Today's Safety News

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As the number of chemical disasters and injuries continues to mount in 2014, evidence shows that the risks that chemical facilities present to the local communities in which they are located are greater than many residents previously understood. The Center for Effective Government has created a set of maps, showing how close many of these facilities are to schools and hospitals.

A company inspected in January as part of OSHA’s Local Emphasis Program on fall hazards in construction was cited for two repeat and two serious safety violations for failing to provide required protective equipment and to protect workers from serious fall hazards.

Smoking electronic or e-cigarettes may encourage adolescents to smoke the real thing, according to a study published online March 6 in JAMA Pediatrics. The results of the study contradict claims by the e-cigarette industry that their products can help people quit smoking.

A technology solution identifies risky driver behaviors, elicits drivers safety, and provides high quality video in a compact package. An integrated forward-facing camera captures video of the road, while the rear-facing camera captures the vehicle cabin and driver, allowing for a comprehensive view of critical events.

With warmer weather hopefully on the way, OSHA wants to know how effective its heat illness prevention campaign website. The agency is gathering stakeholder input on the campaign using a brief survey to evaluate the website and and to identify possible modifications for next year.

The National Safety Council (NSC) announced today the appointment of Deborah A.P. Hersman as the  president and CEO of the 100-year-old organization chartered by Congress to prevent unintentional injury and death. Ms. Hersman, who is currently the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), will be joining NSC at its headquarters in Itasca, IL, in suburban Chicago. 

Before you tackle that next piece of metal, John Leisner, Miller Electric Company, outlines the five most common welding mistakes. Poor preparation. “Farmers too often fail to adequately prepare the metal before welding,” says Leisner.

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) released a draft bill entitled the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA) on Thursday, Feb. 27 that provides no significant improvements in protecting public health and the environment from toxic chemicals. Many of the provisions in the draft bill maintain the already deficient approaches to health protections now included under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our nation's outdated and ineffective chemical safety law.

Call it the Ray Charles Effect: a young child who is blind develops a keen ability to hear things that others cannot. Researchers have long known this can happen in the brains of the very young, which are malleable enough to re-wire some circuits that process sensory information.

A company that operates 50 correctional facilities in the U.S. has agreed to take steps to reduce the potential for its employees to be injured  -- or worse -- by workplace violence, under a corporate-wide settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor.