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June 11, Howard County, Maryland: A highway worker was struck and killed while placing cones on westbound Route 216 at Route 29. He was wearing his reflective shirt at the time of the collision.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends eye protection for a variety of potential exposure settings where workers may be at risk of acquiring infectious diseases via ocular exposure.

Among those who will be directly affected by OSHA’s proposed rule on crystalline silica exposures will be small businesses and their employees in industries like dental laboratories, foundries, and construction.

OSHA has cited Home Depot Inc. for eight safety violations, including seven repeat, carrying proposed penalties of $150,700 after an inspection at its Reynoldsburg, Ohio store. The inspection was initiated under the site-specific targeting program that directs enforcement resources to workplaces where the highest rates of injuries and illnesses occur.

OSHA has cited Enterprize Management Inc. and Schlitterbahn Beach Resort Management LLC, both doing business as Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark and Resort in South Padre Island, Texas, for six safety violations regarding hazardous energy sources that fatally crushed a 20-year-old lifeguard and severely injured a maintenance supervisor.

Yes, respirators will be the primary PPE discussed when protecting workers against silica dust exposures. Silica dust often arises when workers are cutting, crushing, drilling, grinding or otherwise disturbing material that might loosen silica, particularly in construction and mining work.

OSHA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica has been submitted for publication in the Federal Register. The NPRM is OSHA's formal notice of regulatory action related to Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica. This is a proposal, not a final rule.

After five consecutive years of decreases, construction deaths rose five percent last year, propelling the construction industry into the top spot in terms of work-related fatalities per industry in 2012.

Driven by increasing environmental and regulatory pressures, and concerns over toxicity to humans, the global solvents market continues to undergo significant changes as demand for “greener” solvents has increased in developed countries during the last 15 years, while demand for traditional solvents (outside of China) continues to decline, according to a new IHS Chemical (NYSE: IHS) global market research report.

OSHA has issued 14 notices of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, following an inspection at Boston's Logan International Airport. The inspection was begun earlier this year as part of OSHA's Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program.