Today's Safety News

RSS

The agency cited owner Shawn Purvis of Purvis Home Improvement Company, Inc. for 17 willful and serious safety violations, including failure to provide fall protection training and exposure to electrocution. Portland, Maine's grand jury also indicted Purvis on April 5, 2019 for manslaughter and workplace manslaughter. If convicted, he will face an additional $50,000 fine and 30 years in prison.

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.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has found a Jacksonville, Florida-based roofing contractor in contempt of court for failing to pay $2,202,049 in penalties assessed by OSHA for safety and health violations at worksites in Florida. The Department of Labor filed a petition with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for summary enforcement against Great White Construction Inc., Florida Roofing Experts Inc. and owner Travis Slaughter.

People who live in U.S. counties where automobile assembly plants close are much more likely to die of opioid overdoses than the general public, according to a study published on the JAMA network. Researchers compared data between counties with automotive plants that were closed between 1999 and 2016 with those that remained open. Automotive assembly plant closures were associated with a statistically significant increase in county-level opioid overdose mortality rates among adults aged 18 to 65 years.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a plan for reducing the leading cause of work-related deaths in the U.S. – and it wants your input. The NIOSH Center for Motor Vehicle Safety Strategic Plan, 2020-2029 is intended to address risks faced by millions of workers who drive or ride in a motor vehicle as part of their jobs.

The wildfires raging through Australia are stark reminders that other parts of the world – including the U.S. – are also at risk, due to factors related to climate change, like warmer temperatures and drier conditions that lengthen the wildfire season and help a fire spread once it’s ignited. Even if your home or place of employment is not directly threatened by flames, you could be affected by the smoke from wildfires that are burning many miles away.