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The rule states that before an employee enters the space, the internal atmosphere must be tested with a calibrated direct-reading instrument for oxygen content, for flammable gases and vapors, and for potential toxic air contaminants.

Atmospheric Testing and the New OSHA Construction Confined Spaces Standard

Subpart AA of 29 CFR 1926 will help to prevent construction workers from being hurt or killed by eliminating and isolating hazards in confined spaces at construction sites.

Corvallis, Ore.-based VDOS Global uses aerial robotics and remote sensing to provide oil and gas inspections, environmental research, aerial surveying and other services using for its clients around the world. (VDOS image)

FAA Releases Drone Safety Checklist

With retailers busily advertising drones as a hot gift idea, the agency is urging consumers to make it a stocking stuffer this year.

Identifying employees who understand the duties and responsibilities of a first responder and who are seriously committed are key to your recruiting success and building a higher-performance response team that can execute under extreme pressure.

#1 Priority When Disaster Occurs: Everyone Goes Home

When an amazing safety-first culture exists, the result is a waiting list of employees wanting to be on the emergency response team.



Train all workers about the hazards and about maintaining clearance from overhead power lines.

Understand the Dangers of Electrical Shock

Electricity is one of the most common causes of fires and thermal burns in homes and workplaces.

Like bloodborne pathogens, hazardous chemicals can be present throughout a health care facility. Although it takes time to check each department, room, and closet, it really is one of the most effective ways to find materials that may otherwise be missed.

Health Care Hazmats: There's More On Site Than Just Bloodborne Pathogens

Sanitizing, disinfecting, and cleaning chemicals are likely to be found throughout the facility. It is important to know the particular brands and styles that are being used to verify that proper precautions are being taken.

The amount of exposure to individuals can depend upon work practices, ventilation, and location.

Welding Safety and Health Considerations

The amount of exposure to individuals can depend upon work practices, ventilation, and location. Will the work be done in wide open areas, inside a building adjacent to other work processes and people, or potentially even in a confined space?

Once a fabric has been manufactured, it should be inspected and tested for quality assurance and to ensure that the fabric meets or exceeds the ASTM and NFPA standards for flame resistance. (Mount Vernon FR photo)

Vertical Manufacturing of Flame-Resistant Cotton and Cotton-Rich Fabrics

Wear trials can help guide you in selecting the right fabric by providing a more comprehensive evaluation of important factors such as performance, comfort, and applicability.

"This worker literally came close to an early grave because the cemetery failed to provide proper excavation protections," said Anthony Ciuffo, OSHA

Grave Matter: OSHA Fines NY Cemetery Company for Cave-In

The agency cited St. John Cemetery Corp. for five violations, two classified as willful, after a worker was partially engulfed in May 2015 while in a grave opening.

Public safety is one of the areas where the most advances in "smart fabrics" are taking place, the U.S. Department of Commerce said as it announced the April 2016 Smart Fabrics Summit.

Smart Fabrics Summit Scheduled for April 2016

The Department of Commerce reports that the smart fabric product development is being seen in the fields of defense, fitness, health, and public safety.

The William M. Feehan is a 66-foot long, jet-propelled fireboat named for FDNY First Commissioner William M. Feehan, who died during the World Trade Center response on Sept. 11, 2001. (FDNY photo)

FDNY Christens New Fireboat

It is named for First Deputy Commissioner William M. Feehan, who died Sept. 11, 2001, when the South Tower collapsed at the World Trade Center site. The second-highest-ranking FDNY member killed on that day, he was the oldest responder to the site.

More than 46 million turkeys were cooked and eaten for Thanksgiving 2015, USDA estimates.

Turkey Day Food Safety From the Pros

"USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has a variety of food safety resources to help with any questions related to preparing Thanksgiving dinner, including our Meat and Poultry Hotline that will be staffed will helpful experts on Thanksgiving Day," said Al Almanza, USDA's deputy under secretary for Food Safety.

More U.S. home fires occur on Thanksgiving on average than on any other day, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

USFA Offers Thanksgiving Safety Tips

Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires in the United States, with on average twice as many home fires occurring on Thanksgiving Day as the average number of fires in homes on all other days of the year.

The National Safety Council estimates more than 50,000 people will be seriously injured in Thanksgiving 2015 holiday period traffic accidents.

NSC Estimates 433 Traffic Deaths During Thanksgiving Weekend

The council said this four-day period falls near the end of what it estimates has been a particularly deadly year on the roads: Preliminary NSC estimates are that traffic deaths increased 10 percent through the first nine months of 2015 from the same period in 2014.

Only 80 of more than 600 exposure standards Australia has used since adopting them from ACGIH standards in the 1980s have been updated since then.

Australia Updating Chemical Exposure Standards

Safe Work Australia has asked stakeholders to submit comments by Dec. 18 about the existing standards for airborne exposures. Most were adopted from ACGIH standards in the 1980s and have never been updated.

Four North Central Texas College softball players died in the September 2014 accident where a tractor-trailer crossed an I-35 median and struck their bus near Davis, Okla.

NTSB Blames Crash on Trucker's Use of Synthetic Cannabinoid

The truck crossed a median on I-35 near Davis, Okla., on Sept. 26, 2014, and struck a medium-sized passenger bus carrying members of the North Central Texas College softball team, four of whom died in the wreck. The board's report says this crash demonstrates the need for seat belt use laws with primary enforcement for all vehicles.

HHS Adds Two Anthrax Drugs to National Stockpile

Anthim from Elusys Therapeutics and Raxibacumab from GlaxoSmithKilne are monoclonal antibody therapeutics. HHS’ BARDA is spending $54.6 million in support of them, the agency announced Nov. 12.

Revolutionizing the speed by which FDA personnel can check minimally processed fresh produce for Salmonella is the goal of the 2014 FDA Food Safety Challenge.

FDA Finalizes More Food Safety Rules

"The rules will help better protect consumers from foodborne illness and strengthen their confidence that modern preventive practices are in place, no matter where in the world the food is produced," said Michael R. Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.

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