The EPA is considering eliminating age requirements that currently prevent teen workers in the agriculture industry from handling dangerous pesticides. The rule, which prohibits workers under 18 years old from being in contact with pesticides, was issued in 2015 because pesticides can affect brain development and increase cancer risk in children.

OSHA has issued serious confined space citations to a construction company in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, after three of its employees died from exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas. The tragedy occurred on July 7, 2017, as USA Fanter employees were working in and around a well that was not identified as a permit-required confined space.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (NIOSH FACE) program investigates selected work-related fatalities, collecting information not captured in other data sources - including safety management and training programs, use of engineering controls and personal protective equipment on the jobsite, and recommendations for preventing similar incidents.

OSHA has cited Tampa Electric Co. and Gaffin Industrial Services Inc. after five employees were fatally injured, and one other suffered serious burns. In June 2017, OSHA investigated the Big Bend River Station electrical power plant in Apollo Beach following the fatalities. Inspectors determined that the employees were burned when a blockage inside a coal-fired furnace broke free and spewed molten slag into the work area.

Bullying – specifically racial bullying – appears to be behind a workplace violence incident yesterday in suburban Detroit that left one person dead, another critically injured and a third facing life in prison. Police are saying that the double shooting at Reliable Fence Company in Clinton Township, Michigan stemmed from an ongoing dispute between employees.

For the second year in a row, Hawaii claimed the top spot with the happiest workforce in America, according to career matching platform Sokanu, which has released an infogographic on the results of their annual survey about job satisfaction.

When her black cat rapidly dropped from a healthy 14 pounds to a skeletal five pounds, it was natural for Arlene Blum to investigate whether a toxic chemical in her home might be to blame. The veterinarian’s diagnosis raised that possibility, and Blum had expertise in the harm that chemicals can cause.

The obesity epidemic is costing employers money, through its effects on worker health and safety, but also due to its impact on health care costs, absenteeism and productivity. A new guide from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) is aimed at helping employers control the health and economic impact of obesity in the workplace – and some of its recommendations may be surprising.

Although some parts of the country are enjoying a (temporary) respite from the deep freeze and heavy snow they’ve been dealing with, winter is far from over. Walking on icy surfaces and removing snow both present fall hazards.