Pesticide misuse endangers workers and food crops in Hawaii, Senators demand answers about OSHA and tips for safe summer travel were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
Wisc. corn mill blast kills 1, injures 12
At least one worker was killed and a dozen injured when a corn mill exploded and burned in Wisconsin last night night, according to news sources. At last report, a search was being conducted for two employees who were missing.
Study: Certain job factors relate to poor health in workers
Occupation, lack of paid sick leave, and multiple psychosocial factors are related to workers’ own perceived low health status, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
A Confined Space blog post
Short Stuff: More Problems for Construction, Poultry Processing, Farms and Whistleblowers.
So why doesn’t anyone want to work at DOL?
Do Not Pass go: The New York Times reports that “the owner of two Brooklyn construction companies was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday because the authorities said he ignored complaints about a poorly maintained retaining wall that collapsed at a work site in 2015, killing an 18-year-old laborer and injuring two others.”
A FairWarning story
U.S. Senators ask: What’s up at OSHA?
In the four months since President Trump took office, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued four news releases announcing penalties for job safety violations. By the end of May last year, it had issued 199.
A ProPublica Investigation
Sold for parts
By late afternoon, the smell from the Case Farms chicken plant in Canton, Ohio, is like a pungent fog, drifting over a highway lined with dollar stores and auto parts shops. When the stink is at its ripest, it means that the day’s 180,000 chickens have been slaughtered, drained of blood, stripped of feathers and carved into pieces — and it’s time for workers like Osiel López Pérez to clean up.
MSHA delaying mine exam rule
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is extending the effective date of the agency’s final rule on Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines until Oct. 2, 2017.
Here’s what might happen if a drone hits a person
If a drone were to strike someone on the ground, could that individual suffer serious injuries? The rapidly growing drone industry has sparked a spate of studies by a consortium of leading universities that are aimed at answering that question and improving our understanding of the risks of allowing small unmanned aircraft – or drones – to fly over people.
Before you hit the road for your summer vacation…
As thousands of Americans begin to plan their summer travels, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cautions all those who plan to travel by car to think safety first to ensure a safe trip for them and their families.
DOL releases FY 2018 budget request
U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta says the fiscal year 2018 budget request for the U.S. Department of Labor he released last week will “help American workers develop the necessary skills to meet the demands of a 21st century economy and get good, safe jobs, provide working families access to paid leave, assist employers in meeting their responsibilities under worker protection laws, and restore fiscal responsibility.”
EPA fines Hawaii grower for pesticide violations
A commercial grower in Hawaii misused pesticides in a way that endangered both its workers and its basic crop, according to the EPA, which has just announced a settlement with the company.
