Weekly news round-up
A deadly crane collapse, what we think about mental health problems and alarming U.S. air quality data were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
Get ready for grilling season with these food safety tips
May 3, 2019
The warmer temperatures that are not too far ahead – depending upon where you live – will invariably motivate many people to drag the grill out of the garage and fire it up for some outdoor cooking. Here are some tips for enjoying safely barbecued or grilled food from the According to Stop Foodborne Illness, a national, nonprofit, public health organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens.
N.C. worker crushed by load of glass
May 2, 2019
A 24-year-old worker was killed at work last week when hundreds of pounds of plate glass fell on him, crushing him. News reports say Damarcus Laquan Calloway, an employee of Virginia Glass Products in Ridgeway, North Carolina, died April 22 from traumatic injuries.
Despite dangerous dents, Utah air tour plane kept flying
May 2, 2019
A Moab, Utah company is facing a $161,500 penalty after it kept flying despite a Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) warning that its aircraft was unsafe. Redtail Air Adventures allegedly took passengers on more than 100 flights on an aircraft that was not “in an airworthy condition,” according to the FAA.
Backfeeding a danger to electricians
May 2, 2019
The increase in recent years in heavy downpours, severe flooding and other severe weather events caused by climate change keeps electricians busy making repairs. It also keeps them in danger. Electrocutions are the fifth leading cause of all reported occupational deaths.
Mental health problems losing (some) of their stigma in U.S.
May 2, 2019
Having a mental health problem is nothing to be ashamed of, according to 87 percent of the American adults who participated in a recent survey conducted on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA). That and other findings are being hailed by mental health professionals are “encouraging,” although the Harris poll did uncover some entrenched stigma as well as some surprising demographic differences in attitudes.
An NTSB Safety Compass Blog post
Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, mind on one task
May 1, 2019
On April 3, I represented the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) at an event kicking off Distracted Driving Awareness Month and California Teen Driver Safety Week, in Sacramento. I challenged California to lead the nation in acting on NTSB’s 2011 recommendation to ban the non-emergency driver use of portable electronic devices that do not support the driving task.
“He’s not the Messiah” – How interdependent teamwork tackles the them and us safety culture
May 1, 2019
The Monty Python fans among you will instantly picture the scene from “The Life of Brian” movie. The massed crowd outside their new-found saviour’s ramshackle bedroom window arguing over their individuality with their new “Messiah” Brian and his mother. But it would take a ‘serious’ movie geek to remember the next few lines when in unison the crowd chant “Yes we are all different” only to be answered by a lone wavering dissenting voice shouting “I’m not.”
With OSHA a non-starter in workplace violence prevention, ASSP turns to Congress
May 1, 2019
Frustrated with OSHA’s foot-dragging on developing a regulation aimed at protecting healthcare and social assistance employees from workplace violence, the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) is taking its case to lawmakers. ASSP President Rixio Medina, CSP, CPP, has expressed his organization’s support for HR 1309 and S. 851, legislation to help protect workers in the healthcare and social service sectors from the threat of workplace violence.
Air pollution in U.S. getting worse
More days than ever reached hazardous levels for breathing
May 1, 2019
Some 141.1 million Americans – more than four in ten of us - live in counties with unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution, according to a new "State of the Air" report from the American Lung Association. That’s an increase of more than 7.2 million Americans since the 2018 summary. Eight cities recorded their highest number of days with unhealthy spikes in particle pollution since the nation began monitoring this pollutant 20 years ago.
Hands, fingers injured at Ala. packaging company
April 30, 2019
Injuries to two employees in two separate incidents have resulted in OSHA citations against a Mobile, Alabama packaging manufacturer. One of the workers at the ProAmpac facility suffered a severe hand injury after being caught in a piece of equipment. Another employee sustained a finger laceration when struck by moving machine parts.
In France: Suicidal thoughts linked to working conditions
April 30, 2019
In a recent study in France, one third of the respondents who said they’d considered suicide within the past year cited working and employment conditions as the reason. Fear of losing one’s job was the top stressor, followed by verbal threats, humiliation and intimidation at work. Some 3.8 percent of workers between the ages of 18 and 75 said they’d had suicidal thoughts within the 12 months preceding the study.
U.S. food system must change for our health’s sake, says AHA
April 30, 2019
Placing healthier options in more prominent positions on grocery store shelves and packaging food in smaller serving sizes are among the improvements in the U.S. food system that would make it easier for consumers to choose healthy foods – and to get heathier. That’s according to a science advisory from the American Heart Association (AHA), which says that change that needs to occur at multiple levels- the food industry, agricultural industry, public health and medicine, policy, and among communities, worksites, schools, and families.
ISO 45001 fits companies of all sizes
April 30, 2019
The world’s first International Standard for occupational health and safety (OH&S). ISO 45001, Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, is Applicable to all organizations, regardless of size, industry or nature of business. The standard, developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), is intended to help organizations reduce work-related accidents, injuries and diseases.
Worker who shot co-workers had been fired for refusing to wear PPE
April 29, 2019
Being fired for refusing to safety glasses was apparently what set in motion a deadly rampage at a suburban Chicago manufacturing facility in February. Before it was over, the company’s human resources manager who’d done the firing was dead, along with four other employees and the gunman. Six police offers were injured in the incident.
Horrifying meat grinder accident kills woman in Pa
April 29, 2019
An employee at a Pennsylvania food processing plant was killed on the job Tuesday after falling into an industrial-size meat grinder machine. Jill Greninger, 35, was reportedly standing on stairs next to the grinder when she "tragically either fell or was drawn into the machine resulting in her death," according to a statement by Lycoming County Coroner Charles Kiessling.
Crane collapse kills four in Seattle
April 29, 2019
Four people were killed and four injured on Saturday when a crane collapsed and fell from a downtown Seattle building, crushing several vehicles. Two of the fatalities were crane operators; the others were occupants of cars. The incident occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m., when the crane reportedly separated into two parts and fell.
Heat-related illness and agriculture:
Research compares regional, farm weather
April 29, 2019
In the United States, farm workers die from heat-related illness at an annual rate 20 times that of other workers. However, few studies have measured heat conditions at their actual work settings, and research is limited on how accurately regional weather reports reflect worksite temperatures.
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