"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.
This event at the Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pa., looks at prevention of major injury categories, such as construction falls and health workers' needlesticks, and Hispanic worker injuries.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has adopted two additional NFPA standards for first responders: NFPA 472, Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents and NFPA 473, Standard for Competencies for EMS Personnel Responding to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents.
The meeting on Nov. 19 in Chicago is intended to ensure the investigation program meets the needs of stakeholders and how it can be improved to increase its impact on firefighters' safety and health.
Consumers and health care professionals can now go to a single page on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Web site to find a wide variety of safety information about prescription drugs.
Combining previous references to storm shelter and safe room construction published by NSSA, the FEMA, and the Red Cross, the new standard increases minimum wind resistance requirements and provides basic safety and health requirements.
Thirty years after the British rule was enacted requiring involvement of workers' representatives, the UK safety and health oversight agency is reminding stakeholders that involvement pays off.
MSHA's Safety Targets Training Program will focus on addressing and eliminating the most common causes of repeat fatal accidents that occurred from 2000 to 2008
"We will take action against any company that fails to follow these laws that protect emergency responders and the public in the event of an accidental release," said Daniel Meer, EPA's assistant Superfund director for the Pacific Southwest region.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association will host "Cell Phones, Microwaves, Pacemakers and More . . .Nonionizing Radiation Myths and Realities," an introductory TeleWeb Virtual Seminar on Oct. 22, 2008, from 2-4:30 p.m. ET.
OSHA's New York Regional Office is asking the 151 worksites in its jurisdiction participating in OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) to conduct voluntary inspections of any crane activity occurring at their worksites during this week. VPP is an elite, voluntary, merit-based program that recognizes worksites committed to effective employee protection beyond the requirements of OSHA standards.
The strategic partnership has developed outreach training courses and decreased fatality rates in several industries
"The sale of these products not only puts the public at risk through unjustified reliance upon their usefulness as pesticides, but also unfairly undercuts legitimate businesses that have registered their products," said Katherine Taylor, associate director of EPA's Communities and Ecosystems Division for the Pacific Southwest region.