As we enter a new decade, occupational safety and health professionals have a lot to consider. From demographic changes and new regulations to innovative technology and medical advancements, there is a lot to explore. Examinetics worked with 20 of our client partners and other industry thought leaders to present their thoughts on the trends, challenges and opportunities shaping occupational health. We wanted to know what these industry leaders think are the issues and innovative solutions that will make an impact on our profession in 2020 and beyond.

The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that 417 people may die and another 47,500 may be seriously injured in car crashes on U.S. roads this Thanksgiving holiday period. Holidays traditionally are a time of travel for families across the United States. Many choose car travel, which has the highest fatality rate of any major form of transportation based on fatalities per passenger mile.

The EPA has revised a rule intended to protect first responders from hazardous substances at the facilities to which they are summoned. The Risk Management Program (RMP) Reconsideration rule, which implements parts of the Clean Air Act, required facilities that use extremely hazardous substances to develop a Risk Management Plan which must be submitted to the EPA every five years.

A fractured fan blade. That’s what started the dangerous chain of events aboard a Southwest Airlines flight on April 17, 2018 that ended with one passenger dead and eight others injured. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week revealed what happened – and why - after flight 1380 departed New York’s LaGuardia Airport that day, headed for Love Field, Dallas, Texas.

OSHA and the city of Palo Alto, California are investigating the death of an electrical lineman employed by the city. Forty-two-year-old Donatus Okhomina, described in news reports as a “seasoned electrical lineman,” was killed Saturday morning in an incident involving an electrical transformer. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Have suggestions for making OSHA’s online training classes more affordable? Want tips on preventing cold stress among your employees? Here are updates from OSHA:

A Florida construction company has logged 0 injuries and illnesses this year, after a steady decline in incidents that the company attributes to working with the University of South Florida (USF), SafetyFlorida Consultation Program. Stile Construction’s workplace safety success has earned it membership in OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) program, which recognizes small business employers who have used OSHA On-Site Consultation Program services and operate exemplary safety and health programs.

There was plenty of blame to go around in the report released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into its investigation of an automated test vehicle crash last year, but most of it was assigned to Uber, the company conducting the test. A pedestrian was killed in the March 18 collision in Tempe, Arizona involving an Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) vehicle - a 2017 Volvo XC90, modified with a proprietary developmental automated driving system.

Fifty-one years ago today, a massive explosion killed 78 coal miners in West Virginia and led to significant changes in mining safety through the passage of the 1969 Coal Mine Safety and Health Act. On Sunday, family members of the workers who perished in the Farmington Mine disaster and coal miners and their families gathered in Marion County for a solemn ceremony that has taken place every year for more than a half a century.

Although smoking rates have dropped dramatically in the U.S. - from 42% in 1965 to 14% in 2017 - some groups continue to have high prevalence of cigarette smoking. That’s according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), which is using the upcoming Great American Smokeout as an opportunity to highlight this “hidden epidemic.”