Workplace safety - Articles - Page 35

OSHA’s rulemaking procedure under scrutiny

Teenage health care worker regulation change prompted calls for review

February 1, 2019

The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating whether the U.S. Department of Labor under the Trump administration is following proper procedures when making regulatory changes to worker safety regulations. In a letter to Congressional Democrats, who’d requested an audit of the DOL’s rulemaking process, DOL Inspector General Scott S. Dahl said a review of the “integrity of the rulemaking process” at OSHA was already underway.

Teen roofer electrocuted when ladder touches power line

January 31, 2019

A 16-year-old roofer was killed last year in Kentucky when he lost control of a 25-foot ladder and it made contact with a 7200-volt electric power line, according to Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. The incident occurred at a private residential home, when the victim was trying to position an aluminum extension ladder against a roof.

A FairWarning Story

Labor Department waters down injury reporting rule targeted by business

Eli Wolfe

January 31, 2019

A requirement that employers disclose more information about worker injuries to safety officials and the public has been scaled back by the Trump administration. The Labor Department action, reflecting the administration’s broad push to ease regulations on business, weakens an Obama-era initiative to improve safety enforcement and crack down on underreporting of job injuries. The 2016 rule, which had been hailed by safety advocates, drew the ire of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Outdoor workers at heightened risk during bitter cold

January 30, 2019

With extreme cold spreading across a large section of the U.S., the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is reminding workers whose job requires them to work outdoors in cold, wet, icy, or snowy conditions to “be prepared and be aware” to prevent cold-related illnesses and injuries such as hypothermia and frostbite.

Wildeck, Inc. launches Pallet Drop Zone Safety Gate

Provides increased safety for moving palletized loads

January 30, 2019

Wildeck, Inc. is pleased to introduce the newest addition to its family of material handling products, the Pallet Drop Zone (DZ) Safety Gate. This new product, equipped with a double-sided gate, offers maximum protection to workers accessing large pallet loads at elevated levels.

Hand protection market growing fast

January 30, 2019

The industrial safety gloves market is estimated to surpass 9 billion dollars by 2024, according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. Rising awareness about workers’ wellbeing and the increasing number of occupational fatalities in the manufacturing sector will help drive the industrial safety gloves market penetration. So will standards set by OSHA, ANSI and the European Union (EU).

Former employers ordered to pay $160K in whistleblower case

January 29, 2019

The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has ordered Eastern Awning Systems Inc. – a manufacturer of retractable fabric patio awnings based in Watertown, Connecticut – and its owner Stephen P. Lukos to pay a total of $160,000 to two discharged employees who filed safety and health complaints with OSHA.

Advocacy groups file lawsuit against OSHA’s electronic reporting rule

January 29, 2019

A coalition of advocacy groups have filed a complaint (PDF) with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia over OSHA’s rollback of a provision in its final electronic injury and illness reporting rule, which was issued during the partial government shutdown. Public Citizen, along with the American Public Health Association and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists said in the suit that OSHA “failed to provide a reasoned explanation” for its decision to reverse a requirement that certain businesses electronically submit workplace injury and illness records to OSHA.

A NIOSH Science Blog post

How NIOSH, partners are helping make OSH content accessible to all

John P. Sadowski Thais Morata PhD Diana Ceballos

January 28, 2019

Choosing the right final project for a graduate level course can be a daunting responsibility for any instructor. Harvard Research Scientist and Instructor Dr. Diana Ceballos heard NIOSH researcher Dr. Thais Morata share details at a NORA conference about NIOSH’s collaboration with academia and Wikipedia to teach students science translation and knew it was a perfect match.

Art from heartbreak

January 28, 2019

The New York Philharmonic last week premiered a new multimedia oratorio that uses music and old images and film footage to commemorate one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the history of the U.S. – the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. “Fire in my Mouth,” by composer Julia Wolfe, is sung by a chorus of 146 women and girls, a number corresponding to that of the victims killed in the disaster.