Icy runways, worker protection in Bangladesh and the kind of alarm that makes your heart beat too fast were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Health groups sue FDA over lack of cigarette warning rule

Agency dragging its feet on requiring graphic warnings on cigarette packs

Eight public health and medical groups and several individual pediatricians today filed suit in federal court in Boston to force the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a final rule requiring graphic health warnings on cigarette packs and advertising, as mandated by a 2009 federal law.

A FairWarning story:

Death toll climbs for walkers and cyclists as traffic safety measures take a back seat

Paul Feldman

More Americans are bicycling or walking to work these days, getting healthy exercise and doing their bit to reduce traffic and air pollution. But with little government investment in safety measures, such as protected bike lanes and sidewalks, more cyclists and pedestrians also are getting killed.

It’s time to standardize performance reporting

 Dave Johnson, ISHN Editor

The question is more relevant in 2016 than ever — and it’s just going to become more important in the coming years.

OHS initiative for workers, community established in Bangladesh

On October 2, 2016, the OHS Initiative for Workers and Community received the legally required approval from the Bangladesh government’s NGO Bureau to begin operations, green-lighting its “train-the-trainer” program on workplace health and safety with six leading labor, women’s, public health and occupational health and safety (OHS) organizations.

Alarm type can affect firefighters’ stress

Fire departments can reduce stress on firefighters by signaling emergencies with alarms that gradually increase in intensity instead of blasting sudden, full-volume alerts, according to new research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH).

The importance of analysis in workplace safety

OSHA has released two fact sheets that stress the importance of tracking metrics and investigating potential hazards to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

Worker’s severe burn injury fails to make company change its ways

Just weeks after a machine operator suffered third-degree chemical burns to his left foot after falling into an acid-etching tank heated to more than 170 degrees, federal inspectors posted an imminent danger notice at A-Brite Plating when they found workers climbing atop the same acid tanks at the Cleveland auto parts plating facility.

Fatigue, drug use caused multi-vehicle crash in Tenn.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that a semitractor-trailer driver’s fatigue, methamphetamine use, and failure to respond to slow-moving traffic within a work zone resulted in the 2015 multi-vehicle crash near Chattanooga, Tennessee, in which six people died and four were injured.

NLRB takes up nurses complaint against hospitals

Registered nurses are hailing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Office of General Counsel's decision to move forward with a complaint against healthcare giant Community Health Systems and Quorum Health Corporation for numerous alleged labor violations.

Flying safely in winter weather

As winter approaches, U.S. airports, airline flight crews, dispatchers, general aviation pilots, air traffic controllers, and manufacturers will begin using new Takeoff and Landing Performance Assessment (TALPA) methods to improve safety at U.S. airports.

A U.S. Dept. of Labor Blog post:

Healthy employees are happy employees

Kimble Burke DellaFave-Snyder

When Amanda came home to find her partner Jake clutching his chest in pain, she rushed him to the hospital, where he collapsed outside the emergency room. Doctors diagnosed an aortic aneurysm: Jake’s aortic valve had burst, and he needed immediate surgery. There was a 50 percent chance he would not survive.

ASSE President's monthly message

The business of safety

Thomas F. Cecich CSP, CIH

As OSH professionals, we talk about incident rates, reportable injuries and illnesses, workers’ compensation losses, experience modifier rates, regulatory compliance standards and similar metrics. Our language is clear in our professional circles, yet it is often confusing to business managers and executives. Their language is finance (or dollars, for short).

AIHA is looking for a few good…industrial hygenists

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) seeks nominations for four Board of Directors positions, that will be vacated in June 2017. The open positions will include Vice President, Treasurer-elect, and two Director positions. This year for the first time, all Board nominations must be submitted electronically via the nominations portal on the AIHA website.

EPA tool helps communities prepare for climate change

As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to strengthen America’s climate resilience, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an updated online climate change risk assessment tool that assists users in designing adaptation plans based on the types of threats confronting their communities.

Ohio aluminum foundry faces fine following hand-crushing incident

OSHA is investigating General Aluminum, a foundry in Conneaut, Ohio, following the serious injury of a worker. According to OSHA, this will be its fifth investigation of the company since 2013.

Asbestos stymies train crash investigation

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators looking into Thursday’s crash of the New Jersey commuter train ran into a roadblock while attempting to retrieve the event recorder and camera from the controlling cab.

Worker severely injured on his first day on the job

An 18-year-old worker in Bay Harbor Island, Florida ended up in the hospital on his first day on the job -- because his employer failed to provide him with fall protection, according to OSHA.