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A new international standard released by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) classifies mining accidents by type and by cause in an effort to prevent them from happening in the future. Developed by the ISO’s technical committee on mining, ISO 19434 presents a comprehensive mine accidents classification system that lays out a standard scheme for all factors associated with the accidents. It enables a full analysis based on both software systems or manual assessment and uses a common understandable language for communication between all parts involved in safety, health and environment issues in mines.

The family of a sanitation worker who was accidentally run over by a colleague driving a street sweeper was awarded $41.5 million by a jury of six in Queens, New York last week. The incident occurred while 43-year-old Steven Frosch was making adjustments to his own street sweeper in a Department of Sanitation garage.

President Trump finally nominates someone to head up OSHA; pilots court danger by taking shortcuts and fatigue factored into a multi-fatality wreck and California. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

A 51-year-old worker in Georgia died Monday night after getting caught in a piece of machinery, according to news sources. Shaw Industries employee Jesus Pimentel was caught between a moving part of a machine and a stationary steel I-beam, said Whitfield County Coroner Greg Bates.

OSHA has cited a Pittsburgh masonry contractor for exposing workers to serious dangers including fall and electrical hazards after an employee was fatally electrocuted in April. The 21-year-old laborer was doing restoration work at a Pittsburgh residence when he was electrocuted. A subsequent investigation of the man’s employer, Ski Masonry LLC, resulted in two willful and five serious citations for violations against the company.

I get a lot of health and safety-related news alerts emailed to be every day. Some days are worse than others. Here is a sample from yesterday. (With a little commentary.) Someone asked me this morning how writing this blog doesn’t throw me into depression. To some extent it’s an outlet, keeping me from kicking the dogs and throwing things at TV. But then there are days like today when it all seems like too much.

Back from vacation and checking in with people to see what’s going on at the agency charged with assuring the safety and health of American workers. And the answer is not much…and a lot. The Mysteriously Missing Assistant Secretary: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee yesterday approved the nominations of a Deputy Secretary (Patrick Pizzella), the head of Wage & Hour (Cheryl Stanton), and the head of MSHA (David Zatezalo), all on identical party line votes (all the R’s voted for the nominees, and all of the Dems voted against.)