Today's Safety NewsOccupational Safety

Weekly news round-up

Cars that are too quiet, death in a grain bin and a final rule to prevent slips, trips and falls were among the top stories featured this week on ISHN.com.

NTSB investigates hot air balloon disaster

The investigation into one of the worst-ever hot air balloon crashes moves into a new phase next month, with an investigative hearing by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Tabs aid doffing of filtering facepiece respirators

In healthcare, workers wear filtering facepiece respirators as protection against inhaling infectious particles such as viruses and bacteria, but safe use does not end with putting on, or donning, the respirator.

OSHA finalizes Walking-Working Surfaces rule

OSHA this week issued a final rule updating its general industry Walking-Working Surfaces standards specific to slip, trip, and fall hazards. The rule also includes a new section under the general industry Personal Protective Equipment standards that establishes employer requirements for using personal fall protection systems.

Wall of corn collapses, kills Neb. worker

A 52-year-old maintenance employee at a Nebraska feed company was clearing crusted corn from the sides of a grain bin when a wall of corn collapsed and buried him in hundreds of pounds of debris. Rescued by emergency crews, he died of his injuries two days later.

Impatience may be driving us to fast food

A new study suggests that an ability to delay immediate gratification is associated with less frequent consumption of fast food. The study, which appears early online in Preventive Medicine has public health significance since away-from-home eating, and fast food consumption in particular, contribute to obesity in the United States.

How recycling benefits the economy

Those bins you set out by the curb once a week, along with other recycling efforts nationwide, help to generate about 757,000 jobs, according to the EPA, which has crunched the numbers to show the value of recycling.

The happiest workers in the U.S. live in…

Does geography play a role in how happy – or unhappy – workers are? Sokanu – a “career discovery platform,” collected data from more than 250,000 workers across more than 250 career paths and found that the US states with the happiest workers are:

Animations help pilots avoid midair collisions

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a Safety Alert Tuesday to pilots with suggestions on what they can do to reduce their chances of being involved in a midair collision.

Motor coach business operated by church shut down by feds after crash

A South Carolina church has been ordered out of the commercial transportation business, after an investigation into a fatal accident revealed numerous safety violations.

Safety concerns get worker fired

A worker who reported safety concerns about the zip-line equipment his company manufacturers was terminated for insubordination in violation of federal whistleblower laws, OSHA has found.

Poor maintenance behind amphibious vehicle crash in Seattle

Last year’s devastating crash in Seattle that involved an amphibious passenger vehicle was caused by the mechanical failure of the left front axle of the transport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which traced the problem to inadequate maintenance.

Klosterman Baking Co. continues hazard despite worker’s amputation

Just five weeks after a 28-year-old maintenance worker lost part of his right arm in an improperly guarded bread wrapping machine at the Cincinnati-based Klosterman Baking Co., federal safety inspectors investigating the injury found another worker exposed to the same hazard.

NHTSA standard will make hybrids noisier to protect pedestrians

Goal: Preventing 2,400 pedestrian injuries a year

Hybrid and electric light-duty vehicles operate more quietly than conventional cars and trucks, which could make them a danger to pedestrians – particularly those who are blind or have low vision and rely on sound to tell them when a vehicle is approaching.

Occupational safety and health economics workshop

In early September 2016, researchers from Canada and the U.S. convened a workshop in Montreal to analyze current and emerging issues in the economics of worker safety and health, and to formulate potential collaborative research aiming to improve and standardize economic metrics of worker injury and illness, including metrics of the under-recognized burden for workers and their families, employers, and society.