Respiratory


NY Developer Cited for Willful Lack of Asbestos Monitoring

"Employees who were removing asbestos-containing materials at this site lacked basic safeguards that must be in place before performing such work," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport, Conn.

FDA, WebMD Form Public Health Information Partnership

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and WebMD have announced a collaboration that expands consumers' access to the agency's timely and reliable important health information. This joint effort reflects FDA's emphasis on using innovative, technology-based strategies to carry out its foremost mission, which is to promote and to protect the public health.

An image of a worker in a diacetyl processing plant.

OSHA Diacetyl Standard Coming in 2009?

The Labor Department's semiannual regulatory agenda says the required review of the standard's potential impact on small businesses will be finished in February 2009.

A banner image of Public Health Thank You Day.

Thanks-Giving Day Arrives for Public Health Officials

Today is Public Health Thank You Day, a day to thank friends and colleagues working in public health for all they do.

NIOSH Mulls SCBA Alarm Change, Air-Fed Suit Respirator Standard

Two requests for comments by Jan. 15 or 16 are important to users of SCBAs and other protective respirators, and to the manufacturers. NIOSH may create a new subpart to the 42 CFR Part 84 standard for the suits.

An image of a worker standing on a scaffold.

Scaffolding Violations Again Top OSHA's Most-Cited List

Meanwhile, fall protection in construction accrued the highest total penalty amounts of all the categories in FY 2008.

NIOSH to Revoke Approvals of Global Secure Respirators

The company, formerly named CairnsAir Inc. or Neoterik, stopped producing respirators in April 2008 and has ceased doing business, the agency said.

AIHA Releases Three New Guidelines

Covering material handling, reconstruction exposures, and wellness programs, the publications illuminate industrial hygienists' many roles.



a lit cigarette

New Cessation Site Coincides with 33rd Great American Smokeout

"Helping employees quit smoking is a win/win proposition for employers and employees, as well as their families," said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health.

Confined-Space Death Leads to $64,400 in Proposed Penalties

OSHA's Dallas Area Office began its investigation following the May 13 incident that took place at a water treatment facility in Paris, Texas, where a diver's lifeline became entangled in the water pump of a 500,000-gallon in-ground water tank.

World COPD Day 2008 logo

World COPD Day Raises Disease's Profile

Organizations worldwide are focused today on the disease, which affects at least 10 million Americans and is the fourth-leading cause of death globally.

NFPA Tallies 80,100 Line-of-Duty Firefighter Injuries in 2007

The Northeast's rate of 4.9 injuries per 100 fires was more than twice the rate for the rest of the country, according to a summary published in the NFPA Journal's November/December issue.

Carbon Monoxide--the Silent Killer

Tennessee OSHA Institutes Special Emphasis Program on 'The Silent Killer'

Installing an effective ventilation system and ensuring compressors used to supply breathing air are equipped with a high-temperature alarm or carbon monoxide alarm are among the agency's recommendations for lowering employees' risk of exposure. Using compressors that are not oil lubricated is another.

Annual Great American Smokeout Draws Near

November 20, 2008, marks the American Cancer Society's 32nd annual Great American Smokeout, an event raises awareness of the many effective ways to quit for good and encourages smokers to quit for at least one day in the hope that this might challenge them to stop using tobacco permanently.

A 3D image of a buckyball nanoparticle.

Online Collaboration to Speed up Creation of Nanotechnology Standards

Combining efforts of materials scientists and measurement laboratories with those of biological and medical researchers, a new Internet-linked "community of interest" will exploit Web 2.0-style social networking technologies to enable creating and sharing information, as well as deliberating over technical details of in-process standards.

EPA Promulgates New Use Rules for Two Nanoparticles

The agency has determined that, for both substances, use without impervious gloves or a NIOSH-approved respirator with an APF of at least 10 may cause serious health effects.

VPPPA Seeks 2009 Conference Workshop Proposals by Dec. 5

The association's 25th annual conference will take place in August at the same San Antonio convention center where ASSE's PDC will be held June 28-July 1, 2009.

Study Finds Link Between Sleep Apnea and Sudden Cardiac Death

After studying the sleep characteristics of nearly 11,000 adults in an overnight sleep laboratory, Mayo Clinic researchers suggest that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)--and, in particular, the low nighttime oxygen saturation of the blood it causes--may be a risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD).

2008 Major Injuries, Deaths Down Again in UK

Continued declines in major workplace injuries and deaths are good news, but the HSE's chair says she's concerned about agriculture, construction, waste and recycling industries, and slip-and-fall incidents.

An upclose graphic of the sensor.

Electronic Nose Sniffs Out Unknown Chemical Odors

The great advantage of this system, according to NIST researchers, is that you don't need to expose the array to every chemical it could come in contact with in order to recognize and/or classify them.

Featured

Artificial Intelligence

Webinars