While unions representing air traffic controllers and aviation safety inspectors are warning that the partial government shutdown is endangering the flying public, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – which is in partial function mode – is assuring the public that safety “is the top priority.”

For the first time in U.S. history, a person is more likely to die from an accidental opioid overdose than from a motor vehicle crash, according to National Safety Council analysis. The odds of dying accidentally from an opioid overdose have risen to one in 96, eclipsing the odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash (one in 103). NSC unveiled the analysis on Injury Facts – the definitive resource for data around unintentional, preventable injuries, commonly known as “accidents.”

OSHA has cited Spear Excavating LLC – based in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania – for exposing employees to trenching hazards at a worksite in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The company faces $106,057 in proposed penalties. OSHA initiated an inspection on August 2, 2018, after receiving a complaint alleging the hazards.

Two UPS employees were rescued this morning after being taken hostage by a gunman who was the ex-boyfriend of one of the hostages. The drama unfolded in the loading dock area at a UPS facility in Logan Township, New Jersey.

I somehow missed the Pemberton Mill disaster that happened on January 10, 1860 when the large, 5-story factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts, collapsed without warning in what is likely “the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history” and “one of the worst industrial calamities in American history.”

A crane collapse that caused injuries in New York City last summer has resulted in citations against a Missouri-based contractor. Three construction workers were injured – one critically - when an unsecured mini-crane overturned and fell four stories from an East Harlem worksite on June 25, 2018. The injured included the worker who fell with the crane.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reports that 27 mining fatalities occurred in 2018 - the second lowest number ever recorded. Eighteen fatalities occurred at surface operations; nine occurred in underground mines.

A New York City firefighter was killed in the line of duty last week when he fell more than 50 feet to his death while responding to a traffic accident in Brooklyn.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an appropriations bill to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Included in this bill is funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), school meals, and other critical nutrition programs, which were set to lose funding next month due to the partial government shutdown.

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