A former employee of a subcontractor at Brookhaven National Laboratory has filed a $25 million lawsuit against the lab manager and the manufacturers of a cleaning solvent he claims caused his cancer. Joseph Marino, who worked as a computer technician at the Upton, New York lab in 1999 and 2000, has been diagnosed with clear cell renal carcinoma.

Delivery service UPS, Inc. has been cited for failing to protect employees working in excessive heat after an employee suffered heat-related injuries near the Riviera Beach, Florida, facility. The employee required hospitalization after becoming ill while delivering packages on a day when the heat index ranged between 99 and 105 degrees. The company faces $13,260 in penalties, the maximum penalty allowed by law for a serious violation.

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.

More than 130 organizations signed a petition (PDF) sent to OSHA, demands for stronger protections for workers exposed to extreme heat. Joining the petition were former OSHA Directors Dr. Eula Bingham and Dr. David Michaels, former California/OSHA Director Ellen Widess, heat illness prevention researcher Dr. Marc Schenker and 89 other individuals.

OSHA may “broaden the circumstances” under which certain employers would be permitted to comply with its Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction, according to a request for information and comment issued by the agency last week. OSHA is looking for information on additional engineering and work practice control methods to effectively limit exposure to silica.

Although the injury and illness rate for poultry workers remains higher than for all private industry workers, new Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that the rate is trending downward. The BLS reported that there were approximately 230,000 poultry processing workers in 2016. That year, there was an incident rate of 4.2 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time equivalent workers; higher than the rate for all private industry workers, which was 2.9 per 100.

Although the use of asbestos has been banned in European Union (EU) nations since 2005, the substance remains a health risk in Europe due to its ubiquitous presence in many private and public buildings. Asbestos was one of the major agenda items at last month’s seminar on chemicals and worker protection held in Lisbon. Hosted by the European Trade Union Institute in Lisbon in collaboration with the General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP), the gathering brought together more than 40 union representatives from 21 European countries.

An alarming increase in the incidence of the black lung disease among the nation’s coal miners has led to a call by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the United Steelworkers International Union (USW) for a new standard to protect miners from the silica dust that causes the disease. In a letter to David Zatezalo, the head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), UMWA President Cecil Roberts and USW President Leo W. Gerard noted that changes in mining practices have led to increased exposure to silica for miners.

Cal/OSHA is reminding all employers to protect their outdoor workers from heat illness as temperatures rise throughout California. The National Weather Service has issued heat advisories for triple-digit temperatures today in Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties and forecasts high heat throughout inland parts of the state next week.