The Pulp & Paper Safety Association (PPSA) has announced that its annual Safety Performance Awards are now open for nominations. This year’s honors will be presented at PPSA’s 77th Annual Safety and Health Conference, June 14-17, at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.

The drug overdose epidemic continues to afflict our country. Nationally, there were more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017 i involving opioids (such as fentanyl, heroin and hydrocodone), stimulants (such as cocaine and methamphetamine), and alcohol.ii Nearly 70% of these deaths involved an opioid.ii

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released new factual information via the public docket for two Tesla accident investigations – the March 23, 2018, crash of a Tesla Model X in Mountain View, California, and the March 1, 2019, crash of a Tesla Model 3 in Delray Beach, Florida.

The CDC yesterday confirmed another infection with 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States in California. The patient is among a group of people under a federal quarantine order because of their recent return to the U.S. on a State Department-chartered flight that arrived on February 7, 2020. All people who have been in Hubei Province in the past 14 days are considered at high risk of having been exposed to COVID-19 and subject to a temporary 14-day quarantine.

The American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society have partnered to launch a Give Blood to Give Time campaign to raise awareness on how blood donations help patients fighting cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation, used to treat cancer, can damage the body's ability to generate healthy blood cells and cause potentially life-threatening conditions. Blood transfusions from generous donors help to provide patients with critical clotting factors, proteins and antibodies needed to help their bodies fight back.

Human error - unsafe work procedures, maintenance mistakes, and mishandling tools, wires, and metal covers; Negligent preventive maintenance - not checking for loose termination, allowing dust and debris build-up (critical in medium voltages and higher), and not testing stored energy (e.g., spring-operated bolted pressure switches); and

Demand for high-efficiency electrical equipment is steadily increasing. With more electrical equipment to maintain and operate, workers are exposed to numerous hazards every day. One of those hazards is arc flash, or an arc blast, which can have devastating consequences. If there is an incident, the emotional and financial effects can be devastating.

A worker was investigating a blockage of flour in a collection hopper when his foot slipped on the ladder he was standing on and, as he reached out to balance himself, his right hand came into contact with the rotating vanes of a rotary valve. He sustained partial amputations to all four fingers on his right hand.

In rodeo, it’s not really a matter of if you’ll get injured, but when and how badly. Last year, a major shoulder injury that tore six of the eight tendons in his riding arm took one rider out of competition for several months. Every rider who competes in professional rodeos carries a catalog of their injuries.

Flaring at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, California this week caused employees to be evacuated and disruptions in operations, according to news sources. Flaring is a refinery safety mechanism that burns gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. No injuries were reported.