Less than half of young adults don't get cholesterol screening even though up to a quarter of them have elevated cholesterol, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Adult obesity rates increased in 28 states in the past year, and declined only in the District of Columbia (D.C.), according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010, a report from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). More than two-thirds of states (38) have adult obesity rates above 25 percent.
Many U.S. employees use social media for personal reasons, but a vast majority have not yet jumped onto the social media bandwagon for business use, nor are they interested in receiving information about their health benefits through social media, according to a new survey by the National Business Group on Health, a non-profit group of nearly 300 large U.S. employers.
A $13 million settlement has been reached between four parties and the United States to expedite cleanup of the contaminated Blackburn and Union Privileges Superfund Site in Walpole, Mass., the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. The parties involved in the settlement include W.R. Grace & Co.-Conn., a former owner and operator of the site; Tyco Healthcare Group, also former owner and operator; as well as BIM Investment Corp. and Shaffer Realty Nominee Trust, the current owners.
OSHA announced today in a press release that it is issuing a new rule addressing the use of cranes and derricks in construction, which will replace a decades-old standard. Approximately 267,000 construction, crane rental and crane certification establishments employing about 4.8 million workers will be affected by the rule published today.
Starting in September, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), developer and publisher of NFPA 70E®, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace®, will offer the opportunity to earn the new NFPA 70E Certificate of Educational Achievement* by attending a three-day seminar which concludes with an exam, according to an NFPA press release.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, according to a recent press release, saw first-hand the work of the U.S. Department of Labor-funded ENTERATE project during her July 26 visit to the coffee plantation Los Potrerillos in Jinotega. This project works to combat child labor in Jinotega, Madriz and Managua.
As the August Congressional recess nears, family members victimized by faulty cars that accelerated out-of-control gathered on Capitol Hill with key auto safety leaders, House Energy and Commerce Committee chair, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), and committee members Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Rep. Bruce L. Braley (D-IA), to urge passage in Congress of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 (H.R. 5381), commonly referred to as the “Toyota bill”, according to a recent press release.
OSHA has cited Worthen Industries Inc., a Nashua, N.H., manufacturer of glues and adhesives, and S.L. Chasse Welding & Fabrication Inc., a Hudson, N.H., steel erection contractor, for alleged violations of workplace safety standards following a Jan. 23 explosion at Worthen's manufacturing plant, according to an agency press release. Combined penalties against the two employers total $257,500.
In the event of a mine fire, roof collapse or explosion, mine rescue teams may be tapped to search for colleagues disoriented by toxic gas, trapped beneath layers of rock or severely injured. The teams undergo rigorous training to develop skills that often save lives. Those skills will be put to the test July 27 through 29 at the 2010 Metal/Nonmetal National Mine Rescue Contest, held at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada, according to a press release from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The contest is sponsored by MSHA and will feature 38 teams from 16 states, including eight teams from Nevada.
OSHA announced in a recent press release that the agency has cited Thermal Polymer Systems LC of Angleton, Texas, following an explosion inside a permit-required confined space that killed one worker and injured two others.
The International Board for Certification of Safety Managers recently issued its 3,000th Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP) credential, according to a press release. This important milestone demonstrates the commitment by healthcare organizations to upgrade the performance of key safety-related positions.
In patients with pre-existing heart or lung disease, being exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollutants is associated with reduced heart rate variability (HRV) — a risk factor for sudden cardiac death, reports a study in the July Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), according to a press release.
Aimed at providing fundamental continuing education and training for safety professionals on a variety of key topics and emerging issues, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) will hold its annual SeminarFest in Las Vegas, NV, January 23-29, 2011, according to an ASSE press release.
Average length of stay in the nation’s emergency departments increased to four hours and seven minutes, and the nation’s emergency physicians are concerned about patient safety being jeopardized by long wait times, according to a recent press release from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Press Ganey’s Pulse Report 2010 confirms what the ACEP has reported previously: The recession, high unemployment and insurance losses are increasing pressure on emergency departments and their patients, the organization says.
