This March is giving us a taste of spring in several parts of the country, with sunny days and temperatures above normal. For many, there is anticipation in hearing the sound of birds sing again, along with warmer, longer days and flowering buds; but to others, it is also a tough time due to suffering through pollen allergies.
Experts are forecasting this year as being one the worst pollen seasons in decades in many parts of the world.
Though it's often characterized as a traditional blue-collar industry, construction has long been at the forefront of technological progress. It's critical that the development of safety, efficiency and structural technologies remains on the cutting edge.
The Ethiopian plane crash and its potential ramifications for aviation safety worldwide; tobacco product regulations; and help for employers whose workforces are affected by the opioid crisis. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
A NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation report presented findings of an agency investigation at an engine machining plant where employees were exposed to metalworking fluids, or MWFs. The union representing the employees had requested the evaluation because of concerns that exposure to MWFs had caused respiratory symptoms and dermatitis among workers.
Seventeen years out from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, nearly 10,000 first responders and others who were in the World Trade Center area have been diagnosed with cancer. More than 2,000 deaths have been attributed to 9/11 illnesses.
By the end of 2018, many expect that more people will have died from their toxic exposure from 9/11 than were killed on that terrible Tuesday.
Early in 2019, OSHA cited a pet food company in Florida for failing to provide protective gear for workers handling corrosive chemicals, a Pennsylvania hair salon for exposing workers to hazardous materials, an Ohio musical instrument factory for exposing workers to toxic copper dust, and a Texas indoor gun range for exposing workers to unsafe levels of lead.
At the AIHce 2018 Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award Lecture, Mark Stenzel, CIH, FAIHA, argued that industrial hygienists should place greater emphasis on estimating exposures relative to conducting sampling. Stenzel, an industrial hygiene consultant and the 2018 recipient of AIHA’s Cummings Award for outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of industrial hygiene, made his remarks on the final day of AIHce EXP 2018.
The goal behind the digital oilfield is to optimize oilfield operations through the provision and implementation of data and analysis tools. These digital methodologies are becoming more common in logistics and machinery monitoring - areas that can be translated from other industries. The Holy Grail still remains providing real-time, reliable production data.
"We see big opportunities to deploy innovative strategies and technologies to monitor, measure and ultimately prevent emissions," said Matt Kolesar, regulatory manager at ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy affiliate,
Since 2017, ExxonMobil has expanded its U.S. methane leak detection program, committed to its first global methane target, supported methane monitoring technology innovation and encouraged EPA to regulate methane emissions at new and existing sources.
Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a common, highly hazardous industrial chemical linked to breast cancer and immune system cancers like non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemia (see EPA IRIS Exec Summary, Dec 2016).
Concerned community members in Illinois made it a 2018 campaign issue after two federal agencies released studies showing elevated cancer risks outside Chicago.
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