Since the 19th century, many therapeutic drugs have been known to affect hearing. Known as ototoxic drugs, many are used today in clinical situations despite these negative side effects because they are effective in treating serious, sometimes life-threatening conditions. Research has shown that exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace may also negatively affect how the ear functions, potentially causing hearing loss or balance problems, regardless of noise exposure.

A California roofing company that’s been investigated and cited for fall hazards on six different occasions over the past four years has done it again. “California Premier Roofscapes has repeatedly put its workers at risk of potentially deadly falls from heights, disregarding basic safety requirements to protect its employees,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is hoping an anti-texting-while-driving campaign will reduce the growing number of motor vehicle accidents that are caused by distracted driving. The ‘U Drive. U Text. U Pay.’ ads will appear on television, radio, and digital platforms and will target motorists aged 18 to 34 – those who, data shows, are most likely to die in distraction-affected crashes.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report on a fatal traffic incident that occurred earlier this month in Illinois doesn’t contain analysis or name a probable cause. It does, however, include a step-by-step breakdown of the complicated event which shows how varying speeds, sizes and positions of the vehicles involved affected the outcome.

Ever since 9/11 and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, chemical plant security has been a top concern for national policy makers, the petro-chemical industry and the environemental community. But most of the concern has been about the threat of physical attack — bombs, missiles, etc.

Construction workers ran for their lives yesterday to avoid being crushed by an enormous crane that toppled over yesterday morning at a worksite in St. Petersburg, Florida. No one was injured in the incident but the video obtained by ABC News shows several workers who narrowly avoided being hit by the crane, which was estimated to be about ten stories tall.

Sensors are an increasing presence in our lives—from wearable gadgets to smart buildings, from autonomous vehicles to smart cities. In occupational health and safety, sensors are used widely for exposure monitoring, emergency response, and safer worker-machine interfaces. The use of sensors as real-time respirable dust monitors is a targeted application with its own specific challenges.

Exercise is vital when it comes to being healthy – especially for preventing cardiovascular disease and stroke – yet fewer than one in four U.S. adults are getting the federal physical activity recommendations for aerobic and strengthening activity. The American Heart Association (AHA) has designated April as Move More Month in an effort to encourage Americans to increase their level of physical activity.

Two-thirds of theater technicians and actors have experienced head impacts related to working in theater environments, according to a survey study in the March Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Apparently, though, the old adage, “the show must go on” is adhered to by theatre folk. Despite the fact that many of these injuries cause concussion symptoms, theater personnel usually continue their work onstage or backstage, according to the study by Jeffrey A. Russell, PhD, and Brooke M. Daniell, MEd, of Ohio University, Athens.