How important is it to practice proper hand washing techniques? One of the biggest problems with not washing our hands after using the bathroom is that throughout the day we touch many things. Other people then touch these things and when we then touch our nose or mouth, we pick up infections. As well as this, if you prepare foods with dirty hands, people can catch infections by eating what you have made.

Food allergies are a growing public health issue. About 15 million Americans have food allergies; one in 13 children and one in 25 adults. In some cases, symptoms from ingesting allergens can be severe enough to require medical treatment. Food allergic reactions are responsible for about 30,000 emergency room visits and 150-200 deaths a year.

Employees at a Florida health care facility were exposed to verbal threats as well as punches, kicks, bites and other physical assaults – including some using objects as weapons, according to OSHA, which has cited the company for failing to protect its workers from violent mental health patients.

Last week’s fatal accident in Florida involving an electrical vehicle is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is giving special attention to how emergency responders – including firefighters and tow truck operators -- dealt with the electric vehicle battery fire that followed the crash.

All Power Construction Corp. of Huntsville, Alabama faces $139,684 in proposed penalties following a trench collapse that killed a temporary employee in November 2017. A staffing company, Labor Finders of Tennessee Inc., has $12,934 in penalties levied against it – the maximum allowed.

Although the pharmaceutical industry contends that direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising is educational and motivating, a new analysis reported on in the Annals of Family Medicine finds that the educational value of those TV ads has decreased since 2007.

An OSHA investigation into a fire at a New York State manufacturing facility that claimed the life of an employee uncovered a host of safety hazards – for which the company is facing proposed fines of $281,220. New Windsor-based Verla International LTD was cited by the agency for failing to protect its workers from dangerous chemicals, and other hazards.

Startling new research findings contradict conventional wisdom about opioids – and may help guide the design of pain relievers that do not produce addiction or other adverse effects produced by morphine and other opioid medicines.

The fatality rate in the marine industry may be low compared with other sectors, but more can be done to prevent incidents. That was the message conveyed by the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) Office of Marine Safety (OMS) during its recent “safety advocacy tour.”

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) team investigating an explosion at the Husky Energy oil refinery in Superior, Wisconsin has narrowed its focus to equipment within the refinery’s Fluid Catalytic Cracking, or FCC, unit. The April 26, 2018 blast injured approximately 20 employees and caused an evacuation of residents in the surrounding area.