A study on the self-reported health of Americans ages 18 to 64 revealed that the flu is responsible for 200 million days of diminished productivity, 100 million days of bed disability, and 75 million days of work absence. Each episode of illness translates into five to six days of symptoms and between a half-day and five days of work missed.
The Food and Drug Administration recently announced the availability of the first draft guidance for industry on Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), titled "Format and Content of Proposed Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), REMS Assessments, and Proposed REMS Modifications," which are required for certain drugs or biologics.
The Globally Harmonized System, or GHS, was proposed by the United Nations in an effort to internationally standardize classification and labeling of chemicals through the use of pictograms, signal words, and hazard warnings. Benefits of the GHS include reduced time and costs involved in meeting multiple regulations for labels, improved comprehension and understanding of health and environmental hazards, facilitation of trade by removing barriers created by various health and safety requirements, and reduction of duplicate testing.
The proposed change to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2007, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings, would require them to be installed outside each sleeping area. Comments are due by Oct. 26.
Between the National Safety Congress and A+A, taking place amid Dusseldorf's lovely scenery, the world's PPE providers and safety professionals will have plenty to chew on before the holidays.
More than 10,000 personnel at McChord Air Force Base, near Tacoma, Wash., provide a fast, flexible, responsive airlift capability to DoD. Motor vehicle accidents are a special concern as the holiday season approaches.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued its Strategic Plan for Risk Communication, which outlines the agency's efforts to disseminate more meaningful public health information.
The St. Peters, Mo.-based facility became the latest VPP star site, OSHA's highest recognition for meeting or exceeding workplace safety and health standards.
One out of every eight strokes is preceded by a "warning stroke," which is a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or mild stroke, according to research published in the Sept. 29, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
To help employers prepare for the potential impact this virus could have on their workplaces, OSHA is presenting a forum today.
The Globally Harmonized System was developed to provide a single, consistent system to classify chemicals, labels, and safety data sheets for workers, employers, and chemical users. Under GHS, labels would include signal words, hazard and precautionary statements, and pictograms such as the one shown, used for carcinogens, respiratory sensitizers, and germ cell mutagens.
According to EPA, one the company's drivers failed to provide immediate notification to authorities following a 920-pound release of anhydrous ammonia while making a delivery to a farm.
"You might not think of a carwash as a particularly dangerous workplace, but hazards can be present in any workplace if the proper safeguards are not provided and maintained," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport, Conn.
The serious violations include unguarded machinery, inadequate training, failure to develop energy control (lockout/tagout) and hazard communication programs, obstructed emergency stop buttons, a lack of hand rails on industrial stairs, and failure to prohibit workers from riding on a conveyor.
In addition, the company faces fines for three serious violations relating to poor egress procedures from the trench, failure to provide proper training for trench operations, and placing excavated materials too close to the edge of the trench.
The specific objective of report is to identify all on-duty firefighter fatalities that occurred in the United States and its protectorates during the calendar year and to present in summary narrative form the circumstances surrounding each occurrence.
OSHA cited the company with one willful violation for failing to provide an adequate protective system for employees working in an excavation 8 to 10 feet in depth and one serious violation for failing to ensure employees were wearing high visibility vests.
This recall affects Buderus gas-fired, floor-standing boilers sold by plumbing and heating wholesale distributors to plumbing and heating contractors nationwide from April 2008 through February 2009 for between $12,000 and $24,000 installed.
According to the investigation, the worker was covered by almost 240-degree asphalt released from an open valve on the transfer system due to a pressure increase that separated the transfer hose from the system.
"This case clearly shows that an unprotected excavation can turn deadly in seconds, trapping and burying workers before they can react or escape," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.