Oil rig safety oversight, an international steel safety day and the five safety and health items you need in your office were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Use of wrong floor design leads to death of contractor

When followed, safety standards save lives and painful injuries. In the construction industry, ignoring them can lead to disaster, as it did for 54-year-old Gary Berthelot as he helped rebuild a Mississippi restaurant damaged by Hurricane Isaac.

A healthy heart equals a healthy brain

A healthy heart may have major benefits for preventing the decline in brain function that sometimes accompanies aging, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA). Researchers studied a racially diverse group of older adults and found that having more ideal cardiovascular health factors was associated with better brain processing speed at the study’s start and less cognitive decline approximately six years later.

Discrimination linked to increased stress, poor health

Nearly half of U.S. adults report they have experienced a major form of unfair treatment or discrimination, including being unfairly questioned or threatened by police, being fired or passed over for promotion or treated unfairly when receiving health care. 

Chinese exercises may improve cardiovascular health

Traditional Chinese exercises such as Tai Chi may improve the health and well-being of those living with heart disease, high blood pressure or stroke, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA).

Feds strengthen safety oversight of rail transit systems

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced a final rule that significantly strengthens state safety oversight and enforcement authority to prevent and mitigate accidents and incidents on rail transit systems.

18-year-old apprentice dies on Wisconsin bridge project

Third fatality since 2012

An 18-year-old man lost his life just three months after starting work for Lunda Construction Company. The carpenter's apprentice was mixing concrete for the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge resurfacing project when a rough-terrain forklift struck and killed him. 

Here’s why you need these five items in your office

Anti-fatigue mats, for instance, improve comfort of employees who stand

By Sean Rudner

Regardless of where you work and what you do, there are always going to be safety hazards. Luckily for you, there are places where businesses can go to get exactly what they need to equip their offices with not only safety equipment, but all types of business supplies.

Ill. steel company pleads guilty in death of employee

Behr Iron & Steel Inc. of Rockford, Illinois pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Iain D. Johnston to willfully violating OSHA regulations, resulting in the death of an employee at the company’s facility in South Beloit, Ill.

How to get ready for Steel Safety Day

International event is April 28

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is asking the steel industry to carry out a safety audit on the five most common causes of accidents in time for Steel Safety Day on April 28th.

Texting away from the wheel

Working – even walking – is a risk when you’re distracted

By ISHN Editor Dave Johnson

From the time we get out of bed, we check our phones 221 times a day – an average of every 4.3 minutes, according to The New York Times.

Japan's nuke safety woes remain five years after Fukushima

In March, 2011, a magnitude nine earthquake off the east coast of Japan triggered a tsunami that killed almost 20,000 people and led to meltdowns and release of radioactive material at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Oil rig safety oversight failing despite millions in funding

As federal safety officials responded Friday to a death on a Gulf of Mexico oil rig, the agency in charge of oil-rig safety received a rebuke from a congressional watchdog office that found poor management has caused it to fail in its most basic functions.

NHTSA to hold hearings on driverless cars

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold a pair of public meetings this spring to gather input as it develops guidelines for the safe deployment of automated safety technology.

Citations follow amputation at Ala. chicken processing plant

Pilgrim's Pride is world's second largest chicken producer

An OSHA investigation into conditions at an Alabama poultry producer has resulted in one repeated and one serious safety violation, with proposed penalties of $77,000.

An active social life associated with well-being

Staying active socially despite health-related challenges appears to help lessen the decline in well-being people often experience late in life, according to research published by the American Psychological Association (APA).