A computer app that prompts desk workers to take breaks from sitting is showing real promise in helping reduce blood pressure in a significant and lasting way, reports a trial in the September issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

More than 25 patient and consumer groups are warning that Trump administration guidance about Affordable Care Act (ACA) the issued this week will decrease health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said the guidance will allow states to “move their insurance markets away from the one-size-fits-all rules and regulations imposed by the ACA and increase choice and competition within their insurance markets.”

Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, as part of its investigation into the May 2017 Didion Mill explosion, issued “Call to Action: Combustible Dust” to gather comments on the management and control of combustible dust from companies, regulators, inspectors, safety training providers, researchers, unions, and the workers affected by dust-related hazards.

Green construction, or building energy-efficient and sustainable structures, is in high demand. The push for more green buildings has led to construction workers using energy-efficient materials, like spray polyurethane foam insulation (spray foam). This material forms a continuous barrier on walls and corners, preventing moisture from getting inside of structures through cracks and seams.

People who were exposed to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center (WTC) have elevated rates of alcohol- or drug-related death, reports a study in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Following a major disaster, alcohol- and drug-related mortality may be increased," according to the new research by Jim Cone, MD, and colleagues of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

A new white paper from the Campbell Institute, presented by Joy Inouye, a researcher for the institute, for the media on Tuesday morning at the NSC Congress, details serious injuries and fatalities in the workplace. Over the past two decades, the U.S. has seen enormous gains in workplace safety, according to the report, titled Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention: Perspectives and Practices.

The National Safety Council has been collecting and studying statistics for nearly 100 years, but the organization revealed a new section on Tuesday specifically for workplace statistics. The database, now completely online, details injury facts, worker details and timelines, which help to understand why these injuries and fatalities occur.

The future of safety will look beyond numbers, said SAFEmap International CEO Corrie Pitzer, who gave Tuesday’s keynote during the National Safety Council Congress & Expo in Houston. He spoke about three different levels of safety. He said Safety 1 is about seeking to eliminate human error, which is futile because, “in safety, we don’t know what we don’t know.”

Every year, one of the most-attended presentations on the expo floor at the NSC Congress & Expo is the announcement of the Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations. This year was no exception as Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, presented the preliminary Top 10 for fiscal year 2018 to an overflowing room.

Lots happening these days: the grizzly murder of a Saudi journalist, baseball championships (Go Dodgers!!), mid-term elections, Presidential temper tantrums about “Horseface” and “Pocahontas.” The usual. But by far the most important thing happening today is the Fall 2018 Regulatory Agenda. Release of the Regulatory Agenda is a much anticipated (for regulatory geeks) semi-annual event that gives the President the opportunity to boast about his efforts to allegedly “Cut Burdensome Red Tape and Unleash the American Economy.”