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Dave Johnson applies news and personal experiences to safety and health practices, controversies and debates.

ARTICLES

Desperate hours at OSHA?

Neglect leaves OSHA short-staffed and leaderless

Desperate hours at the agency?
Davejohnson
Dave Johnson
June 18, 2019
In OSHA’s 48-year-old history, the agency has experienced desperate hours on a regular schedule. The agency opened its door in 1971. Before the decade was out a “STOP OSHA” lobbying movement was underway. In 1979, Republican Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania proposed an “OSHA Improvements Act” which would have exempted from inspections all employers, large or small, regardless of industry, with good safety records. It was defeated in 1980.
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reporting serious injuries and fatalities

Knockin’ on heaven’s door

It’s a sound no one wants to hear in safety – to the harm of protecting workers
Davejohnson
Dave Johnson
April 23, 2019

In 2017, 5,147 workers in the U.S. were killed on the job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, down slightly from 5.190 in 2016. The fatal injury rate in 2017 was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time employees. Three or four people out of 100,000. Not close to one percent. Meaning most everyone escapes being touched by a work-related death. 


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Weekly news round-up

Weekly news round-up

April 20, 2019
NIOSH uses robotic arms to test healthcare PPE, teen workers get safety info from OSHA and FairWarning sheds a light on the hazards faced by small farmers in the U.S. These were among the occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
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The danger of worker fatigue

The danger of taking tiredness for granted

Fatigued? Tell me about it…
Davejohnson
Dave Johnson
March 22, 2019

Last month in Seattle the National Safety Council's Campbell Institute held a conference where one of the major topics was, "Fatigue: Managing the Hidden Risk." My question: What's so "hidden" about fatigue? Everyone you talk to in today's 24/7 wired world is fatigued, tired, beat. Just ask them.


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workers stifle reporting illnesses & stressors

Fear & insecurity stifle reporting illnesses & stressors

Millions of workers suffer in silence
Davejohnson
Dave Johnson
December 17, 2018
Chronic pain we know about too well. The opioid onslaught has taught us that. The pressure to work through pain is real, particularly in industries with a macho ethos such as construction and oil and gas. But step back and look at a larger picture — chronic diseases — and the untold millions of adults who work through a chronic illness.
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Who “actively cares” for Congolese miners?
Editor’s Letter

Who “actively cares” for Congolese miners?

Empathy only goes so far
Davejohnson
Dave Johnson
November 21, 2018
Just by putting “Congo miners” in the title here will have most readers flipping to the next page. I learned this lesson years ago writing an article about workplace safety, or the lack thereof, in China. “Why did you write this article?” asked a reader. “I don’t read ISHN for articles about China.” Another reader opined: “Everybody knows nobody values life in a country like China.”
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