Lowe's announced this week that sales of paint strippers containing methylene chloride and the solvent NMP will be phased out in its home improvement stores. The toxic chemicals have been blamed in a number of deaths and injuries to both consumers and workers. This story, which was posted on ISHN.com on June 13, 2017, describes how 21-year-old Kevin Hartley died after being overcome by chemical fumes while stripping a bathtub.

Excessive rain caused by Hurricane Harvey was a key factor in the fire and subsequent hazmat release at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which has released its final investigation report into the August 31, 2017 incident. The report notes that in the days leading up to the incident, an “unprecedented amount” of rain fell at the plant due to Hurricane Harvey, causing equipment to flood and fail.

For the second time in less than two months, Johnson & Johnson has suffered a big courtroom loss in a case that blamed a rare asbestos-related cancer on long-term use of contaminated baby powder. A state court jury in Southern California today ordered the drug and consumer products giant to pay $4 million in punitive damages to mesothelioma victim Joanne Anderson and her husband, Gary Anderson.

The rapid rise in severe cases of black lung disease has seen a corresponding increase in lifesaving and expensive lung transplants, which are mostly paid for by public insurance, according to a new study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Researchers found that the rate of lung transplants related to coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) has increased nearly threefold.

Eighteen of the 21 workers injured in an explosion at a Texas chemical plant on Saturday have been released from hospitals after being treated for burn injuries and injuries from falling off a scaffold, according to news sources. Both the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and OSHA are investigating the incident at the Kuraray America facility in Pasadena, which may have been caused by a leak of ethylene, a highly flammable gas used in the manufacture of plastics.

AIHce showed a movie matinee on Tuesday. The documentary, “Complicit,” takes the audience to the worldʼs electronics factory floors, revealing the situations under which Chinaʼs youth population has shifted by the millions in search of a better life. The documentary focuses on exposures to benzene and n-hexane and the workers and activists putting pressure on the major companies and brands to prevent the exposures that changed their lives.

Five years after a catastrophic ammonium nitrate explosion in West, Texas killed 15 persons, destroyed much of the city, and launched reforms in the way the federal government oversees the safety of the nation’s chemical facilities, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt last week told us that he cares more about the concerns of the chemical industry than he does about the millions of Americans living in the shadow of hazardous chemical facilities.

Air pollution is a serious – and seemingly overwhelming -- public health problem, yet changes that individuals can make could help them both avoid some of the effects of harmful pollutants and reduce the level of toxins in the environment. That’s according to the American Lung Association (ALA) and Dr. Eric Presser, a thoracic surgeon and author of An Empowering Guide to Lung Cancer: Six Steps to Taking Charge of Your Care and Your Life.

A new NIOSH web page addresses concerns related to potential occupational exposures of healthcare workers to illicit fentanyl. The agency’s recommendations, which cover work practices, training, personal protective equipment, and decontamination of clothing, are intended for possible exposures to fentanyl that originated from sources outside of a healthcare facility—for example, from the surrounding community.

Major chemical incidents can be prevented by applying process safety management principles. Process safety management (PSM) is the control of process hazards in order to prevent process-related injuries and incidents. The CSB has conducted seven investigations with 26 resulting recommendations relating to improving state and federal process safety management programs.