Today's Safety News

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The safety inspector who surveyed a Philadelphia building before it collapsed last week has committed suicide, according to news sources. The collapse killed three workers and three patrons. Thirteen others were buried in rubble and were rescued.

A mine worker who died because of a missing part on a circuit breaker was the subject of a $211,002 settlement reached last month with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the U.S. Lime Co., the worker’s employer.

Employees who face high emotional demand and conflicting roles are more likely to report psychological distress — placing them at higher risk of mental health disorders and reduced productivity, reports a study in the June Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

Young and less experienced home building workers are the intended audience for a new publication from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) which is intended to help them avoid injuries.

A NY architectural hardware manufacturer may have been hoping that OSHA inspectors would not return for a follow-up visit when they decided to not abate hazards cited at their facility. S.A. Baxter LLC now faces $117,920 in additional fines, for failing to correct safety conditions found during an initial inspection at the company’s Chester, NY manufacturing facility.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will work with employers in eight counties across the nation in a National Healthy Worksite Program -- a new initiative aimed at reducing chronic disease and building a healthier, more productive U.S. workforce.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has rejected chemical industry challenges to an agency's decision to list the chemical styrene in the Twelfth Report on Carcinogens as "reasonably anticipated" to be a cancer-causing agent. A major styrene trade association and a manufacturer of the substance had sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for including styrene in the report.

An engineer in Scotland who was fired after being injured on the job has been awarded £70,000 (about $100,000) by a court in Edinburgh. David Hynds suffered a spinal injury when a one ton cutting tool fell on him, trapping him between a girder support and the ground.

While extreme storms like tornadoes and hurricanes get most of the media attention, a far simpler weather condition – heat -- is much deadlier. Heat kills an average of 658 people every year -- more than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and lightning combined. In the disastrous heat wave of 1980, more than 1,250 people died. In the heat wave of 1995 more than 700 deaths in the Chicago area were attributed to heat. In August 2003, a record heat wave in Europe claimed an estimated 50,000 lives.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is offering an app for iPhones and iPod Touches that will provide real-time safety information about vehicles, notify consumers about recalls and even help them install child seats.