The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which contains provisions to improve the nation’s approach to mental health care treatment. The bill, H.R. 2646, which was introduced by Reps. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., and Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, was reported out of committee on a unanimous vote.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for issuing a proposed rule (PDF) that would bring its Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program in line with current evidence on the dangers of beryllium. According to advocacy group Public Citizen, the DOE’s proposal stands in sharp contrast with the actions of OSHA, which has yet to lower its workplace beryllium limit from an outdated level set in 1971, Public Citizen said.
Posted with permission from FairWarning.org: Last year was a bad one for motorcyclists, with a new estimate showing that 5,010 bikers were killed in crashes nationwide, the worst death toll in seven years. The apparent 10 percent increase in motorcycle fatalities, based on an analysis by the Governors Highway Safety Association, coincided with a projected rise of about 8 percent in traffic deaths overall in 2015.
The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) was originally adopted by OSHA in 1994. Since its recent update, it is now aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) used throughout the world.
Dear Mr. Jones:
This letter is to follow up on the interim letter sent to you dated June 24, 2014, by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In your original April 1, 2014, letter you requested clarification on whether railroad train crews performing work as hazmat employees are subject to the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200.
Each day, millions of Americans leave their homes and report to jobs that provide for their families, strengthen our communities and grow our economy. Prospective employees have the right to know the full scope of the safety records of an industry before entering the workforce, and all workers have the right to speak up when they believe something is unsafe.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) says the final rule requiring employers in high-hazard industries to submit injury and illness data for posting on the OSHA website will not achieve the goals the agency has set for it.
OSHA today issued a final rule requiring employers in high-hazard industries to send the agency injury and illness data for posting on the OSHA website. Currently, little or no information about the three million worker injuries and illnesses a year is made public or available to the agency.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday finalized a rule extending its authority to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco and pipe tobacco. The rule helps implement the bipartisan Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 and allows the FDA to restrict the sale of these tobacco products to minors nationwide.