont, Alaska, Connecticut, and Maine in requiring genetically modified foods to be labeled – if advocacy groups have their way.