Next week, April 9-13, is “Stand-Up for Grain Engulfment Prevention Week,” an effort on the part of OSHA and the National Grain and Feed Association to reduce the number of grain engulfment deaths in the U.S. – which usually occur from suffocation.

Do Not Pass go: The New York Times reports that “the owner of two Brooklyn construction companies was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday because the authorities said he ignored complaints about a poorly maintained retaining wall that collapsed at a work site in 2015, killing an 18-year-old laborer and injuring two others.”

Responding to a report of unsafe working conditions, federal investigators found employees at a Nebraska animal feed company exposed to the risk of grain dust explosion, electrical shock and confined space hazards, and multiple other violations of grain handling safety standards.

The United Farm Workers, labor and community health groups from Florida to California are urging the EPA to immediately suspend hundreds of uses of chlorpyrifos, an acutely toxic pesticide that harms workers and their family members.

The Southeastern part of the U.S. has an especially high workplace fatality rate, with 5.2 work-related injury deaths per 100,000 workers in 2014, compared with 3.8 nationwide, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The best way to reduce the risk of death from tractor rollovers is by using a special device called a rollover protective structure with a seatbelt. The image above depicts a tractor retrofitted with the NIOSH CROPS.

September 18-24, 2016, is National Farm Safety and Health Week (NFSHW). This annual event, begun by the National Safety Council in 1944, promotes safe and healthy practices on farms and ranches around the U.S.

On October 1, the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) enters its third decade. Unveiled in 1996, NORA is a partnership program to stimulate innovative research and improved workplace practices. Through NORA, diverse parties come together to create a research framework for the nation, including stakeholders from universities, large and small businesses, professional societies, government agencies, and worker organizations. NIOSH is proud to continue its role as steward of NORA.

New research from North Carolina State University connects several pesticides commonly used by farmers with both allergic and non-allergic wheeze, which can be a sensitive marker for early airway problems.