“Still no word as to when David Michaels might have his confirmation hearing in the Senate,” writes Aaron Trippler, director of government affairs for the American Industrial Hygiene Association, in his latest dispatch, “Happenings From the Hill.”
As transportation crashes continue to be the number one cause of on-the-job deaths in the U.S., causing 2,053 workplace fatalities in 2007, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) notes in its revised “Distracted Driving in Motor Vehicles” position statement that “the issue is worthy of public debate since the inappropriate use of an electronic device while operating a vehicle can have catastrophic consequences for individuals, families and employers” and lays out a series of recommendations to address the issue.
A proposed rule to align the OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with provisions of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) was published in the September 30 Federal Register.
In a speech this week at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced core principles that outline the Obama Administration’s goals for legislative reform of this country’s chemical management law, the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, TSCA.
Mississippi Phosphates Corporation (MPC) in Pascagoula, Miss. has been issued an EPA Order that requires expedited corrective measures be taken at the facility to ensure protection of public health and the environment in the surrounding community. EPA issued the Order under Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which states that an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment exists at the facility.
AAA and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety are launching new legislative and communications campaigns to reduce distracted driving and improve safety on roadways. AAA has announced that the motor club will work to pass laws banning text messaging by drivers in all 50 states by 2013, citing strong public support for the laws, the danger of distracted driving, and new research by the Automobile Club of Southern California showing the impact of California’s texting ban.
EPA yesterday outlined a new research strategy to better understand how manufactured nanomaterials may harm human health and the environment. Nanomaterials are materials that are between approximately one and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is approximately 1/100,000 the width of a human hair. These materials are currently used in hundreds of consumer products, including sunscreen, cosmetics and sports equipment, says EPA.
The overall health of U.S. workers declined between 2002 and 2008, and employers should promote "effective workplaces" to improve employee health and productivity, according to a report released Sept. 22 by Families and Work Institute (FWI), as reported by global occupational health and safety consultants, ORC Worldwide, based in Washington, DC.
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