Late-December workplace incidents in coal mining and construction left three workers dead and their families devastated. In West Virginia, 21-year-old Raymond L. Starkey was fatally injured Dec. 23 while helping to repair a beltline at Murray Energy’s Marshall County Coal Co. Mine near Cameron. The incident is being investigated by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) safety experts and Murray Energy.

The end-of-year fatal crashes of several small aircraft highlight the importance of safety guidance for charter aircraft that was recently issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Seven people were killed on Dec. 26 when a Hawaii tour helicopter slammed into a mountaintop. The crash of a small plane in Louisiana shortly after takeoff on Dec. 28 claimed the lives of five people.

A pooled analysis of nine prospective studies involving more than 750,000 adults finds that recommended amounts of leisure-time physical activity were linked to a lower risk for seven cancers, with several cancer types having a ‘dose/response’ relationship. The study was led by investigators at the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Lose weight. Quit smoking. Finally finish that home repair to-do list. A new year is perceived by many as an opportunity to make changes that will lead to positive changes in one’s health, relationships, environment, etc. The start of a new year is also a good time for safety professionals to take stock of the safety status quo at their company, and find ways to fix problems or to take the company’s safety culture to the next level.

Wearables, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) were all featured prominently in this year’s top safety technology stories.

The hard hat celebrates a landmark birthday, drug use among construction workers – and how to test for it – and safety technology comes to the construction industry. These were among the top construction industry safety stories of 2019.

A small mattress manufacturing operation in Puerto Rico has succeeded in updating and improving work practices, improving machine guarding, increasing employee participation in safety and health activities, and improving the safety and health management system already in place at the site with help from Puerto Rico Consultation Services, which performs local assessments and consults as part of federal OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program.

Hours of service regulations for truckers, workplace violence prevention and hazardous materials that endanger bees and people were among the top regulatory stories during 2019.

A large new study finds that women who lost weight after age 50 and kept it off had a lower risk of breast cancer than women whose weight remained stable, helping answer a vexing question in cancer prevention. The reduction in risk increased with the amount of weight lost and was specific to women not using postmenopausal hormones.