Environmental Health and Safety

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Dr. Christine Whittaker Sofge of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) spoke on the subject of occupational exposure banding at the AIHA Fall Conference. Sofge, who is Chief of the NIOSH Risk Evaluation Branch in Cincinnati, OH, explored the question: “What to do when you don’t have a lot of data.”

This morning, Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez announced the release of the department’s “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor” report. The report is prepared annually by the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, and it assesses efforts by more than 140 countries to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.

Innovative measures have limited the spread of Ebola in a part of Liberia where Firestone Liberia Inc. had established an effective health care infrastructure, according to a report in this week’s CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Similar measures may be helpful in slowing the Ebola epidemic in other parts of West Africa.

“I had a reporter call me,” said an attendee at this week’s American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) annual Fall Conference, held in Arlington, VA. “He said he had spent three hours at the Congressional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hearing last week, where CDC Director Tom Frieden was grilled, and not once was OSHA or NIOSH mentioned, according to this reporter. He wanted to know why.”

USA Today reports that “Hospital workers treating Ebola patients should wear double sets of gloves, disposable hoods with full face shields and special masks, according to strengthened guidelines issued” last night by the CDC. CDC Director Thomas Frieden “said all health workers also should undergo ‘rigorous training’ and practice in putting on and taking off PPE in a systematic way that reduces their risk of infection.

On October 9, 2014 OSHA announced the publication of a Request for Information (RFI) on Chemical Management and Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) in the Federal Register. With this publication, OSHA launched a national dialogue on preventing occupational illness through improved approaches to managing exposures to hazardous chemicals.

A company charged with violating both the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) has agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty and take corrective actions to prevent future discharges of oil and chemicals into the Gulf of Mexico.

From the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often referred to as the backbone of the European economy as they account for 67 percent of employment. However, at the same time , they also account for 82 percent of occupational injuries.

In a message that will resonate across the country, the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) and the New York State Nurses Association are urging employers in their state to make Ebola preparedness a top priority.

ACGIH® is pleased to announce new members for its 2015 Board of Directors and its 2015 Nominating Committee. In accordance with a 2013 amendment to the ACGIH® Bylaws, ACGIH®’s membership elected three (3) members to serve as Directors on the Board of Directors.