A contractor gets fined $250K in worker’s death, OSHA makes changes to electronic recordkeeping rule and New Yorkers found that they had more to fear than steam from a burst pipe in Manhattan. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

ArcelorMittal fined $21,000 after worker's death

July 27, 2018

The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration found five serious safety violations at the ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor steel mill in East Chicago after the death of a steelworker there in a Taylor Dunn buggy accident in December.

OSHA to roll back electronic recordkeeping rule

July 27, 2018

OSHA has announced that it will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will remove provisions of the "Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses" rule requiring companies with 250 or more workers to electronically submit data from the OSHA 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses and OSHA 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report.

Black lung on the rise since 2000

July 27, 2018

After reaching a low point in the late 1990s, the national prevalence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (black lung) in miners with 25 years or more of tenure now exceeds 10 percent and in some areas is much higher than that, according to a study published in the American Public Health Association’s American Journal of Public Health.

Higher 'culture of health' scores linked to lower health care cost trends

Improving corporate health can 'bend the curve' on health costs

July 27, 2018

Companies with higher 'culture of health' assessment scores (CHAS) show more progress toward controlling health care costs, reports a study in the June Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Higher CHAS scores are generally correlated with lower health care cost trend," according to the new research by Sharon Glave Frazee, PhD, MPH, of Frazee Research & Consulting, LLC, Beaufort, N.C. "As culture of health scores improve, healthcare cost trends moderate."

55 safety violations found in fatal Ky shipyard blast

July 26, 2018

An explosion onboard a towboat that killed three workers has resulted in OSHA issuing a total of 55 violations to five companies. The January 2018 incident in Calvert City, Kentucky shipyard occurred when employees were cutting and welding in an atmosphere containing flammable gases. In addition to the fatalities, three workers were critically injured.

Surge in alt energy poses danger for first responders

July 26, 2018

Battery energy storage and solar systems are revolutionizing the nation’s electrical infrastructure and creating a strong commercial and consumer interest, with the number of residential battery energy storage system (ESS) installs during the first quarter of 2018 increasing nine-fold over 2017 Q1 figures, according to PV Magazine. That number equaled totals from the previous three quarters.

5 back-to-school asthma management tips

July 26, 2018

If your child is one of the 6.1 million children in the U.S. who are living with asthma, you already know that it’s a disease that has a serious impact on your family’s quality of life. For instance, as one of the main illness-related reasons students miss school, asthma accounts for nearly 14 million lost school days a year.

Highway construction workers hit, injured in Michigan

July 26, 2018

A crash that happened during yesterday’s evening rush hour in metropolitan Detroit sent two construction workers to the hospital with injuries, according to news sources. Michigan State Police (MSP) said the three-car collision on I-75 in Taylor was caused by a driver following another vehicle too closely.

Court orders contractor to pay $250K in fatal fall

July 25, 2018

The death of a worker in a fatal fall at a Dallas apartment complex has resulted in both criminal and civil penalties against his employer. U.S. District Court Judge Ed Kinkeade has ordered Design Plastering West LLC to pay a $150,000 criminal fine, $100,000 civil penalty, admit to eight willful violations, and to undergo monitoring by OSHA for four years.

A FairWarning story

Florida still a dismal swamp for cigarette makers fighting death and injury claims

Noreen Marcus

July 25, 2018

During the 1990s, legal assaults on the tobacco industry spawned the largest and most expensive civil litigation in U.S. history. Explosive revelations from secret internal documents and tobacco whistleblowers became front page news.

'Productive aging' is key to addressing the aging workforce

Experts outline four elements of framework for productive aging

July 25, 2018

With unprecedented demographic trends leading to an aging workforce, a new emphasis on productive aging is needed to keep US workers of all generations as healthy and productive as possible, according to an article in the May Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM).

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MSHA wants public input on mining rule study

July 24, 2018

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on a Retrospective Study of the final rule entitled "Lowering Miners' Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust, Including Continuous Personal Dust Monitors" in the Federal Register.

Don’t mess with mercury!

July 24, 2018

It’s silvery-white and globby and you really want to touch it, make it move around and show it to your friends. That thinking on the part of some kids is a big reason behind the many mercury spill clean-ups the EPA conducts in schools each year, at costs ranging from $100,000 to over $1 million.

Struck by accident kills two workers in New York State

July 24, 2018

The employer of two workers killed in an accident in Lockport, New York June 25 has had three accidents causing injuries at its facilities in the last two years, according to news reports.

A Confined Space blog post

OSHA Update: Bureaucracy, budget and leadership rumors

Jordan Barab

July 24, 2018

It’s mid-summer and a man’s fancy turns to what’s happening in OSHA these days. Let’s update you all before you (and I) head out on vacation:

Worker drowns after being knocked into river

July 23, 2018

An OSHA investigation launched after the drowning death of a dock worker has resulted in more than a quarter of a million dollars in proposed penalties against his employer.

NY manufacturing employees exposed to machine, hearing hazards

July 23, 2018

A custom hardwood flooring manufacturer in Fulton, New York faces $182,917 in fines after an OSHA inspection.

Asbestos found in steam from burst NYC pipe

July 23, 2018

New Yorkers who were breathing a sigh of relief after a steam pipe rupture in Manhattan last week caused only a few minor injuries have something new to worry about. News sources are reporting that the smoke in the steam released when the 20” pipe burst contained asbestos, raising concerns about the long-term effects of exposure.

Mariners at sea get health help through telemedicine

July 23, 2018

Viral illnesses, seizures, musculoskeletal problems, and eye injuries were among the health problems that seafarers far from land sought medical help for from January 2014 to July 2016, through a telemedicine company that serves shipping companies and their workers.