As those of you who read my posts on the Lac Megantic disaster where 47 people were incinerated by a “bomb train” that derailed in the middle of town, brakes on trains are complicated and often fallible safety devices. This is how they work: A brake pipe runs the length of the train which supplies air to reservoirs mounted on each of the cars.

A Wisconsin meatpacking company faces nearly a quarter of a million dollars in penalties after an employee suffered serious injuries from being caught in an unguarded machine. OSHA has cited JBS Green Bay Inc. - based in Green Bay, Wisconsin - for one willful and 10 serious violations, and faces proposed penalties of $221,726, which includes the maximum penalty for the willful violation.

Workers in Europe are regularly exposed to racism and xenophobia at the workplace, according to experts attending a recent trade union seminar in Brussels, who said racism does not always take the form of subtle discrimination but can also include explicit abuse. Delegates at the seminar, which was organized by the European Trade Union Confederation and European Trade Union Institute, shared their experiences of discrimination and debated what unions can do to tackle the problem.

Despite its seriousness, sexual harassment prevention training inspires entire (albeit, tongue-in-cheek) episodes in popular American television shows, including The Office and NCIS, and memorable skits in many other venues, including Saturday Night Live. With all of this attention, it is easy to believe that sexual harassment prevention training is no longer needed.

OSHA has launched a new program to address hazards from exposure to fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN) and agricultural anhydrous ammonium. The Regional Emphasis Program (REP) will be effective in the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

An organization representing truckers says federal Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations intended to reduce fatigue and improve safety have actually done the opposite. HOS rules are aimed to reducing driver fatigue that can cause accidents by limiting the number of driving hours per day, and the number of driving and working hours per week.

An airline crew’s failure to pay attention to important pre-flight information was behind a near-miss at San Francisco International Airport on July 7, 2017. That’s the conclusion of a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on how an Air Canada flight mistakenly lined up with a taxiway instead of the runway it was cleared to land on. Four airplanes were on that taxiway, waiting for clearance to take off.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has announced the recipients of this year’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Honors (PHWH), given to organizations from across the United States and Canada that have created a work environment where employees and business thrive.

An OSHA investigation into a worker fatality at an Ohio country club uncovered a host of safety violations. The Rocky Fork Hunt and Country Club in Gahanna, Ohio, which has what it describes on its website as “175 scenic acres of landscaped grounds, dense forest, hills and fields” was the site of a fatal accident after a lawnmower a worker was operating tipped over.

Making sure headlights are aimed where they should be aimed and incorporating collision avoidance technology are two ways to improve pedestrian safety in the U.S., according to a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The steady increase in pedestrian fatalities caused by vehicle crashes – which have risen every year since 2009 – caused the NTSB to issue a Pedestrian Safety Special Investigation Report based on its investigations into 15 highway crashes between April 24 and Nov. 3, 2016 in which vehicles struck and killed pedestrians. Some 5,987 pedestrians were killed in 2016 because of vehicle crashes.