The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration has awarded $250,000 to four organizations to develop and conduct training programs that support the recognition and prevention of safety and health hazards in underground mines.

Safety issues are prominent in the new five-year-contract that registered nurses with the California Nurses Association/ National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) at the University of California (UC) just voted overwhelmingly to ratify. Workplace violence, infectious disease protections and safe staffing protections were addressed in the agreement, which covers more than 14,000 registered nurses at five major medical centers, 10 student health centers, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

A waste collection worker was run over and killed by his own truck earlier this year because his employer failed to ensure the truck’s safety restraint was in working order and that it was being used by workers driving from the right-hand side of the truck.

If you have a home fire today, you are more likely to die in it than you were in 1980, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This startling fact is attributed to several factors, including the way homes are built and the contents in them.

As those of you who read my posts on the Lac Megantic disaster where 47 people were incinerated by a “bomb train” that derailed in the middle of town, brakes on trains are complicated and often fallible safety devices. This is how they work: A brake pipe runs the length of the train which supplies air to reservoirs mounted on each of the cars.

A Wisconsin meatpacking company faces nearly a quarter of a million dollars in penalties after an employee suffered serious injuries from being caught in an unguarded machine. OSHA has cited JBS Green Bay Inc. - based in Green Bay, Wisconsin - for one willful and 10 serious violations, and faces proposed penalties of $221,726, which includes the maximum penalty for the willful violation.

Workers in Europe are regularly exposed to racism and xenophobia at the workplace, according to experts attending a recent trade union seminar in Brussels, who said racism does not always take the form of subtle discrimination but can also include explicit abuse. Delegates at the seminar, which was organized by the European Trade Union Confederation and European Trade Union Institute, shared their experiences of discrimination and debated what unions can do to tackle the problem.

Despite its seriousness, sexual harassment prevention training inspires entire (albeit, tongue-in-cheek) episodes in popular American television shows, including The Office and NCIS, and memorable skits in many other venues, including Saturday Night Live. With all of this attention, it is easy to believe that sexual harassment prevention training is no longer needed.

OSHA has launched a new program to address hazards from exposure to fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN) and agricultural anhydrous ammonium. The Regional Emphasis Program (REP) will be effective in the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

An organization representing truckers says federal Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations intended to reduce fatigue and improve safety have actually done the opposite. HOS rules are aimed to reducing driver fatigue that can cause accidents by limiting the number of driving hours per day, and the number of driving and working hours per week.