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An SCSR is a lifesaving device that miners depend upon in times of emergency to escape from a hazardous environment within the mine. To keep this important device functioning reliably, daily inspections and upkeep become a ‘life or death’ matter. Though you may consider this to be a high-maintenance relationship, it is worth the necessary attention.

An alarming uptick in the number of fatal falls in the cell tower industry has resulted in OSHA reaching out to the National Association of Tower Erectors and other industry stakeholders with safety reminders. The agency has launched a new Web page with educational resources about communication towers and distributed the following letter earlier this week:

Less than two months after a similar incident in North Dakota, a train carrying crude oil derailed yesterday in Pennsylvania, spilling an estimated 3-4,000 gallons of oil. Twenty-one tank cars of the 120-car Norfolk Southern Corp. train left the tracks at a turn near the Kiskiminetas River in Vandergrift, a small town in western Pennsylvania.

We knew it helped make us fat, but in a study released recently by the CDC, excess sugar is also blamed for significantly increasing our risk of death from heart disease. The study focused on refined sugar, which is found in non-diet soda, cakes, cookies and candy.

The accumulation of age-associated changes in a biochemical process that helps control genes may be responsible for some of the increased risk of cancer seen in older people, according to a National Institutes of Health study.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) expresses its appreciation to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the opportunity to comment on the NIOSH Draft Current Intelligence Bulletin “Update of NIOSH Carcinogen Classification and Target Risk Level Policy for Chemical Hazards in the Workplace.”

OSHA’s proposal to safeguard workers by reducing silica exposures disregards “the unique nature of roofing work” and may actually making roofers’ jobs more dangerous, according to the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA).

Maryland lawmakers introduced a bill this week that would require companies to meet safety standards as a prequalification for working on public projects in the state. House Bill 951 (with 22 sponsors) and Senate Bill 774 (with 13 sponsors) were introduced by Maryland Delegate Brian McHale (D-46) and Senator Karen Montgomery (D-14).

People who do shiftwork are more likely to have a diet that promotes chronic inflammation — which may partly explain the health risks associated with shiftwork, reports a study in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

OSHA has issued a proposed rule to extend the compliance date for the crane operator certification requirement by three years to Nov. 10, 2017. The proposal would also extend to the same date the existing phase-in requirement that employers ensure that their operators are qualified to operate the equipment.