The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) welcomed its new director of professional development today. Chris Ballman, PHR, MSHR, will oversee the Society’s comprehensive educational offerings that advance the careers of occupational safety and health professionals worldwide. He will also provide leadership oversight of ASSP’s largest annual event – a Professional Development Conference and Exhibition that attracts more than 5,000 industry professionals.

An unusually large wave thwarted a fishing crew’s attempts to ride out heavy weather in the Bering Sea last year, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the incident. No fatalities or injuries were reported when the commercial fishing vessel Progress was severely damaged north of Unimak Island, Alaska on January 26.

An Ohio-based construction company failed to ensure that workers used fall protection while doing roofing tasks, leading to a worker sustaining a serious injury, according to an OSHA inspection following the incident. The agency has cited Hiebert Bros Construction LLC for exposing employees to fall hazards after the worker was injured from a 26-foot fall at a construction worksite in Gainesville, Florida.

Exposure to high levels of pesticides may cause farmers over time to lose their sense of smell, according to a study published recently in Environmental Health Perspectives. The study examined high pesticide exposure events (HPEEs) in relation to self-reported olfactory impairment (OI) in participants in the long running, multi-generational Agricultural Health Study (AHS) conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Three New York City construction workers died last week at three different worksites – two as the result of struck-by incidents. In Brooklyn, news sources report that 34 year-old Gregory Echevarria was killed when part of a crane he was helping to assemble fell on him. The incident occurred at 3:15 a.m. on Saturday at the entrance to the Holland tunnel, when a 7.5 ton counterweight fell on Echevarria.

According to the Assessment of Business Cyber Risk (ABC) report released this week by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and FICO, the level of cyber risk to the U.S. business community is holding steady for the first quarter of 2019, with a national risk score of 687. The ABC measures the aggregate cybersecurity risk faced by the U.S. business community. Based on data from the FICO® Cyber Risk Score, the ABC is intended to advance cybersecurity awareness and improve the overall effectiveness of cyber defense programs.

A worker suffered severe burns in an explosion while he was repairing a semitrailer in DeKalb County, GA. The explosion occurred at a tractor-trailer repair factory in the 4300 block of Old McDonough Road, DeKalb County Fire Rescue spokesman Dion Bentley said from the scene. Initially, officials said the fire started after the semitrailer crashed into the building.

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has released a report on women and safety in the modern workplace – a follow-up to its Women’s Workplace Safety Summit held last October near Chicago. The report focuses on three main challenges faced by women in the workplace and offers potential solutions. It is just one outcome of ASSP’s ongoing initiative to improve diversity and inclusion throughout the safety industry while ultimately better protecting workers everywhere.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been able to re-construct the series of events involved in a January 3, 2019 multi-vehicle crash in Florida, although what set the tragedy in motion remains under investigation. According to the NTSB, at approximately 3:40 p.m., a 2016 Freightliner truck-tractor in combination with a semitrailer was traveling north on Interstate 75 (I-75) in Gainesville, Florida, when it struck a 2016 Acura passenger car that was also traveling north.

Last August, Higinio Romero was working on the roof of a condo in South Florida when he slipped and fell two stories, landing on rocks below. Emergency workers found him unconscious and bleeding from his ears. Romero — a father of two children, 4 months old and 10 years old — died about an hour later. According to a sheriff’s report, he had unclipped his safety harness shortly before the fall.