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The cascade of generally well-known catastrophic events associated with lead exposure continue to unfold.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos laid down the gauntlet in his April 2021 farewell letter to shareholders as he stepped down as CEO: "We are going to be Earth’s best employer and Earth’s Safest Place to Work.” OK, Jeff, here’s a question: What makes a company the planet’s safest place to work?

The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 overturn of 1973 Roe v Wade has emboldened states to propose “fetal personhood” laws. What does this mean for proposed rulemaking for blood lead levels?

How many employees have died, or been seriously incapacitated, trying to rescue a co-worker in a toxic confined space? Without training and awareness, impulses and human nature can take over. 

The intent of a “stop work authority” (SWA) when included in a safety program is to empower employees to take action when they see a situation that is unsafe or think a worker may get injured. Though the SWA process and practice may seem as beneficial at many levels in dealing with operational risk and worker safety; there potentially may be some unforeseen barriers or challenges to its actual utilization.

OSHA is old news at this point, especially for companies with mature safety and health programs. For many companies with full-time professionals it is a time of looking inward, internally within the organization.

Studies show employees will not wear eye protection unless it is comfortable, fits properly, or functions well. Lens color can impact employee protection and performance levels and provide a better choice.

Who is more empathetic e.g., better able to recognize pain in a person’s face, a professional industrial hygienist, or a professional historian? A person’s empathy capacity may be partly determined by Empathy Quotient (EQ) scores.