The U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Wisconsin in Green Bay has awarded a machine operator $100,000 in back wages and compensatory damages after his employer Dura-Fibre LLC – based in Menasha, Wisconsin – terminated him for reporting injuries he and a co-worker sustained.

Employers’ responsibilities regarding their workers’ mental health, the FDA bans cancer-causing food chemicals and the NTSB issues preliminary information on the investigation into the recent massive natural gas blast explosions in Massachusetts. These were among the stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

The bones and soft tissues in the back of your hand are all vulnerable to impact injuries. These injuries can range from a bump or bruise to a severe bone fracture. A new U.S. voluntary standard on the performance and classification for impact-resistant gloves is on the way – ISEA (International Safety Equipment Association) Standard 138.

It’s old news but not surprising news. Minnesota researchers studied the nature, incidence, and cause of work‐related amputation injuries between 1994-1995. 832 workers were identified as having amputation injuries during these years – and incidence rate of 39 per 100,000.

Researchers evaluated work-related injuries involving a hand or fingers and associated costs among a cohort of 24,830 union carpenters in the state of Washington between 1989 and 2008. Hand injuries accounted for 21.1% of reported injuries and 9.5% of paid lost-time injuries.

These are mechanized gloves – exoskeletons -- that help workers gain a stronger grasp on tools, or else operate in reverse to help workers who have trouble opening some fingers on their hands to grasp tools. The EksoVest is used on Ford assembly lines. The upper-body exoskeletal tool is designed by a partnership between Ford and California-based Ekso Bionics.

The International Glove Association is now accepting registrations for its 2019 Glove Symposium. Conference is to be held Sunday, March 17, 2019 to Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson, NV.

News sources are reporting that President Trump will soon name his nominee for the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), an agency that oversees the implementation of government-wide policies and reviews draft regulations. That person will help execute Trump’s plan to reduce government regulations.

If you manufacture head protection, use it on the job or work for a government agency that has a regulatory interest in it, you are invited to help evaluate a voluntary standard for industrial head protection. The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) is seeking consensus body reviewers for the proposed reaffirmation of the following standard:

Cross contamination is a serious challenge for food processing facilities that manufacture both allergen-free and gluten-free products and those for general consumption. Everything in the facility must be free from contaminants to ensure the safety of these food products.