A Texas measure that would encourage school districts and educators to include workplace health and safety training information in the curricula of grades 7-12 schoolkids got a boost recently from American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) President Steven E. Lacey, PhD, CIH, CSP, who traveled to the state to testify in support of the bill at a House Public Education Committee hearing.
"We tell our children to not play with matches and to be careful around swimming pools as soon as they are old enough to understand the message, but we rarely say a word about how to stay safe and healthy when they get their first job," Lacey said. "Teen workplace injuries can permanently damage kids and their families, cost the US economy billions of dollars each year, and they are preventable," he continued.