Excessive rainfall that washed out a portion of the track was one of the factors in a June 22, 2018 train accident that released more than a quarter of a million gallons of crude oil into the Little Rock River, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) move to allow more 16- and 17-year-olds to work in hazardous jobs is drawing fire from Democratic lawmakers who say the proposal would put the health and safety of young workers at risk.

A shrimp boat captain’s decision to continue a journey even though his ship had a hole in the hull was what caused the demise of Lady Damaris, a trawler that sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2017. That determination by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was based on an investigation into the June 22 incident, which fortunately did not result in any injuries or fatalities.

The opioid crisis has led to significant challenges for Americans, and employers are not immune. Some have noted the crisis as being one of the greatest challenges currently facing the country. It has been documented that nearly as many Americans (50,000) died of opioid-related overdoses in the last year alone as Americans who died in the Vietnam War.

Although Safe + Sound Week began yesterday, there’s still time for your company to join the 900+ businesses in the U.S. that are participating in it. Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event aimed at raising awareness and understanding of the value of safety and health programs that include management leadership, worker participation, and a systematic approach to finding and fixing hazards in workplaces.

At least 17 large fires are burning across California, and dozens more throughout other Western states, destroying hundreds of thousands of acres, sending toxic pollutants into the air and contaminating water supplies. The air quality in certain areas — particularly near California's massive Mendocino Complex Fire in the northern part of the state — is among the worst officials have ever seen.

The deaths of two Florida workers in a trenching incident have resulted in $33,259 in proposed fines for their employer, Archer Western Construction Inc. The two workers were crushed when a section of a concrete highway barrier collapsed on them as they removed a storm drain system at a Miami worksite.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a proposal on the drawing board that critics say could expand the use of asbestos — an industrial material known to cause cancer and lung disease. Since the health hazards of asbestos emerged 40 years ago, use of the material has dropped dramatically across the globe. By 2013, more than 60 countries had implemented partial or full bans of asbestos.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued a statewide air quality alert in early August due to smoke spreading across northern Minnesota and southern Minnesota. Smoke from wildfires in western Canada will continue to affect Minnesota. Air Quality Indices in the orange category spread eastward across northern Minnesota Friday, making air quality unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Most Americans know – by now – that exercising is good for you. What many of us don’t know – according to a new study – is that not exercising can raise our risk of certain types of cancer, such as colon and breast.