Today is not only the day to change our clocks, it's also the day to replaced smoke alarm batteries, according to an timely reminder from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as Daylight Saving Time ends.
NIOSH and partners will hold the International Conference on Road Safety at Work on Feb. 16-18, 2009, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C. Conference co-sponsors include the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, International Labour Organization, U.S. Department of State, and the National Safety Council.
Gov. Ed Rendell honored the winners last week at the 2008 Governor's Award for Safety Excellence luncheon in Hershey. U.S. Steel – Mon Valley, also a 1998 winner, has cut its OSHA recordables rate to 1.05 and had just eight lost-time incidents in 2007 among its 3,100 employees.
As the weather grows cold and people start planning for the holidays, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have released two new research videos that illustrate the benefit of having sprinkler systems in homes. Scientists exposed two dry Christmas trees to an open flame in a living room mock-up built inside their laboratory and recorded the results.
Starring Chandra Wilson, who plays Dr. Miranda Bailey in ABC's weekly drama series, the public service announcements have important tips for parents and caregivers to follow when using OTC oral cough and cold medicines.
Iowa's labor commissioner announced the record $9,988,200 in civil penalties and said the Postville, Iowa, kosher meatpacking plant also owes $264,786.45 in back wages. This blow may close the plant, where 389 workers were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on May 12.
A 2008 appropriations bill directed the agency to "regulate the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate by an ammonium nitrate facility . . . to prevent the misappropriation or use of ammonium nitrate in an act of terrorism." DHS is taking comments until Dec. 19.
However, the Liberty Mutual/SADD study of 3,580 students at 29 high schools across the country found only 57 percent of teen passengers would speak up to stop the driver from racing other cars.
MSHA said the Oct. 22 fatality was the fourth accident in five weeks where a bulldozer operator died or suffered life-threatening injuries on the job.
The event will be held in Arlington, Va., but also will be broadcast via the Web for those unable to attend in person.
The federal government recently announced it is making $679 million available immediately to states across the nation to cover costs incurred to repair roads and bridges damaged by a variety of natural emergencies and catastrophic events.
Six major illnesses common among Americans age 65 and older cost more than $196 billion in 2007, according to estimates by researchers at RTI International.
"Asbestos: The Hidden Killer" uses soccer legend and TV star Ian Wright, a former laborer, to highlight the threat. Related diseases are killing 20 building trade workers every week, and 500,000 buildings may contain asbestos in pipe insulation, shown here, or other materials.
Exposure may occur when a worker handles drug vials; compounds, administers, or disposes of hazardous drugs; cleans spills; or touches contaminated surfaces.
At 25 deaths on average per 100,000 workers in 2003-2006, this industry is on par with high-risk industries such as agriculture and mining. About a third of those who died of injuries in landscaping were self-employed.
The syringes have been distributed nationwide; Novartis said in August it planned to have 20 million doses available by the end of September. Cal/OSHA and OSHA rules require needles with built-in sharps injury protection.
The agency has reopened the record on a proposed rule regarding electric power generation, transmission, and distribution because the technical committee responsible for the 2005 version of the rule discovered an error in its calculation of minimum approach distances for certain voltages.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association will host "Particle Size-Selective Sampling: What You Need To Know About Human Health Impacts," an intermediate TeleWeb Virtual Seminar on Nov. 6, 2008, from 2-4:30 p.m. ET.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging parents and caregivers to closely inspect the hardware and stability of their cribs to ensure all parts are in place and secure. The warning by CPSC comes after the agency's Early Warning System has identified concerns with the durability of cribs, especially those with drop sides that can disengage and lead to dangers of entrapment and strangulation.
OSHA recently announced that a proposed Request for Information (RFI) related to its Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) program will be published in the Oct. 20, 2008 Federal Register. A copy of the proposed RFI currently is available on OSHA's Web site. The public comment period on the RFI will close on Jan. 20, 2009.