News - Articles - Page 272

Ky. employee electrocuted on the job

February 20, 2018

A company with a troubled track record on safety experienced a workplace fatality last week, when an employee died in an apparent electrocution. The Feb. 15 early morning incident at Carbide Industries in Louisville, Kentucky claimed the life of 38-year-old Patrick Childers, according to news reports.

A Confined Space blog post

It’s always something: Dispatches from the front lines of the battle for workplace safety

Jordan Barab

February 20, 2018

Black Lung is Back: After almost being eradicated in the late 1990, black lung is back, with a vengeance. Epidemiologists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health say they’ve identified the largest cluster of advanced black lung disease ever reported, according to an NPR story. “When I first implemented this clinic back in 1990, you would see … five [to] seven … PMF cases” a year, says Ron Carson, who directs Stone Mountain’s black lung program.

Feds developing plan to reduce childhood lead exposure

February 19, 2018

The EPA, cabinet members and a host of federal agencies – all part of the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children -- gathered last week to hear the EPA’s strategy for reducing childhood lead exposure and associated health risks.

NTSB issues urgent safety recommendations in wake of two rail accidents

February 19, 2018

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued three urgent safety recommendations last week, acting upon the agency’s findings in two ongoing railroad accident investigations. The Federal Railroad Administration received one urgent safety recommendation based on NTSB findings in the agency’s investigation of the Feb. 4, 2018, collision of an Amtrak train and a CSX train near Cayce, South Carolina.

Distracted walking leads to collisions at Apple HQ

February 19, 2018

At many companies, employees complain of hitting the glass ceiling as they try to advance their careers. At Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, glass walls are the problem. Apple Park opened to employees in April, 2017 – while construction was still ongoing – but giving workers early access apparently didn’t help them acclimate themselves to their new surroundings.

Wisconsin co. achieves injury-free workplace with On-Site Consultation Program

February 18, 2018

Rotating Equipment Repair (RER) has had no recordable incidents of worker injuries in the last six years, but that wasn’t always the case. When the Sussex, Wisconsin-based company, that provides parts and services for high-energy pumps reached out in 2008 to OSHA's On-Site Consultation Program for help improving its safety and health program, the company had experienced two recordable injuries that year.

Electrical safety info takes to Twitter

February 16, 2018

Safety professionals, “electrical safety ambassadors” and would-be electrical workers may want to tune into a Twitter Chat next week hosted by the Electrical Safety Foundation International’s (ESFI) Communications Committee.

U.S. Army is a hearing hero

February 16, 2018

A military initiative is this year’s honoree in the prestigious Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award™ which is presented annually by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA).

A Confined Space blog post

Trump’s worker safety & health budget again undermines worker safety & health

Jordan Barab

February 16, 2018

Earlier this week, President Trump submitted his Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal. This is his second budget proposal, and like the first, although it left OSHA’s budget fairly flat, it once again proposes to slash or eliminate important safety and health programs and agencies.

Preliminary estimates: Motor vehicle deaths plateaued in 2017, but still up 6% from 2015

NSC preliminary figures show fatalities topped 40,000 for the second straight year

February 15, 2018

Preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council indicate motor vehicle deaths dipped slightly – 1% – in 2017, claiming 40,100 lives versus the 2016 total of 40,327. The small decline is not necessarily an indication of progress as much as a leveling off of the steepest two-year increase in over 50 years.