Two recent studies by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are shedding light on how to prevent work-related asthma by controlling exposure to hazardous substances. Work-related asthma can occur when workplace exposure to a hazardous substance triggers symptoms in someone with asthma or causes new asthma to occur in someone who doesn’t already have it.

We all know that washing our hands can keep us from spreading germs and getting sick. But a new Rutgers-New Brunswick study found that cool water removes the same amount of harmful bacteria as hot. “People need to feel comfortable when they are washing their hands but as far as effectiveness, this study shows us that the temperature of the water used didn’t matter,” said Donald Schaffner, distinguished professor and extension specialist in food science.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prediabetes is a serious health condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to meet the threshold for type 2 diabetes. The federal agency says that some 84 million Americans ages 18 or older — more than one out of three — have prediabetes but 90% don’t know it.

An oil company that puts safety first – and one that doesn’t; a surprising hazard for firefighters and how cooperating with an OSHA investigation got two workers fired – then got them a million dollar settlement. These were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Mesothelioma cancer is the most fatal among asbestos-related diseases. The cancer presents itself 20 to 50 years after exposure and may originate in the lungs, heart, or abdominal cavity. The disease will begin to form after inhalation or ingestion of airborne asbestos particles. Due to the generic symptoms a patient may experience, late stage diagnosis is a common occurrence among mesothelioma patients.

Some 59 percent of fire stations in the U.S. are not equipped with exhaust emission control systems, which are critical for mitigating firefighter exposure/keywords/13730-occupational-exposure to diesel fumes. Exposure to these fumes can increase the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, cardiopulmonary disease, respiratory disease, and lung cancer. Many firefighters sleep in fire stations because they work extended shifts – an arrangement which increases their chance of exposure.

Soft drinks – whether diet versions or in their regular, sugar-laden form – are associated with a higher risk of dying from any cause, according to new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study titled, Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries, is the largest of its kind to date. This study found even in people of a healthy weight, sugary and diet drinks increase risk of dying from circulatory and digestive disease.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking data on economically and technologically feasible methods to protect miners' health from exposure to quartz. The RFI includes an examination of an appropriately reduced permissible exposure limit, potential new or developing protective technologies, and/or technical and educational assistance.

How Artificial Intelligence could affect workplace safety, a trench collapse results in felony charges for an employer and a preview of the 2019 Congress & Expo were among the top occupational and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

While vaping appears to be at the root of the growing number of people struck by pulmonary-related illnesses after vaping, the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) investigation into the cluster of illnesses is ongoing. To date, 193 cases of such illnesses have been reported across 22 states, with one death – Illinois. American Lung Association (ALA) Chief Medical Officer Albert Rizzo, M.D. called the developments “alarming.”