Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels has named Beth Slavet as the new director of the agency's Whistleblower Protection Program.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System reports that the fingers and hand are the most frequent body parts injured at work and treated in hospital emergency departments.

Elliott H. Berger, M.S., Division Scientist for 3M’s Occupational Health & Environmental Safety Division, will be presented with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) Lifetime Achievement Award in St. Petersburg, FL, in February, 2013.

The following describes the NIOSH policy for respiratory protection against airborne exposures to crystalline silica.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) met with Abu Dhabi Environment, Health and Safety Center officials in the United Arab Emirates recently to assist them in developing the country’s first Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Strategy aimed at reducing work-related injuries and fatalities and building a preventative safety culture.

The Washington Post’s Wonk Blog has a piece this week on the burgeoning costs of regulations. WaPo’s Jim Tankersley writes, “If you’re a business leader or conservative economist who worries that the federal government is strangling the economy in red tape, 2012 was a banner year. If you’re a consumer advocate or an environmentalist anxious for the government to do more to boost public health … ditto.”

From noise hazards in foundries and sports venues to sweating manikins, here are the week’s top EHS-related news stories from ISHN.com:

A+A 2013, International Trade Fair with Congress for Safety, Security and Health at Work, is experiencing continued growth: with 613,500 square feet of exhibit space by the beginning of December 2012, exhibitor registration already reached the record figure of the previous year (A+A 2011).

The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) has released the updated Consultants Listing, a searchable print and online directory of its consultant members. Consumers can search for industrial hygienists and other occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals by state and specialty.

Occupational and recreational noise exposures were evaluated at two sporting arenas hosting collegiate hockey games (Venue 1) and semi-professional hockey (Venue 2), according to the article, “Occupational and Recreational Noise Exposure from Indoor Arena Hockey Games, published in Volume 10, Issue 1, 2013, in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.