May happens to be Better Hearing Month, but every month has become hazardous these days to the unprotected ears of millions of U.S. workers. On May 1, the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) launched "Listen Today to Hear Tomorrow," a hearing loss prevention campaign to raise awareness and educate workers and employers.

California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) has issued four citations and $71,435 in penalties to Consolidated Disposal Services LLC, after a security guard at the company’s dumpster yard in Gardena was fatally struck by a truck while working in the early morning hours.

An excavation contractor that exposed its employees to trench cave-in and other hazards is contesting the violations issued to it by OSHA – along with the proposed penalties of $454,750. An OSHA investigation found that while performing work on two municipal water project sites in North Dakota, Kamphuis Pipeline Company failed to:

OSHA and the Beryllium industry have reached a settlement regarding changes in OSHA’s Beryllium standard for general industry. The changes, which mostly focus on clarifications of “ancillary requirements” dealing mostly with regulated work areas, hygiene (cleaning of workers and equipment) and medical management, will be phased in in two major stages.

The driver of a bus carrying a marching band that crashed in Alabama earlier this year was unresponsive just before the bus crashed into a ravine, according to an investigative update issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Following a review of the requirements put in place in 2016 regarding the “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” regulation, OSHA has taken action to correct an error that was made with regard to implementing the final rule.

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States, with a work-related fatality rate 23 times higher than for all workers in 2016 1. Falling from a fishing vessel is a serious hazard responsible for the second highest number of fatalities in the industry after vessel sinking events.

Crossing your legs or even talking are among the seven common errors that can lead to inaccurate blood pressure readings, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). The organization is using May - National High Blood Pressure Education Month – to bring to light these measurement mistakes – all of which can lead to an artificially high reading:

Workers at a Wisconsin mill believed that conditions at the mill were “normal” just before a combustible dust explosion that killed five employees. That’s one of the startling findings of a Factual Investigative Update released by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which is investigating the May 31, 2017 incident at the Didion Milling facility in Cambria, Wisconsin.

Workers across the nation are participating in the fifth National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, during the week of May 7-11. With falls on construction sites the leading cause of death in the industry, employers are encouraged to stop all work at some point during this week and speak directly to their workers about fall hazards through talks, demonstrations and training to reinforce the importance of proper fall prevention.