Federal occupational safety regulations are delayed while a tough new one takes effect in California. These are among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

NTSB IDs cause of med helicopter crash

Pilot killed, two flight nurses injured

A particular preflight system check and the lack of an indication in the cockpit that could have alerted the pilot of low hydraulic pressure resulting in high pedal loads and a subsequent loss of control after takeoff, was the probable cause of a helicopter crash in Colorado that killed the pilot and seriously injured two flight nurses, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Former OSHA insider names names

The steady stream of enforcement announcements issued by OSHA – which identified companies who commit major safety and health violations and revealed the fines levied against them – may have stopped on inauguration day, but a former OSHA official is getting the information out there, by posting it on his blog.

Mine safety rule could be delayed

The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) has proposed a delay in the effective date of the final rule on Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines -- from May 23, 2017, to July 24, 2017.

NTSB investigating deadly van-pickup crash in Texas

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is trying to determine the cause of the crash Wednesday on Highway 83 in Texas that left 13 people dead – all but one of them senior citizens.

DOT nominee opposed by safety, environmental advocates

Attorney Jeffrey Rosen’s nomination for deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is running into opposition by dozens of safety and environmental advocacy groups, who are urging senators on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to reject his nomination.

New Calif. health care violence prevention rule takes effect Mon.

While regulations are being rolled back at the federal level, the state of California is implementing new ones, including a regulation aimed at protecting the state’s health care workers from on-the-job violence that takes effect on April 1, 2017.

EPA opts to not ban controversial pesticide

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt signed an order yesterday denying a petition that sought to ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide the agency deemed potentially dangerous to consumers – during the Obama administration. The EPA cited scientific uncertainty about chlorpyrifos’s risks in its decision.

NORA takes on landscaping industry safety

With a fatality rate of 25.1 per 100,000 workers compared to 3.8 for all industries, the landscaping industry’s dangers are obvious – even more so when the numbers are broken down by tasks: landscaping/groundskeeping workers (10.1 per 100,000 workers), pesticide handlers (15.4) and tree trimmer/pruners (an astounding 179.9).

New NIOSH checklist helps companies protect workers’ hearing

A new checklist developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) can help companies evaluate the effectiveness of their Hearing Loss Prevention Programs* (HLPPs) and better protect their workers from noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

Beryllium rule delayed, challenged in court

OSHA has delayed the effective date of its rule to lower beryllium exposure limits for a second time, to May 20, 2017. The agency said in a statement that the change will allow for “additional review into questions of law and policy.”

Trump takes aim at Obama-era climate change policies

Clean Power Plan, other regulations headed for repeal

President Trump yesterday began dismantling former President Obama’s efforts to combat climate change, starting with a move to have the EPA formally begin the process of repealing the Clean Power Plan, which calls for a 32 percent cut in the energy industry’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.

Worker crushed inside bank vault

A Pennsylvania construction worker was killed yesterday in an accident inside a Cheltenham Township bank vault.

Politicians to get an earful for Workers Memorial Day

This year’s Workers Memorial Day, April 28, will be a little different. In addition to speeches and candlelit ceremonies, processions and pancake breakfasts, there’ll be activism – motivated by what advocates say is the Trump administration’s attacks on workplace safety.

NIOSH unveils new system for tracking sharps injuries

U.S. healthcare facilities are getting some help in tracking sharps incidents and blood and body fluid exposures among their workers – in the form of a new system developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Would Labor nominee uphold silica rule?

Acosta declines to answer the question during hearings

If confirmed as U.S. labor secretary, will Alexander Acosta enforce OSHA’s already-in-effect silica rule? Or will the Trump nominee follow the president’s anti-regulatory agenda and nullify the regulation?