Today's Safety News

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The Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Coalition* has formed an alliance with OSHA aimed at reducing the hazards for both workers and motorists in roadway construction zones.

The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – East (SLFPA-E) has filed a lawsuit alleging that approximately 100 companies cut at least 10,000 miles of oil and gas canals and pipelines through the state’s coastal lands – lands that protect most of the greater New Orleans area from catastrophic flooding.

Manufacturers and some users of electronic cigarettes claim they’re a healthier alternative to the real thing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is seeking the authority to regulate them like it does conventional cigarettes.

OSHA has published a new chapter that provides technical information and guidance to help Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) evaluate noise hazards in the workplace. The content is based on currently available research publications, OSHA standards, and consensus standards.

Many workers' compensation (WC) claims result in no payment from the WC system, but do lead to increased costs for employee group insurance plans, reports a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
 

Positive train control technology – which some in the railroad industry have opposed due to its cost – would have prevented the fatal Dec. 1st derailment in New York, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has finished its on-scene investigative work.

Custom Tower LLC of Scott, La., has been cited by OSHA for one willful safety violation following the death of a worker who fell approximately 125 feet while attempting to install a microwave dish on a cellular tower along Highway 149 in Louise. OSHA initiated the August inspection in response to the fatality.

Five decades after the approval of an extremely effective vaccine against measles, one of the world’s most contagious diseases, the virus still poses a threat to domestic and global health security.

An oil and gas industry group has produced a new guide that offers practical advice on how human rights can be integrated into environmental, social and health impact assessments (ESHIAs) for oil and gas sector projects.

Workplace safety whistleblowers will now be able to file complaints with OSHA online, by visiting www.osha.gov/whistleblower/WBComplaint.html. Until now, complainants had to file a written complaint, call the agency's 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) number or visit an OSHA regional or area office.