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The Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Coalition* has formed an alliance with OSHA aimed at reducing the hazards for both workers and motorists in roadway construction zones.

OSHA has published a new chapter that provides technical information and guidance to help Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) evaluate noise hazards in the workplace. The content is based on currently available research publications, OSHA standards, and consensus standards.

Many workers' compensation (WC) claims result in no payment from the WC system, but do lead to increased costs for employee group insurance plans, reports a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
 

Custom Tower LLC of Scott, La., has been cited by OSHA for one willful safety violation following the death of a worker who fell approximately 125 feet while attempting to install a microwave dish on a cellular tower along Highway 149 in Louise. OSHA initiated the August inspection in response to the fatality.

GreenWood, Inc., an integrated operations, maintenance and construction solutions provider, recently celebrated a safety milestone of 4.5 million safe work hours at their Merck project site in Elkton, Virginia. GreenWood provides Merck with various construction related services. 

Workplace safety whistleblowers will now be able to file complaints with OSHA online, by visiting www.osha.gov/whistleblower/WBComplaint.html. Until now, complainants had to file a written complaint, call the agency's 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) number or visit an OSHA regional or area office.

An Illinois company faces $100,000+ in fines after a sharp-eyed OSHA inspector noticed workers without PPE conducting demolition operations on a Chicago bridge that was coated with lead-based paint.

The federal government’s semi-annual release of its regulatory agenda, a deadly commuter train derailment in the Bronx and Franken-French-fries are among this week’s top EHS- and health-related stories as featured on ISHN.com:

The rise of work-place injuries related to musculoskeletal disorders -- which is costing U.S. businesses more than $20 billion a year -- may be reduced if companies include ergonomic risk assessments in their occupational health and safety management systems, according to an article in the December issue of Professional Safety.

On August 16, 2007, Master Electrician William Giffen, owner of CAMAND Electrical Services, Ottawa, Canada, and an experienced 17-year veteran of electrical maintenance services, was testing secondary fuses at a high-tech data center (after it was hit by lightning for the second time that day) when he was caught in an arc-flash incident at a 13.8kV switch.