Cranes fall during Hurricane Irma, dealing with an aging workforce and a disgraced former coal CEO takes to television to plead his innocence. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

A Confined Space blog post

OSHA to the public: ‘You can’t handle the truth!’

Jordan Barab

OSHA has engaged in a furious flurry of press activity over the past month. Well, “furious” by Trump-OSHA standards. By anyone else’s standards, it’s still pathetic. OSHA has issued an astonishing total of six press releases since the beginning of August.

OSHA, American Chemistry Council partner to protect workers from hazmat

OSHA and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) have established a two-year alliance today to raise awareness of how workers are exposed to diisocyantes, and promote safe practices for their use in the polyurethane industry.

Energy co. responding to Irma outages gets pass on vehicles from EPA

The EPA says it will exercise its “enforcement discretion” for Duke Energy Florida vehicles and equipment that are being used to respond to power outages in Florida as a result of Hurricane Irma.

Getting motivated

NYC Transit workers learn Hands-Only CPR after employee used it to save a co-worker’s life

Nearly a year ago, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) employee David Martinez saved the life of a co-worker by performing Hands-Only CPR, which he learned from watching an American Heart Association (AHA) training video. Martinez joined about 300 employees as they learned the same two-step lifesaving skill during a training which was provided through the Hands-Only CPR Mobile Tour presented by the AHA at the New York Transit Museum on Sept. 12.

FAA declares small drone rule a success

More than 80,000 individual drones have been registered for commercial and government purposes and more than 60,000 people have obtained a Remote Pilot Certificate required to operate a drone, since the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) small unmanned aircraft rule, Part 107 (PDF), went into effect a year ago.

How one company turned its safety program around

A Michigan company that couldn’t purchase workers’ compensation insurance because its injury rates were so high has radically changed its approach to safety, resulting in a significant reduction in its accident and incident rates and cost savings of about $30,000 a year.

NTSB to reveal cause of fatal cargo ship sinking

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) plans to meet Dec. 12, 2017, in Washington to determine the probable cause of the October 2015 sinking of the cargo ship El Faro in the Atlantic Ocean.

Driver errors, overreliance on automation, led to fatal Tesla crash

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that a truck driver’s failure to yield the right of way and a car driver’s inattention due to overreliance on vehicle automation are the probable cause of the fatal May 7, 2016, crash near Williston, Florida.

Massive power restoration campaign underway in Florida

Tens of thousands of utility workers are deployed across Florida in an effort to restore power to the approximately ten million people who were left without it after Hurricane Irma battered the state with powerful winds and heavy rain.

A Confined Space blog post

Weekly Toll: Workers’ deaths are not statistics

Jordan Barab

A couple of comments before we get to this week’s list. We’ve written about OSHA’s unfortunate decision to remove the names of workers killed on the job from their webpage. Jennifer Gollan of Reveal News interviewed a number of family members of workers killed on the job who felt that OSHA’s decision was wrong and reduces their loved ones’ deaths to a statistic.

Survey: Restrooms say a lot about a company

It may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of workplace conditions, but the state of restrooms – it turns out – is very important to American workers. In fact, the vast majority of workers – 89 percent - believe the condition of a workplace restroom is one indicator of how a company values its workforce.

Blankenship blames UBB tragedy on MSHA

After spending a year in prison on charges related to one of the nation’s worst mining disasters, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship has taken to TV to plead his innocence. In a series of television ads running in West Virginia, Blankenship, who was convicted of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards, is now blaming the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that killed 29 miners.

Older workers hurt less, but injuries are more serious

The U.S. population is aging, which means that the U.S. workforce is also growing older. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of workers aged 65 or older has grown by 117% in a span of 20 years, while employment of individuals 75 years or older has likewise increased by 117%.

Medicaid expansion linked to lower uninsured rates

New research led by American Cancer Society (ACS)researchers finds that after full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the percent of uninsured decreased substantially in Medicaid expansion states among the most vulnerable patients: low-income nonelderly adults with newly diagnosed cancer.

Cranes toppled under Irma's winds

-But most stayed standing

Florida’s construction cranes weathered Hurricane Irma better than expected, although three massive cranes did collapse in the southern part of the state after being battered by 120 mph winds and heavy rain. There were no injuries reported from the crane incidents.

Medical facilities assessment:

Checklist for medical professionals in the oil and gas industry

IPIECA - the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues – has released a new publication for medical professionals in the industry.

How to reduce the risk of dementia

A healthy lifestyle benefits your brain as much as the rest of your body -- and may lessen the risk of cognitive decline (a loss of the ability to think well) as you age, according to a new advisory from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Stroke Association.