Reports from NSC Congress & Expo, a NIOSH research update and a push to reduce heart failure in the U.S. were among the top occupational safety and health stories posted on ISHN.com this week.
EPA proposes new protections for international hazmat shipments
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing enhancements to the oversight of hazardous waste shipments to help ensure safe management of imported and exported hazardous wastes.
NIOSH research update
Worldwide, millions of pregnant women wear face coverings at work, including the widely used N95 respirator with filtering face pieces or masks. The N95 respirator restricts normal airflow, so a woman may have to breathe harder while wearing it.
Found little improvement in safety since 2009 fatal accident
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued two urgent safety recommendations calling for direct federal safety oversight of Washington’s Metrorail system by the Federal Railroad Administration.
An ongoing investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) of the November 15, 2014, toxic chemical leak that killed four workers at the E. I. du Pont de Nemours insecticide plant in La Porte, Texas, has uncovered flawed safety procedures, design problems and inadequate planning.
Former Massey Energy CEO could get 31 years in prison in Upper Big Branch mine deaths
The former CEO of Massey Energy Co. goes on trial today in U.S. District Court in Charleston, West Virginia in a case that could set a precedent for corporate higher-ups being held accountable for the safety of their workers.
Institute for Safety and Health Management (ISHM) announces the 2015 Safety Management Professional of the Year. Stephanie Walsh, ASHM, Safety Specialist for Trendway Corp., a manufacturer of commercial office furniture and architectural products in Holland, Mich., was recognized for her caring, common sense, fun approach to safety improvement.
To learn whether exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals in the workplace increases the risk of birth defects, NIOSH researchers are partnering with the Centers for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (CBDRP) on one of the largest birth-defects prevention research efforts in the nation.
Rita Owens, supported by her daughter Queen Latifah, will share her story
A new report finds heart failure continues to be a significant health, economic and personal burden in the U.S. In response, AHA has launched the Rise Above Heart Failure initiative, with goals to reduce heart failure hospitalizations by 10% and to increase awareness and understanding of HF by 10% by 2020.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently renewed an alliance whose goal is the safe use and operation of mining equipment.
OSHA cites GBW Railcar Services for not providing safe platform
fell more than 12 feet to the ground after his aerial lift collapsed. The worker had been standing on an elevated platform to install a canopy on a railcar, but the platform could not support his weight.
Are face masks safe during pregnancy?
NTSB makes urgent call for direct federal safety oversight of WMATA
CSB uncovers flaws at DuPont insecticide plant in La Porte, Texas
Blankenship trial starts today
Furniture manufacturing safety specialist named 2015 Professional of the Year by ISHM
NIOSH to research chemical exposures and birth defects
AHA launches new initiative to reduce heart failure in U.S.
AEM, MSHA renew alliance to enhance mine safety
Aerial lift collapses, worker plummets at railcar facility
EPA toughens Agricultural Worker Protection Standard
Pesticide exposure is focus of changes
The EPA is revising the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard to strengthen protections for the nation’s two million agricultural employees who work on farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses. The agency says the revisions will afford farmworkers similar health protections that are already afforded to workers in other industries.
From NSC Congress & Expo
Terry Mathis, founder and CEO of ProAct Safety, asked for a call to action Monday, saying every safety program needs branding, which creates buy-in. He compared safety programs to sports teams and other visually recognizable brands such as Nike and Coca-Cola, which all have distinct logos.
From NSC Congress & Expo
At NSC on Monday, speaker Sam Smolik, SVP America Manufacturing and Refining Operations at LyondellBasell, offered some management advice he has learned over 40 years in the manufacturing business. He said he started at LyondellBasell when the company wasn’t in the best shape, but they have worked really hard to get where they are today.
From NSC Congress & Expo
Do your employees know the real cost of an injury, asked Rodney Grieve of BRANTA Worldwide. During a Learning Lab Monday at NSC he offered tips on how to defend profits and protect your employees while proving value, gaining cooperation and saving lives. Grieve discussed commonly-used language in the profession and said the words we use connote different behavior, sometimes in a negative light.
Install smoke alarms throughout your house or facility. That’s the primary message of the National Fire Prevention Association’s (NFPA) Fire Prevention Week, which takes place Oct. 4-10.
OSHA has announced the preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations for fiscal year 2015. Patrick Kapust, deputy director of the agency’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, presented the Top 10 on the Expo floor as part of the 2015 NSC Congress & Expo, the world’s largest gathering of safety professionals.
A study of work-related injuries involving a hand or fingers among union carpenters in Washington state, 1989 to 2008, found that hand injuries accounted for 21.1% of reported injuries and 9.5% of paid lost-time injuries.
One of the compelling conversations at NSC Monday was about how to better engage workers and speaker Aaron Walsh, who came up with an initiative called Immersive Education, suggested failure as an option.
One in 10 (10.2 percent) pregnant women in the United States ages 18 to 44 years reports drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. In addition, 3.1 percent of pregnant women report binge drinking – defined as 4 or more alcoholic beverages on one occasion.
John Surma receives the gavel and welcomes four new board members
The National Safety Council announces that John Surma, retired chairman and CEO of United States Steel Corporation, has been elected chairman of the NSC board of directors. Surma succeeds Jeff Woodbury, vice president of investor relations and secretary of the Exxon Mobil Corporation, and took over as chairman on Sunday, Sept. 27, following the annual board of directors meeting.
Safety culture: Does your brand have value?
Roadmap for operational excellence
Quality, safety and productivity
Keep your family safe with a working smoke alarm in every bedroom
OSHA’s top 10 violations for 2015 announced at NSC Congress & Expo
Study: More than 20% of union carpenters’ reported injuries involve hands or fingers
Immersive education to engage workers
One in 10 pregnant women in the United States reports drinking alcohol
New chairman, board members appointed to the NSC Board of Directors
Hot topics at this year’s NSC
Emerging issues, critical deadlines, and priority safety and health issues to be covered in three days in Atlanta include: • 2 GHS deadlines hit in 2015: Are you ready • Creating a culture of safety intervention
Terry Mathis, founder and CEO of ProAct Safety, asked for a call to action Monday, saying every safety program needs branding, which creates buy-in. He compared safety programs to sports teams and other visually recognizable brands such as Nike and Coca-Cola, which all have distinct logos.
From NSC Congress & Expo
At NSC on Monday, speaker Sam Smolik, SVP America Manufacturing and Refining Operations at LyondellBasell, offered some management advice he has learned over 40 years in the manufacturing business. He said he started at LyondellBasell when the company wasn’t in the best shape, but they have worked really hard to get where they are today.
OSHA cites two construction contractors for nine violations; penalties total more than $151K
A complaint that an employee had been partially buried when an excavation collapsed brought OSHA enforcement officers to a Glennco Excavating, Inc. construction site in Missoula, Montana.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicate that about 20,000 amputations occur each year. Between 1,600 and 2,000 (10%) of these amputations have occurred among mechanical power press operators.
A series of 45-minute “lab sessions” on the NSC expo floor cover these topics: • Risk assessment and your electrical safety program To do a risk assessment, you need to understand what, in your business, might cause harm to people and decide whether you are doing enough to prevent that harm.
Safety culture: Does your brand have value?
Roadmap for operational excellence
Cave-in protection failures cited after excavation collapse in Missoula
How to prevent power press hand amputations
Learning Lab Sessions at the NSC
