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Workplaces can play a large role in improving worker health, resulting in improved community health. But, how can workplaces and communities interact to influence the overall health of workers? Can workers in precarious work arrangements, often characterized by low wages and few or no benefits, rely on their communities to help them in protecting and promoting safer and healthier work?

The growing enthusiasm for the annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction has given rise to a new, similar event: the National Safety Stand-Up for Grain Safety Week. It’s happening this week. The event is designed to raise awareness about the hazards in the grain handling industry, which include engulfment/entrapment; slip, trip, and fall prevention; mechanical hazards; machine guarding; and lockout/tagout. Demonstrations of those hazards – along with discussions about how to abate them, were held at the Asmark Institute Agricenter in Bloomington, Illinois yesterday.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has begun testing an experimental drug that could help opioid addicts deal with the cravings that cause them to continue using the dangerous substance. In Phase I of the clinical trial currently underway at the NIH Clinical Center – researchers will study how the compound ANS-6637 is processed in the body when given with another drug that is processed by the same liver enzyme pathway.

The IPIECA – the global oil and gas industry association for advancing environmental and social performance - and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) have launched a new suite of guidance for the oil and gas industry: ‘Managing fatigue in the workplace’ The guidance includes fatigue management in the workplace, performance indicators for fatigue risk management systems, assessing risks from operator fatigue, and fatigue in fly-in, fly-out operations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have put together a list of public health measures they say will reduce kids’ consumption of sugary drinks – a habit strongly linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay. The recommendations in a joint policy statement issued by the two organizations, “Public Policies to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption in Children and Adolescents,” include excise taxes, limits on marketing to children, and financial incentives for purchasing healthier beverages.

OSHA has cited ammunition manufacturer AMTEC Less Lethal Systems Inc. for exposing employees to explosive hazards after an explosion fatally injured two workers at the company’s Perry, Florida, facility. The company faces $188,290 in penalties for multiple serious violations, and a willful violation that carries the maximum penalty allowed.

A bill intended to protect employees in Nevada’s health care industry from workplace violence is getting its first hearing today. The state’s Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee will hear testimony from experts and stakeholders on A.B. 348, which would require health care employers to create comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans and track violent incidents in hospitals and other medical facilities.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) honors 12 new industrial hygiene and occupational and environmental heal and safety (IH//OEHS) professionals with the Fellows designation. These individuals have been nominated by their peers and recognized for their extraordinary contributions to the industrial hygiene profession. The new distinguished Fellows will be honored during the annual Mark of Excellence Awards Breakfast on Wednesday, May 22, at the 2019 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

One of the deadliest industrial disasters in the history of the country – the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - occurred in New York City on this day in 1911. The fire claimed the lives off 146 garment workers – many of whom jumped to their deaths from the 7th, 8th and 9th floors of the building in order to avoid the smoke and flames sweeping through their workplace.

Chemicals are used in manufacturing to make everything from food containers to your favorite pair of shoes. One such chemical is styrene, a colorless, strong-smelling liquid used to make plastics and rubber for these products and others, including insulation, fiberglass, pipes, vehicle parts, and carpet backing. During the manufacturing process, chemical vapors contaminate the air.