The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has released data following the first weeks of operation of its Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The clearinghouse has detected and identified nearly 8,000 positive substance abuse tests of commercial drivers since January 6, 2020. The clearinghouse now has more than 650,000 registrants.

For most people, the benefits of aerobic exercise far outweigh the risks, however, extreme endurance exercise – such as participation in marathons and triathlons for people who aren’t accustomed to high-intensity exercise – can raise the risk of sudden cardiac arrest, atrial fibrillation (a heart rhythm disorder) or heart attacks, according to a new Scientific Statement published in the Association’s premier journal Circulation.

OSHA has cited Dana Rail Care for workplace safety and health hazards at the facility in Wilmington, Delaware. OSHA cited the company for electrical and explosion hazards, insufficient means of egress, use of defective powered industrial trucks, lack of medical clearance for respiratory protection use, improper use of respirators and inadequate secondary air supply, and lack of signage in a silica-regulated area.

"If the U.S. wants to remain fully prepared to protect its residents from diseases such as COVID-19, it must invest in public health readiness. Doing so will help shore up an already-taxed public health system,” according to a new editorial in the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) American Journal of Public Health.

Two workers are dead after a hazmat incident last week at a trucking company in Cleveland, Ohio. News sources say 30-year-old Ashley N. Friedman was cleaning out a semi-trailer tanker at Kenan Advantage Group when she was overcome by fumes. When a co-worker, 60-year-old Alan Linder, attempted to rescue her, he, too fell unconscious.

A high-quality telecommunicator CPR (T-CPR) program can save more lives from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and strengthen the chain of survival, according to a new advisory from the American Heart Association (AHA) published in Circulation, a journal of the AHA, today. Each year in the United States, an estimated 350,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest in out-of-hospital environments. Sudden cardiac arrest is the unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness and commonly the result of an electric disturbance in the heart.

OSHA has cited DB Custom Carpentry LLC – based in Aurora, Illinois – for exposing employees to falls. The homebuilder faces penalties of $333,968 for three willful and one repeat safety violations. In August 2019, OSHA inspectors observed two employees sheeting a residential roof without adequate fall protection in Naperville, Illinois. The agency also cited the company for failing to train employees on fall protection, and to provide and ensure that employees wore safety glasses and hard hats.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA®) announced today that it has joined the Ambassador Program of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The program builds upon OSHA's Alliance Program and will be used to improve workplace health and safety by sharing information and guidance and providing access to vital training resources.

The respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China has now been detected in 32 locations internationally, including cases United States. The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”).

OSHA has cited Garick LLC – operating as Smith Garden Products – for exposing employees to safety hazards at the Cumming, Georgia, facility. The manufacturer of specialty mulch products faces $148,867 in penalties. The agency cited Garick LLC for failing to ensure energy control procedures contained clear and specific steps to limit the release of hazardous energy.