Safety professionals know how it's necessary to take an all-encompassing look at how to keep workers productive and out of harm's way. For example, those employees might need personal protective equipment, but they also require training that teaches them how to do their jobs without encountering unnecessarily dangerous situations. In short, overlooking one aspect of worker safety could make all the other components of a program useless.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta has recorded five new public service announcements (PSAs) discussing how to keep workers safe while performing cleanup and recovery operations following hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. The 30-second audio messages, recorded in English and Spanish, cover potential hazards posed by chainsaws, downed power lines, unstable surfaces, contaminated floodwaters, and mold exposure.

If you want to reduce your risk of having a heart attack, skip the supplements and cut down on salt instead. That’s the conclusion of a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, which also found that one supplement might actually increase your risk for having a stroke. The goal of the study was to explore the potential for nutritional supplements and dietary interventions to prevent “cardiovascular outcomes,” such as death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary heart disease.

The skies over a dozen U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) locations are about to get a little less friendly for drones, otherwise known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). As of July 11, drone operators are forbidden to fly their aircraft over the following “national security sensitive” locations, based on a request by the DOD:

Although the use of asbestos has been banned in European Union (EU) nations since 2005, the substance remains a health risk in Europe due to its ubiquitous presence in many private and public buildings. Asbestos was one of the major agenda items at last month’s seminar on chemicals and worker protection held in Lisbon. Hosted by the European Trade Union Institute in Lisbon in collaboration with the General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP), the gathering brought together more than 40 union representatives from 21 European countries.

Are you a worker who is experiencing low back pain? You aren’t alone! A recently published article from NIOSH reports that more than 1 in 4 (26%) working adults experience low back pain. Some groups of workers have more pain than others. For example, workers in construction occupations are more likely to experience low back pain than those in other occupations. And, workers 45-64 years old have more pain than younger workers.

A Long Island, New York construction company faces nearly a quarter of a million dollars in penalties in the death of an employee who was killed when a building he was working on collapsed. OSHA issued willful and serious citations against Northridge Construction Corp., with proposed fines of $224,620.

Two employees of New York City Transit (NYCT) were struck by a subway train – one fatally - because the Rail Control Center failed to let the train dispatcher and tower operator know that flaggers were on the track. That’s the conclusion of a just-released National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on the incident, which occurred on November 3, 2016 in a tunnel between the Fort Hamilton Parkway and Church Avenue stations.

It’s probably no surprise that Hawaii, with its year-round, paradise-like weather, ranks as the happiest state in America, in a Gallup 2018 well-being poll. However, based on the states ranked #2, #3 and #4, weather clearly is not the deciding factor in happiness. Hawaii’s position in the top spot was its seventh such ranking since Gallup began tracking the nation’s wellbeing back in 2008.

OSHA inspected the company in December 2018 after an employee was electrocuted while using a damaged portable lamp when cleaning the inside of a metal tank. A second employee suffered electrical shock injuries in an attempt to assist the injured co-worker. Inspectors determined that the lamp's cord had exposed bare conductors, and the lamp was unsuitable for use in wet locations. They also found a damaged extension cord used to connect the lamp to power.