The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established a new Center for Occupational Robotics Research (CORR) to provide scientific leadership to guide the development and use of occupational robots that enhance worker safety, health, and well-being. Although robots have been used in workplaces for decades, the use of robots that are designed to be used alongside human workers is increasing, as is the likelihood of robot-related deaths, according to NIOSH.

OSHA has cited Anderson Foot and Ankle Clinic for potentially exposing employees to infectious materials, and for violations of the hazard communication standard. The agency proposed penalties totaling $93,074. OSHA inspectors cited the Rolla-based podiatry clinic for improperly handling medical waste, failing to review the exposure control plan annually, and failing to provide vaccines for employees exposed to bloodborne pathogens. The clinic also was cited for failing to update safety data sheets, and for lacking a list of hazardous chemicals used in the workplace.

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) may be preparing to take a significant step backwards in its advocacy for worker participation in preventing chemical facility incidents, including catastrophes like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In April, 2016 the CSB unanimously approved a 4-volume “Macondo Investigation Report” in response to the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon blowout that killed 11 workers, injured 17 and spilled 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The report contained a number of recommendations, including four recommendations calling for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to significantly enhance its regulations requiring worker participation in the employer’s safety program, and enhanced whistleblower protections for workers participating in safety activities.

A Nebraska worker barely escaped with his life after being trapped in a bin at a grain-handling cooperative. The incident occurred in May 2017 when the Farmers Cooperative employee had entered the bin to clear clumps of soybeans while the auger was running. As the clumped beans cleared, the grain shifted and knocked the worker off of his feet. The auger drew the cleared beans to the bottom of the bin and engulfed the worker up to his chest.

Private industry employers reported nearly 48,500 fewer nonfatal injury and illness cases in 2016 compared to a year earlier, according to estimates released yesterday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). There were approximately 2.9 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in 2016, which occurred at a rate of 2.9 cases per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers.

The month of November is full of fun, interesting, and thought-provoking observances. November is National Raisin Bread Month, Historic Bridge Awareness Month, and Inspirational Role Models Month among so much more. November is also the host month to campaigns like No-Shave November and Movember. Campaigns such as these are working hard to raise money for important causes such as cancer research, education, and awareness. These increasingly popular campaigns are a great way to demonstrate your support … unless you need to wear a tight-fitting respirator for your job.

Public health organizations are expressing their support for legislation introduced this week that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 nationwide. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Academy of Pediatrics says the Tobacco to 21 Act introduced by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) would help reduce tobacco use among young people, save lives and help make the next generation tobacco-free.

Although confined space rescues comprise a relatively small percentage of the operations performed by fire departments in the U.S., they are among the most challenging and dangerous. In fact, as hazardous as confined spaces are for the people who initially become trapped in them, they are even more deadly for would-be rescuers, who account for nearly 60 percent of all confined space deaths.

Despite a policy that led to a decrease in the amount of prescription opioids dispensed in West Virginia, hospitalizations related to opioids have not significantly declined, according to researchers from West Virginia University. More alarming: the data shows that there was more than a 200 percent increase in heroin poisonings following the policy’s implementation. The study found that overall opioid poisonings rates increased significantly from 2008 to 2015 among all age groups.