Today's Safety News - Articles - Page 251

The benefits of having better conversations on safety

More than a scorecard metric…

November 29, 2017

Unlike other business metrics, safety can impact our lives both on and off the job. To flourish in the business world, great organizations need to also evolve and elevate their cultures by making safety more than just a metric on a scorecard.

NY cosmetics factory blast kills one, injures dozens

November 28, 2017

One person was killed and approximately three dozen injured in an explosion and fire last week at a cosmetics factory in New York state. Seven of the injured were firefighters who were inside the facility, responding to a first blast, when a second explosion occurred.

A Confined Space blog post

One last time: OSHA extends recordkeeping reporting deadline

Jordan Barab

November 28, 2017

After multiple delays, OSHA has finally announced that employers who are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records must send summary information in to the agency by December 15, fifteen days after the deadline announced last June, when the agency proposed to delay the reporting deadline from July 1 to December 1.

A Confined Space blog post

Editorial board resigns after corporate takeover of worker-oriented public health journal

Jordan Barab

November 27, 2017

The entire 22-member Editorial Board of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health resigned this morning after a months-long struggle with the Journal’s new owners who have “have acted in a profoundly unethical fashion” and have moved the worker-oriented publication to a more corporate focus.

How to survive the holidays

November 27, 2017

Does the holiday season have you indulging in too much fattening food and too many adult beverages? Do the festivities leave you little time for your regular workouts? Do family gatherings re-ignite old conflicts or usher in new ones? (Oh, those political arguments between Uncle Mike and Cousin Betty!)

Calif. solar project workers contract Valley Fever

November 24, 2017

Cal/OSHA has cited six employers $241,950 for workplace safety and health violations after reports that workers contracted Valley Fever on a solar project construction site in Monterey County. Valley Fever is caused by a microscopic fungus known as Coccidioides immitis, which lives in the top two to 12 inches of soil in many parts of the state. When soil is disturbed by digging, driving, or high winds, fungal spores can become airborne and may be inhaled by workers.

Hazmat release earns Fla. company citations

November 23, 2017

OSHA has cited Tampa Electric Co. and Critical Intervention Services, a security services provider, for $43,458 in total proposed penalties, following a release of anhydrous ammonia – a chemical refrigerant – at its Gibsonton facility. OSHA responded to the incident on May 23, 2017 and determined that the ammonia release occurred when a relief valve activated after a pipeline became over pressurized. As a result, four workers were taken to the hospital for observation and released.

Highway, marine and railway deaths increase in 2016

November 22, 2017

Data released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday revealed that 2,030 more people died in transportation accidents in 2016 than in 2015, with highway fatalities accounting for 95 percent of all transportation fatalities in 2016. The data indicate 39,339 people lost their lives in transportation accidents in 2016, compared to 37,309 who died in 2015. In addition to the increase in highway fatalities, increases were also seen in the marine and railroad sectors, with a slight decrease in aviation fatalities.

Ceremony commemorates 49th anniversary of mine disaster

November 22, 2017

Hundreds of people gathered in Farmington, West Virginia on Sunday to commemorate a 49-year-old mining tragedy that killed 78 miners. The solemn ceremony held at Flat Run Memorial honored victims of the November 20, 1968 Farmington mine disaster in the Consol No. 9 coal mine north of Farmington and Mannington. There were 99 miners at work that day when an explosion rocked the mine. The blast was strong enough to be felt in Fairmont, almost 12 miles away. Fires caused by the blast burned for over a week.

WHO to farmers: Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals

Practice contributes to rise in antibiotic resistance

November 22, 2017

WHO is recommending that farmers and the food industry stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals. The new WHO recommendations aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are important for human medicine by reducing their unnecessary use in animals. In some countries, approximately 80% of total consumption of medically important antibiotics is in the animal sector, largely for growth promotion in healthy animals.