Hurricane/Tropical Storm Florence is a reminder that severe weather can wreak havoc on human, animal and environmental health and welfare. OSHA is reminding employers and workers that September is National Preparedness Month – a good time to prepare for severe weather emergencies whether or not you live in a hurricane zone. Other parts of the country may experience tornadoes, extreme storms, flooding, wildfires and other acts of nature that threaten safety.

Although Florence may no longer be a hurricane, the storm still poses plenty of danger for people who are in or will be returning to affected areas. Electrocution, water-borne infections and drowning are among the health risks associated with flooding, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has issued the following safety tips:

Good news! Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh does not think it is unreasonable for workers to expect to come home safely at the end of the day, even if they work in the entertainment industry. So he claims in his response to a written question from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Unfortunately, “expecting” isn’t doing. And Kavanaugh, in his dissent from the SeaWorld case, in his testimony before Congress, and now in his written responses, seeks to take away the ability of workers to make that expectation a reality.

In 1997, hundreds of elementary school children in Michigan contracted Hepatitis A from a contaminated strawberry dessert served in the school’s cafeteria. Immediate effects included vomiting, high fevers, body aches, headaches, and abdominal painting. Among the long-term effects: hair loss, fatigue and shingles.

Reducing workplace injuries will be the focus of an Arbill Manufacturing Day panel discussion coming up in October that will feature ISHN Dave Johnson as a panelist. Johnson is the industry’s longest-tenured editor, with 31+ years’ experience leading ISHN. He and co-panelists Dave Blanchard of EHS Today and Jerry Laws of Occupational Health & Safety will share their insights on the state of workplace safety.

OSHA has cited pallet manufacturer Buckeye Diamond Logistics Inc. - which operates as BDL Supply - for lockout/tagout hazards after an employee suffered an amputation at the Columbus-based company. OSHA proposed penalties of $191,794 for two repeated and four serious violations.

The adult obesity rate is at or above 35% in seven states and at least 30% in 29 states, according to the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data issued by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The rates increased in Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and South Carolina between 2016 and 2017, and remained stable in the rest of states.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is warning drone owners and operators they may face significant fines if they interfere with emergency response operations in the areas affected by Hurricane Florence. Many aircraft that are conducting life-saving missions and other critical response and recovery efforts are likely to be flying at low altitudes over areas affected by the storm.

Consumer advocates are attacking a bill heading for a vote soon in the U.S. Senate that would clear legal obstacles for the deployment of driverless cars — a proposal that, critics say, lacks safeguards needed to protect the public and largely would let vehicle manufacturers regulate themselves. The measure, which is being pushed by auto and tech industry lobbyists, is called the AV START Act, standing for “American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies.”

As artificial intelligence (AI) systems begin to control safety-critical infrastructure across a growing number of industries, DNV GL has released a position paper on the responsible use of AI. The paper asserts that data-driven models alone may not be sufficient to ensure safety and calls for a combination of data and causal models to mitigate risk.