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The median number of days away from work due to amputations in 2005, the latest year studied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, was 22 days – or more than four work weeks.

ISHN posted this commentary from Dr. Howard earlier in April. Given Dr. Howard’s long tenure at NIOSH and his visionary perspectives on worker health and safety, we want to “rebroadcast’ it as an ISHN blog.

Organic Dust Fire and Explosion: Massachusetts (3 killed, 9 injured). In February 1999, a deadly fire and explosion occurred in a foundry in Massachusetts. OSHA and state and local officials conducted a joint investigation of this incident.

Registered nurses are among those keeping close watch on a California measure to protect the state’s healthcare workers from work-related violence as it moves from one Senate committee to another this week.

OSHA has just published a new booklet that outlines safe procedures for emergency responders who may face fires and explosions caused by combustible dust. "Firefighting Precautions at Facilities with Combustible Dust"describes how combustible dust explosions occur and uses historic incidents to illustrate how firefighting operations can prevent combustible dust explosions.

As workers, workplace safety activists and others gather in ceremonies around the country to commemorate Workers Memorial Day today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka blasted business groups for blocking what he says are much-needed safeguards.

Today is Workers’ Memorial Day, on which individuals who have died on the job are honored in ceremonies all over the country. At the U.S. Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C., Secretary Perez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main will deliver remarks focusing on the hazards of toxic chemical exposure in the workplace – this year’s theme.

Workers Memorial Day, April 28, reminds us that every death, injury, or illness on the job represents a human tragedy. Behind each statistic is the loss of a loved one’s life, the diminution or loss of a father’s or mother’s ability to provide for family needs, or a medical crisis that can have lifelong consequences.

The most serious cases of hand and arm injuries in the workplace carry a stiff price tag, in addition to the pain and suffering of the injured worker.

Before you blame the worker, or even the PPE itself for some workplace incident, consider that the worker may be sleep deprived. Often, when a worker is confronted for violating a policy, he or she will shrug and say, “I forgot.” Many safety professionals are realizing that human errors, behavioral drift and even recklessness can be traced to a growing threat to workplace safety –a lack of sleep.