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OSHA has updated its Communications Tower directive regarding the use of hoist systems used to move workers to and from workstations on communication towers. This follows an alarming increase in preventable injuries and fatalities at communication tower work sites.

Following a major hailstorm on May 18 and a resulting increase in construction, OSHA is extending enforcement activity and asks for Billings-area employers, workers and consumers to protect roofing and construction workers against fall hazards.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has announced the completion of the committee draft stage of ISO 45001, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems—Requirements. The standard, which is available for purchase, gives stakeholders a chance to review it before its publication is finalized, which is slated for late 2016.

Americans in increasing numbers are embracing bicycling for fun, fitness, and for getting to work, school and errands. Summer is here, school is out, and more young people are out on their bikes. The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reminding everyone about safety tips for safe bicycling this summer and throughout the year.

United Airlines Inc. has exposed ground operation workers at the Newark airport to hazardous conditions, prompting OSHA to issue 16 citations and propose penalties of $101,300. The safety violations were found during a January 2014 inspection that is part of an OSHA effort to focus on workplaces with high rates of injuries and illness.

The EPA has published a Request for Information (RFI) to seek comment on potential revisions to its Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations and related programs to modernize its regulations as required under Executive Order (EO) 13650: Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security.

Grain bin dangers, the deadly state of North Dakota and obesity’s effect on productivity were among the top EHS-related stories as featured on ISHN.com this week:

Home blood pressure-monitoring kits can save insurance companies money by improving healthcare quality and reducing healthcare costs, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension. In the United States, more than 76 million adults have diagnosed high blood pressure, and many more are undiagnosed.

A new study shows that despite common perception, the majority of air medical evacuations, or medevacs, are not from occupational injuries or trauma.

European workers can now access detailed information about the chemicals they use in the workplace through an online database put in place by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the Spanish Trade Union Institute ISTAS.