Transportation safety, amputation injuries, nanotechnology worker safety and one state’s success with reducing opioid dependence were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
A Confined Space blog post
Written in blood: Trump appointee reverses lessons of Deepwater Horizon
March 15, 2018
They say that those who forget history are forced to repeat it. But when it comes to workplace and environmental disasters, that’s not exactly true. Because while the politicians and their corporate supporters are doing the forgetting, it is the workers, the environment and surrounding communities that ultimately pay the price when the inevitable — and preventable — tragedies come home to roost.
American workplaces are 900% more deadly than British ones
March 15, 2018
As many Americans continue to worry that the Supreme Court ruling on unions could change workplace safety laws for the worse, there remains a more general threat to workplace safety which U.S. businesses should be focused on. Despite a gradual decrease over the past 13 years, the workplace fatality rate per 100,000 people in the U.S. is still significantly higher than in most E.U. countries.
Bus filled with students crashes into Ala. ravine
March 14, 2018
The company whose bus plunged into an Alabama ravine early yesterday morning, killing the driver and injuring at least three dozen passengers, has been in four crashes during the past two years, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) records. In Tuesday’s incident involving First Class Tours Inc., a bus carrying members of a Texas high school band returning from a music festival at Disney World left the road and descended into a steep ravine near Loxley.
How did Ohio reduce number of opioid-dependent workers?
March 14, 2018
One state’s successful strategies for reducing the number of injured workers at risk for opioid addiction will be shared with workers compensation experts from around the country at the upcoming Workers Compensation Research Institute’s (WCRI) conference in Boston. In 2011, the OBWC found that more than 8,000 injured workers were opioid-dependent for taking the equivalent of at least 60 mg a day of morphine for 60 or more days. By the end of 2017, that number was reduced to 3,315, which meant 4,714 fewer injured workers were at risk for opioid addiction, overdose, and death than in 2011.
Pilot in NYC chopper crash said engine failed
March 14, 2018
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has interviewed the only survivor of Tuesday’s helicopter crash into New York City’s East River – the pilot. The Airbus Helicopter plunged into the river and rolled inverted during an autorotation, killing five passengers and injuring the pilot.
NIOSH releases new nanotechnology safety tools
March 14, 2018
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) – the government agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses – has rolled out some tools to enhance the safety of those working in nanotechnology. This relatively new science has exploded in popularity in recent years, as scientists and engineers find more and more uses for engineered nanomaterials, which may be stronger and more lightweight and offer increased control of light spectrum and greater chemical reactivity than their larger-scale counterparts of the same composition.
A FairWarning story
Researcher says auto safety measures prevented millions of deaths
March 13, 2018
Traffic safety measures ranging from seat belt and drunk driving enforcement to design standards for cars and trucks “averted a public health disaster” by preventing about 5.8 million deaths in the U.S. from 1968 through 2015, according to a new study. The analysis found that without federal and state policies, traffic deaths annually would “likely have been in the hundreds of thousands rather than tens of thousands” in recent years.
Confined space incident costs worker both legs
March 13, 2018
One momentary decision in a hazardous workplace forever changed the lives of a worker who suffered grievous injuries and the co-worker whose actions inadvertently led to that injury. It also led to more than a quarter million dollars in fines against the company that employed them.
Injured nuclear workers finally had support. The Trump administration has mothballed it.
An advisory board of scientists, doctors and worker advocates helped ensure that nuclear workers exposed to toxins received proper compensation. The terms of nearly all board members expired last month — and no new members have been appointed.
March 13, 2018
Nearly three years ago, President Barack Obama responded to long-standing concerns that workers exposed to toxic chemicals at the country’s nuclear weapons labs were not receiving proper compensation. Obama created an advisory board to be composed of scientists, doctors and worker advocates. Their recommendations have led to significant changes, including the repeal of a rule that made it more difficult for workers who’d been injured in the last two decades to get compensation.
Meditation can help reduce depression
March 13, 2018
People who suffer from some forms of depression may be able to get some non-pharmaceutical relief for their symptoms from mindfulness meditation training. A study appearing in the Annals of Family Medicine looked at primary care patients with subthreshold depression – something more than ordinary feelings of sadness but less than severe depression. The researchers found that in certain patients, mindfulness mediation proved to be a feasible method of preventing major depression.
On-the-job amputation earns Ohio co. SVEP status
March 12, 2018
An OSHA investigation into a worker’s partial thumb amputation has resulted in safety citations and thousands of dollars in proposed fines against his employer. The injury occurred when the employee was clearing a jam on a bag sealing machine.
Flying danger: Fla. company fined for hazmat-filled suitcases
March 12, 2018
A Florida computer company is facing a $63,750 fine for trying to send hundreds of lithium ion batteries by air from Miami to Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to the U.S Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), J&J Tech Group of Miami allegedly violated the Hazardous Materials Regulations when two passengers affiliated with the company offered three checked bags containing 318 lithium ion batteries for the February 22, 2017 flight.
A Confined Space blog post
OSHA to employers who violate the recordkeeping rule: No problem!
March 12, 2018
Fewer than half of all employers required to send their injury and illness information into OSHA last year sent in the information. “The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was expecting about 350,000 summaries to be submitted by Dec. 31, the agency numbers provided to Bloomberg Environment March 7 show. Instead, employers required to participate submitted 153,653 reports, OSHA said.”
No fall, head protection for Pa. construction company workers
March 12, 2018
Employees at a Pennsylvania carpentry framing company performed their work without fall or head protection, according to OSHA, which has cited Strong Construction, Inc. for two willful and five serious safety and health violations. The Bensalem company, which specializes in commercial and industrial construction, faces $213,318 in fines.
