A “safety stand down” to promote safety and health practices at oil and gas exploration and production sites in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas continues through Feb. 28. The program is an initiative by OSHA and the National Service, Transmission, Exploration & Production Safety Network, more commonly known as STEPS.

Everyone these days is talking about performance indicators for workplace safety. It’s widely understood that if you only measure injuries and follow OSHA injury/illness recordkeeping requirements you have a large blindspot in truly assessing how you safety processes are working, or not working. OSHA has its own set of measures.

When winter cold brings snowy or icy conditions all outdoor work—even walking—can become treacherous. Workers need serious traction to prevent dangerous and costly injuries, and nothing delivers traction like Diamond GripÔfrom ICEtrekkers. In just seconds, Diamond Grip attaches dozens of case hardened, alloy steel grippers to the bottom of a shoe or boot.

A new American Petroleum Institute (API) report shows that operational injuries and illness for the oil and natural gas industry occur at a rate substantially below the private sector average. The Workplace Safety Report also shows the oil and gas industry rate has been steadily declining.

Foundries in northeast Wisconsin have renewed a strategic partnership with OSHA aimed at improving ergonomic programs and reducing the rate of musculoskeletal injuries. The foundry industry has a high rate of musculoskeletal and other ergonomic-related injuries due to tasks such as moving heavy equipment, material handling and the use of pneumatic equipment such as grinders and sanders.

A contractor working at Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear power plants has been found guilty of falsifying safety records in order to collect more than $2.5 million in safety bonuses.

Here are the week's top OEHS-related news stories from www.ISHN.com:

State of the EHS Nation- Exclusive results from ISHN’s 28^th annual White Paper Reader Survey.

A recently published review by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of hazards related to All-Terrain vehicle use shows that work-related injuries are on the rise. NIOSH estimates that 11 million of these vehicles were in use in 2010 (for both recreational and work-related purposes).