Preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released today indicate that mine fatalities in 2009 fell to an all-time low for the second straight year, according to an MSHA press release. Coal mines recorded 18 mining deaths, and metal/nonmetal mines recorded 16 mining deaths, for a combined total of 34 mining deaths nationwide and a significant drop from last year's total of 53 deaths.
Men rule on the playing field: they can generally run faster, lift more, and throw things farther than women can. In medical terms, though, men are the weaker sex, reports the January 2010 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch, according to a recent press release. Why? It depends on a complex mix of biological, social and behavioral factors.
The National Labor College has announced plans to establish a new online service that will bring high-quality degree programs to the AFL-CIO's 11.5 million members and their families, according to an AFL-CIO press release. Tentatively named the College for Working Families, the program will build upon the college's existing distance learning curricula to combine the advantages of online learning with the on-the-ground resources of labor unions throughout the nation to provide programs specifically suited to the special needs and interests of union members and their families.
OSHA recently published Hexavalent Chromium, a booklet outlining industry requirements for hexavalent chromium standards. Workers exposed to this toxic chemical can develop lung cancer and damage to the nose, throat and respiratory system.
New OSHA boss Dr. David Michaels, an epidemiologist and former professor in the George Washington University Department of Environment and Occupational Health, has had little time to make his views known of OSHA issues of the day.
Do we still need traditional Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) to compare with exposures, perform risk assessments and identify control approaches? Or have traditional OELs run their course of usefulness?
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) recently released remarks in response to OSHA’s request for comments on the proposed rule to adapt the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
OSHA announced in a press release that the agency has completed inspections prompted by a June 29, 2009, triple fatality at a Jamaica, N.Y., recycling facility. An employee of S. Dahan Piping and Heating Co., of South Ozone, N.Y., was fatally overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas while cleaning a dry well at Regal Recycling Co. Inc. The owner of S. Dahan Piping and Heating, who was also the worker’s father, and a Regal Recycling employee also succumbed while trying to rescue him from the dry well.
Highway safety advocates have released the seventh annual report card grading all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their performance when it comes to adopting and maintaining model traffic safety laws. This year the report publishers, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, say they’ve upped the ante, taking closer aim at three particular areas in need of stronger enforcement — text messaging, graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs and ignitionâ€interlock laws for drunkâ€driving offenders, according to a press release issued by the organization.
A former employee of Corpus Christi-based Orion Drilling Co., fired after complaining to management about being exposed to mold in the workplace, has been paid $10,000 in back wages as a result of a settlement secured by the U.S. Department of Labor, according to an OSHA press release.
RSS