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.

The ability of commercial aircraft to move safely through the skies – particularly in the vicinity of airports – is a prominent part of the test drone operators must take in order to get a Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

While the dog days of summer mean slowing down for some people, sunshine brings the busy season for those in the grounds management professions, which includes landscaping, tree care and horticulture. This summer work means breaking out tools that can create loud noise: lawn mowers, edgers, chainsaws, chippers — just to name a few.

How do we define and measure worker well-being? A proposed conceptual framework, with implications for future efforts to improve occupational safety and health, is presented in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

NIOSH is one of the first US federal agencies to collaborate with the Wikimedia organizations and it is doing so by actively contributing data and the latest research to help improve the health of the population. NIOSH’s effort involves examining mechanisms to help make sure that the occupational safety and health information that reaches Wikipedia’s millions of readers is complete, up-to-date, and free of errors.

Commercial fishing vessels in the cold, remote waters of Alaska are required to carry equipment to survive vessel sinkings. NIOSH examined the importance of this lifesaving equipment and the need for marine safety training in a recent study published in the journal Safety Science.