Today's Safety News

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No matter how many safety training courses emphasis how dangerous it may be to work with electricity, chemicals or cargo unless proper safety protocols are followed, there is always a percentage of employees who believe they aren’t vulnerable to such risks — until it’s too late.

This checklist covers regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the general industry standards 29 CFR 1910.254 and 1910.306, and the construction standards 1926.351 and 1926.353. It applies to the use of arc-welding and cutting equipment.

Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship has taken to video to defend himself against charges that he is responsible for the Upper Big Branch disaster – to the outrage of victims’ family members. Dozens of them and their supporters gathered earlier this month outside a federal courthouse in Charleston, West Virginia, to protest the claims made in the video.

The National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) has announced the members of its 2014 Executive Council. “The new NHCA Executive Council represents the diversity of our membership and reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the practice of hearing loss prevention,” said NHCA incoming President Beth Cooper.

A study from the University of Sydney finds that lower back pain (LBP) is a significant cause of work-related disability. It affected 26 percent of the global population in 2010, and varied considerably with age, gender and region.

The number of calls to poison centers involving e-cigarette liquids containing nicotine jumped from one per month in September, 2010 to 215 per month in February, 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A New York manufacturing company exposed its workers to fire, explosion hazards and a potential occupational carcinogen, according to OSHA, which has levied a $51,800 fine against Salko Kitchens, Inc. "These workers face both immediate and long-term health and safety hazards from on-site conditions," said Kimberly Castillon, OSHA's area director in Albany.

The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) has launched Safety Salary Source, a new reporting tool that allows users to view survey data on safety, health and environmental (SH&E) practitioners' salaries in new detail.

The American Petroleum Institute is promoting the seventh annual National Safe Digging Month by reminding all Americans to always call 811 before any digging project. “Dialing 811 before you put the shovel in the ground will keep you and your neighbors safe,” said API Pipeline Director Peter Lidiak.

Cleaning up a site in preparation for a tour by potential investors has resulted in a $2,359,000 for Olivet Management LLC, a real estate development and management company that owns the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center in Dover Plains, N.Y.