Here are the week’s top Product Innovations from www.ISHN.com:

With recent statistics showing workers in the 65 and older age group having the highest number of on-the-job deaths in the U.S. in 2010, and, with older workers (defined as those aged 55+ years) being the nation’s fastest growing segment of the working population, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) urges employers to design workplaces with positive policies and programs to optimize the safety and health of older workers.

A Venezuelan refinery disaster that killed dozens of people and damaged hundreds of homes has finally been declared over, according to the country’s Oil Minister. Rafael Ramirez said that four days after the massive explosion which sparked the fire, the site is now in a “cooling phase.”

After rapid expansion since the inception of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), the number of sites receiving VPP certification has shown a slight decrease in recent years.

OSHA has recognized the management and employees of the Monsanto Gothenburg Water Utilization Learning Center and Breeding Facility for excellence in the company’s safety and health program.

R. Davis Layne, executive director of the Voluntary Protection Programs Participant Association, testified on Thursday, June 28, before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and the Workforce in a hearing, entitled, "Promoting Safe Workplaces Through Voluntary Protection Programs."

Ashland Specialty Ingredients received a flag to be flown at the plant and a plaque Aug. 15 that acknowledges the star rating achieved in the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program.

Dear Mr. McCullough: Thank you for your October 21, 2011, letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). You requested an interpretation of OSHA's Respiratory Protection standard, 29 CFR 1910.134, specifically concerning the general requirements at §1910.134(d)(l)(iii), regarding identifying and evaluating the respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace.