YouTube workers are targeted by an angry shooter, Kentucky restricts the black lung disease diagnosis process and researchers find a surprising yet common injury among actors and technicians who work in theatres. These were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
Construction workers ran for their lives yesterday to avoid being crushed by an enormous crane that toppled over yesterday morning at a worksite in St. Petersburg, Florida. No one was injured in the incident but the video obtained by ABC News shows several workers who narrowly avoided being hit by the crane, which was estimated to be about ten stories tall.
Safety managers must ensure that workers of all ages stay safe. However, millennials — those born between 1982 and 1997, and expected to make up half the world’s workforce by 2020 — pose a special challenge.
Recently, I did some health and safety “due diligence” consulting work for a client who wanted to acquire a small, 65-employee business. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with supervisors and employees and touring the facility and was struck by two important findings: this small company didn’t have much by way of written programs that supported health and safety regulatory compliance AND it had a remarkably good safety record -- one that much larger companies would envy.
X-ray reading experts are excluded from the process
April 2, 2018
The Kentucky legislature this week passed a bill to exclude radiologists from the types of doctors who can diagnose black lung disease among miners seeking workers’ compensation for their illness.
A radiologist uses x-rays to diagnose disease. Black lung disease is diagnosed through x-rays and an occupational history.
Depending on the level of exposure, chemical burns can cause permanent skin and tissue damage, and even death. And a chemical burn injury can cost your company millions of dollars in OSHA fines, hospital fees, legal costs, lost productivity, increased insurance premiums and reputation damage.
When activity levels increase or people are exposed to extreme environments, water is lost more rapidly and needs to be replaced more frequently. Maintaining adequate hydration levels in the body can help avoid both acute and chronic health problems ranging from minor headaches to death.
One of this year’s highlights: Employers are struggling with the active shooter problem. Experts from the Department of Homeland Security, law enforcement, corporate risk management and employee assistance programs will address the topic in a general session.
Even with the proper precautions like flashback arrestors, exhaust hoods for fumes and gases, or fire extinguishers, welding carries a lot of risk. Needless to say, a good pair of gloves are as important to a welder as a welding hood – or at least they should be.
New products to protect workers from dropped objects, slip and falls and heat stress were among the occupational safety and health innovations featured on ISHN.com this week.
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