How obese patients pose ergonomic hazard for EMTs, the DOL delays a major EHS rule and a hurricane-related danger still in the making were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Avoid scary food safety hazards at Halloween

Although it’s a holiday that offers up a lot of fun, Halloween can also harbor foodborne illness dangers for both children and adults.

UMWA meets with MSHA chief nominee

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) officials say they appreciate David Zatezalo’s willingness to meet with them last week, but they haven’t yet decided how they feel about Donald Trump’s nominee for Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) chief.

Many with work-related asthma aren’t getting vital vaccine

Adults with asthma are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease, yet according to a new CDC study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, just 54 percent of adults with work-related asthma—asthma triggered by an exposure at work—have been vaccinated against the infection.

Silica rule delayed for 30 days

A move last week by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will delay enforcement of OSHA’s silica rule for the construction industry for another 30 days – to Oct. 23. The DOL said the delay was necessary because of the “dramatic” reduction in the exposure limit – from 250 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, averaged over an eight-hour shift.

New study casts doubt on safety of e-cigarettes

Healthy nonsmokers may experience increased adrenaline levels in their heart after one electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) with nicotine, according to new research in Journal of the (AHA), the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association.

Quitting daily aspirin therapy may increase risk of second heart attack

Stopping long-term, low-dose aspirin therapy may increase your risk of suffering a cardiovascular event, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.

A Confined Space blog post

Who is responsible for worker safety?

Jordan Barab

One of the free services we provide here at Confined Space world headquarter is helping journalists write better articles. Here we have a news outlet doing the right thing: “News4 I-Team’s Lindsay Bramson started watching construction sites after learning 12 construction workers have died in the past two years.”

Broken bones, amputations earn Chicago co. half a million in fines

15 amputations in five years

Four separate reports of workers suffering life-changing injuries brought OSHA inspectors to a Chicago manufacturing company, where they found multiple safety violations.

Performing, fine artists face OSH hazards, too

Painters, actors, and other artists face a wide range of hazardous occupational exposures and working conditions, according to a special article collection in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

AIHA warns of looming mold crisis

Hurricanes that ravaged parts of U.S and Caribbean may cause mold epidemic

The warm, humid climate of the areas affected by the recent hurricanes offers a fast recipe for mold accumulation, according to the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA®), which warns of a potential mold epidemic across those regions.

OSHA IDs Top 10 violations for 2017

While OSHA’s Top 10 list of most frequently cited workplace safety violations is usually filled with familiar violations names, this year’s rundown contains a newcomer: Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503).

One more weather-related thing to worry about…

Protect your home from costly lighting strikes

With the Atlantic Hurricane Season in full swing through November, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) and the Lightning Protection Institute (LPI) are working to spread awareness of a less recognized, yet more frequent weather hazard: lightning.

Pilot error caused VP’s plane to slide off runway

Several failures in close succession by a jetliner’s flight crew were the probable cause of Oct. 27, 2016, runway excursion at LaGuardia Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s final report issued Thursday.

NYC construction bill safety comes too late for 3 workers

Two New York City construction workers at two different worksites plunged to their deaths and another was seriously injured Thursday – a day after the City Council approved a controversial construction safety bill.

Preventive medicine experts oppose Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill

After reviewing Senator Lindsey Graham’s and Senator Bill Cassidy’s proposal to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) says it strongly opposes the bill.

Obese patients big cause of injury to EMTs

More than one-quarter (28%) of injured emergency medical services (EMS) workers surveyed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) said their injuries occurred as they were transferring, carrying, or lifting a patient at the time of injury – and often that patient was heavy, overweight, or obese.