Global Safety News - Articles - Page 8

New China virus prompts passenger screenings at U.S. airports

January 20, 2020

As of Friday, Jan. 17, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began conducting enhanced health screenings to detect ill travelers traveling to the United States on direct or connecting flights from Wuhan, China. The CDC said the screenings are in response to an outbreak in China caused by a new and dangerous coronavirus.

Two reprotoxic substances banned in the EU

January 14, 2020

The European Commission, on advice from the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), has banned two pesticides: chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl and two organophosphates used as ingredients in a number of insecticides. Chlorpyrifos has been on the market since 1966 and is currently in use in some 80 countries.

Workplace wellness program study shows positive results despite low participation

January 13, 2020

Even with relatively low participation rates, a comprehensive workplace health promotion (WHP) can have a moderate impact on worker health, according to an analysis of a large Finnish company published in the November Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The study involved an eight-year evaluation of the WHP implemented at a Finnish wood supply company, one which offered health risk appraisal (HRAs) and screening, along with education and support services aimed at improving employee health.

A FairWarning Story

Serious concerns raised over FDA’s capacity to inspect overseas drug makers

Hillel Aron

January 8, 2020

With the U.S. increasingly dependent on foreign manufacturers for prescription and generic drugs, the Food and Drug Administration’s problem-plagued efforts to inspect overseas plants is under growing scrutiny. A recent report by the Government Accountability Office has raised serious concerns about the FDA’s foreign inspection program and whether it’s allowing overseas drug makers to conceal unsafe practices.

Following employee suicides, company found guilty of “institutional harassment”

19 workers took their own lives

January 6, 2020

In a first-ever action, a company and its former managers were criminally prosecuted for institutional harassment associated with suicides among the company’s employees. In a judgment last month, the Paris Criminal Court sentenced France Telecom to a fine of 75,000 euros - the maximum penalty – for institutional harassment that had spread from the leadership to the rest of the company in 2007-2008.

Digital Edition Exclusive

What you should know about ISO 45001- 2018 OHSMS

January 1, 2020

ISO 45001, finalized in 2018, replaces a previous standard, OHSAS 18001, which was developed by auditors as a health and safety complement to quality and environmental standards (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001). ISO 45001 is a conformance standard, intended for use with third-party certification.

Two teen workers electrocuted at a McDonald’s in Peru

December 24, 2019

Two teenage employees working the overnight shift at a McDonald’s in Lima, Peru were electrocuted earlier this month – an incident which has led to a national conversation about workplace conditions at various companies in the country. News reports say Alexandra Porras Inga and Gabriel Campos Zap were electrocuted by a loose cable, possibly while mopping the floor of the restaurant.

Many European companies not complying with hazmat regulations

December 17, 2019

A pilot project by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) intended to gather information on chemical substances “of very high concern” found in consumer articles has yielded some alarming results, according to the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). The inspectorates of 15 EU Member States checked 682 articles supplied by 405 companies.

Europeans increase efforts to reduce occupational cancer risk

December 3, 2019

The European Roadmap on Carcinogens – an initiative first launched in May 2016 in Amsterdam under the Dutch EU Presidency – was extended last week in Helsinki by organizations that included the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The roadmap is a voluntary effort to raise awareness among workers and employers about the risks of exposure to carcinogens in the workplace.

Emergency and evacuation training makes millions safer on Dutch railways

November 22, 2019

With millions of passengers travelling on trains and through railway stations every day in the Netherlands, the chance that an employee of railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) will have to respond to an emergency situation is high. Medical emergencies due to sudden illness are most common, but staffers need to be prepared for more complex, and even dangerous, situations.