Environmental Health and Safety

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When you think about “sustainability,” what comes to mind? Energy consumption, emissions reductions, polar bears, recycling, the triple bottom line? Most commonly it is a concept that has been associated with the environmental impacts of activities and decisions, but sustainability is about more than being green; it’s also about people.

Every year 22 million workers are at risk of losing their hearing from workplace noise hazards. Work-related hearing loss is a widespread problem, but it is a problem that can be solved. On August 1, 2016, NIOSH, OSHA, and MSHA issued a challenge to inventors and entrepreneurs with the dual goals of inspiring creative ideas and raising business awareness of the market for workplace safety innovation.

Hurricane Matthew is a recent reminder for many of us that severe weather can be deadly. While all of us need to take precautions, outdoor workers are especially vulnerable. Two examples from New England show why it’s so vital that employers monitor and address the dangers extreme weather can present.

Sleep deprivation associated with working during regular sleeping hours, or working shifts, can be detrimental to awareness and alertness. In turn, working around heavy equipment or behind the wheel can be dangerous if you’re not sufficiently alert.

The EPA has selected the City of Baltimore and the Lafayette, Louisiana, Consolidated Government as awardees of the Smart City Air Challenge. The challenge encourages communities to install hundreds of air quality sensors and share the data with the public.

During the course of their shifts, flight attendants face exposure to cosmic radiation at higher concentrations than the public generally experiences on the ground, may cross time zones, and work during normal sleeping hours.

A highly regarded specialist in work-related cancer wants to establish a worldwide program for eliminating carcinogens in the workplace.

Every year 22 million workers are at risk of losing their hearing from workplace noise hazards. Work-related hearing loss is a widespread problem, but it is a problem that can be solved. On August 1, 2016, NIOSH, OSHA, and MSHA issued a challenge to inventors and entrepreneurs with the dual goals of inspiring creative ideas and raising business awareness of the market for workplace safety innovation.

Following a court order and Congressional directive under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the EPA is proposing financial responsibility requirements for the hardrock mining industry.