The Justice Department announced a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Blockbuster Inc. to ensure equal access to its stores nationwide for individuals with disabilities who use service animals.
This week President Obama sent a memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies outlining a new plan to protect Federal workers on the job: “The Presidential POWER Initiative: Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Reemployment.”
As heat stress can cause workplace injuries and illness, the American Society of Safety Engineers says it is important for workers to be protected against the heat, sun exposure and other hazards that could result in severe injury.
A U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) case study released yesterday on the 2009 explosion and fire at the Veolia ES Technical Solutions L.L.C. facility in West Carrollton, Ohio, calls on the industry to improve safety standards covering hazardous waste processing, handling, and storage facilities. The Board also recommended that fire protection codes be revised to require companies to determine safe distances between occupied buildings and potentially hazardous operating areas.
OSHA has issued citations to Legion Industries in Waynesboro, Ga., for 39 alleged serious and four alleged other-than-serious workplace safety and health violations. Proposed penalties total $75,000.
Widespread fire, electrical, mechanical and other hazards at a Farmington, Conn., aircraft parts manufacturing plant have resulted in a total $130,050 in proposed fines from OSHA.
On Wednesday the Committee on Education and Labor of the U.S. House of Representatives voted 30-17 to approve the most significant changes to laws governing OSHA and MSHA since the creation of the agencies in 1970.
OSHA has cited Jarden Home Brands with two alleged willful and 12 alleged serious violations following a safety inspection at the company's worksite in Greenville. Penalties total $197,500.
OSHA has proposed $112,000 in fines against Home Depot USA Inc., chiefly for failing to correct hazards previously cited at the retail chain's West Nyack, N.Y., store.
OSHA has cited DuPont for exposing employees to hazardous chemicals following a fatal workplace incident in January at the company's Belle, W.Va., plant.
This was the soundbite nugget from Patricia Smith, solicitor for the U.S. Labor Department, at a hearing of the House Education and Labor Committee last week.
Another BP roast: The Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety holds a hearing this Thursday, “Workplace Safety and Worker Protections at BP. Trekking up the Hill again: Steve Flynn, Vice President of Health, Safety, Security and Environment, BP Global, London, United Kingdom.
OSHA has cited American Seafoods International LLC for 15 alleged willful and serious violations of safety and health standards at its New Bedford, Mass., processing facility. The seafood company faces a total of $279,000 in proposed fines, chiefly for deficiencies in its process safety management program.
OSHA has cited Rexnord Industries LLC with $130,500 in proposed penalties for violating federal workplace safety standards after a mechanical power press operator, removing parts from a parts dumper, had her arm amputated when the machine unexpectedly began to operate.
OSHA has cited Kenton Iron Products LLC with $214,500 in proposed penalties for 29 alleged serious, willful, and repeat safety and health violations for unsafe working conditions at the company's iron casting facility in Kenton.
OSHA has cited Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Conn., where an 86-year-old patient shot a nurse three times in March, for failing to provide its employees with adequate safeguards against workplace violence. The nurse has not returned to work.
A report released today by American Bird Conservancy, America’s leading bird conservation group, shows how some of BP’s oil spill cleanup efforts are actually causing harm to birds and their habitats rather than helping them, that cleanup vessels are inadequate and operating in the wrong locations, and that deployed boom has failed to protect some important bird colonies from oil.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Justice Department, and the states of Alabama and Iowa announced that McWane Inc., a national cast iron pipe manufacturer headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve more than 400 violations of federal and state environmental laws, according to an EPA press release. The settlement, filed in federal court today, covers 28 of McWane’s manufacturing facilities in 14 states and also requires the company to perform seven environmental projects valued at $9.1 million.
In recognizing Ultraviolet (UV) Safety Month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in a recent press release, is providing tips and tools to people of all ages that will protect them from the sun’s harmful rays. Overexposure to the sun can cause skin cancer and eye damage during any time of the year, regardless of skin color.
