Weekly news round-up
PSM in the oil and gas industry, the legacy of a mine disaster and three decades of hearing loss data were among the top occupational safety and health stories posted on ISHN.com this week.
Deaths involving heroin have almost tripled since 2010
From 2000 through 2013, the age-adjusted rate for drug-poisoning deaths involving heroin nearly quadrupled from 0.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 2.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Workers at a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail sorting facility were exposed to electrical hazards, OSHA inspectors found, and it wasn’t the first USPS location to have such hazards.
A U.S. Department of Labor Blog post
By Jordan Barab
When most people think about going into work every day, they probably assume a few things. One of those things is that they won’t be physically assaulted while doing their job. That they will go home at the end of the day without being injured or killed.
USPS mail sorters exposed to faulty electrical equipment
If work came with a high risk for assault, would you go?
A new study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) examines thirty years of hearing loss trends experienced by workers exposed to noise while on the job, across various industries. The study, published by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, found that while progress has been made in reducing the risk of hearing loss within most industry sectors, additional efforts are needed within the Mining, Construction, and Healthcare and Social Assistance sectors.
OSHA inspectors acting on a complaint found asbestos-related violations at A.M. Castle & Co., a wholesale metal and steel stock distributor in Franklin Park, Illinois.
In 1968, a powerful explosion rocked an underground West Virginia coal mine, killing 78 miners. While the disaster's cause remains uncertain, the Farmington mine disaster was a flashpoint for reform after years of mining fatalities and injuries and a growing awareness of black lung disease.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued four urgent recommendations calling for more robust and fire-resistant rail cars to be produced to safely carry flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol.
As its investigation of the smoke and electrical arcing accident in a tunnel near the L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station on January 12 continues, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is looking at another smoke and electrical arcing event that occurred in February.
From the NIOSH Director's Desk
John Howard, M.D., Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), explores how organizational practices influence risk factors for illness and injury at work.
A.C. Castle/Daryl J. Provencher faces nearly $300K in OSHA fines
Three roofing workers employed by Provencher Home Improvement of Beverly, Massachusetts were hospitalized after a two-story fall from a scaffold platform that broke beneath them, OSHA inspectors have determined.
NIOSH study spans 30+ years of hearing loss trends
Illinois workers exposed to asbestos
Historic coal mine safety law turns 45
NTSB says crude oil tank cars need to be safer - soon
NTSB: One accident investigation led to another
The changing employment relationship and its impact on worker well-being
Three Massachusetts roofers hospitalized after substandard scaffold breaks
NIOSH chief to speak at AIHA’s first annual Mark of Excellence Awards
The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) has announced that John Howard, MD, Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), will speak at the first annual Mark of Excellence Awards Breakfast at the 2015 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
OSHA finds lack of cave-in protection
Two workers killed in a trench cave-in Oct. 1, 2014 in Boonton, NJ died because the company had failed to provide cave-in protection, an OSHA inspection has found.
A ProPublica Report:
Medicare spent $4.5 billion last year on new, pricey medications that cure the liver disease hepatitis C — more than 15 times what it spent the year before on older treatments for the disease, previously undisclosed federal data shows.
Two NJ landscape workers killed in trench collapse
The cost of a cure: Medicare spent $4.5 billion on new Hepatitis C drugs last year
The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has published two new reports on process safety data. Potentially hazardous substances are a fundamental part of today’s oil and gas industry, and safe handling is vital.
Public health
International travelers are bringing a multidrug-resistant intestinal illness to the United States and spreading it to others who have not traveled, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
For the fifth time in the past three years, OSHA inspectors found workers at Wood Fibers Inc. at risk of amputation, fire and other life-threatening hazards in October 2014. Despite the agency’s intervention, the company has failed to provide proof that hazards had been fixed or pay penalties from previous inspections.
Baseball legend stars in “Ripken Safety Tip of the Month”
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. may be retired from baseball, but he’s staying active – and his activities include an occupational safety video series for ISHNtv.
Using process safety data to prevent major incidents in the oil and gas industry
Multidrug-resistant Shigellosis spreading in the U.S.
Wood pellet manufacturer ignores serious safety hazards and fines
Cal Ripken, Jr. to bring safety message to ISHNtv
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