Each year, 2000 workers are admitted to burn centers for extended injury treatment caused by arc flash. Arc flash is an electric current that is passed through the air when insulation or isolation between electrified conductors is not sufficient to withstand the applied voltage. The flash is immediate, but the results can cause severe injury.
A new killer virus, Chinese poultry plant workers die in a fire and a final rule for workplace wellness programs are among this week’s EHS-related stories as featured on ISHN.com:
Natural disasters are the top safety concern among office employees, yet the majority of businesses (60 percent) polled in a survey said recent disasters -- including Hurricane Sandy -- haven’t led them to reassess their safety plans.
An engineer who was fired after raising safety concerns about a nuclear power plant that was under construction will receive back wages and compensatory damages, after an investigation by OSHA.
When you’re at the drug store reaching for a sunscreen product, you may notice some changes on the labels. Health experts recommend using sunscreen products that offer Broad Spectrum protection and have an Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.
Both OSHA and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) have written standards and regulations that build on one another and help keep all workers safer from electrical hazards in the workplace. In this case, the OSHA regulations and NFPA standards work so well together it’s been said that OSHA provides the "shall" while NFPA provides the "how."
OSHA’s Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) meets this afternoon in Washington, D.C. to discuss changes to the GS-0018 and the Safety and Occupational Health Management job series, among other items.