OSHA has cited Kenton Iron Products LLC with $214,500 in proposed penalties for 29 alleged serious, willful, and repeat safety and health violations for unsafe working conditions at the company's iron casting facility in Kenton, Ohio, according to an agency press release.
More than 30 registered stakeholders gathered June 29 to discuss OSHA’s proposal to issue an injury and illness prevention program (I2P2) rule, the first of two such meetings to be held in the nation’s capital, according to a report posted on the website of ORC Worldwide, a global EHS consultancy.
OSHA has cited Marc Glassman Inc., doing business as Xpect Discounts, for alleged repeat and serious safety hazards identified during OSHA inspections at four locations in North Haven, East Haven and Derby, Conn. The Cleveland, Ohio-based retailer faces a total of $140,700 in proposed fines.
The AFL-CIO’s online mobilization program sent out an email today urging grassroots support for the “Senate Pre-Recess Checklist.” Passage of four pieces of legislation was deemed critical to “get to business helping America's working men and women — 1) extend unemployment benefits for the millions of long-term unemployed; 2) reform Wall Street; 3) save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers; and 4) provide aid to cash-strapped states to protect vital services, including nurses and firefighters, and save more than 900,000 additional jobs.”
Instead of Capitol Hill, call it hazard hill, according to a report issued this week by the Office of Compliance, which is responsible for protecting the congressional workplace.
OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels testified at a House of Representatives committee hearing yesterday that he “greatly appreciates the work of this committee in proposing legislation that would significantly increase OSHA’s ability to help protect American workers.”
The American Industrial Hygiene Association has told the House Labor and Education Committee that it applauds the committee’s efforts to strengthen OSHA across a number of fronts. The committee is holding hearings this week on the bill, which if passed would usher in the most radical changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Act since its enactment in 1970.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) yesterday said it does not support the effort to link together key provisions of the Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAW Act, HR 2067), introduced last year, to mining safety and health provisions of the Mine Safety and Health Act of 2010 bill, HR 5663, for which the Congressional Committee is holding hearings on this week.
The Coalition for Workplace Safety, an alliance of business associations, sounded off yesterday at a House of Representatives hearing on a bill to add teeth to MSHA and OSHA enforcement. The coalition said nothing about mines, but plenty about the OSHA provisions tacked onto the bill.
A coalition of online organizers, local bloggers, politicians and other public figures have announced the formation of a Tea Party-style, "grassroots" political movement aimed at forcing BP to make clean-up workers wear respirators, so as to protect their health as they work along the Gulf Coast.
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) last week requested more information from OSHA regarding the agency’s efforts to protect the health of cleanup workers at BP oil spill sites.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) recently released remarks in response to OSHA request for comments on the proposed rule to adapt the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
Top Obama Administration officials held a listening session in Los Angeles last week under President Obama’s “America’s Great Outdoors Initiative” to hear the public’s ideas for building a 21st century conservation and recreation agenda and reconnecting Americans with the outdoors.
OSHA has cited Enbridge G&P (East Texas) LP with two alleged willful and five alleged serious violations following a chemical release at the company's Bryans Mill plant in Douglasville, which resulted in a worker's death, according to an OSHA press release.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is launching a new online tool for scientific collaboration and knowledge sharing that was built by Purdue University with support from the agency, an EPA press release states. The Integrated Environmental Modeling Hub (iemHUB) allows environmental researchers to analyze environmental problems and combine environmental models so that a better understanding of the environment can be developed — everything from keeping beaches clean to predicting climate effects.
Current cigarette use among high school students nationwide began to decline in the late 1990s, but the rate of decline slowed during 2003–2009, according to CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The report published today shows that since 2003, the rate of decline in current cigarette use slowed or leveled off for all of the racial/ethnic (white, Hispanic, and black) and gender subgroups except black female students, for which rates of current cigarette use showed no slowing or leveling off after 1999.
Married men are healthier than men who were never married or whose marriages ended in divorce or widowhood, according to a major survey of American adults. Is marriage itself responsible for better health and longer life? It’s hard to be sure, but marriage certainly seems to deserve at least part of the credit, reports the July 2010 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch.
