Occupational Safety

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This year’s Workers Memorial Day, April 28, will be a little different. In addition to speeches and candlelit ceremonies, processions and pancake breakfasts, there’ll be activism – motivated by what advocates say is the Trump administration’s attacks on workplace safety.

A Wisconsin container manufacturer has achieved a 90 percent reduction in its worker injury rate through a partnership with OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program. Schoeneck Containers, Inc. (SCI), which supplies plastic containers for diverse consumer and commercial markets throughout the world, began improving safety in 2000 for its 250 employees by hiring a safety professional and implementing new safety measures such as hazard identification programs, engineering controls review processes, and weekly safety talks.

This month is National Ladder Safety Month, but ladder safety is a year-round priority at NIOSH where scientists study how to prevent ladder-related falls. In a new study published in the journal Applied Ergonomics, a “walk-through” ladder was comparable in safety to regular ladders tested in the NIOSH Virtual Reality Laboratory in Morgantown, West Virginia.

A worker safety advocacy group is urging Americans to contact their U.S. senators and oppose the Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval which would repeal an OSHA rule clarifying an employers' obligation to keep accurate records of work related injuries.