Occupational Safety

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A subtle change to hospital data collection policies could make a big difference in preventing occupational health and safety hazards, according to workplace safety researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health.

OSHA has cited Anheuser-Busch Cos. LLC in Houston with one alleged willful and five serious violations for failing to protect workers from exposure to carbon dioxide and other workplace hazards while working in brewery cellars. The October 2012 complaint inspection of the facility on Gellhorn Drive has resulted in a proposed penalty totaling $88,000.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to lose a finger? A thumb? A hand? Both hands? Your arms and hands are the tools you need to do a variety of tasks, both job-related and personal.

A “wildlife casting agency” that provides the services of wild animals to the movie industry and photographers has been cited for two safety violations after one of its employees was mauled to death by grizzly bears last year.

OSHA has determined that workers involved in a wide range of occupations are exposed to a significant risk of death or injury from being struck by various objects in the workplace.

...Sadly, we have more to reflect on this year than we would have liked. Our hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones in the April 17 fertilizer plant fire and explosion in West, Texas. Among the 14 dead and approximately 200 wounded were heroic paramedics and firefighters, and plant workers who - in a scene reminiscent of 9/11 — rushed toward the fire, desperately trying to cool the fire to give time to warn and evacuate residents.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data last week showing that the final count of fatal work injuries in the U.S. in 2011 was 4,693 -- the third lowest annual total since the fatal injury census was first conducted in 1992.

A report focusing on the nearly 150 worker deaths in North Carolina in 2011 demonstrates the effect of lax enforcement and weak fines, according to the National Council of Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), which issued the document.

News sources are reporting that a worker in Oregon was killed on Friday after falling into a blender used for processing meat. Authorities said the accident at Interstate Meat Distributors in Clackamas claimed the life of 41-year-old Hugo Avalos-Chanon, a contract worker employed by DCS Sanitation Management.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is recommending that occupational exposures to carbon nanotubes and nanofibers be controlled to reduce worker’s potential risk for certain work-related lung effects. NIOSH is the first federal agency to issue recommended exposure levels for this growing industry.